When you are growing a readership, one of your best friends is your statistics program. Much like the phone company. internet connections can be tracedl. By viewing your statistics you can see how many people visited your site, how many people returned, and just get a general idea of your audience. Granted, just like a phone number, the information is really technical–just numbers, no real identifying information. Still, it shows you how many people are visiting your site, and thus its popularity. When Bitmap World started, we had about 300 monthly visitors. That’s “uniques”–meaning separate individuals. It’s possible, and likely, that 1 person will come to your site several times a month, so numbers are broken down into overall visits and unique visitors. As time has gone on, our readership has grown to between 1500 and 2000 uniques a month, with the average hovering around 1750. What is amazing is that comes from very little advertising. Some of our loyal fans have been so kind to grab buttons and banners from our link page to put on their blogs and sites. But, for the mostpart, we just don’t have the resources to do formal advertising. And that is where the amazing part comes. Okay, not really amazing, but cool Over 90% of our hits come from direct hits and bookmarks. 5% come from search engines. A mere 5% of our hits come from ads and banners. While I will admit, we are very grateful for everyone that promotes the sites (and anyone reading this is free to pick up a banner), there is something very satisfying to know that vast majority of the people who visit our site are doing so deliberately and not simply clicking-through for curiosity. Word of mouth is powerful. And statistically it is showing that while we may only get a handful of new visitors every month, the vast majority are staying. That is SOOOO encouraging for two 30-something year old parents juggling work, home, and everything else, and trying to squeeze a comic in there too. Our numbers are growing. Not leaps and bounds, but growing strong and steady. That’s the best kind of growth! I remember the time we got 10,000 hits one month, mostly from StumbleUpon. Gee, those numbers were awesome to look at, but they amounted in only a few regulars. This way is longer, and harder, but definitely more rewarding.

Oh, and if the above sounds like I am dissing linking to our site…NO WAY! We appreciate every link and want to continue getting the word out about the site! It’s still the best way to introduce others to Bitmap World. I am just mentioning this because it’s nice to know that even though we don’t have that many people linking to us (yet) that the word is still getting out and people are coming. That is just a real feel-good thing.

Of course, as our numbers grow, so does our anxiety. We would love to be able to update more often…and on-time. But we are trudging along, and we are ever thankful for our fans who are trudging along with us. Thanks for making Bitmap World part of your routine. And thanks for coming back, and bookmarking us, and linking us, and all that. On those days when we are so tired and would just as soon skip a strip, it’s knowing you guys are out there that makes us get our butts out of bed and keep thing story going!

Here’s to another 200 strips!!!

The comic (Issue 172) was late because Jim spent all of yesterday cleaning the house of a dead woman so her family can sell it.  Yes, I know that sounds pretty crazy, but it’s true.  We’re just trying to find a way to work it in the comic.

Oh, and between the time we last posted a comic, my computer has been hit with a worm, which required a frantic backup and export of the data and speedy reformat of the hard drive.  I am working at half mast not having any of my stuff!  Oh…and I lost all my favorites.  Then, just today, I ended up infected with Antivirus XP 2008!  Thankfully, some good malware software cleaned me up.  *sigh*  Truly, my computer jinx is still around.  Trying to think of ways to write that into the comic too!

Either way, today’s comic was totally Jim’s show.  We just got off of the Rasterman storyline and we decided we need a few stand-alone “filler” strips to kinda space things out before jumping into the next plotline.  Since we left off with Harry at the office, I wanted to do a trouble ticket strip.  Jim came up with this idea, and after a bit of hashing out, we came up with this.  In fact, we came up with 2 jokes, and will be doing the other one in the future. 

Barring any major emergencies–and you never know with us–Friday should be up on time.

Oh, and just to be clever, three points to the first one who comments here in the blog with the correct answer to the question posed in the strip.

