Venus Ascending

by Sherri Belmar

Comic


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Venus Envy - The Original...because you KNOW you love it!

VE Message Board - For VE and VA discussions. To Discuss V.E. and to chat with THE other reader of VA...

E-mail CAT - To e-mail me directly (especially if my slip is showing but PLEASE no SPAM.).

Cast - Cast Profiles

FanArt - Fan Art

Guest strip at Anywhere But Here - Guest strip at Anywhere But Here

Venus Ascending is hosted on Comicgenesis, a free webhosting and site automation service for webcomics.

CAT SCRATCH

Dec 31, 2007 " OK OK... this IS my fault. I just havn't had time to work ahead and now I'm out of town until Jan 5th 2008... (2008...scarey!) so I'm away from my scanner and computer. Ah for the good old days when I could have a few strips in the buffer. Anyway, I'm still struggling and hopefully, this is the year I'll be able to pull together the various story lines and we'll see Adventure, Love, Romance, Evil looking things that must be killed... more Romance... Romance WITH Evil looking things that must be killed ...um... HAPPY NEW YEAR!"- CAT-

Dec 13, 2007 " FINALLY! Comic Genesis refused to do an update yesterday! THAT was a pain! Oh well it's up now. See.. SOMETIMES, it's NOT MY FAULT!!! "- CAT-

Dec 3, 2007 " Oh yeah... like some of you havn't been PRAYING for this day!!!!!"- CAT-

Nov 20, 2007 " Today is the annual Day of Rememberance. Compared to most, my life has been charmed. It could always be better but complaining about the things that are not ideal would be totally inappropriate. Anything could happen and it's possible that any one of us could soon join the ranks of the Remembered. So rather than complain, I would like to just take a moment to be grateful. Grateful that I'm still here. That I have thrived. In spite of bad advice from a trained professional, I have made the most of my life. Anything could happen, but for the moment, I'm not complaining."- CAT-

July 10, 2007 " My latest excuses... Some workmen cut my internet line... I've been moving in and had a dozen workmen tromping through...I'm currently away on vacation and guess what? Well I HAVE internet but it's difficult to work since it's a wired system and I'm sharing it with several other people called -RELATIVES- I don't see the madness stopping until Fall...and I'm SUNBURNED.. the fun never stops! ADDENDEM..COULDN'T UPLOAD!!! 7/16/07 Have returned to new home and will update from here...AS LONG AS SOME OTHER MADNESS DOESN'T REAR IT'S UGLY HEAD!!! AAUUUGGHH!!! "- CAT-

June 8, 2007 " Something weird has happened over at comic genesis. I couldn't get in to do updates and I don't think anyone could get in to read any strips, at least I couldn't. One of those "circumstances beyond out control" things I guess. ANOTHER major move coming up... next week is it and I relocate, which means I have to pack a few more things..the fun never stops! SO cross your fingers and hope the updats work.. I'll have to put them on automatic. "- CAT-

June 1, 2007 " A few people have mentioned that the Dates being in arrears have made some people think I have abandoned VA, even though there are new strips. So I'm starting to use the actual date these run. I hope this clears up the confusion... And thanks to those of you who have been hanging in there."- CAT-

May 7, 2007 "I'M QUEEN OF THE WORLD!!! I shouted from my pearch in the bow... Suddenly, some one shouted "ICEBURG!!!" Klaxons shattered the night air and there was screaming, chaos, panic, destruction...FORTUNATELY I woke up....UNFORTUNATELY it was the "ICEBURG!!!" Klaxons shattering the night air, screaming, chaos, panic, destruction that woke me up...It's time to abandon ship!!!... This is packing week in preparation for my move back to the states... not sure how updates will go so fair warning. There's LOTS happening I'd rather not be doing ...all I can say is I'm bailing as fast as I can...!!!!- CAT-

