Today’s comic is a bit more universal than usual, I think. I’ll admit it, I’m a dog person…but cat-owner Sarah really liked this one, so I think fans of felines won’t mind. After all, the cat is the funnier one in the comic. Apparently Nintendo agreed with the sentiment of this strip as well, since (as I’ve very recently learned) you can’t really do much at all with the kittens in Nintendogs + Cats.

So I’m back from NoBrandCon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin! The entire experience was incredibly fun and it was a real pleasure to meet fans of the comic. I was definitely a bit nervous attending my first con ever (outside of E3, I guess), and hosting my first panel as well, but once the questions about Cocoon Academy, Eario and Philip’s Box came pouring in, I had a great time conversing with readers and other Nintendo gamers.

Here’s a picture of our booth, complete with banner!

But yeah, between selling stuff, signing stuff, drawing stuff, playing the Philips CD-i and Famicom Disc System, duking it out in Brawl with other players, and vengefully stealing a level from Chris in Munchkin to win the game, it was certainly a weekend I’ll always remember. The costumes were great as well, such as a Skull Kid, a large Teddie (Persona 4), and the only Kirby character I saw there, Adeleine! (who ended up being a vital ally of mine in that Munchkin game–if you’re reading this, thanks for the assistance against the Bullrog, and I hope your mom likes the picture!)

I’d like to also thank our awesome hosts who treated us extremely well, as well as the other very talented guests we had the pleasure of conversing with–the bizarrely hilarious duo of Red Letter Media, fellow gamer and popular lyricist/composer Brent Black (aka brentalfloss), and friendly voice actresses Monica Rial and Colleen Clinkenbeard! (note: links contain profanity and such)

Oh also, there was a separate convention the same weekend in New York that had a panel detailing the Phoenix Wright Musical Project, and the animation team finally showed their keyframes for the project’s first song! You can check it out on YouTube right here. I actually…um, wrote it and am the voice of Phoenix (I didn’t do the BitF plug though, I swear!). But more importantly, it’s the culmination of a heck of a lot of work and love through a heck of a lot of great people I’ve come to know over the years, so great job art team and everyone else!

Long blog post today, but finally, one more thank you to the fans for their perpetual support and feedback. You guys are awesome and absolutely my favorite part of doing BitF. I greatly look forward to future conventions.

-By Matthew