In my ongoing / half-assed attempt to cut down on file sizes in order to save bandwidth, I have converted the first 12 episodes from GIF to PNG, and optimized a few other comics here and there. For fun, I calculated the before and after sizes of Episodes 1-12 (like some sort of diet pill infomercial):

BEFORE OPTIMIZATION: 1448 KB
AFTER OPTIMIZATION: 872 KB
——
AMOUNT SAVED: 576 KB (or about a half a meg) 

Now too shabbity, huh? I can only imagine the potential amount saved once I get all the way up to Episode 151 (the last non-animated comic done in GIF format). Of course, at the rate I’m going, I won’t get there for a few years yet. Plus, I still have to update the first 92 or so to the relatively newer lower-size layout. Oh well, just something to look forward to… *sigh*

Back in the early days, I signed onto a young Top Web Comics to increase comic exposure. Due to my expert timing (there weren’t even 150 comics on the list back then), I quickly gained readership, and though I never did better than the mid-30’s, it was enough to help Zelda Comic build a fanbase that hasn’t diminished since (in total current readers, anyway). Bottom line, Zelda Comic would not be where it is today without TWC.

But then we flash-forward to today. Zelda Comic receives an average of 1,000 unique hits per day (when it updates). Why the hell am I still on a top list? I’ve never been one for the popularity contests that perpetuate in such places, so why should I stick around? This is not to say that TWC and bCx don’t provide a potentially great service; I’d still heartily recommend them to new comic authors trying to give their work some exposure. But I feel that ZC has matured to a point where it no longer needs the limited exposure these services provide.

So I’m done. No more Buzz banner. No more vote incentives (though I do intend to continue the story that started there). Just the comics you enjoy, and a little link banner should you feel the urge.

Looks like I won’t have any time to update much beyond my previous one, but I felt the need to shout out a few things before heading to San Diego Comic-Con:

• Two people came to ConnectiCon with the intent of stopping by and saying hi to myself. Unfortunately, I wasn’t around when the second person tried to stop by. To whoever that person was, I apologize muchly! I really want to make it up to you! If you didn’t get a copy of the ConnectiCon-exclusive comic flier, I’ll gladly send you a copy.
• The official ConnectiCon 2004 Note Card Fusion Comic is up and about! If you don’t like ninjas, you can blame this one on Shawn.
• Speaking of Señor Handyside, he and I are now sworn enemies. The details as to how this came about are unclear, but the fact remains that we are officially rivals, and must act as such. Hey Shawn, I heard tell you suck hard at Smash Bros., so I went and played you, and totally schooled you in the playing of Smash Bros.! You never even saw me coming, what with your elderliness slowing you down to near-molasses speeds!

Nothing else of extreme import comes to mind, so I’ll see you all on Monday, when the next Zelda Comic is released! Booyah Grandma!

No comic just yet. But I did make a new song. It’s the second track from the homebrewn game “Get A Life“. Check it out for good time jazzy times, either via the link up above or my Music page.

If you wanna know what I’ve been up to lately, check out my blog dealie. I don’t really feel like typing everything out twice. I will make a comic soon, rest assured.

Dirk Crimson, sprite comic extraordinaire (yeah, he actually is a sprite comic), went and made me a damn hell ass awesome Aminal Crossing episode that darn well outdoes any of the feeble attempts at Aminal Crossing drawing I’ve ever made. Seriously, read it now. The only problem was that he made it a Flash file (to save space; bless him for caring!), so I can’t use my nifty PHP script to archive it. The only solution I could come up with was to put a space filling image in the archive pointing to the proper URL, but this doesn’t seem like it will work all that well in the long run. Oh well, it’s all I got! Dirk Crimson! New Zelda Comic on Monday, or you can all eat my eye balls!