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Q: How come I only get about half the jokes? And what is a (gaming term)? A: OK, now, the crucial piece of information you might be missing is that The Order of the Stick is a comic that parodies fantasy roleplaying games.specifically, Dungeons & Dragons. When the comic started out, it was only being seen by people who were already coming to my gaming site, so there was little expectation that anyone reading it wouldn.t .get. it. However, as we have spread in popularity, more and more people are finding their way to OOTS, and I.m hearing more about people who don.t get all the references. I heartily encourage anyone curious about roleplaying games to go out and try D&D; despite my loving satire, I feel it is a fantastic game that has greatly enriched my life over the years. Mind you, OOTS can be enjoyed by people who don.t know what a d20 is. I try hard to make sure that the strip contains plenty of character-based humor so that even those not up-to-date on the latest rules will get a chuckle. But ultimately, OOTS will remain rooted in gaming jokes in the future. Top Q: Will OOTS ever be collected for publication? A: You should try looking around the site more before asking questions. The first OOTS book, The Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools, went on sale January 3rd, 2005, here in the Shop. Expect more books to come as soon as we can crank them out. Top Q: How do you make the OOTS strips? A: I use Adobe Illustrator, a high-end vector-based graphics program. Believe it or not, creating those little stick figures require an expensive design program and years of experience. Illustrator gives me the smooth blocks of color and nice lines that I think add a lot to the OOTS look. Plus, it allows me to save a series of frequently-used poses, which cuts down my production time. Top Q: How long does it take you to make each comic? A: About 2-3 hours each, assuming I don.t get interrupted or distracted. That includes writing the dialogue and crafting the actual strip, but not getting the idea. Usually, I come up with ideas while I am on the subway or eating lunch, so I don.t count that time. Top