Updates

Hi everyone. I'm sorry there's been radio silence here. I've had one of the most difficult periods of my life this past month, which began as physical illness, then added mental illness later because of the physical illness. I would say I'm partly on an upswing, I just need a bit more help in getting there. I'm searching more earnestly for it on Monday. Ultimately, unless I end up with a physical diagnosis that would be catastrophic, to say the least, I know I'll be just fine. I have lots of work to do, but I'll do it. I always have.

I haven't forgotten about this series, but I wanted to share with you that after this next major issue is complete, the series is going to shift into a more "short" based comics like "Pool Party" or "Bowtie Obsession". The interactions will still have the same flavor that they have today, but I'm going to take a bit of a break from writing major issues after this last one. I need a bit of time to relax my mind, because writing this series is hard. Like, really hard. I've been so surprised that the comic's major issues have gotten the attention and praise they have. I've been brought to tears (and still am when I go back and re-read them) by some of the wonderful comments left about them.

The flipside of that is then having a benchmark I feel I need to meet, or surpass that. It's false pressure I put on myself, but I've seen how powerful and meaningful the comic has become to some people, and I don't want to let those people down. I need to deliver those same feelings. "Need" - the illogical word in my mind that follows me around like a shadow, telling me I owe people things when the rational portion of my brain knows I don't. It's the conduit of the stress I let it place on me, but the flipside of that is that it actually does help me put out high quality work, but I need to reel that for my health, and that's why I'm switching the format after this last project. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll keep it in a shorter format forever. I just know it's the right thing to do right now.

We're going to do a motion comic. I've found some artists online who do animation for them that I can hire for an amount I can afford, but it'll be an oof. I'll also need to hire voice actors, and I have someone I can commission to help me write the music. It has the potential to be a very fitting and well executed "end" to the story - all I'll say is that it's based around a major life event (and a very happy one, don't worry), and I'm going to work really really hard on it. Even though it's gonna be a ton of work, but I know that if I put in that work, it'll be great when it's done.

I hope you'll continue supporting me while we work on this. It won't be out for a while due to the size of the project, and I need to write it still. I have a ton of ideas and story beats and ending all mapped out in my mind, so I've got a good start on it. I'm home visiting my parents in Indiana for basically the entire month of December, and my goal is to get it done while I'm there, since I will have little else to do.

I'm actually jazzed about this project and all the possibilities in store. I don't feel like I did when I was struggling to write "Jo's Fair" with this next issue, so I think it will come out onto the proverbial page, as it were, a little easier.

Thank you for all your support over the couple years this project has been going. I hope the final output that your assistance in funding the project helped make a reality was meaningful. It was for me, and I want this grand send off to be the culmination of everything up to this point.

- Travis