Nothing screams promiscuous like making out with a sailor. And, fortunately, we just added a sailor to our cast only a few short weeks ago!

This week was primarily my idea; I felt that we needed to see the extent of the depravity of Phil's Mom.  And considering that Phil's about to ship off for a two month, Mom-free summer at Camp Indian, why not go out with some sexual fireworks? 

I also want to note, it's been 12 Weeks, three whole months, since we've last seen Franklin Pierce. That must be some kind of record? I wonder how Phil's dad is doing, locked away with such angry men.

Have a good Wednesday!

STEVE IS BACK BABY.

If you're curious as to where I was, I found myself this past weekend venturing forth from my home state of Friendly Connecticut, and into the heart of our neighbor to the north, Scenic New Hampshire. I stayed in a lovely little place called The Whitman Cabin:




Pictured, actually, are regular Phriend Sean Rose, myself pointing in the distance, and FAMOUS BEN VIGEANT with his back towards the camera (this picture is a year old so it explains why Ben continued to post in this blog while I was gone). I miss it very much and if you're not jealous you should be, even just a bit.

This next week of Phil was basically my idea. So let's see how it unfolds and comment on it more later, shall we??

-steve

If you're someone who has ever worked or gone to a camp, and when I say a camp, I mean I real camp, I hope this week was pretty good for you. This week was pretty highly informed from Steve and I's experiences in various camps, so I tried to hit all of the big camp thingies. In a way its sort of twisted how actual camps have that whole fake indian thing with the pidgin languages, the goofy headdresses, and so on. In another way, that's just the way that camps are. A day or sleepover camp that doesn't have some sort of fake indian theme, wacky rituals, and then some sort of terrifying camp legend isn't a camp.

A small art note: unlike many of our recent Fridays, this was not art heavy at all. After how long it took to get last Friday's up, it was time for a break.

As I said yesterday, I (Ben) wrote most of this week. Next week is almost entirely a Stephen written effort. Enjoy the subtle shades of difference in our work.

Hi everyone, its BEN, the other guy that does Phil. I don't generally update the blog, but Steve's on a crazy mountain adventure. This week was also mostly written by me ANYWAY so my thoughts on it are probably the most important.




Anyway, so this week is the start of PART TWO of our exciting cub scout adventure. Much like with the election leading into the more strange presidency, this scout stuff is leading into a weirder time at camp.

This comic idea is one of the very first I came up with when we decided to introduce the chief and do this whole camp thing. FUN FAX: This whole cub scout thing (I don't remember if this is elsewhere in the blog but STEVE probably didn't say it) came from an idea we had for a week long theme back when we just wrote week by week. We had a whole list of week ideas for last summer and then Mindy consumed it. For some reason it really stuck with me. The basic week idea was "Phil is a cub scout obsessed with getting merit badges". Instead of doing it over one week, we did it over two months.


If Steve was writing these blog entries he'd probably bitch to you about the headdress being too damn big. Its required though-- look how goofy it is.

Not too much to say about this comic. I think its pretty funny.

TOMMOROW THERE IS A NEW COMIC.
STAY TUNED.

Too often, you'll see me say, "OH NO IT'S BEEN LATE BUT don't worry IT'LL BE ON TRACK TOMORROW I SWEAR", and then. Well. It's been a week since I updated this blog so there you go.

This full color spread is the capstone to a full week of Family Circus parodies. It was drawn on a huge bristol board, 14x17 inches, and it's late  because it was an absolute bear to scan in.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO THIS IMPORTANT BLOG  BULLETIN 

Phil has always been a pretty important collaboration between Ben and I. Ben and I write it together, with Ben acting as an editor to our ideas and our scripts. I draw it, taking cues from both my own imagination and, sometimes Ben's detailed notes. And for a long time, this has been the extent of Phil's reach. Just the two of us had to deal with this monster.

But then I graduated college. I left a lot behind when I walked away from those hallowed halls. All nighters, crappy food, my own apartment. I also left behind access to a nice, new scanner which I used, free of charge. For almost two years, this was the vehicle of choice to get Phil from physical being to digital entity. As a college grad, I only had a crappy scanner and a missing power cord. It seemed like Phil could've hit a huge snag in the recent past.

