What is Clattertron?

Clattertron is my outlet for nonsense since I decided to make danieljhogan.com a portfolio site. I publish a new comic every Monday and try to publish at least one blog post a week too.

The Comics

If you enjoy crazy characters and off-beat, cartoony humor, you have come to the right place. In 2015, Clattertron won a SPACE Prize in the Webcomic Category. To the surprise of many, this means I can now refer to myself as an “award winning cartoonist.”

Foxes & Boxes

In September 2016, I started a new weekly comic story, Foxes and Boxes, here on clattertron.com. It is an all-ages fantasy-humor story, and my first attempt at a long-form comic. I publish a new page each Monday, and it is more character driven than my earlier ‘gag-a-day’ comics.

Elevator pitch: Foxes & Boxes is about two below-average adventurers for hire. They can do any job, they just won’t do a good job.

Start reading Foxes & Boxes from the beginning.

Meet the cast of Foxes & Boxes

Fox – The Foxes half of Foxes and Boxes, Fox is your basic adventurer-warrior. He lives in the shadow of his parents, both renowned adventurers (going by the team name Twin Tails), and their reputation follows him around–for better and for worse. First Appearance

Boxes – The Boxes half of Foxes and Boxes, Boxes is a cat and a mage. She majored in Elemental Magic with a double-minor in Necromancy and Communications at a mage university. Boxes works as an adventurer for hire to pay back her mage student loans. First Appearance

Lindsey – Guildchief Hammer’s right-hand ogre. Lindsey helps Hammer run the guild, Hammer’s Nails, and she makes makes a good cup of tea. Despite her appearance, Lindsey cares very much for her guildmates (including former guildmates Fox and Boxes), and she’s a hugger. First Appearance

Guildchief (Ava) Hammer – Founder and guildchief of the adventuring guild, Hammer’s Nails. She’s Fox and Boxes’ former boss, and according to her favorite tea mug, a “#1 Grandma.” First Appearance

More cast members will come as the story continues!

Pre-Foxes and Boxes Comics

From April 2012 to July 2016 my weekly comics were ‘gag a day’ style. While I did a few multi-part stories here and there, I meant for these to be self-contained joke comics with little to no continuity.

Meet the cast of the original Clattertron comic (2012 – 2016)

No Filter Fox – A talking fox who, as his name suggests, often does not have a filter. The ‘you shouldn’t say that’ kind of filter, not the cigarette kind. First Appearance

Observant Raptor – Genus: Observantraptor (meaning, “Observant predator”). Species: Observantraptor Notarealsaurum. Frequently hangs with No Filter Fox and acts as the Martin to his Lewis, because comedy. First Appearance

Guilt Trip Ghost – A free floating vaporous apparition who makes the living feel guilty, because someone has to. First Appearance

Guy the Porcupine – A big softie who likes to give hugs and be everyone’s best friend. First Appearance

HB – A walking, talking pencil. Sure, why not? First Appearance

Tickles the Elephant – She is addicted to social media and her smartphone. First Appearance

Daniel – The eye patch’d avatar of Clattertron writer and cartoonist, Daniel J. Hogan. First Appearance

Stephanie – The center of Daniel’s universe and the once and future Mrs. J. Hogan. First Appearance

How Are The Clattertron Comics Made?

From 2012 to 2014, I drew, lettered, and inked the comics on paper with pencil and various pens. I did the last touches, like clean up, in Photoshop. Starting in July 2014, I switched to a digital method. I layout and sketch my comics on graph paper, which is scanned, and I draw the final comic on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 using Clip Studio Paint (aka Manga Studio 5).

Clattertron title and face logo designed by Steve Jencks (also of Lost Highway’s B-movies and Cult Films).

All content, unless noted, is copyright Daniel J. Hogan and all rights reserved. If you wish to reprint a comic or a blog post, just ask first.

Humor Posts

As with most humor writing, situations and details might be exaggerated or changed for the sake of humor (or to ‘protect the innocent.’).

In short, don’t treat any of my Humor posts as 100% The Honest Truth. However, most are true, as truth is stranger than fiction.