April 14, 2007 Ah! I'm Back... well not actually 'BACK'...I mean I have returned to the UK for now. For those of you who have asked because you didn't know I currently live in London in the UK (There's a London in Canada but I'm in the one in the UK) ..I have been in the USA looking for a house... a process I enjoy almost as much as being abducted by aliens who pull all my teeth forgetting they were supposed to put me to sleep first but, I digress... Specifics. I will be moving to Texas. Erin told me that, due to global warming, Texas is so hot that small dogs sponteniously combust when they venture out into the heat. I am sorry to report that normally perfect Erin exaggerates a bit. I had to prime them with lighter fluid and THEN they'd combust. (I was terrorized as a child by a Chihuahua so this was a gleeful time for me.) I also must report that the second day I was there, we had, albeit very light, snow flurries... curse this global warming!!! - CAT-

April 3, 2007 SSSooooooooo Here's what's up. I'm moving... true, moving from the kitchen to the living room alone would merit a footnote, but this time... I'm moving back across the ocean! Back to the USA! Which means I gotta pack all this stuff! It's just one crisis to the next and it never stops... Plus I have to get rid of all this 220 AC 50 Hz stuff... ANyway, I'm trying to keep updating ... it will be sporatic as I have a lot of things to arrange in the USA. BUT I will continue to boldly move forward and nothing will sto ...OK I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining BUT in the light of all this... who thought it would be a good idea for my car to drop it's transmission? Phew! - CAT-

Dec 19, 2006 - TIS the SEASON! When Men all seem to step livelier! Women feel contented while enjoying a cup of their favorite beverage, Boys run about enjoying their freedom and Girls feel loved and beautiful all at the same time. All because of the season... ROBOT BUILDING SEASON... they look at me... walking around clutching papers with figures and Technical explainations I no longer understand... wandering aimlessly... talking to myself... cursing innummerible dieties... sporting a large number of bandaids and generally looking like heck all because I have been involved in ROBOT BUILDING SEASON...the rest of the world looks at me and realises how much more meaningful their lives are by comparison... .. ROBOT BUILDING SEASON... the reason I have not updated in forever and the reason I have this twitch under my eye that makes all the characters look odd when I draw them...(CURSE YOU gods OF MECHANICAL MECHANISMS! CURSE YOU I SAY!!!!!) - CAT-

Nov 21, 2006 - Another rememberance day gone by. Thanks to Jenn Dolari and Erin Lindsey for taking the time to make it happen... and all the other comic artists who participated. It's a small thing... a tribute strip once a year. I look forward to a day when it will no longer be necessary to remember our dead. - CAT-

June 24, 2006 - I'm gone! I will be away for a week without a computer so no updates this coming week... Rest assured I am working furiously to make up the lost strips...(sigh) - CAT-

June 21, 2006 - For those who don't remember... because I KNOW everyone reads VENUS ENVY religiously (or at least CULTly) the Jan 12th 2006 strip is the basis for this one...OK I AM GOING TO TRINOC 2006! YES!...(Don't ask me why... they invited me back...) And I will FINALLY meet ERIN! (who will probably have something to say about the upcoming strips....) ANYWAY... just in case no one attending has EVER read VA... I'll be offering IPOD battery replacement... (sigh) - CAT-

May 23, 2006 - YET ANOTHER MAJOR UPDATES OCCURRING... I am updating the strip to give you strips for 5-17, 5-19, and 5-22... I am about to manage to catch up !!!! and Let me just say I am SO sorry it has taken so long!!! - CAT-

May 22, 2006 - MAJOR UPDATES OCCURRING... I am updating the strip to give you strips for 5-10, 5-12, and 5-15... I am attempting to catch up ...finally and hope to get back on schedule this week or early next. Thanks for staying with me! - CAT-

April 22, 2006 - CRISIS!!!!! No Really... this time I'm in a real live 100% crisis..... It isn't even scheduled on my calender. It's not fair but hey what can I say. It's not even the kind of crisis I hear anyone else have... I suppose it wouldn't BE a crisis if I knew how to handle it... all I can say is... CRUD!...OK, I think I've complained enough... - CAT-

April 10, 2006 - Hi! I went to see the Blue Man Group preform the other day. They told about a

- Modern system that connect millions of households -

- That has grown so large, no one knows how many connections there are.-

- that has Billions of input devices EVERYWHERE-

- This system is called...PLUMBING -

- WHICH IS WHERE MY STRIP HAS GONE!!!!!!!!! - I have been without an internet connection and unable to work on the strip due to time constraints! I Apologize AGAIN. I know I have a committment and I WILL fullfill it! Life SHOULD be back to normal soon. I have just completed a 5 months project and will return to my home base on Friday - CAT.

