Greetings, all.  Matt Maxwell from Strangeways here.  

I’d like to do this with as little drama as possible, so here goes.  Strangeways: The Thirsty will not be concluded here at the Blog@Newsarama.  This was a decision I’d reached just before the New Year.  I’m not particularly thrilled to have been put in the position that I found myself in, but one plays the cards that one is dealt.  In this case, I find the hand playing out to me leaving Newsarama.  Out of respect for Matt, I won’t advertise the new home here.  He’s been far more than fair during the whole process.

A posting will, however, go up at Highway 62, talking about the new online home of the book and that sort of thing.  In the meantime, you can browse Chapter 1 of The Thirsty over here at Newsarama, check the Strangeways page at the top left.

Again, my thanks to Matt for allowing the syndication to go through in the first place.  Hope to see you all at the book’s new home.

And with this, Chapter 1 of Strangeways: The Thirsty comes to a close.  The book will be taking a break until at least the new year, not that anyone reads anything on the internet between Christmas and New Year’s Day anyways.  

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the first chapter and it’s whetted your appetite for more.  More is indeed coming, but you will just have to wait a little while for it.  Many thanks to the readers so far.  My hope is that you’ll continue reading when things start up again in 2009.  

Best wishes to all of you.

I hope this works.  Trying scheduled publishing for the first time and I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to work out correctly and I’ll be on the road when it all comes down.

We’ll know if it works on Monday, I suppose.

Apologies if this suddenly double-posts.  Some ghosts in the machinery today.

The eighth week of STRANGEWAYS: THE THIRSTY comes to a close.  Can you believe it?  I sure can’t.

And yes, there will be updates next week.  Stay tuned, true believers!

Whew!  They made it to town and the good doctor is gonna make it all better, right?

Right?

But where, you ask, is the on-panel exsanguination?

Patience, my friends.  Patience.

Did I promise exsanguination today?  I guess I fibbed a little, as the exsanguination in today’s page is all implied.  My bad.

Huh.  So those weren’t ordinary highwaymen after all.  Who knew?

Stay tuned for more exsanguinary delights on Friday!

The nineteenth page of Strangeways: The Thirsty.  Admit it.  You didn’t think I’d make it this far.  That’s okay, I can take it.

Updates continue every MWF here at Blog@Newsarama.com

Head on over to http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways to get the whole story from the beginning.

As always, writing by myself, art by Gervasio and Jok from sunny Buenos Aires, Argentina.

How do you East Coasters do it, getting up so early?  I mean, geez.  

Page 18 of Strangeways: The Thirsty, for your reading pleasure on a Friday morning.  Too damn early on a Friday morning if’n you ask me.

As always, you can get the whole story from the beginning by going right here: http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways.

Your tri-weekly dose of cowboys and vampires, delivered, courtesy of Highway 62 Press (really, that’s just me) and Blog@Newsarama.  Check back Friday for the next installment.

Hit http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways to get the whole thing, if’n you missed a page along the way.

This one goes out to all the people who ever had to give up coffee, go clean for a year and then find a pot of coffee spilled in front of them, and before they know it, they’re on their hands and knees lapping the stuff off the ground like it was…was something really really good.

Okay, so maybe I’m the only one that’s happened to.  But it could be any of us.

For the record, tea is no substitute, neither.

Week five of Strangeways: The Thirsty comes to a close.

Yes, still posting here for the present.  I’ll let you all know the final outcome of things when I know myself.

In the meantime, go on out and stimulate that economy!  G’wan, git!

Your pre-Thanksgiving page of cowboy/vampire goodness.  I’ll be back on Friday, even though all of you are going to be keeping the economy afloat by starting your Christmas shopping and not hanging out on the internet.  

Me?  I wish the pilgrims had celebrated by roasting up some nice rib roasts instead of poultry.

Posting the page quick-like, then I’ll get back to fixing all the previous page links once the dog settles down.  He must be watched, watched very closely.

Yes, I’m late.  Sorry, boss.  Next time I’ll have the post-o-matic 9000 queue it up ahead of time.  I done learned my lesson.

Strangeways: The Thirsty rolls along every Monday, Wednesday and Friday here at Blog@Newsarama.com.  Almost a month into things now, can you believe it?

Yeah, me neither.

And while we’re here, let me echo the recent congratulations going out to the guys at High Moon and Bayou over on Zuda comics with the recent announcement of forthcoming print collections for both series.

Page 10 of Strangeways: The Thirsty for your reading pleasure.  Yes, it’s going up a little early today because I’m up a little early because we have a new puppy here at the Casa Strangeways.  And if you know anything about bringing a new puppy home, you’ll know that I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

Maybe tomorrow will be better, but right now it’s taking me half an hour to do a five-minute blog update here.

Aw, geez, not the toilet…  Gotta run.

So, just what is eating Drytown, anyways?

And if you want to jump to the beginning of the story, just hit the following:

http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways

Next week: things take a turn for the stranger.

Oh, and I’m currently being interviewed by Jeff Lester of the Savage Critics (and of the Sam and Max online game, of which he’s a writer) about STRANGEWAYS and other things, process and the like.  Give it a look if you like.  It’s not your usual garden-variety interview.  Probably because I’ve got the attention of a lagomorph hopped up on Jolt and chocolate-covered espresso beans.

Part 1
Part 2 

As always until the end of time (or I run out of story – whichever comes first), a new page from Strangeways: The Thirsty is posted here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

To jump to the beginning of the story, simply go to:

http://blog.newsarama.com/strangeways

Nobody’s bitten on the “spot the reference” question from Monday yet, so I’ll let it drift until Friday.

EDIT to add that reader Mr. Pain got it.  And what’s more, he even corrected my error.  The answer was “Town with No Cheer” was the name of a song by Tom Waits, from the album SWORDFISHTROMBONES.  Though I’ll note that the song itself takes place in Australia and doesn’t have all that much to do with the old west.  

But a lot to do with thirst.