AC Anniversary Artwork by Speearr of Terence N Tijuana
When I first began ADDANAC CITY as a webcomic, I had not the slightest inkling as to whether it would survive to make it for an entire year. I had witnessed guys I’d started out with simply disappear from the scene. I’d seen cartoonists become disenfranchised with their creations. I’ve seen strips where the audience just wasn’t there, and the series’ didn’t stand a chance of prospering. How was I to know if ADDANAC CITY would make it? The odds were stacked heavily against me.
If I was in this for the money, I would have quit long ago. There are more than 26,000 active webcomics appearing on the internet at any given time. Only a small number (a very small number) reach the upper echelons of the industry and become profitable. If you’re gonna create a webcomic, financial success should be an afterthought. If the money comes, then fine. But, first and foremost, you should do it for the love.
You’ve gotta love and enjoy what you’re doing. Your passion, energy, and determination is what will draw your audience to you. If they feel that you’re just phoning it in or that you’re merely trying to stuff related merchandise down their throats, the viewers will leave you hangin’ in an instant. If you’re passionate about creating, the audience will be passionate about reading what you create.
I can see for myself how much ADDANAC CITY has changed and grown since its initial incarnation. I can almost cringe now when I pore through the early strips. That’s a good thing, though. If I don’t have any growth as an artist and/or writer, then I haven’t learned anything during my year-long trek through the World Wide Web. Hopefully, next year (God willing), I’ll look back at today’s strip and see where I could have done it better.
I hope that ADDANAC CITY and I will be around for a long time to come. I can’t guarantee anything, but I promise to deliver for as long as you, Dear Reader, will have me. I want you to love AC as much as I do. 
As far as today’s comic goes, there are quite a few guest-appearances occurring. Some of the characters shown you may be familiar with, some you may not. In order to alleviate any confusion, I’m gonna point out who’s who, and you can match ‘em up and check out their own individual comics. Here we go….
PANEL ONE: We have Alp from Tony Piro’s Calamities of Nature and Charlie Brown and Snoopy from Charles Schulz’s Peanuts.
PANEL THREE: There’s Raul from Matt Stout’s Big Sandy Gilmore.
PANEL FOUR: You have Zorphbert and Fred from Dawn Griffin’s Zorphbert and Fred comic. There’s also a background glimpse of Shaggy and Scooby.
PANEL FIVE: There’s Peter Griffin of Family Guy.
PANEL SEVEN: We’ve got Joe! from Michelle Billingsley’s JOE comic and Kreg of Craig Babin’s Life With Kreg comic.
PANEL EIGHT: You can see Archie and Jughead from Archie Comics, Oskar from DAVID LAMASON’s Unbearable Bears comic, and Mike from John K’s Pointe East comic.
PANEL NINE: There’s the main character from K.J. Rhue’s and L.M. Rhue’s Not A People Person comic, Ace Pilot from Speearr’s Terence N Tijuana comic, and Max from Karl Kleese’s Willow’s Grove comic.
PANEL TEN: We also have Ogden T. Monster from Phil Oliveira’s Canned Ham comic and Matt from Matt Barak’s and Donald Poquiz’s Straight Face Comics.
PANEL ELEVEN: Take a gander at John Campos, the dad from Neftali Rivera’s Midtoon comic, and Jim from Nate Fake’s The Frustrated Cartoonist comic.
PANEL TWELVE: There’s Bunny Wiggins from Jerome Benedict’s Muddle Creek comic, Hodge from Jynksie’s How Sweet It Is comic, George from John Norton’s George comic, and Marge Simpson from Matt Groening’s The Simpsons.
Whew! That’s a lotta guest-stars, but I enjoyed incorporating these characters into ADDANAC CITY’s 1 Year Anniversary Special. I worked hard on this milestone and I hope it shows.
Thank you so very much for taking time out of your schedule to drop by and check out this lil’ ditty. You could have been anywhere in the world today, but right now, you’re here with me. And that means more to me than you’ll ever realize. Gracias!
So, I hope you’ll stick around with me, Hank, and the rest of the gang throughout this next year. I’ve got loads of neat stuff planned: There’s a new student matriculating to Addanac City Elementary, Uncle Jack goes on an adventure during his bail hearing, and Mr. and Mrs. Addanac learn more about themselves and each other. And, of course, we’re gonna see more of ol’ Hank as he does his best to bust up the status quo whenever the opportunity arises.
