A Tale Told by an Idiot, Signifying Nothing

I hate to break both of your hearts after reading this brilliantly conceived gem here, dear fans, but this will most likely be the last Bean Counter of 2014, as I have family visiting next week and things will be rather hectic over the holidays. I truly hope you'll be able to find mild forms of entertainment to sate you until which time this comic returns. Seeya in 2015!

The Ghastly Ignominous Return of the Apparition Chester Bottoms

Apparently ghosts make coffee taste bad. Runnin' low on ideas, ladies and gentlemen.

Happy Thanksgiving! Also, I suck.

In honor of both Thanksgiving and writers' block, I'm taking the week off from the strip. My sincerest condolences to both of my fans.

Crumb Bum

NSFW

The raccoon's a real Snuggs/Eleanor shipper.

A Bean Counter Halloween " " " "Special" " " "

No matter how tempting it is, overexplaining your joke never helps.

The Write Stuff

Post-Fight Interview

Even with significant head trauma, Snuggs is a master of dodging the question when his defeatism is brought up.

Alley Cats Strike Each Other

As you'd imagine, a fight involving Snuggs doesn't last very long.

Big Brother

Sometimes when you muster up all your courage and nobly confront your fears head on.. you leave yourself open to a brutal beating.

Pep Talk

How Snuggs Got His Groove For the First Time

We've Got Spirit

Some weeks you have severe writers' block and you find yourself forced to jump on the one idea you have that may possibly prove to be serviceable. Not that that's relevant or anything, of course. I'm just saying.

Happy Labor Day to Me

Sorry for the lack of post this week, but as a True American, I was duty-bound to shirk any and all work this weekend, a responsibility that even extended to an elective recreational activity such as a webcomic. However, I promise that the break will make next week's comic TWICE as good as normal. Which is simple enough to pledge, given the standard of quality this strip usually maintains.

Rita Wuz Robbed

Rita handles robberies with much more aplomb than Snuggs does.

Snuggs Wuz Robbed

Detonating Donuts: Finale

Will They, Won't They

Love and Marriage

This being a fictional universe, every marriage must be interrupted by a plot-driving confession of some sort.

Armistress Day

Mutually Assured Distraction

In case you don't get the punchline: Here ya go.

Kiwi-Bot

Kiwi-Bot.

Aeneid a Shame

It's advisable to look a gift horse in the mouth if it's massive, made of wood, and possibly filled with your mortal enemies.

The Hundred Panels War

Wars between diners and coffee houses always start out innocuous enough, but they almost always end in bear attacks and dumpster vandalism. This has been a public service announcement from your friends at the Bean Counter.

Chemical Warfare

When you dramatically yell the name of your enemy, you really need to learn what his name is first.

Biodegradable Warfare

A Midsummer Night's Mania

This family has a rich tradition of being overenthusiastic about pretty much everything.

Let Slip the Dogs of Petty Bickering Amongst Restauranteurs

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Detonating Donuts Part Two: The Holes of Fate

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Since this is the first time something exciting ever happened in the strip, I decided to play with the style a little bit. For the sake of consistency, though, I made sure it was still kinda crappy.

Detonating Donuts!!!

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Takin' it up a notch.

Massive Aggression

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There's probably some rule on writing likable characters that prohibits you from having them gang up against an old man. To be fair, though, he's been pretty antagonistic so far.

Exile on Nadaville

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Snuggs isn't always the most diplomatic guy to have on your side.

Graphic Design Background

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Here it is, the new look of the strip for the time being. I hope you like halftone dots!

Actually, I'm pretty satisfied with how this looks at the moment. I have no idea what future Caleb will think of this, but honestly he's kind of a snob, so screw him.

I Am Literally the Worst

No comic update this week, as I'm taking a short break after the storyline ended. I'm not getting paid for this, y'know. That justifies laziness.

However, before you throw yourselves on your swords, I'll share some of the stuff I worked on instead this weekend. First, a sort-of poster for the storyline I did for no particular reason: (Note: The pic is showing up much brighter on the site; for reference, the background is supposed to be navy blue. The oranges aren't supposed to be as neon, either.)

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As it turns out, I've been playing with Illustrator a lot lately, as seen on the new site banner and these practice backgrounds. I'm thinking about using this technique in the strip in the future if it looks good and I'm not too lazy to keep it up on a weekly basis.

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(Click to bleh blah bleh)

(I'll get better at this, I swear. Well, I'll attempt to, anyway. Maybe I'll fail, who knows?)

Oh For the Love of Snuggs: Epilogue

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And so, Snuggs briefly reconnects with his artistic side and this storyline comes to a close, freeing up the strip to do more brilliant one-off gags about homelessness and cereal or whatever.

OFTLOS, Part Twelve

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Sometimes it's good to let Snuggs have these small victories. The guy lives in a dumpster, y'know?

OFTLOS, Part Eleven

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Note: Will add shadows to this later. Running behind this week. No time for subject nouns.

EDIT: Shadows added. Have time for subject nouns now. Still foregoing them for spite.

OFTLOS, Part Ten

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When Snuggs does the right thing, he does it wrong. At the wrong time.

OFTLOS, Part Nine

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Cue sad trombone.

OFTLOS, Part Eight

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As you can see, Snuggs' problems began well before he moved into a dumpster.

OFTLOS, Part Seven

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I am in no way a brilliant writer, but if I could harness the creative energy I spend thinking up the myriad ways an upcoming meeting or event can go horribly wrong for me and channel it into this comic, I'd be.. um.. a good.. write-person.

Also, Eleanor's figure in the fantasy panel is based on the Venus of Willendorf, in case you wondered why she looked like an obese fertility goddess.

P.S. I'll add the version with shadows tonight if possible. I'm running a little behind schedule this week.

OFTLOS, Part Six

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As much as Rita wants to be the inspirational mentor figure in this story, those techniques don't work so well on crusty old bums.

OFTLOS, Part Five

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Meet Am.  He is what he is.

OFTLOS, Part Four

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I think we can all identify with how crappy it is seeing a successful friend when you're at that "abject failure" stage in your life, right?

..At least I hope we can all identify. Otherwise, I'm nothing more than a bitter misanthrope!  Hahahaha.. ugh.

OFTLOS, Part Three

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Welcome to Snuggs' worst nightmare.

Oh, For the Love of Snuggs, Part Two

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Finally, a look into Snuggs' past, wherein we learn that Snuggs has problems with taking risks. Sorry to BLOW YOUR MINDS, ladies and gentlemen!

Visiting Family + Busy Work Week = Disappointment

As predicted, this week's strip will be a bit late (Friday? Does that sound right?). Not to worry; next week the comic should be back to our regularly scheduled programming.  That means both of you fans can rest easy.

Oh, For the Love of Snuggs, Part One

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Sorry this one's a bit late; busy week. Miiiight happen next week, too, but after that everything should resume its former steady pace.