I want to take this time to acknowledge and thank Sean Rose, a name you've all seen mentioned on this blog a million times.  If it wasn't for him stepping in and scanning all of these Phils, there's a good chance the website would've gone stagnant, left unupdated and unread. He is taking the time to scan these things, touch them up in Photoshop, resize 'em, and send them out to us. It's a huge overlooked process of this whole webcomic thing, and he's been doing it, unsung, for almost four months.

Phil used to be a monster between Ben and I. But right now, there's no denying that Sean is part of this whole gremlin of a collaboration.

Sean Rose: Phil thanks you! And so do I.


(Sean Rose on the right, me on the left. We are good phriends)

Sean Rose has a wonderful, wonderful blog here. Visit it. I cannot stress this enough.

New Phil tomorrow! See you then!

-Steve

Many of you loyal Phriends have noticed, in the past couple of weeks, a general, haphazard update schedule from Ben and yours truly. Most of that has to do with a horrible infection by a horrible virus, but thanks to the constantly brave efforts of Sean Rose, we are now disease free and ready to go. So, of course, on this scenic June day, you will be hit with an absolute glut of new Phils. And considering it's been a whole mess longer that I've updated this journal, you're gonna be hit with a double-whammy of updates. It's another SUPER POST, so get on ready!

MONDAY, MAY 25TH


To what bravery in the first panel is Chief discussing? Perhaps Phil had an entire undersea adventure between the last strip and this one! Who knows what peril and excitement he faced! I'll leave it up to the readers' imagination what, if anything, happened. At least, until Ben and I use the idea as a basis for a zine mini-story.

I also gave Ben a little grief in this one, because in the first panel I misspelled 'Merit', 'Merritt', confusing the spelling with the local Merritt Parkway, a main highway here in Friendly Connecticut.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27TH



Featured as Cub Scout #2 is recent contest winner DAN EMMONS. This is not Dan's first appearance, nor is it his first contest win. This strip also marks the return of the superfluous pen stroke, this time in the bottom right corner. That was totally intentional and in no way a slip of the wrist while I was being distracted by Starfox 64.

FRIDAY, MAY 29TH



As faithful reader and regular comment-giver Mark points out, in the last panel:
The script for this one read, "PHIL and ARCHER". I have no idea what a typical Archer looks like. So, I started to draw a little bit of this dude:



But then, after the curly goatee and mustache, decided to fill out the rest with CONTEST WINNER DAVE WHITMAN , as he once taught Archery to many young Campers during his summers in Friendly Connecticut. Thank you, Contest Winner Dave Whitman, for the archery memories.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4TH


That 'ACK', of course, is a reference to another popular newspaper comic strip. Baby Blues.

I also only know souffles rise because of Spongebob Squarepants.

AND THAT, my phriends, is a Superpost for you.

I'll be updating soon! New Phil tomorrow! And I'll be at MoCCA this weekend, a webcomics convention in New York City. I'll be sharing some of my experiences with you here, too!

-Steve

P.S. Happy 21st to my younger brother David, who may or may not read this blog and who may or may not ever find this message.

WEDNESDAY , MAY 20TH


This is a very serious call back to this strip here.

FRIDAY, MAY 22ND


I don't know when exactly Fridays turned into "More art-heavy endings to the week," but it's been that way for some weeks now.

AND BY THE WAY:

IN TOO DEEP by SUM 41 as a MUSIC VIDEO

(linked because embedding is disabled and i'm not a hacker)

-sw

The faster were falling,
Were stopping and stalling.
Were running in circles again
Just as things were looking up
You said it wasnt good enough.
But still were trying one more time.

Maybe were just trying to hard.
When really its closer than it is too far

Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Cause Im in too deep, and Im trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Instead of going under.

Seems like each time
Im with you I loose my mind,
Because Im bending over backwards to relate.
Its one thing to complain
But when youre driving me insane
Well then I think its time that we took a break.

Maybe were just trying to hard.
When really its closer than it is too far

Cause Im in too deep, and Im trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Cause Im in too deep, and Im trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Instead of going under.
Instead of going under.

I cant sit back and wonder why.
It took so long for this to die.
And I hate it when you fake it.
You cant hide it you might as well embrace it.
So believe me its not easy.
It seems that somethings telling me,

Cause Im in too deep, and Im trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Cause Im in too deep, and Im trying to keep,
Up above in my head, instead of going under.
Instead of going under.
Instead of going under.

Instead of going under again.
Instead of going under.
Instead of going under again.
Instead of going under again.