Today’s issue is Number 171. But in actuality, this is issue number 1. This is the very first Bitmap World comic we did…ever. After the “throwing around ideas” stage, and we had settled on actual characters, storylines, and whatnot, we put together this prototype strip. In fact, had you visited our site in the months before we officially went live, you would have seen this sole comic up on the site. Our site was very much like it is now: the pseudo computer with the framed comic within and the navigation buttons on the “keys.” Though, back then, there were much fewer links on the keys.

Of course, you will also recognize this strip as one of the templates in our Build-Your-Own-Comic maker. But, be assured, this strip was not made using this utility. It was done months before we even dreamed of the BYOC.  It truly is neat to have this stand-alone comic done so long ago slipped into the regular continuity, rather seemlessly. Though, if you do look closely, this strip has been altered slightly from the prototype (this alteration was done recently since we have certain style aspects to the comic now we didn’t in the beginning). 5 points in the forum if you can see the differences.

We always planned to have Rasterman come on the scene a bit into the strip, but I don’t think Jim or I ever planned that it would be nearly a year and a half and 170 issues in. The strip, the characters, and the story really have taken on a life of their own, and have gone in so many directions we didn’t plan.  But it’s been so much fun, and ultimately it’s worked out that we’ve been (up to this point) been able to add the elements we’ve wanted to.  It’s funny because many of the stories we did plot out in the beginning are still yet to be told.  In fact, Jim and I were just hashing out a few things and realized a couple of the storylines probably won’t come up until year 3 or 4!  How’s that for planning ahead. And we have new ideas popping up every day, so who knows where that will take us. That said, I guess it would be hard for you all to believe we actually struggle with writer’s block on occasion and pull our hair out to get one strip up.  That’s because it’s not the pictures that give us fits but getting the words just right.  While this “little comic” may not be Pulitzer Prize material, we still taking it seriously and don’t want to shell out just anything.

Anyhow, thanks for making Bitmapworld part of your weekly routine. Here’s to strip 200 on the near horizon, and to many more after that.

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent well-wishes this past week. I had a couple of scary days there–almost considered going to the E.R. But I’m fine now and that’s all that matters. Thanks for being understanding and such loyal fans. You guys rock!

I have wanted to write a bit more detailed comment about some of the strips, but life has been kinda crazy. I figured the Booyah would be a good time, so I’m going to backtrack a bit.

Issue 158 - The orange joke was totally inspired by the art. Those oranges are some Japanese pixel art which I used for the strip. When I saw it, the gag immediately jumped into my mind. It is SOOOO appropriate for the Mayor.

Issue 159 - I am a little bummed the second float was blurred. I had done some great “celebrity” smilies for it and they are obscure. 5 points in the forums if anyone can guess who it is! I do hope to feature them in another strip down the line. Also in 159, I love the line “Hey, Mac.” Double play on words there.

Issue 160 - I am really proud how this strip turned out. Not a word spoken, but everything is said loud and clear. I really wanted to do the last panel justice, and I went over a lot of ideas on how to depict it. The long-shot shadow definitely worked best, and I love how it turned out.

Issue 161 - I already commented on this one in an earlier blog, but I did want to note Jim’s favorite line is the cop chiding his partner about wanting to shoot the volcano.

Issue 162 - I think it is so funny, and convenient, how there is always a reporter in the crowd anytime something exciting happens in a movie or on t.v. I thought it would be great to have something happen and there NOT be a journalist around.

Issue 163 - Rasterman was not our first choice for the superhero name, but it was in the top 3. I totally wanted to do the spotlight shot for the second panel, and made sure to use a snazzy comic font for the wording. I just crack up when I see the paperboy ready to bean the superhero to keep him from flying away.

Issue 165 - We debated how we were going to have Blip get a newspaper in this strip. We thought of having the paperboy deliver it, but that would have distracted from the story. We toyed with him just having the paper on his front step. Eventually, I went with the idea of him going out at the crack of dawn to get one. I wanted to do a news-stand, and went searching for pictures for inspiration. The stand I did was replicated from this picture. The Times New Roman is a great name for a newspaper and I’m psyched to have come up with it!

