I’m updating a day early because I don’t want to think about work on Thanksgiving! Who does? So here you go, enjoy some Dreamer with your turkey and stuffing–New Pages 26 & 27!

This is the end of Issue #8. I know it was a bit slow but I thought of it as a little interlude in the story of our 18th century characters, as they’re all processing the previous day’s battle in their own way. I hope you enjoyed it.

I’m taking next week off. I’m going to Florida to visit Beth Brockhaus & Liz Hornbeck of the Dream Team fame. (They have a common birthday of December 1st, so wish them a Happy Birthday, everyone!) Issue #9 will start sometime in December. I want to get into a rhythm with Julie, the new colorist, before we start posting live so we don’t miss any updates. So watch this blog, or follow me on Twitter to know exactly when the new issue will be starting. I’ll post some fun stuff in the meantime as I work on it. Thanks for being patient!

And to give you that Dreamer fix in the meantime… be sure to download The Dreamer for your iPhone! How cool is that?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Go read the super-cute Bea/Alan Thanksgiving Story (available in the Dreamer Store) if you haven’t yet!

I’m glad that everyone liked last week’s update! This week we have Pages 24 & 25- and next week will bring an end to Issue #8!

(I posted a 13-step color tutorial for this page over at The Dreamer Fan Flow! If you haven’t signed up yet, Mike added the Fan Flow to the sidebar with the other off-site links, so you’ll always know where to find it.)

I have several pieces of Dreamer News to highlight this week! First, the Web Cartoon Reader’s Choice Awards went on as planned last week after all, and I won the “Author Congeniality” award! Thanks so much for all the love and devotion, everyone. I really value all of you, and all the emails and encouragement you give me, and this just adds to the list of why I love my readers so much. :)

On the topic of the WCRCAs, I would also like to note that General Howe was voted the second most devious villain (Xylia’s Tychia is a worthy winner in that category!), Nathan Hale is apparently the second most lovable sidekick, Mike’s website is apparently the second best on the web (I’ll argue that one!) and I’m apparently the second best artist, lol. So thanks for all the runner-up love, too.

Onto serious news. If you haven’t heard about the Comic Creator’s Alliance yet, please read the previous blog post. Comic Creators are coming together to raise money and awareness for the problem of Human Trafficking in the world today. None of it is pretty, but ignoring it won’t go away. Right now we’re looking for creators to participate and people to spread the word! So please read my blog about it and check out the website. I think it’s a worthy cause.

And I’m really excited about the last bit of news– there will be some big changes for The Dreamer next issue. That’s right: I finally hired a colorist! Her name is Julie Wright, and she’s phenomenal! I met her at Mid-Ohio Con last month the guys from Studio Akumakaze introduced us and told me about the work she had done for them. For now, check out her DeviantART page here, and her official website here. And everyone give her a warm, Dreamer-family welcome!

What will the changes look like for The Dreamer? Not much, though I’m sure Julie will put her own twist on the colors. The biggest bit of news associated with this is that I’ll be taking a break after Issue #8 concludes next week and Issue #9 will start sometime in December. Not sure exactly when, but I’d rather break between issues for a few weeks, than keep missing updates like I did in this past issue.

You know me, I’ll be posting other goodies here for you to check out each week in the meantime, including a ‘get to know you’ interview with Julie!

On a final note, I’m taking commissions right now and have two spots left to fill. All the details are on my DeviantART journal, and you can shoot me an email if you want one of those slots.

All right, come back next Friday to see how we wrap things up! I’ve been working so hard on starting up the Comic Creator’s Alliance this week that I had nothing to update the voting incentive. So VOTE TWC this week just because you love me! And if not me, because you love Alan. Cause the poor chap looks like he needs some cheering up… (He wasn’t even voted second best protagonist like his friends…)

I wanted to take a moment to promote the Comic Creator’s Alliance, a donations drive I’m spearheading with the help of my fellow comic creators. The cause is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11th, and so far over 30 creators have signed on!

“Human Trafficking” is the modern term for slavery, and there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. The more you read about it, the more horrifying it becomes.

Are you a comic creator? Want to participate? Web Comic Creators from all over the world are working together on a single drawing which will be available as a downloadable wallpaper for readers who donate to our fund raising drive! If you want to participate, send me an email with your name, webcomic name and URL. Not a creator but still want to get involved? Spread the word! Link to the website from your blogs and twitter accounts, pass the information on to your favorite creators–right now we just need to get the word out! My goal is to enlist the help of 50 other creators–we’re currently at 32!

All the details are on the website, as well as a blog you can subscribe to. I’ll be posting the drawings there as they come in! I got two already, so look for that later this week! If you want to hear me talk more about this, TGT Webcomics was kind enough to give me a few minutes on their show and talk about why this issue became personal to me-Listen here, I’m at 1:55:40 on Episode 73. Comic Geek Speak also had me on! Listen here, episode 731, at 49 minutes. Thanks to both shows for the features!

Thanks everyone!

In the past (I’m not making this up), I’ve gotten angry emails when the Friday “two page” update is a two page spread. So I worked my butt off this week to give you what I consider three pages, and I hope you enjoy them! New Pages 21, 22-23! (Mike still hasn’t figured out how to make these spreads full sized with the new page viewer, so for now, click here! to see these pages full sized!)

I also updated the Donations Wallpaper over in the Dreamer Store, and I have this on my computer now and am so loving it! Donations of all sizes and shapes are always appreciated, so if your desktop needs a spruce, feel free to drop us a tip! (Follow the instructions for downloading carefully!)

Only two weeks left in Issue #8, and we have some fun and exciting Issue #9 news but… I think I’ll keep it to myself a little longer. (Evil, I know.)

Earlier this week, Carol Ward, the Educational Director at the Morris-Jumel Mansion (Washington’s real life headquarters during this part of the story) blogged about the house’s rich history. Go back and read it if you missed it! Pretty pictures and everything.

UPDATE: The Web Comic Readers Choice Awards were apparently cancelled. I don’t have the full story on it, but it sounds like a few people ruined the fun for everyone. Well, if you had voted for us, thanks! The category that touched me the most is that for the better part of two weeks we were leading in website design–and Mike did an amazing job on this site, didn’t he? That was the one win I really wanted to take home, because he really out did himself on this thing. I was hoping to hand him a digital award for it, but instead, I’ll give him a hearty Dreamer-style hip, hip, huzzah!

I updated the usual TWC voting incentive (button in the sidebar) with an earlier version of this double page spread–my rough line work. Sometimes that stuff is fun to look at.

So VOTE TWC this week! Thanks! :)