magicshoppe

Heather Goes Off The Trails: Cast of Characters

I received some feedback about folks not remembering characters ten pages apart since that could also be five months apart. Sure, they were referring to comics like Statue Rentals and Little Witch. But, Heather has somehow stayed relevant while being just a statue in a remote woods.

Release Note: I was going to do this on Thursday, but the next five Thursdays are booked with short story teaser renders. Also, I wanted this to release week to week with the other cast page...

Garden Statues

There's a teaser image for this story here.

The car passed the gatehouse and drove up the large curved driveway leading to the front of the mansion. The car was worn and old but recently cleaned and otherwise well maintained. If not for the obvious wear it might have qualified as an antique car.

The driver parked slightly around the curve and got out of the car. He was...

RENDER: Garden Statues - A Teaser

I'm on a roll with getting teasers ready. This one is slightly spoilery. But not so much that will matter two days from now when you read the story. How do you feel about the translucent dialog bubbles? I'm curious.

Garden Statues is a standalone written short story not part of any my franchises. It isn't a comic strip. The story is a little over 2400 words and features magic, statues, and long duration transformations.

Scheduling Notes

This has little to do with the teas...

Statue Rentals: Cast of Characters

I received some feedback about folks not remembering characters ten pages apart since that could also be five months apart. Fair. It was Reggie, poor Reggie. Forgotten after 2 appearances 5 or so months apart.

In any case, this is the second Cast of Characters post to help index the comicstrips. It was supposed to appear here Tuesday. No idea why it didn't.

Plot Summary

1. Stacy arrives at the art studio hoping to be hired for a modeling gig.

2. Stacy tell...

   2025-10-16 03:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Statue Rentals #12: Home, Sweet Home

Mom is obviously a loving and thoughtful person, worried sick about her son, now daughter.

It occurs to me in hindsight that Anna should have been turned into a statue a few days ago so she would ready to install at the restaurant as soon as Stacy was removed from the restaurant. Was Brian saving money? Is there some policy Meredith has? Maybe no model was available? If I were smart, I'd write this down somewhere and make it a minor side conversation when I have a comic that's too short...

Trust Machines: Briefs

“Wow, they’re all together?” Phil was tapping his friend’s arm and pointing toward the venn machine.

“What? Who? Oh. How many are already in the machine?”

“Wow, they’re all together?” Phil was tapping his friend’s arm and pointing toward the venn machine.

“What? Who? Oh. How many are already in the machine?”

“Three women that I saw. Now, four, five,” he said. “Is clothing getting thrown out of the machine?”

“Yep, they’re going ...

TEASER - Trust Machines: Briefs

Evan watched as Charles walked away. He was startled from his woolgathering when a pair of teenage girls walking by giggled at the man holding a pair of underwear near the mall exit.

Early in the story coming to Patreon this weekend, the scene above happens. Trust Machines: Briefs is playful tale about a chance encounter Evan has with a man holding a bag full of men's boxerbriefs. Briefs is a short story set in DK Fenger's Trust Machine universe. It is approxima...

Little Witch #15: Date Night, Part 2

EDIT: I don't know what happened to cause the images to go missing. It was there yesterday when I looked at it. They're here now. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Off by one scheduling: The statue in the restaurant, Anna, is first seen in Statue Rentals #12, which comes out next week and we see her meet Meredith. Oops. At least the appearances are less than 2 months apart this time.

I added a city backdrop to the exterior of the restaurant. Though I'm wondering now if it isn'...

Little Witch: Cast of Characters

I received some feedback about folks not remembering characters ten pages apart since that could also be five months apart. Fair. That was for Statue Rentals but it spurred me to make Cast pages for Little Witch, Statue Rentals, and the highly character dense (not!) Heather stories. Rather than bug you with these pages coming out on separate days, I'm releasing them a minute before the normal Tuesday releases for the next three weeks.

And, while I'm at it, I'm going to put a plot summar...

Meet My Ex (Part 2 of 2)

Braedon met Lia for dinner on Sunday. Lia was a little worried. “She didn’t say anything.”

“Not a peep or a flash.”

“That’s better than an outright no, I guess.”

“What brought on being a mannequin? And don’t tell me Janet did it.”

“Indirectly. More like how Janet influenced Courtney.”

“You never said anything about Courtney.”

“At first, I thought she’d try it. And even if she did enjoy it, she’d work at the shop like the ...

