Victoria Royals

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Sunday night was the Oscars, but since I've only seen part of one Oscar-nominated film this year (I never finished Zootopia), we went to a junior league hockey game with some friends instead. Emma had never been to a Canadian hockey game before, so I was determined to make it as memorable as possible, and that included snatching any freebies away from meddling kids. 

If you're in Victoria, I hope you have marked your calendar for March 19th because I'll be appearing at the Victoria Comic Book Expo at Comfort Inn & Suites. Come by and check out some new mini comics!

Dirty Laundry

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Exciting News: If you live in Victoria, BC, you can buy my comic "Three Crushes: Tales of Middle School Heartbreak" at Legends Comics and Books (633 Johnson Street) or Curious Comics (631 Johnson Street). 

"Three Crushes" is also available online at Payhip.com. 

And if you like reading webcomics on mobile apps, you can find Smith vs Smith on Tapastic and Comic Chameleon. Please subscribe to Smith vs Smith in the Tapas or Webcomics app!

This week's comic originally appeared in the Camosun College Nexus Newspaper. 

Cats at Night

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Lots of exciting news this week! First of all, my mini comic, "Three Crushes: Tales of Middle School Heartbreak" is now on sale at Legends Comics & Books in Victoria, BC. If you're in the city, head to 633 Johnson Street to pick up your copy today! Legends is a great store and they are so amazing to support local indie creators.

Last week, on February 1st, I took the Hourly Comic Day challenge and created a comic for every hour I was awake. If you follow Smith vs Smith on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you could have followed along live, but if not, I've collected the whole day here. Even if you saw the comics as they were released, it might be fun to read through the day from start to finish!

This week's comic was originally published in the January 18th issue of the Camosun Nexus student paper. Not only is Smith vs Smith appearing in the Nexus, you can also see Smith vs Smith in the Fernwood Village Vibe and the University of Victoria Martlet. THREE newspapers in Victoria, BC!

In 2017, I'm trying to push myself to do something different with each comic. I wanted to try a different page layout. This "inset" layout was inspired by an assignment I completed for the online Kadenze Comics: Art in Relationships course. Below is the original layout:

And here you can see the page I created for Kadenze: 

Can you tell who was the model for Deedee?

Look out for more panel experimentations in the future. If you want to see some of the work produced by other Kadenze comic students, check out the Sci Fi anthology we put together. 

By the Book

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Emma and I are taking two classes at the Vancouver Island School of Art this semester (Drawing II and Principles and Elements of Design). Both classes are going well so far. I've been posting some of the assignments on Instagram.

This week's comic originally appeared in the UVic Martlet, where Smith vs Smith was originally published in 2008. See the first every published Smith vs Smith comic below:

Since this first Smith vs Smith ran in the Martlet back in 2008, Andrew and Ash have gotten married and are actually expecting their first kid this summer (I'm gonna be an uncle!).

Tomorrow is Hourly Comics Day, where myself and other cartoonists attempt to draw a comic for every hour we are awake. Make sure you're following along on Instagram and Twitter!

Matt's Best Friend

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The cats used to just ignore us after returning from vacations , but Thor has gotten really needy since we moved to Canada. This isn't the first time I've written about our family's toilet habits. 

This comic originally appeared in Camosun College's Nexus Newspaper's January 4th issue.

If you're in Victoria, BC, keep an eye out for issues of the Nexus to see Smith vs Smith comics several weeks earlier than they appear online! 

And if you're an University of Victoria student, keep an eye out this Thursday for Smith vs Smith in the UVic Martlet! 9 years ago (holy crap!), Smith vs Smith first appeared in the Martlet and I'm so excited to be back! 2017 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for Smith vs Smith and I can't wait to share more good news as it happens. Stay tuned! 

Happy

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While in Scotland for our Christmas break, Emma and I attended the wedding of a family friend. I bought a kilt for the occasion. 

Emma gave me a lot of really amazing Christmas presents, but my favorites are the amazing Ban Dai S H Figuarts full posable drawing figures for comic book artists. With my background in film, I'm always disappointed that my comics aren't more cinematic, but I'm hoping that these figures open up a whole new realm of possibilities! Check out the original poses below: 

Panel 1: Matt and Emma are getting ready for a wedding. Matt is wearing a kilt. Emma is in a dress. 

Emma: What should we write on the card?

Matt: What about: "We hope you're as happy as we are?"

Emma: That's not very nice!

I'm very excited to use these little guys in the future! 

Stress

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Emma and I had a great Christmas in Scotland with her family, but 2017 is going to be an exciting year for Smith vs Smith comics and I couldn't wait to get back to work! For starters, Smith vs Smith is going to published in three papers in the next few weeks! 

This comic is a spiritual sequel to "Stressed," a comic I created way back in 2009, when I was finishing a teaching job in Malaysia and didn't know what was next. (I ended up teaching English in Hong Kong and will be compiling the comic strips from that time into a mini comic soon). See the original comic below. I'm hoping you can see an improvement in my art over the last 8 years...!

The original "Stressed" in all its Comic Sans glory. 

Kuwaiti Cats in Canadian Snow

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I attended the University of Victoria from 2005 to 2008 (fun fact: Smith vs Smith was originally published for the first time in UVic's Martlet). In all my years in Victoria, it only snowed one time (and everyone lost their minds). I've recently spent four years in Kuwait, where it hardly even rained. So it was a HUGE deal for me and the cats that it snowed last week in Victoria (Emma was mostly annoyed by the ice on the car). We've seen how vocal Neo can be, but Thor never meows so this was a big deal. 

This comic was inspired by the following photograph:

The cartoonist Elaine M. Will was a huge help with this week's comic. She told me how she achieved the snow in her graphic novel Look Straight Ahead. 

shared with elaine m will's permission

shared with elaine m will's permission

Look Straight Ahead and Elaine's other book, Dust Ship Glory are both great reads and both available from Cuckoo's Nest Press. Give them a read! 

Emma and I are heading back to Scotland in a week for Christmas with her family. I'm working hard to finish some comics for various anthologies as well as trying to get ahead on Smith vs Smith strips so I can relax over the winter break. Lots to do!