So I stapled together that first one. Staples are NOT seams.

These are the first two attempts at turning Hank, into what I'm calling Pocket Plush. The final will be a limited edition red suede, with possible later editions done in something a little more felt-ish. (and cheaper)

I'm happy with the way he's turning out. The first one is really horrible, but it was really just a way for me to see what something like this might look like. I've got his string down pretty solidly, I think. It's raffia wrapped heavy gauge wire, and it stands him up very nicely.  It also means that you'll be able to wrap him around your desk-lamp or the neck of your least favorite Munny.  There are some tweaks I'll do to the final pattern, I think, but overall the image is there.

In other news, it's Valentine's day and you don't have a date.  I'm not judging.  I'm just saying maybe you should stop hanging around the water fountain, filling up your Hello Kitty water bottle, and pick up a Milo Pocket Art instead.  All the good Valentines include one.  Even the LATE Valentines.  And man, are you late.

Me, I'm totally not late.  I got mega reservations for tomorrow night.  Dinner, dance, and a swank hotel.  I love me some Valentine's day.  Give your sweetie a squeeze, and if you ain't got a sweetie, then go squeeze a stranger.  Just don't blame me if you get slapped after.

Milo Comic Strip #17

Click for big-osity.

The colors are not as good on this as I'd like. Photoshop always drains the color out when you convert to jpg. Anybody who knows the magic of how to keep that from happening, I'm all ears.

Hank finally gets the drop on the little guy. I'm sure this will end in tears, or possibly shreds of rubber all over the ground. But not for a while yet. Probably it'll get worse before it gets better. Maybe for years.

Milo Comic Strip #16

click for bigness.

This look on Milo's face is something that cracks me and my lady up when we do it to each other. Best used when feigning indignant astonishment and pain. Milo's pain is real though. As is Hank's utter disregard and slight amusement at Milo's distress.

Click to embiggen.

The end of the storyline. With a healthy dose of truth about balloons. Ingrates, all of them.

Milo Comic Strip #13

Click to embiggen.

For some reason this one took me for-freakin'-ever. Hope you enjoy. I like the middle Hank, myself. Self-righteous little balloon. Sleep now.

Milo Comic Strip #12

Click the comic for full size.

Here's Eva. She looks a bit overwhelmed to be meeting the boys. As well she should be.
Not gonna say much on this one. I could have worked for hours more on it, and not felt like it was done. But I want these to come out in as timely a manner as I can, so I let go of it.

Enjoy.

Milo comic number ten

Click the comic for full size.

I'm having a blast drawing Lou. I also like nervous hide-y Hank and his teddy. But frankly I'm as ready to get rid of the teddy as Hank is. Still have a few more strips to go with this though.

EDIT: (I just realized that the teddy-bear has the string on the wrong hand in this one. Damn you, editorial department!! You're supposed to catch these things BEFORE I post them!)

Milo Comic Strip #9

Click the comic for full size...puh-leeez.

No real story here. Just loved the idea of a tiny cardinal chasing someone with scissors. And it happens to be Hank, because he's Hank. Hope everybody has a great weekend.

Milo Comic Strip #8

Click the comic for full size.

Introducing Lou, the cardinal. The new character was initially going to be a grackle, because we saw these gawky hyperactive grackles in Mexico, and I loved them. Only problem is that I couldn't capture the personality in something that has to be drawn that small. My attempts ended up looking either too cartoon-y or too UN-cartoon-y, and I just wasn't happy with them. So I completely changed tack and went for completely the opposite personality. The grackle was going to talk a mile a minute and always be in motion. Lou, the cardinal, is going to be stoic and silent.

I figure you guys are going to get enough yakking out of Hank. Enjoy the matter-of-fact calm of Lou.

Hope everybody had a great Valentine's day.

Valentine - freebie

Click for the full size version.

This is just a quickie because I felt like there should be a Valentine from this crew. You know, for all the folks who end up going to the grocery store and picking up a sad batch of dyed carnations and a box of sad heart-shaped chocolates. Here's something you can print out and hand to your special someone to let them know that you cared enough to copy someone else's valentine and print it out for them. Or send it to them in an email, if you're REALLY gunning for that pole position in the Lame-o 500.

Or, you could do us all a favor and actually take twenty minutes on your lunch hour to write that person a love letter to let them know how much you care about them. Doesn't have to be on heart-shaped paper, or even have a doily fringe. Just tell them they mean the most to you.

And if you're smart, you'll copy a picture of Hank, and give it to them telling them that he's the official balloon of love this season, and that they should go check out his adventures with Milo at Milothecloud.com because that's what all the really soulful lovers are doing, and they want to be soulful lovers, don't they? No? Well, that's a shame.

Oh, sorry. I got attacked by one of those time-share a-holes while we were in Mexico, and I think it rubbed off on me a little.

Happy Valentines weekend. (that's right, spend the whole weekend, not just the day).

Milo Comic Strip #7

Click for full size as usual.

In which Hank flips out, and Milo tells us something profound about being a cloud.

Milo Comic Strip #6

click the comic for full size.

This is the first part of a longer storyline in which you'll meet some new characters.

Family Portrait

First attempt at putting Eva together with Milo (and Hank, who insisted on being in the shot). I started just drawing Eva, and then decided to throw Milo in there to see how he looked. Obviously things aren't going to be this fleshed out all the time. A strip would take me forever if I did it this way. It's nice to see that for my money, she works with him. I just need to get some good practice in drawing her more simply and quicker with fewer lines. I'm also having a hard time conceptualizing how I'm going to establish that she's on a rooftop or a water tower or a radio tower in such a small space. The radio tower would probably be easiest to do in a small space, but it's a dilemma. Fewer lines, more simplicity. Well, anyhoo, here's the first attempt.

Milo Comic Strip #2

This strip introduces Hank, a red balloon. Hank's last comment is a topic of discussion at our house right now, as my girlfriend thinks it's too much, that I shouldn't alienate kids by having him swear. I think it's not really an issue. It's not as if I have a daily strip in the Tribune. And anybody who's reading these needs to know that this strip is sometimes going to deal with bigger concepts and sometimes going to have humor that's a bit sharp. That's just who I am. I think on the whole, web comics are for thinking people, and not for those who would tune out because of a "dick" comment. I love my girlfriend for trying to make sure that I don't get myself in trouble, but I also think that if I ever got picked up for a gig where content was an issue, I could probably put together a Sunday Funnies kid-safe portfolio pretty easily.

If you're thinking you don't like what Hank says, just don't listen to Hank. He's kind of a "jerk" himself. See how easy that was?