Strictly speaking, this isn’t a Rufus cartoon. However, I unearthed this from the Small Wonder vault for your viewing pleasure on All Hallow’s Eve.

Last week I was dealing with some networking issues, but things seem to be back to normal … for the time being.

Welcome! 

 Meet Rufus, a not-so fine-feathered friend. As promised I am debuting a new webcomic; and along for the ride are Jackie, who finds her backyard invaded by a certain fowl-tempered treehugger, and her friend Carver.

“Rufus,” the comic strip, updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Oh, and if you’re confused about the reference to the Montauk Monster. It was a creature that washed up on the shores of Long Island several summers ago.

The beak suggests that it could be a relative of Rufus’s. However, the head is too small.

As reported by Thomas H. Maugh II for Tribune newspapers

Archaeopteryx, believed for 150 years to have been the first bird, was probably only a feathered dinosaur that had great difficulty getting off the ground when it lived 150 million years ago, researchers reported last week in the journal PLoS One.

There will be changes. Some characters will continue; others see their contracts expire and bid a hasty retreat–all for a leaner, meaner humor machine.

Monday will debut the first “Rufus” cartoon. Be kind to this fine, feathered friend and toon in–oh, and please tell YOUR friends.

I know I’m a little late in posting this, but Jarrett Osborne has resurfaced and posted another chapter of “The Pursuit of Mandy.” It’s a rare and welcome treat when he does. (Post some more, Jarrett.)

In this Mandy webisode, Rufus makes an unexpected cameo–along with a strange, flatulent moose.

 Just received word that my comic feature (along with 249 others) has advanced to the second round of the Comic Strip Superstar contest cosponsored by Amazon.com and Universal Press Syndicate.

This is a pleasant surprise, considering I only found out about the contest a week before entries were due. I scrambled and cobbled together a comic strip featuring our fowl-feathered friend, titled aptly enough “Rufus.”

 I’m not sure how many initially submitted entries for the contest. They were predicting around 5,000. I suspect 251 (sorry, Jarrett). Around mid-October, the third round will whittle the number down to 50. I’ll keep you posted if I make the cut. 

If you don’t know about the Comic Strip Superstar contest, go to http://www.amazon.com/comicstripsuperstar.

UPDATE: Monday brought the names of the 50 semifinalists for the Comic Strip Superstar contest and, unfortunately, I didn’t make the cut. It took all I could to keep Rufus from keying the judges’ cars.

I am taking a brief time out to prepare for the unveiling of a new comic strip, featuring a certain fat-headed fowl.