April 4, 2006 - Hi! Some of you have notice that I'm behind again... ok there's a reason, I'm traveling.. in fact... I'm supposed to be on vacation and I have my computer, but no scanner. I have also been helping with a competition and that took WAY more time than I thought! I HAD hoped to have the nights free to do the strip but that didn't happen. All I can say is "Sorry"... I promise to back fill so when you see an update you may want to look back and see if there was more than one (HAH! like THAT will ever happen!)- CAT.

March 14th, 2006 -I've been trying to catch up for quite sometime now. Something always manages to happen somehow to take me away from the pad and pencil. Death is never easy, even when expected. My heart and prayers go out to Jason Siebels over at "Anywhere But Here". He just lost his grandmother and is on hiatus. If you happen to read this Jason, I'm so sorry.- CAT.

January 26th, 2006 - The Archives are finally working again! Thanks to Kasai over at Comic Genesis...system admistrator extrodinaire who can see things that would elude mere mortals (and especially CATs!). Thank goodness for smart people! - CAT.

January 3rd, 2006 - Happy New Year all! Best wishes to you for the coming year. I have much to be thankful for and I never allow myself to forget that. Over the holidays, death touched my family. I am thankful for all the support from my family and that I had been in touch recently, so I feel at peace with my own actions. Not meaning to burden anyone with my problems as we all have enough on our plates to fill the days. Just in case weird things happen with the strip... I mean weirder than normal.... Which reminds me. I would be remiss if I didn't give a big thanks to Erin Lindsey for allowing me to take her characters where no man has been before! (And no angel ever WANTED to go!) I hope she continues her brilliant work on VE! I LOVE IT! I will be attempting to attend Trinoc again this year and say hello to some of the wonderful people I met last time and, with luck, some I've always wanted to meet. ...which means I should be writing a comic strip to qualitfy... so onward into 2006! - CAT.

December 10th, 2005 - No Excuses... I have managed to let myself get behind and I am sorry... As you can see, I AM catching up! Anyway...I'm working on it! - CAT.

November 22nd, 2005 - I'M EXHAUSTED! Other issues have taken me away from the strip , YET AGAIN! But I am currently catching up and filling in the backlog. In the meantime, weird things will be happening on this site. I will be updating, probably daily until I'm back up to speed I hope... - CAT.

October 3rd, 2005 - If you're reading this it means that Comic Genisus FINALLY UPDATED THE SITE! They've been making some changes to the system and everytime they "improve" it... something strange happens... Not that I'm complaining... ANYWAY...according to their counter the strip for today 10/3/05 is number 200 ! - CAT.

September 23th,2005 - OK "Lengua"... Cow Tongue (Yep... goood stuff) ...Crepes Flambeau would be a "Flamming Cow Tongue French Pancake". "Menudo"... Latin Tripe Soup...( I'm NOT making this up!) "Pate en Croute".... Pate in pastry...so... Tripe Soup Paste in Pastry. Just FYI - CAT.

September 9th,2005 - Hey all! The VA universe Zoe and Lisa have a cameo appearance over at a strip called "Anywhere but here" (or maybe it's any w here bu there....I havn't really figured it out yet) Anyway have a look at the Sept 10, 2005 strip at http://anywherebuthere.comicgenesis.com/ I really admire his work... he has been very consistant...at least in lusting after me...(hope the restraining anklet holds up) . - CAT.

September 6th,2005 - OMG! Check the amazing Fan Art donated by JessicaRaven Silverstone! I LOVE IT! OK an update. I have been trying to make changes to the web page (Like adding the Fan Art) and I have plans for a LINKS page. It just takes me a bit of time since I don't really know HTML. For all practical purposes, I've caught up and I'm hoping to get back on schedule... thanks for hanging in there!!! - CAT.