Issue 166 - Designing a new set is always stressful for me. I really try to get something that will reflect the characters. Since this is the first time we see Blip’s wife, I wanted it to be extra special. Originally I was going to go with a different look, but once I got the retro-modern blue theme going, it fit the best and I ran with it.

Issue 167 - The mayor is such a hopeless dope. He was supposed to be a small supporting character, but he has totally developed beyond that and we have a special place in our heart for him.

Issue 168 - I wanted to have a nice strip just showing Pixel life. It was kinda inspired to have Smiley in there cogging it up. While I was doing this strip, all that kept running through my mind is the Simpsons episode where they have all the major league baseball players, and Bart is heckling Daryl Strawberry (I think that was who it was). ROFL!

Issue 169 - Yes, the first three panels are identical to Issue 39. That was totally deliberate, and not simply to be a cheat. I just felt it best illustrated Harry’s transformation from psycho newspaper boy hound to indifferent and rational smiley.

Issue 170 - Are we really only 30 away for Issue 200? I know we poke so much fun of corporate American in this strip, but we can’t help it. Have you ever seen the movie Mystery Men? Captain Amazing is covered in endorsement badges and does commercial. I just think the idea of that is wild. Seriously, would any good, upstanding superhero stoop so low?

This is one of those strips that is based on real life. Granted, this doesn’t happen every time, but enough times to drive you batty. The kids will have an exciting day, running around and playing. On the way home they will knock out for a short nap–something the adults can’t do. Then, when we get home, we’re hopeful everyone will crawl into bed and sleep through the night…and the kids are wide awake. And not just wide awake, but recharged and hyper so they can’t sleep at all. So we end up half-asleep on the couch while they do their thing for hours. *deep sigh*

There is a lot more I want to comment on about the whole Rasterman storyline, and I’m going to do that during our Booyah next week. Though, I do want to mention (again) that Rasterman was one of our original characters, and the very first test strip we did was about him. It’s amazing to see him finally introduced all these months later.

Oh, and as for my computer woes. Truly, you would all think I was a troll if I was just a stranger on the forums! But, yet another minor hiccup (aside from part of my hard-drive being corrupted, which I reported about on the forums yesterday). Jim had built me a custom keyboard tray for my computer. Well, I came home today to find the kids had demolished it. The way it was/is setup makes it that I can’t just take the keyboard off and use it on the desk. I would have had to do it on my lap, which makes it impossible to do pixel art.

Certainly the gods have it out for me.

Thankfully Jim got up at 3:30 a.m. this morning to fix it.

See you all tomorrow with a new strip.

Thankfully, we didn’t use that line in today’s comic (Issue 161).

From the day we started Bitmap World, we were waiting for this day.  The day our “superhero” would be revealed.  It only took 14 months and 161 issues.  Though, we can honestly say that this character appeared in many of the early banner ads for BMW.  Though as time went on and it was clear that this character was going to remain a secret for a while, we ended up pulling him from the banners.

I know I am a geek, even though I am the writer/artist, I just think that last panel is WAY cool! *shivers*

Well, I felt so bad about the whole forum blow-up that I did 2 comics today. Forgive me??? Please, someone, a pity comment. ;O)

The forums will be up tomorrow, along with the contest winner. Sorry for *that* delay, but Jim is doing some work on the system which I hope can be done by then. I figured you guys would rather we work on the extra comic.

The last few strips have been grueling! Most the carnival stuff had to be done from scratch. There is some stock pixel art in there, but a good majority is my original art. What pre-existing art had to be heavily modified. Each one took much longer than even the Cosmic Dungeon strips. However, I feel it was well worth it. I am happy with the look, and now I have a lot of props for further issues!

I think the thing that got me the most with this last round was all the supporting characters! You know how you watch Spongebob or any other cartoon, and there are a bunch of recurring secondary characters? Well, now I know why. Getting all those faces in the crowd took an enormouns amount of time, since I needed to create a ton of non-descript characters, as well as putting in key characters and members of their families. I just wish I hadn’t been so pressed for time with the site problems, because doing the art was a lot of fun and I would have liked to have had the time to enjoy it more.

I do have a lot of comments on the individual strips from the last 2 updates, so I’m just gonna rattle them off one by one:

Strip 151 - I would love to say my kids behave in the car all the time. They do mostly, but even on the best of trips there is the kicking and the poking. This was certainly a tribute to that.

Strip 152 - This is one of my all-time favorite strips. I laugh just thinking about it. The mayor has definitely developed into a colorful character, and a bit different than what we first envisioned and planned for him. Makes you wonder what that baby looked like, eh?

Strip 153 - I am WAY proud of how those porta-pottys turned out! The joke in there about the family motto was actually something Jim said to Linus once as a gag when Jim made him use the facilities at a public place. I thought it would be funny if it actually *was* someone’s family motto. Now it is!

Strip 154 - The Dott-Com joke never occurred to me until just a few weeks ago. We’ve been doing this strip for over a year, and such an obvious tech joke was under right my nose. Too funny.

Strip 155 - I am sure we embarrass our kids by making them do things with the little ones. Most of the time they truly don’t mind, but there are moments in public, particularly when their friends are around, where they cringe at the thought. Coincidentally, this was Linus’s favorite strip of the Booyah update–because he could relate to it!

Strip 156 - Have you ever played the Wii game, Carnival? That was the inspiration for the dunk tank with Mr. Domain in there. A tidbit, Korn’s son is the one who dunked him. Also, I had more fun drawing the little drama in the background of that strip than I did the dialogue between Max and Blip. Though I do say, I am really proud of how this strip turned out overall.

Strip 157 - Jim asked me, “are we really going to do a vomit joke?” C’mon, how could I pass that up?! Seriously, I don’t normally like potty-humor, but there are times it’s appropriate and pretty darn funny.

Monday…the parade.

You know, when we created the BYOC, we never imagined it would be the greatest “save-face” for us! On days when things just get too caught up, we can create a filler strip in 10 minutes so that YOU, our fans, have something to read until we can get the new strip up. Now, we don’t always put one up, but when we do, we always have so much fun with it. I do have to give credit to Jim, because he is the one that does them the most…and I think they are just hysterical. He truly is a great comedy writer.

Just to appease your curiosity, Jim and I are working on 2 projects: 1 personal and 1 freelance that will bring us in some much-needed money (can’t blame us for that). Bitmap World is still very important to us, so we want to assure everyone we do make every effort to stay on schedule. But, when we can’t, we’ll still try to entertain.

See you tomorrow!

I think some of the people who read today’s strip (Issue 140) might feel that Harry is being exceptionally rude to Blip when he finds out he’s married. Well, considering how rude Blip is to him, I think it’s a bit justified. Also, it’s one of those cases where you find out something about someone that shocks you so much, you forget all etiquette. I know there have been people I have met with less than stellar personalities, who I later found out were married. I would be shocked, wondering who the heck would have married them, and secretly wondering how they put up with such a person. Granted, I understand that most people act differently when it comes to family and then outside acquaintances. Still, it make you wonder. That was what I was trying to convey with Harry in that strip.

The next 2 strips (Issues 141 and 142) were incredibly fun for me to do. I dreaded having to design the mayor’s office, but ended up loving it once I was into it. First of all, as a bit of trivia, the mayor’s office design is based loosely on a mayor’s office in a popular video game. I actually studied pictures of several real mayor’s offices in the U.S. and thought they all looked so pretentious! They looked like mini Oval Offices. I wanted something a little less flashy, and decided to do a parody of a movie or game one. Thankfully I found one I liked and used it as a model. I have to admit to not ever hearing of the game, much less playing it. Though, I did learn after the fact that my kids had played it a while back, having borrowed it from a family member.

Can I ask, are there ever any good mayors in comics? Most of the ones we run into are all corrupt and shifty. I guess those types of characters are more fun to write, and make for better drama.

