That's a LOT of comics...

Cartooning never came easy for me. I had to really work at it. I was more of a comic book 'super hero' guy, but was always a fan of daily comic strips. And as I sat at home today (my youngest daughter was home with a cough), I decided to go through some of my old sketchbooks. These sketchbooks were filled with old drawings of super heroes and villains that I had created over the years. But here and there...scattered among each sketchbook, I found little traces of cartooning. I actually found some pretty good gems that I had all but forgotten about. That led to me reading the entire collection of I DIG DUG comics. And what I found during this hour of recollection and reflection was quite astonishing. So here are some little factoids that I learned today going through the 'ol Weller sketchbooks!

*My first sketches of I DIG DUG characters were dated 1994 (!) a full five years before I DIG DUG 'officially' became a comic. They were titled "The Gang's All Here", and they looked NOTHING like what would eventually become I DIG DUG.
*My first sketch of Allen Android (from my new strip, "Lost on Earth") was dated 2001! A full 10 years before I would officially mold the character and his friends into an actual working comic strip.
*To date I have drawn 465 I DIG DUG comic strips, and 1 I DIG DUG 'graphic novel'. Strips in this collection include I DIG DUG, A Day in the Life of Brodie Rock, Smitty and Dave's Movie Review, and The Mis-Adventures of Not-So-Super-Man.
*To date I have drawn 12 LOST ON EARTH comic strips.

This little stroll down memory lane has really put my work in perspective for me. I've decided that it's time to fully digitalize my entire collection of comic work, and to officially 'number' them so that I have a working time line of comics. It will be quite a task, but even if I just do a few here and there...it will help me get all caught up on my summer project: I DIG DUG COMICS DOT COM!

New comics later in the week! And...the first look at page 1 of the 2nd I DIG DUG Graphic Novel: Graduation Day!

-dug!