New? Confused? Me too, usually. Start at the start, or read the chapter synopses and who's who.
Which Roman are you? (soon to be added: takeaway code for the results)

The pattern behind the plaster is meant to represent a slightly organised effort at opus craticium, a light, cheap method of building used in Herculaneum and Pompeii as people added additional floors and overhanging balconies. Pompeii had a lot of rebuilding to do after the previous big earthquake. Unlike the brickwork (at least for the first few floors) we can still see in the skyscrapers of an ancient city such as Ostia, opus craticium was fragile, not particularly fireproof, and not much of it would survive in the archaeological record if not for Vesuvius.

 
16 April 2009: If it wasn't Zahi Hawass touting it for the past year, I'd be a lot more excited about the news now flooding the airwaves about the possibility archaeologists have found Antonius & Cleopatra's tomb. We'll see. I'm nervous about Hawass getting his hands on the real site. I suppose we'll be seeing a crazy documentary with Hawass manhandling mummies soon, and an exhibition with a high admission price. Well, whatever it takes to keep the museums running. More grumpy talk...

23 February 2009: I've been playing with this Frazetta image, over here and here, testing the brush pen on a copy. Which apparently has been unsettling some viewers. Oh dear.

10 February 2009: There's a long and thoughtful review of SPQR Blues on The Webcomic Overlook (also on ComixTalk) this week.

Thank you to everyone who has given support and donations in 2008 (and in January 2009, too). The ones in December have been a lovely holiday gift. (And they keep the server—and the artist— running!)

December 2008: I am utterly loving the French version of SPQR Blues translated by faithful and industrious reader Wood. The entire Chapter One archive, Des objets de valeur, is available, and Chapter Two is moving along at a nice pace.

9 September 2008 Fan Art! Yay! T.M.P. says, "Let me offer some fan art on the altar of patience while you enjoy your rightfully earned vacations.... I remembered I should practise roman writing and so I let them write 'Cal. Speudon is a dirty pig' on a wall." I absolutely love this (and not just because I get to see the guys again without actually having to draw them... though that's part of it :D ).

You can always check progress (and sometimes see spoiler pencils) up at the top of the page or on Twitter (if I manage to remember I have a Twitter account). In the meantime, visit some of the sidebar banners on the right and visit the links page for some fun/interesting/truly weird stuff.