-Sum 41

So, after an eventful weekend at the Toronto Comic Arts' Festival, I let this sleeping blog lay. So now, to make up for it, here's a SUPER-POST full of insightful things for EVERY Phil strip since the last update. Which was, the 6th.  I certainly hope that this makes up for a week and a half of absence for you true-blue Phil Phriends.

FRIDAY, MAY 5th: BENEFITS of MEMBERSHIP 3



This is the cap of one of my favorite weeks of Phil.  Ben has been pushing for a spanking since this storyline started, and I just couldn't say no anymore. A few things to note about this strip: There is really no way to make the last panel NOT look like some sort of rear-entry. Especially considering the similarity to this strip, which is absolutely Phil doin' butt-stuff with Mindy. Another thing to note is just how wretched Phil's Mom looks compared to her first few appearances. She has not aged well.

MONDAY, MAY 11, 2009: OLD SALT 1



We had written the script for this week before I went to Canada. Then I lost the script for this week while in Canada. All we remembered was 'Salesbury Steak,' and we worked backwards. Anytime I get to use horrible puns, I'm happy. And Phil certainly lets me do this pretty frequently.


WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2009: OLD SALT 2



Trail's End Popcorn is a real company.  It seems Ben's only memory of being a Cub Scout is selling the stuff. I suppose that's half of the experience.  We also got to end this strip on a corny pun joke, which I'm always okay with. As a piece of advice, though, do not Google Image Search the words 'Sailor', 'Old Time Sailor' or 'Salty Sailor' unless you're okay seeing hot dudes in various states of undress.

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009: OLD SALT 3



The original script for this comic was Phil aboard a ship that read, "S.S. Salesmanship" , surrounded by piles of money. I started to draw it, but then this image popped up, and it could not be denied. The design of the ship was inspired by the cover art for Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge:



Notice the nets, the ropes, and the mast. And also notice how awesome this box art is.

This is not the first time I've used this very same piece of art for reference. And it probably won't be the last.

SO THERE IT IS. A whole super-post of Phil. Who knows what adventures our young phriend will get into next week? Certainly not Ben or I! 

See you on Monday!

-Steve

Man I love this week.

THE FIRST PANEL is a little smudged. A lot of that has to do with how rainy it was in Connecticut last Sunday. A little bit of that has to do with Y2K.

So I'm going to Toronto this weekend for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. I suppose I'll blog about this more later. But I'm leaving tomorrow night, will be in Toronto on Friday morning, and will be Philin' it up, Up North style.

-Steve

So I did not update on Friday, but I'd like you to know: HAVEYOURPHIL.COM certainly did! So, GO THERE to check it out!

And, here for you, is today's PHIL:




I can say with some honesty that this week is particularly strong. Keep checkin' in, cause lord knows it's gonna be a good one.

AND AS A BONUS HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THIS:




holy moly looks like another one of Rick Baker and Johnny Vegas' strips was unearthed by Ben, myself, and cartoon historian/wonderful artist John Keogh. WHO KNOWS what evil's will soon escape from the warped, frayed twists, of Paradise Alley? 

Check this blog. Good things come of diligence.

I think "You don't need to be young to be young " may be one of my favorite Phil lines, ever.

Click for big.

For all of you following, this is where the real meat of this story starts.

Sorry to keep this LJ update waiting! I figured, though, this Phil event was not missed by all of you die-hard Phriends.

Ben and I feel strongly about this strip, because Phil has been so absolutely dry the last 8 strips.  After that, we thought some payoff was necessary to, you know, keep things interesting. So, you guys get 9 panels of puking. I think this is a fair trade.

Click for bigger

Because I only have  this one opportunity:


Thanks to Phriend Sean Rose for showing me this wonderful video. Who knew Roller Coasters inspired such great artistic expressions? This comic, and, of course, B*Witched's hit single!

Perhaps I'll update with something more substantial, as per Vigeant's request. But I'm hungry. And there's a new 30 Rock on Hulu I haven't seen yet. TIME WILL TELL.

Oh hey here's an EXCLUSIVE BLOG COMIC by someone named Mick Jagger. It's certainly not by me.

SEUSSICAL the MUSICAL is on a one-month trial period, updating Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I can only imagine what fun this roller coaster truly is!!!

By the way, Ben told me to write more in these livejournal entries. Perhaps I will. For now, I have a grandma to visit.

Use your EYE (hint) and see what one thing is different in this strip!