RENDER - Gutter Maids 1 & 2

2025/09/30 - When I originally scheduled this (in early July), there was only the first page and a vague notion of a second page. Now, there's the second page. I have a vague notion about the third page. Will I finish it before this posted at the end of September? (It's August 6 as the second page is added to the post.) Either way, this will not be a lengthy series if it can even be called a series. This is just some fun with size changes. (For now... *horror organ chord*)

I ma...

Meet My Ex (Part 1 of 2)

A two part story about a man who is happy to introduce his latest girlfriend to last more than a month to his ex-girlfriend.

“That’s the apartment. It’s functional. Oh, and that’s Janet, my old girlfriend,” Braedon said to Lia.

“What? The mannequin?”

Standing in a corner of the living room of Braedon’s apartment, facing the television, was a mannequin. It was wearing a slinky, strapless, little black dress, black heels, a wide, gold chain belt, a pai...

Statue Rentals #11: Arrangements

Texting. I hope people just know how texting looks. The other person's name is at the top and their text is on the left side. The phone owner's text is on the right. I don't have to spell it out, right? Oh. Heh.

Transcript

ROW ONE

Panel 1 – at the art studio. Stacy and Brian are by the sofa

Brian (stands): I should leave. You have a lot to think about. I'm being a distraction.

Stacy: It was nice to finally b...

RENDER - Heather Reflects on the Year

And the ivy is dead. Fall begins September 22 in the northern hemisphere.

My Reflections

Heather Goes Off The Trail was just a fun idea I had in October 2024. #1-7 were rendered 2024-10-21 in standard HD dimensions (1920x1080) and #8-10 were rendered 2024-11-10 in 4K HD (3840x2160). And then they were released here that November and on deviantArt the first week of December.

When I realized I should make a Seasons Greetings render, so began the HGOTT Seasons series culminat...

Trust Machines - Puzzled

Tom and Susan are back. And Susan is subject to one of Tom's overly cleaver venns, if I can say so myself.

“Hey, you can’t cut the line!” A man called out cutting through the background din of the mall.

“I’m by myself,” Pat said, he was pulling a hand truck behind him. “How could I be cutting the line by myself?”

“You look like you expect to use the machine.”

“That’s a look?”

“The hand cart is a clue.”

“I suppose.”...

Little Witch #14: Date Night, Part 1

Daddy's a bit of prick, isn't he? No wonder she likes to spend time ignoring him.

I may have over done the "Hey, Mommy is remembering prior events" visual cue. Likewise, the camera angles for the car shots are a bit much. And I guess they were lucky no other cars were out and about while they were out.

Transcript

LEFT SIDE

Panel 1 – in the car

Daddy: Do you think Mrs. Ippalla will be alright?

Mommy: We...

Doll For Rent

Note: This is one of my longer short stories at a little over 6000 words. I would normally split into two parts except there's no good place to split this story in the 3000th word vicinity. So enjoy some extra word count this week.

Lars was surfing Beggar’s List when he saw an advert for a sex doll. It was the most realistic doll he’d ever seen anywhere. He’d been considering buying one new but couldn’t justify spending the thousands of dollars...

Statue Rentals #10: A Decent Proposal

The placement of her left hand in panel 1 was entirely by accident. I was amused and vexed by it. Amused that it had happened. And vexed that it hadn't been on purpose. Such is making art.

Transcript

ROW ONE

Panel 1 – On the sofa in the art studio

Brian: I never thought this day would come. You are even prettier in person.

Stacy: You spent a lot of time near me as when I was a statue. What do you want?

Magic Shoppe - For Real Now

As the door opened, a bell bracketed to the wall rang. “Welcome to the Magic Shoppe,” the tall, thin man behind the counter announced. “What can I do for you today?”

The man walked to the counter still looking around the shoppe. Aside from the man behind the counter and a woman wearing a maid’s uniform sweeping the essentially spotless floor, the shop was vacant. “Hi, I don’t know if you can help. But, I suppose if the rumors are true, you can.”

“I can assure you...

Little Witch #13: Who's Babysitting?

Mommy and Daddy go out on their date, finally. Who's babysitting? Or, more accurately, who's babysitting whom?

Mommy and Daddy go out on their date, finally. Who's babysitting? Or, more accurately, who's babysitting whom?

Transcript

Panel 1 – foyer

Mommy: We haven't gone on a “date” date in far too long. I hope she won't cause you any trouble.

Mrs. Ippalla: I’m sure she’ll be no trouble at all.

...