August 11th,2005 - SO what's the hold up?... Sorry gang... I have just discovered what happenens when you get a root canal and they miss a part of the root and didn't quite get it sterile enough... you get an infection... it's kicking my rear! I THOUGHT it was a weird jet lag but now I know it's this infection. I keep falling asleep... it's irritating everybody, even my family, especially while I'm driving them somewhere. So I WILL get back on time and schedule. THAT'S A PROMISE. Just as soon as a Specialist... (the dentist who did the original root canal decided he didn't want to attempt it....) cracks my tooth and digs out the remaining root. (original message) I'm back from the US and had hoped the strip could run uninterrupted. Unfortunately I had an unusually bad time with jet lag... I've been nauseous and tired all the time. I think I'm over it and I'm back filling the strip. Friday the 29th is up - AND NOW MONDAY AUG 1ST - AND NOW WEDNESDAY AUG 3RD - and I hope to be back on schedule next week. I'll try to hack out the backlog as soon as possible and sorry for the delay. - CAT.

July 9th,2005 - SOME of you may may remember that I live in London. The events of Thursday the 7th disrupted my schedule substantially. I just want to say there is no way to express my sorrow for those who lost their lives or how helpless I feel faced with the grief of their families. I myself am not British but I will attempt to follow their lead and continue as normal. I had hoped to have a large backlog of strips for VA at hand but It may take some fancy juggling to continue uninterrupted. I will be traveling the USA for the next three weeks and as long as I can find an internet connection, I will contine to update on a regular schedule. Please remember those who were needlessly and senselessly harmed or killed. Thanks for listening. - CAT.

July 6th,2005 - Special thanks to Jenn Dolari for letting me use her main characters, Carrie and Allison from her web comic "ClosetSpace" (http://www.dolari.org/cs/) I mentioned to Jenn that I'd do this soon... about 4 months ago which IS actually soon in terms of web comics Jenn was worried about the skimpy outfits, but I think her girls look nice, and anyway...rule of thumb with space-themed stories, cinema, television and comics... if it's not thigh high or low cut it has to be skin tight! ( I do all three...) - CAT.

June 27th,2005 - COWABUNGA!!!! On June 28th VA will celebrate it's FIRST YEAR of Existance! OH YEAH! And you all have been wonderful to me, so a very sincere, "Thank You" for your support! I sincerely hope you have had the occasional chuckle from the strip and I hope you continue to read and enjoy! - CAT.

May 11th,2005 - The five stages of death and dying appear so often in my life I wanted to give them a highlight. Seems like I'm paying tribute to old friends. They are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance and yes... I DO have trouble with Accaptance. - CAT.

April 21th,2005 - WARNING... Mondays update WILL BE A LITTLE LATE! A logistical glitch says I can't take my laptop with me on a weekend trip so I will not have time to work on it until I return. Apologies in advance... most of you won't notice it, but I know there are a few "early birds" who might wonder. - CAT.

April 12th,2005 - Special Thanks to Oscar Diggs (whoever and where ever you are) for making a comment on the WebComic List. Thanks for taking the time,I owe you a soft drink sometime. OK... WHY a stick figure? Actually I stuck it there just to show where I might place Kim...and I thought it looked really funny! (I get giddy after that much wine.) SO I left it as it was and added a little color. (besides... it saved a LOT of time.) Also, this is the first time I drew directly to the program without scanning in an actual drawing. I don't think I like it that much. I'm glad I tried it though. - CAT.

April 8th,2005 - I had to stop and completely redraw his gag. It wasn't scheduled to run for two more updates but I realised that I have so much more to do : the Commandant, A new character, Zoe and her Mom... and the two I was going to run told the story but needlessly extended it. Anyway, Onward! - CAT.

April 1th, 2005 - I HAVE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS JOKE!!! BRA-HA-HA-HA! - CAT.

March 28th, 2005 - I'm BACK! Reminder, Zoe is using birdseed filled pads to make up for an unexplained lack of "development". Colorizeing of the previous strips is in progress. Thanks for hanging in there! - CAT.

