Speak your mind
Oh man … FOUR MONTHS! I just checked, and yes, it’s really been four months since my last post. I’m so sorry about that.
My excuse is the same as usual: I am just overwhelmed. On the bright side, work as a graphic artist and illustrator is going well enough to keep up with the ever-rising bills, which I’m genuinely grateful for. But between a full client load and raising kids with both parents working full-time, there isn’t a whole lot left in the tank at the end of the day. I have to admit that I severly understimated that part of parenthood.
Anyway, life has basically become an ongoing triage operation. Things that aren’t an immediate priority keep getting pushed to the back of the to-do-list. I just lost track on how far I have already pushed back posting on our site here. Not to mention the long overdue overhaul of the website itself. I know it’s broken, I just can’t find the time to fix it.
On top of everything, an issue with my shoulder has been slowing me down. That’s probably the inevitable result of decades at a drawing table and computer desk.
None of this is a complaint, really. It’s just the season of life we’re in. But I did want to check in, be honest about where things stand, and let you know I haven’t forgotten about you!
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
Stef
Glad to see you’re back! … Sort-of. But it’s better than nothing, I thought that you had flown the coop and I am sure that I wasn’t the only dumb cluck who thought so.
Two related questions. First, would it be worth keeping a stock of comics to post (maybe from the old Trade-a-Plane or comic books) when you’re running short of time and/or ideas, but still want to post something just to keep this place alive? And second, speaking of ideas, would you consider submitted ones, and if so, where to submit them?
Thanks for 20+ years of the strip, and looking forward to making it to at least 25!
Hi J! Thank you for your kind words! Yeah, as I wrote, I didn’t realize how long it’s actually been.
As for your questions: 1) We keep a certain stock anyways. We give the new comics to the magazines that print them and then publish them on our website at a later date. We barely have backup of older material though that we didn’t post online yet. A quick check says we postet about almost 1.5k strips already.
2) Yes, we absolutely consider submitted ideas! We can’t make any promises though, because not every idea works out in comic format. But we’re always happy for input!
Just put a “Throwback comic” frame on the old strips and re-run them. I’m sure there are many that people never saw the first time around or would be happy to read again. Throw a few comments about them below if you feel like it/have time for it.
Welcome back – and at least it’s for good reasons (kids and work) you’ve been missing, not because of illness or burnout, which have killed a lot of other webcomics through the years.
By the way, did you notice that you got a (very subtle) callout on The Whiteboard (https://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb4439.html)?
Hi Thorfinn! Thanks! Funnily enough, you’re the second person to point this out to me. Didn’t know that comic before … but it goes back to 2002! Wow! A very enduring colleague!
This seems out of character for Chuck. He’s more likely to be practicing the professional answers in his mind, then pushing the transmit button and saying somehting completely bonkers, earning him another “Chuck, is that you?”