Well, folks, it finally happened. Never going to the doctor finally caught up with me. Take your vitamins, kids, and always go to the doctor regularly. I have this pain in my lower abdomen, which has been bothering me for the past several weeks, and only recently did I finally go in and get it checked out. I was initially diagnosed with a probable inguinal hernia and referred to a surgeon, who eventually determined that no, I probably did not have a hernia, and then referred me to a urologist, who I’ll be seeing in the near future. It’s very tricky. So anyway, I hate to be the bearer of bad news to my readers–who else is gonna bear it, though?–but this all is going to result in another brief George hiatus.  I’m not entirely sure how long yet, but I can’t imagine it’ll be too long. But, bank on a couple of George-free weeks as I get my affairs in order, find out what this is, and work on getting it fixed. I promise I’ll be back in action before too long; and hey, if I’m not? Blame medical society.

Don’t worry, everybody–I’m still alive, and so is George. We’ll both be back on Monday the 26th! The past week and a half have unfortunately been very fruitless, medically, but I’m still here and figure that I should stop wasting time and start…unwasting comics! I’ve quietly built my buffer back up and now I should be good to go if I ever require to take any time off. In any case, come back Monday morning. I have a funny feeling we’ll be seeing just how well Rob reacts when his computer stops working. Why do I have a funny feeling?

Bad tuna.

Welcome back to three-day-a-week George comics, everybody. I don’t like having to take hiatuses, however small (this coming from the guy who once took a year-long hiatus, I know), but sometimes, they are a necessary evil. Like hair plugs, or potted meat food products.

Well, it’s (almost) official. Tomorrow marks the four-year anniversary of George. Although I will admit that George missed out on the bulk of 2006, I’m strictly goin’ by calendar years here, folks. I’d say that George has come a long way, but let’s be honest…he still lives in the same town, he still has the same girlfriend, he still does pretty much the same stuff. But then again, his girlfriend moved in with him, his cousin moved out, and one of his friends miraculously sprouted a flowing mane of jet black hair instantaneously from what was a previously chrome dome. That last one is really somethin’ for the picture books. Aside from all that, along the way he made new friends (Sirloin, Colleen, even Denise) and made an enemy (The Paul), his friends gained and lost employment, met celebrities, and introduced him to the time-honored tradition of trying to hack a golf ball out of a sand trap in less than 30 strokes.

Over the past four years, we’ve seen close to 400 George comic strips, and I’d like to think that every one has shown us a little bit more about the characters and the lives they lead; lives that would not exist if you weren’t here to read them. And so it is with much anticipation that I look forward to George’s fifth anniversary, then on to the tenth, twentieth, fiftieth, and then my grandson taking over the strip when all the young cartoonists out there complain that all my gags are about golf, big dogs, and lasagna.

I can hardly wait.