March 18th, 2005 - I AM SO SORRY! I have to leave town and didn't manage enough "depth" to cover my abscence. This is a trip I can't take a computer on, but rather than let the strip slide, I decided that I would go ahead with black and white updates and I promise I will color them in for Easter. Think of them as sort of a strange Easter Egg Strip...( And NO asking for a Chocolate Version!) - CAT.

March 16th, 2005 - The StarShips named "Enterprise"... have had so many systems re-routed and so many field mods done they HAVE to be streaming a half light years worth of duct tape behind them... Due to modern cinematography you don't see it, but I'll bet it's there! I always felt that if Picard or Janeway had bothered to beam a roll of duct tape to the Borg, it would have convinced the collective that they faced such vastly superior technology, that they would deem resistance futile and surrendered within days. - CAT.

Febuary 11th, 2005 - In case you're wondering, Yes, I did this one for me, but I'll bet there's a few of you who have had similar thoughts ... perhaps. - CAT.

Febuary 7th, 2005 - OH YEAH! It all worked and On TIME! Be sure to check out the VA Valentine's card on the VA Vday link and I'll be adding more people to the Cast link as they come into the story. - CAT.

Febuary 6th, 2005 - Comicgenesis is having some kind of a problem! I added a Cast page and the updates take a lifetime. If you don't see a Strip for Monday 7th..be patient, I havn't finished it yet but it's on the way and the update problem may make it late! - CAT.

January 17, 2005 - Today's strip is actually Wednesday's moved up... the original idea was a shuttle bringing everyone in... but I decided against it ...didn't have a joke and it didn't add to the storyline. (Stupid joke anyway! See?) - CAT.

January 14, 2005 - I've got to thank everyone who thought I was getting too frustrated and send me messages of encouragement. You gals and guys are great! My biggest frustration is with the characters themselves. They have been guiding me on the direction of the story line and they all seem to demand development. Ensign Kim Tim was a surprize to me because he offered a lot of possibilities I hadn't planned on, so the storyline gets longer and more involved. I'm close to 90 strips at this point and I can look back with satisfaction on the way the story has gone (and improvments in my rendering of Erin's characters). I feel like I've barely started... there's so much more to tell. Anyway, I'll continue to do my best and hope you continue to find VA entertaining. As a reminder, VA exist to support VE. If I'm frustrated by anything... it's the fact that Erin draws better with a mental block then I do without one! Wow is SHE TALENTED! - CAT.

January 4, 2005 - Happy New Year! I made it back and just had time to throw the latest installment of VA together. It's frustrating to see the story line plod along. (sigh) I've been looking at my hit rate... I think the most frequently made New Years Resolution for 2005 was to stop reading that "*#&@**" VA strip! Oh well... No one ever keeps those anyway... (I HOPE!) - CAT.

December 24, 2004 - NOTE!!!!! I Will be OUT OF TOWN from 12/26 until 1/4 !!! I Am trying to prepare extra strips to cover my abscence I'm half way there so I hope to have VA continue uninterrupted. Happy Holidays and see you next year! - CAT.

December 17, 2004 - Reminder, "The Hercules" is Luke Mason's ship and Luke, having a few months on Zoe as a Captain, would be the senior mission officer. Zoe has to take orders from a solid gold jerk! (I've been there before.) (Then again...who hasn't?) - CAT.

December 10, 2004 - See VE Jan 9, 2002... In spite of the fact that Erin has produced so many other insightful and downright killer strips...the simplicity and form of this one has continually haunted me and made this one of my all time favorite VEs. - CAT.

December 3, 2004 - Some of you may have noticed I've made some changes since I first posted this strip...I just kept thinking that I could make it easier to understand and more eye pleasing. Call it personal pride. Sorry if the change have confused anyone. I think I'm finally satisfied. - CAT.

December 1, 2004 - A few minutes late today... I was busily getting my rear kicked at Tae-Kwon-Do class where people half my age busily kicked my butt and complained they were hurting themselves while pulverising my body...- CAT.

November 19, 2004 - I AM SO sorry this update is SO late...here it is.. it will be one I'll wish I could do over. Maybe you'll forgive me tomorrow. - CAT.

November 10, 2004 - OK... so who can honestly say they didn't see this coming? - CAT.

October 22, 2004 - Geordi from STNG had his vision visor and I was always struck by the fact he seemed to want to get rid of it. In "All good things.." he finally shows up with eyeball implants. I never understood why he would want to make that change. There's some implication that the visor was painful and that implants would solve this problem... but once again this is illogical. If the technology had improved ... why didn't they just update the visor? I can only guess it there was social pressure and that "visor'd" people were sometimes shunned even in the 24th century. In any case, Kim Tim recognises the value, not to mention the profitability, in great vison and hearing...Zoe and Lisa better watch what they say...for that matter.... maybe I'D better watch what I say! - CAT.

October 15, 2004 - Special thanks go to Tim G. who pointed out I hadn't included an "acquisitions" character. Thanks again! - CAT.

October 13, 2004 - OK I Apologise for the lack of "polish" to this strip. I was trying to finish it before I had to leave for...um... a secret mission to Venice, Italy.. (Don't listen to the silly rumors that I was on vacation... LIES!) And I wanted to finish so the strip would update on time. But hey... IT'S ON TIME! YAY! More about the secret misson later! - CAT.

September 17, 2004 - I Shamelessly lifted the punchline from someone's comment on the chat boards... not sure where THEY lifted it from... but I AM shameless...It's a CAT thing... in MY defnese... THEY didn't have a funny drawing or anything...just text. - CAT.

September 3, 2004 - Someone mentioned, and rightly so, that it has taken VA a LONG time to develop ANYTHING that could be mistaken for a plot... I am aware of this and I have been trying to find a way to move things along... I could skip several weeks of plots, but I don't think thats a good idea...The BEST idea is I COULD go to writing VA DAILY ... but frankly... there isn't that much Valium in the WHOLE WORLD! So for the time being... let me just say... Thanks for continuing to read! - CAT.

August 30, 2004 - MY *&$@!!!* Operating System Crashed!!! Actually, It was an Internet Explorer File... and guess what can't run without a good, working IE Program?... WINDOWS! Normally I would think this is a very funny joke... all the files and programs are there, but you can't read them or access them... Luckily, somewhere in another age I created a "startup disk" and was able to recover all but one VA file.. (Suddenly .. the multitudes rejoicing cease revelry and begin to weep bitterly...) SO We can continue. I reloaded the entire computer, programs etc... IN RECORD time generated Monday's strip... (shows huh?) and now... I'M crashing! Oh, one more footnote... over on VE... Erin posted a sketch.... her... - @#%@!! Sketches are better than MY finals. I HATE MONDAYS... it's a CAT thing... - CAT.

August 27, 2004 - Well, I Re, re, re, re, re-Vised the Venus Ascending. Definitely a challange. I know I can do a better job of drawing her but the basic idea is definitly there. This strip is actually about Lisa, not the VA. She's brash and hard around the edges but frankly, I wish I had a friend like her. - CAT.

August 25, 2004 - He only appeared breifly yet he inspired an entire generation to speculate... Where did he come from? What was he like? What twist of fate brought him here? ..Ok ACTALLY that was Boboa Fett from Star Wars... "Ninja Joe" appears once (so far) but one of MY favorite characters because I've met SO many like him in various forms. Well meaning...but fataly flawed in their view of reality. Ya Gotta Love him! "Ninja Joe" appears in VE on September 3, 2002 - CAT.

August 18, 2004 - Luke Mason... Venus Envy Aug 5, 2002 AND Sept 6, 2002 If you're curious. Be warned... curiosity is a BAD thing I know... that's why I'm down to 4 lives left - CAT.

August 13, 2004 - Phew..ok I feel better now having gotten all that off my chest. Thanks for being patient. There IS ONE other alternative strip. I can't decide whether or not to draw it. It's a bit personal, but if didn't draw V.A. I would like to do something a bit deeper. Maybe I'll run it some weekend - CAT.

August 11, 2004 - Bah! COMPUTERS! Thees stoopeed thing caught a virus called, "Windows XP"...EENYWAY...no more complaints! Heer we go!

August 4, 2004 - CAT? What Cat? There is no Cat... if there were a CAT... which there is not... her belly would be roasting in Heck and she would be committing suicide on the walls (and not just the character suicide she commits by writing her lame comic strip!)

July 14, 2004 - I Apologise for causing Dr Yvonne to break character with an emotional outburst for the sake of a cheap joke... but hey it IS supposed to be a "Cheesy Space Strip". I promise not to further bend HER character and while I MAY bend someone elses character, just remember, I AM going for the laughs here.

Fair Warning - for those of you who read VA for a laugh, Friday July 23, 2004 will be serious in nature. (Yes I realise I'm assuming some read the JOKES to laugh... I may be stretching it a bit I suppose.) Anyway, My personal favorite follows on Monday July 26th because it was fun to draw.

V.A will continue uninterrupted - Through all of July but please note, I will probably not respond to questions on the discussion board because...

I'M ON VACATION AND AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER - SO those of you with the torches may want to douse them until I get back OR as long as you have fire, grab some brews, burgers and throw an impromptu tailgate "burn the CAT" party.

By the way, V.E. Trivia buffs, all the characters in line on the July 12th strip DO appear somewhere in the archieves and all but the girl with her back to us are identifiable. (Now to sit back and see WHO takes the bait! [insert evil maniacal laugh here]).

July 12, 2004 - OK quick primer on the Venus Ascending PSS 514 for S.T. types... P.S.S. Stands for Planetary Star Ship... Three propulsion systems... Atmospheric...Sublight... and Space Fold. Crew compliment 53 members. OK enough explanations for now!

I will be taking vacation over the next two weeks but fear not! VA will continue though it may suffer just after my return in August. July is almost completely filled. I can only promise that I will do my best to keep up. I takes me several hours to complete a single strip. I still havn't found the best way to sketch, scan and color at a resolution that won't take three days to download. Rest assured, VA fans... all four of you... I'm working on it.

July 05, 2004 - Hey! everything worked! now I'm scared!

In case you need a refresher, Larson's bio is found in the Venus Envy Archives for Aug 11th 2002. Zoe's is found on Aug 4th 2002... Oh and Bergie's Sept 15th 2002. I'm still debating whether or not to add a bio page, but for the moment, I'm content quoting Erin.

July 02, 2004 - The Plot Thickens! It's illogical... but with this much science and technology... who cares? (works for Star Trek)

June 30, 2004 - Well...darned, the auto update didn't work... Yet another gremlin to track down and torture into submission.

I'm not sure why Sci-Fi so often includes the evil computer trying to take over the world. It would be like locking your keys in the car and claiming the car is attempting to take over your life by denying you transportation. Still, it's tried and true. From Colossus to HAL9000 to, Technically, the Cylons. BUT...I digress..

Friday, the actually cheesy storyline. With any hope, I'll have this autoupdate hammered out. (sigh ...If computers can take over the world... why can't they autoupdate?)

June 28, 2004 VA Officially starts TODAY - "OH ERIN! HOW COULD YOU?"... Frankly, it's a mystery to me as well... (I can't figure it out... was it the booze or the money?) Actually, I blame Erin as SHE suggested a CHEESY VE SPACE SPINOFF. I was an unwilling pawn in all this. No ..Really! While working to learn Paint Shop Pro I send Erin some "throwdown" strips I had used as examples and the rest was history. After the suggestion was made I decided against it. The job is hard and the pay is lousy. But that night, I was visited by Zoe and a few others and the images they gave me prevented me from getting any real sleep. Actually, it was only one of my multiple personalities that didn't get any sleep... the one that hears the voices that sound like Elvis... but that's not important right now.

Venus Ascending is a work in progress and as I learm more about Paint Shop Pro (PSP), it will improve. Um... as I learn more about PSP AND HTML... it will Improve... make that... as I learn more about PSP, HTML, Comicgenesis...OK, OK, OK... AS I learn more about PSP, HTML, Comicgenesis and finally finish "Even a MONKEY can draw Manga" It will improve... (All I really know is that Elvis is getting cranky.)

SO sit back, relax and enjoy what the CAT drags in! -CAT-