News Posts

News posts focus more on site updates, convention news, behind the scenes information, and anything I don’t want to put in the Humor category. There will still be sarcasm and jokes though. You can always just check out the blog archive and click a title you find interesting.

Clattertron Prints and Merch

Looking for prints of Clattertron comics and other merch? Prints of select comic strips are available through my Society6 store. Other items include coffee mugs, phone cases/skins, throw pillows, and tote bags.

Who is Daniel J. Hogan?

I do a lot, and sadly very little involves solving mysteries with a talking dog. I’m a blogger, freelance writer, podcaster, and cartoonist. I live in Lansing, Michigan.

I’m the author of the fantasy satire novel, The Magic of Eyri (and creator of the accompanying podcast) and I was the Geek half of the podcast/blog Ginger and the Geek. I wrote for Lost Highway’s B-movie Reviews, The Idler, and the Capital Area District Libraries Blog.

I also taught adult education classes on blogging, WordPress, podcasting, and social media. Yes, with a classroom and everything.

Though my drawing skills might suggest otherwise, I studied animation (and film) in college. The Clattertron comics are a continuation, of sorts, of the strange humor featured in the animated shorts I produced in college (Lunch Date, Tracker Joe’s Space Safari, Advice).

I live with my wife Stephanie and our cats Nigel and Rags. Each are experts at giving me disapproving looks.

You can find me on Twitter, @danieljhogan.

What’s with the eye-patch in the comics?

Exactly.

OK. Ever since I wore an eye-patch as a joke during an Ignite Lansing presentation (“How to Survive Writing a Novel“), it stuck, and I eventually used it in the comics. I liked the look and also because it meant I didn’t have to draw myself wearing glasses. I could go on about how I liked the asymmetrical aspect too, but that’s getting into some next-level cartooning theory.

Privacy Policy

If you comment and leave your email and other information, it is safe.

I don’t sell contact information, and I won’t use the information to send unsolicited emails (unless your comments or actions warrants such an action). That is all. I have better things to do than sell email addresses for a nickel apiece (like look at kitten photos in my RSS reader). Advertisers on the site might add cookies and such to help deliver more relevant ads too. All of that is black magic mojo I don’t even begin to understand.

Newsletter Privacy Policy
If you sign up for the Clattertron email newsletter, I will not spam you and I won’t sell or give out your contact information. I will only send out one newsletter a week–unless a situation requires me to do otherwise (super-important news, site problems, etc).

Affiliate Programs Disclaimer(s)
Clattertron.com belongs to a few affiliate marketing programs via Commission Junction and Amazon.com.

To sum up: I get a commission (usually a percentage of a sale) if a visitor to clattertron.com uses an affiliate link to buy a product or service. A lot of this information is repeated below, but I wanted to have a general statement. I’m not employed by any of the affiliate folks, nor do I represent them or they represent me. I use affiliate programs to have more interesting ads on the site (hooray for niche audiences!), and to make money from some of the things I link to, like products.

Read What is Affiliate Marketing? on the Commission Junction site for more information. The affiliate marketing programs help me pay the bills to keep Clattertron running. There is no extra cost applied to visitors by using an affiliate marking link.

Here is a disclosure policy for Clattertron.com:

“This policy is valid from 28 July 2013

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.”

(made using disclosurepolicy.org)

Regarding the Amazon Affiliate program–I do not have access to any of your personal information via Amazon. Clattertron.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Regarding the ThinkGeek Affiliate program, and other Commission Junction Affiliate Programs–The same thing is true as with the Amazon Affiliate Program: I do not have access to any of your personal information via Commission Junction–I earn advertising fees by visitors following links to ThinkGeek or other CJ sites and purchasing items/services.

To sum up: if you follow a link to Amazon.com, ThinkGeek.com, or other affiliate programs from this site, and buy any item(s), I get a percentage, without any additional cost to you. I do not know who ordered what–all I see are the items ordered/shipped and the price paid. I do not have access to any personal information–no names, addresses, or payment information.

Bonus: I find quirky stuff on Amazon for my blog series, Amazon Enigmas.