Stay tuned! 
*All characters depicted in this Addanac City comic strip are copyrighted by their respective creators (so nobody try and sue me, okay?)
Oh-my-FREAKIN-god!! Wow, you really left no one out of that at all! Quite impressive, I must say! It's been a fun ride, looking forward to more!!
Thanks, Jynksie! I tried to invite a few of my favorite familiar faces to Hank's lil' bash. I hope nobody minded me using their characters, but I had a lotta fun drawing them.
I see a Bear but no Bearman
He's right behind Peter Griffin!
Congratulations on one year, George! I'm so proud of you! How detailed! You did a really good job drawing all of the different characters by the different artists! Kudos!
Here's to another year of mischief, mayhem and surprises in Addanac City! I can't wait! Raise your glass!
Thanks, Hon! It's been quite a year. Thank you for putting up with me and all of my idiosyncrasies when it came to getting AC off the ground. <3
Excellent Anniversary Strip. Man, George, you really now how to celebrate in style. Let's see, 12 panels, 34 characters, innumerable amounts of confetti and a gag in each panel, this must've taken days to make! Love all the cameos, and thanks for including Ace.
I can't imagine the strippers (class teacher included) will be very happy with cold hard coins jiggling in their outfits!
Happy 1 Year dude, looking forward to see how you top all of this in Year 2.
ps: I think you linked to my old comic in the panty banner lol
Wow! I didn't realize I included those many characters in this thing. It took me probably three days to piece all of this together, and the better part of two days just to color it. You should see what this wacky comic looks like in black and white!
I fixed the link to your artwork. It should lead to the right place now. Sorry for any confusion.
Whoa! John came to the party… Erik and Javier are going to be jealous, but I'm sure he left them behind because he'd heard there would be strippers. I wonder what John and Nate are talking about while they eat the Ruffles.
Thanks for including my character and good luck in your second year!!!
John had to come by and make sure everything was kosher at the Addanacs. The party got pretty wild. You should have seen all of the mess afterwards.
Oh man George thanks for the inclusion. Glad I was invited to the celebration.
Panel 10 Represent! I just wish I could say this was the only party I had seen Marge strip at. The curtains don't match the drapes if you know what I'm saying.
Congrats on the one year milestone baby. If it feels great that's cause you've earned it.
If it ain't blue, I would hate to imagine what color the carpeting really is! o.0 Thanks, man, it does feel great, but it only lasts for a day. It's back to work tomorrow to get cranking on the next year.
Congrats on the one year anniversary!!!!!! – Brilliant comic and especially good today!
Thank you, Andy! I do appreciate that!
George, absolutely AWESOME! I laughed at I think every panel! And it's nice to see Jim attending a party since he's going through such a hard time right now! I'm guessing he's really enjoying that chip since I'm not exactly drawing anything scrumptious for him to eat.
Congrats (again) on your ONE YEAR! That's a massive achievement. It's been great stopping by here and checking out AC everyday. Can't wait for another year!
Jim needed a chance to release his frustrations and just get his party on.
I hope all of us have an outstanding year!
[...] 3 – Congratulations to George Ford on his one year Anniversary of the online comic Addanac City. After doing six toons in a row, I have new respect for all of you who hold down a full time job [...]
Congrats Gman. Can't believe how quickly the year went. Well that is because I only found you 6 months ago. Everyone looks great. Doing six panels in a row was killer for me…I can't imagine what you go through for 7 days a week.
Awesome job!!
Continuous comic making ain't easy, but you're doing a fine job with your story arc. We're gonna miss you while you're ausente, but we'll still collect at your water cooler.
Congrats on the one year anniversary! I know you work really hard at this and I want to say that, I for one, recognize that work and applaud you on this really cool comic! Keep it up, man! Success comes to those who persevere! Rock on…
Thanks, Byron! The results were well worth the productivity. I wanted to include one of your characters, but I didn't wanna p!$$ you off having them appear way older than they are in your strip.
Congratulations George, Looking forward to another great year with you and the characters of AddanacCity you rock!!!!
Thanks, Laura! I'm looking forward to this upcoming year, too. I hope I don't run outta ideas mid-season.
As long as you have kids the ideas are limitless
My kids are always a good source of inspiration!
Big-time congratulations on the anniversary! I've made this a "must" on my daily list of places to visit.
Thank you, Jim! I'll be sure to do the same thing!
[...] [...]
I stand slack-jawed in awe of your productivity, George! Way to go on producing so much that's so good in just a year!
I chalk it up to an inordinate amount of impatience. I can't wait two days to post another comic. I've gotta put it up every day. Plus, it's good practice to stay in artistic shape.
Congrats on your first year! Time goes by fast, huh? I'm amazed that you had all of those characters in 1 comic. Amazing. Happy Anniversary.
Thanks, Michelle! Like I've said before, I didn't realize I had those many characters in the strip. It was originally supposed to only be six panels long, but it kept going and going.
YaHHHHHH George…this is awesome. I am posting it on my blog today if that is okay. You are so talented and funny! I am so excited for you right now. I feel like it's a real party….Whooooooo!
Of course you may post it on your blog, Gabie! Thank you very much. I'm glad to have met you and I hope you'll keep swinging by to check on Hank and the crew. Alpha Inventions was good for one thing by allowing us to find out about each other's site.
Wow this is awesome, congrats on the one year, and thanks SO much for the shout out!
Thanks, John! I enjoyed drawing Mike.
Happy 1 year anniversary George! I'm flattered that Rual got to be a part of it!
Thanks, Matt! Raul is such a cool character anyway.
A year already?! Where the hell does the time go? Congratulations, George, you've hit the big-time!!
The time just flies, John! Last thing I remember, it was Thanksgiving.
CONGRATULATIONS, GEORGE! What a fantastic achievement.
Great strip today. Thanks for the invitation to join the celebration. Party on, dude.
It's good to see you around, John. We're waiting patiently for your triumphant return.
George, you're like an out of control train rambling down the tracks and picking up steam! Keep it up, man!
Thanks, David! I just hope this train doesn't wreck.
Congrats on the 1 year anniversary, but just a couple of things I wanted to comment on:
1) Cameos are really only effective when you -don't- point them out. Let your fans have fun guessing who those characters are. That way, they'll be talking about the strip long after it's passed.
2) It looks a bit confusing when your characters have no shading to differentiate between people in the foreground to those in the background.
Other than that, congrats.
Thanks, man!
1) Initially, I considered letting the audience figure out who all the characters in the comic were, but I knew that this Anniversary Special was gonna get a lotta hoopla and visits from folks who may not have any idea who the different characters were. I decided to point out the players so my viewers can get familiar with who's who.
Even though this is my anniversary, I wanted to put the spotlight on several of my favorite creators and let them get their shine on. I linked their characters to their sites, so people can go visit them and get to know about some of the other good comics that are on the web.
2) I was so close to this project that I hadn't noticed that until you pointed it out. That's definitely something I will work on in future strips. It usually doesn't get that busy around here, but I wanted that crowded, senses-shattering effect that one encounters in a party environment.
I am so glad you rolled thru ADDANAC CITY. Feel free to stop by anytime!
Congratulations on the one year anniversary! What, you couldn't throw a potato somewhere in the party? Just kidding! Keep on truckin'!
Thanks, Lonnie! It's been quite a year.
Hey, I had a potato chip homage in the eleventh panel! Doesn't that count?
Congrats George! I gotta' say … this is absolutely one of the best anniversary strips I have EVER seen – amazing! Great work! Keep it up!
I truly and earnestly appreciate that sentiment. I tried to make it sorta special and memorable. I don't know what I'm gonna do next year.
This is awesome!!! LOL!!!
Thanks for the invite to the party!.. Nice Rendition of our "NAPP" Guy!
Congrats on the one year… Keep'em coming!
: )
Thanks! I'm glad you guys didn't mind having your main player on the field for an inning.
Amazing work and here's to many more years with the strip.
Thank you! I hope to continue these comedic adventures for as long as good folks like you will continue to read 'em.
LOL, that is awesome! Love the cameos. Shaggy brought brownies… scooby doo finally makes sense to me now!
Thanks, Praveen! What did you think Shaggy did besides cowering in the van? Paranoia and extreme hunger were two of Shag's greatest characteristics.
George, congrats on your anniversary. And thanks for stopping by yesterday at Woody After Hours.
Thank you, Ben, and you are welcome. I bumped into your comic thru a PW ad, but I was buggin' out laughing at it. It's definitely up my alley as far as content and artwork goes. Keep doin' ya thing, and I'll be sure to come back and visit!
Oy vay . . . one year. Congratulations and may there be many more. Didn't I read someplace about one year being circumcision time? Just asking.
Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark, Jammer! Maybe I'll wait til next year for all that.
Thanks for the well wishes, and keep coming back!
Hooray for you! You just keep getting better and better. How you going to top this on your second anniversary?!
WIB xx
I have no idea how next year's anniversary is gonna outdo this one. Hopefully, something will come to me.
HOT DAMN! My guys came to your party! maybe that explains why I had writer's block last night. Seriously, I really appreciate this, and CONGRATS on your 1 year! You have accomplished so much in 1 year, I'm jealous!
Love that you included "famous" characters along with us aspiring webcomic people… kinda feels like I'm famous by association!
World-famous or not, I had to include a lot of the characters that make MY world go 'round. I'm glad Z&F decided to come hang out.
What's with all the strippers in your strips? Are you trying to trick people into thinking that your strip is for adults.
You find it odd that "strippers" would be in a "strip"?
And I'm just tricking adults into thinking that this strip is for people.
Bro this is HYPE!!!!!!!!!
SUPER DOPE KID!!!!!!!
ABSOLUTELY GREAT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!
KRA-Z™
Thanks, Kra-Z! I'm glad you swung by to peep this joint!
Congrats on one year! Way to pull out all the stops for this strip!
I appreciate it, Paul! I'm lovin' what I've seen of your comic so far.
That was quite a strip! Great job, and congrats on one year!
Thanks, Dave! It was hard work, but it was worth it!
The real reason I didn't get to update on Monday is because Bunny Wiggins didn't show up for work… I didn't realize he was out partying!… lol… What a tour de force…
Great stuff, George… You should be proud of what you've built in just a year!
Bunny Wiggins needs to get written up for layin' out from work. Be sure to put him on dookie detail as punishment.
Thanks, Jerry! The past year seems to have just flown by.
[...] you haven’t check out the special Anniversary comic, shame on you! You’re missing a dozen of [...]
Happy Anniversary to you and AC!! And Congratulations! This was a great celebration strip!
Thank you, YNB! I'm pleased that you stopped by to help celebrate.
[...] [...]
CONGRATS on the one year! Better late than never, right? Love the various characters you've brought in to celebrate! I'm also diggin "Matt" thanks for thinkin of us and supporting as well. Hope you have many more years to come!
Thanks, Don! There's always room at this party cuz it never ends.
I've been enjoying your comic for quite awhile, so it was my pleasure to include a Straight Face Comics character. I wish you guys success, too.
I'm late to the party, but it's The comic anniversary is fabulous. You brought so many incredible guests.
It's been a pleasure to know you, George and I hope to see you and Hank for many more years.
Thanks, Claire! Better late then never! I'm so glad you stopped by. You know the party doesn't start until you get here anyway.
It's nice to see that Kreg is keeping busy during the Hiatus. Awesome strip George. Congrats on the 1st year … keep it up!
Thanks, Craig! I hope everything's going well with you during your break.
Awesome comic, George! So much neat stuff going on. Congrats on one year! Here's to many more
Thanks, Chris! I hoped it was entertaining for you. Maybe I'll be able to squeeze Odori Park into next year's celebration.
Can't remember if I gave you a proper congrats or not…so if I didn't, here it is now! Congrats, George! Keep the comics coming, and keep enjoying what you do.
Thanks, Jackson! I'm really glad you came by to wish me well. Keep doing the great stuff you do, exposing the world to the best webcomics out there!
Congrats man on the milestone. It takes some major dedication to be doing this strip 7 days a week. I hope in my year anniversary that I have just a fraction of the popularity that you have. Here's to many many more.
Thanks, Charles! Just keeping being true to yourself and doing the stuff that cracks YOU up and the rest of us will follow your exploits.
great comic! love the poster! hope thats mrs. a!
Thanks! That may be Mrs. A. I'll have to ask Speearr about it.