Last, I also have to point to an inside joke, which literally only a handful of our close friends will get when reading the comic. Jim and I have been in a role-playing game since before we were married. I truly date myself here, but the campaign has been going on 16 years!–though only 3 years have passed in game time. It’s a superhero based game, using the DC Heroes universe. My character also happens to run an orphanage. Early in our gaming, I ran a game which had major events happens at the yearly “charity carnival.” Little did we know, that would be a recurring event in our game, and always the source of a lot of fun and drama. Thus, my inspiration to use it in the strip.

It’s really funny because the strip has taken on such a different tone lately, moving away from the “new kids on the block” focus of the Pixels, and widening the focus on the town and supporting characters. This was always our plan from Day 1, but as we mentioned before, we did not want to rush things. It’s neat to finally be writing storylines we came up with nearly 2 years ago! Hope you all enjoy them.

Actually, more like *several* days late. Though, the dollar part is argueable. Despite being a bit behind, our Booyah is up and we’re pretty pleased with it. 

Of course, fresh off the frustration of a server move, I am tempted to spend a page and a half ranting and raving.  Honestly, the move went relatively smooth.  The problem is that our new server has more advanced security, which is good from a general standpoint, but not good that a large number of our scripts and programs didn’t work properly.  That included this blog and a bunch of other stuff.  Not to mention that BMW had a longer time propogating than some of the other sites.  Ah, but I promised not to rant, so suffice it to say it was a pain, but we’ve got it (mostly) taken care of now!

It’s amazing that Bitmap World has been around a year! It truly doesn’t feel that long at all. There was so many plans we had when we started, and we’ve only begun to explore some of them, and there is so much more to come.  We had hoped to start one storyline in particular with this Booyah, but instead decided to do a “birthday” strip with Issue 134. Wanting to do an Easter strip too, we figured we’d just do a few stand-alone strips and will begin the planned storyline next week.

Speaking of the birthday strip, this is again one of those comics that is more real-life than not.  Our kids LOVE bubble wrap and fight over it.  While I have never actually gotten them a roll of it, I’ve considered it.  And I have to admit, I love popping it to.  Why the heck is that so much fun?!  Whatever the reason, it is.  I can totally see my kids having a great time with a big roll of that stuff.  I’m not sure if Jim would be like Harry, thought I’m sure he’d pop a few anyway.

One of the big complaints about some comics in general is that white space is not good.  We have always held that Bitmap World is deliberately minimalistic, since we want to invoke the feelings of the old computers of days past.  Still, adding some additional color is something we have wanted to do, and have made the leap to give many of our “sets” a splash of colors. In all selfishness, we didn’t want to have to go back and color all the past strips, so a convenient little explanation was crafted.

If you visit YouTube, be sure to look up the song, Code Monkey.  It’s a great song written by a talented free-source musician, Jonathan Coultan Jim and I both love that song, particularly since we are the programming types.  I have dreamed of doing a mini-movie to the song using Bitmap World characters.  I may still yet…perhaps when I get more time in the future (whenever that will be).  Still, I wanted to somehow give a nod to the song and did so through this comic.  This is another slice-of-life strip.  My kids can’t stand when we like their stuff, even though we’re the ones that got them interested in certain types of music/movies/shows.

Last, the Easter strip. Honestly, we didn’t plan this one to be a big commentary piece. We were just talking about the Easter Bunny and then the idea was tossed around about the Macrohard bunny being at the mall, and then it went from there.  That said, both of us do find it ridiculous that there has been a trend of companies to “claim” holidays, and even seasons, as their own.  Did you know that Country Time Lemonade, Corona, and Borden’s Ice Cream all claim to be the official sponsors of Summer?  I wonder who they pay royalties to, Mother Nature?

There’s a ton to this Booyah, so remember to check out our News page for details.  We actually had more planned, but our server woes had to come first. The good news is that next month we’ll have a nice Booyah too!

Happy Spring, everyone.  And Merry Easter, too.