1/1/07:


Posted early for New Years Eve! I just want to thank all of you for checking me out week to week! Have a great year!

12/26/06:

12/22/06:


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Next update will be about the middle of next week. Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

12/11/06:

12/4/06:


Well, I won the NaNoWriMo ... challenge? It's not really a contest. Anyway, I wrote a little over 50,000 in a month! But before you congratulate me, please bear in mind that about 30,000 of those words are absolute rubbish.

With my insane novel writing obligation now fulfilled, the bat and the dog are back on a weekly basis! Enjoy!

Friends, I would like to take a moment here to address something that may seem non sequitur. But believe me when I tell you it is of the utmost importance that you read these words and truly take the time to weigh their meaning.

Wired is currently taking nominations for the sexiest geeks of 2006. It is imperative that you consider putting your support behind Garrick T. Pass.

But don't just do this because I asked you to. Get to know the man, the legend the geek himself.

See, I know what you are saying now, what makes Garrick so f--king good? I don't f--kin' know, and I don't like it! I stay up going F--K! Why can't everybody f--kin' have it?

Cause this is the thing... Some people learn it on the streets. Some people learn it in the schools. Garrick was f--king born with it, homes... Check it out.

This is a man who put his life and kidneys in desperate peril only to snag a free Playstation 2. Did he stop drinking Diet Coke once he had accumulated enough points? No sir. He stayed on the path. This is a man who plays a werewolf/underwear model in Werewolf: The Forsaken!

But he's no poser. No sir ... he got the goods. He's a tech extraordinaire, dispensing useful hacks on his blog, as well as cutting diatribes about the state of I.T. The man debugged a Windows issue via e-mail from two thousand miles away! He is indeed a tech ninja ... nay, a tech Jedi.

All those smarts, and he's got a great wife and kid.

You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on Earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.

We will keep in mind and remember that Garrick Pass has faith in us. He has faith that you and I have the ability and the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny.

Thank you very much.

-- Andrew Moore

[Please note that this blog entry contains passages from "Cosmic Shame" by Tenacious D and Ronald Reagan's 1964 speech to endorse the candidacy of Barry Goldwater.]

Vincent's wings have been bothering me for some time now.

They're wrong. So wrong. I didn't do any research whatsoever when I first started drawing this thing back in high school, and although other aspects of the design have improved (posture, expression, line of action, etc.) his wings remain fixed in the original, crappy high school design.

Well, no more. When Vincent returns in December, I will have taken those broken wings and learned to fly again! (Sorry. It was either going to be Mr. Mister or Bette Midler. I stand by my choice.)

BEHOLD!

Note that these wings do not suck. Also, they look pretty cool. Vincent essentially has hands now. The way bat anatomy works, what would be his index finger is short enough he can use it as an index finger.

When he folds up his wings, they look much more different than before. They look better. They give his body nice mass and shape.

See what I mean? Now this is a bat who can fly.

In the second illustration above, you may notice that I tried pushing his nose out to give him more of a muzzle. It just doesn't work. So I'll keep his nose where it is. There are some pug-faced bats, after all.

So there. Something to look forward to as I continue to slog my way to the finish line of this stupid NaNoWriMo thing.

Folks, I'm taking the month off.

I've been doing this strip weekly for a while, and I feel comfortable enough in my productivity to say "screw it!" for a few weeks.

There is a nice, deep archive of strips now, so hopefully that will help take the sting out of this brief hiatus. If you desire something fresh and new, I recommend Thingpart by Joe Sayers.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go write a novel.

Peace out!

-- Andrew

10/23/06:

10/19/06:


BTW - Happy 20th Anniversary to JENNIFER'S COFFEE CONNECTION! "Up to Bat" resurrected from a crappy comic strip I did in high school to a crappy comic strip I do as an adult during my stint as a coffee slinger at this wonderful little coffee house. If you're in the area and find yourself jonesing for a caffeine fix, head on over. I recommend the Costa Rican Dark.

THIS IS IT!

for dudes:

and dudettes:

Available NOW at www.cafepress.com/dalmotion

10/9/06:


T-SHIRT UPDATE: The artwork has been completed! More on this in the next few days ...

10/5/06:

Andrew is on vacation this week. His five year-old foster child is filling in for him:

9/25/06:

REGARDING THE T-SHIRT:

Quick poll (answer in the comments section below):

Would you prefer COLOR ART or BLACK AND WHITE?

9/17/06:


NOTE: I haven't forgotten about the t-shirt design. It's coming!

9/10/06:

9/4/06:


But seriously . . . congratulations to Shana! This is the first time I've done a sort of interactive contest-type thing. I really appreciate all the entries you guys submitted! Stay tuned: there will be more contests in the future!

8/28/06:


THIS IS IT!

11:59pm, 31 August 2006 is your deadline to enter the BIG, IMPORTANT, HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL YET CUTTING EDGE t-shirt design idea contest!

Don't let it pass you by!

8/21/06:

THE END IS NEAR . . .

. . . for the BIG, IMPORTANT, HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL YET CUTTING EDGE t-shirt design idea contest! Contest ends August 31st! Enter now!

8/14/06:

Don't forget the BIG, IMPORTANT, HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL YET CUTTING EDGE t-shirt design idea contest! Contest ends August 31st!

8/7/06:


NOTE: Don't forget to enter the BIG, IMPORTANT, HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL YET CUTTING EDGE t-shirt design idea contest!

8/2/06:

7/23/06:

UPDATE - CONTEST EXTENDED TO END OF AUGUST!

Submit your ideas in the comments field below!

ANNOUNCING
THE BIG, IMPORTANT, HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL YET CUTTING-EDGE
UP TO BAT T-SHIRT CONTEST!

So here's the deal: It's just not a webpage these days unless there are CafePress items for sale. In the spirit of Web 2.0 I'm opening this up for suggestions. What do YOU want to see on an "Up to Bat" t-shirt? I don't know, maybe . . .

• Vincent in a white-powdered wig, quoting George Washington in a humorous way
• "Devil Dog for President"
• Vincent fawning over Milla Jovovich in a humorous way
• Your favorite comic strip
• Vincent quipping about some aspect of pop-culture in a humorous way

Whatever . . . You tell me!

So here's the cool part. I'll select my favorite, and the winner will receive a matted and framed original strip! Yes, I am that egotistical that I consider one of my own strips to be a worthwhile prize! The more specific your idea, the better! Go for broke!

Submit your suggestions in the comments below! Let the games begin!

7/16/06:

7/2/06:

6/25/06:

6/18/06:

6/11/06:

6/4/06:

5/28/06:

I work at a coffee shop.

On Sundays, I sometimes manage to work loose enough gumption to put pen to paper and attempt to make funny. The vehicle for this funny is "Up to Bat", a strip I first did for my high school newspaper. It gives me a chance to playfully vent about politics and pop-culture.

I've uploaded just about every strip I've drawn over the last two years. I may or may not scan in my high school strips (they're painfully bad, but part of the canon. Also, they show the first version of Vincent, and I really like how the character evolved.)

I will attempt to keep this comic-blog weekly, but I make no promises.

NOTE TO ALTERNATIVE, SMALL, AND CAMPUS NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS: If for some reason you're starved for content and have empty column-width that's going to waste, feel free to reprint any of the strips posted here. My only requests are that you reference the URL of this blog (www.uptobat.blogspot.com) and that you drop me a line so we can arrange for you to mail me a gratis copy of your paper (andrewmoore_AThotmail.com). I reserve the right to revoke this permission at any time.

5/21/06:

5/14/06:

5/07/06:

4/30/06:

4/23/06:

4/16/06: