Adventures of the Insider Box came about as a result of my photographs of a free newspaper box in front of the building where I work. Unlike the other boxes, which were chained to posts, this box was allowed to “roam free” and be moved around by the wind. Seeing it in different places almost every day got me to imagining it was doing this on purpose. The rest is history.
The astute reader will note that the comic seemingly ended in March of 2007. I had taken the original concept as far as it would go. After a short hiatus I reworked the format and continued in a slightly different direction, but with the same characters, more or less. This allows me longer jokes and to set up stories better than the one panel format. Consequently, I’ve brought in a cast of Rochester “celebrities” for guest appearances. In case you’re one of them, it’s all in jest, guys! And then. just to show I’m nothing but predictable, I “ended” it again in 2011 when the Insider ceased publication. But I couldn’t stop myself and restarted but with a less regular publication schedule not too long after. My credibility may be at an all-time low, but so is my readership.
Technical
I use GIMP to alter the original photographs and Inkscape to do the lettering, layout and pretty much everything else. I mostly use Windows XP to make these comics but I could use OS X if needed. Many of the photos were taken with my late, lamented Palm Zire 72 but more recent ones were taken with my Treo 700p which has a better camera. The balloon text font is Anime Ace from Blambot and I occasionally use other Blambot fonts for titles and such, I use Flickr to host the images.
Other
If you’re interested in my non-comic work, check out my weblog, Maszman Speaks.
