The reason the ground looks different from last strip is that it rained today. That's one of the hazards we risk when the comic's set outside.

One problem I ran into while photographing it was that wet surfaces reflect light differently from dry ones, so the lighting setup I was using was producing too much glare on the ground. Moving the light to different angles didn't help much, and I started thinking that it would be great if I had some thin cloth I could drape over it, to diffuse it a bit. But the strip was already taking longer than expected, and I didn't want to head all the way back inside to pull out more equipment. Then I realized that the solution was right in front of me — or rather, right on me.

The point is, I'm willing to sit around shirtless in the rain at night if that's what it takes to provide you, the reader, with the comic you're used to.

I never have to take my shirt off in the rain, because I'm a writer. I think I'm so great.

I wrote Lewis's comments today. -Ben