The Return of JL8! (and more)

TL;DR: JL8 will return on June 5, I’ll be attending HeroesCon in Charlotte from June 14-16, and pre-show commissions are now open.

Good morning, everyone! Apologies, as I posted that this would go live on Wednesday or some such, but my work and sleep schedule is a mess, so it got pushed back a bit.

I’d like to apologize for being completely MIA for a few months now. Life has been…turbulent, to say the least. I’ve been attempting to juggle work with three massive life events—the sudden an unexpected death of my best friend, getting engaged to my longtime girlfriend, and getting a brand new puppy who, while doing fine now, has already had two fairly major health scares. While there’s a fairly even mix of good and bad in these events, they’ve each demanded exorbitant amounts of attention that have pulled me away from the drawing table for literally months at a time. Admittedly, I still should have been able to communicate what was happening—even something as simple as saying that “things are tough, be back later”—and I’d like to say I’m sorry for not doing so. This is something I’ve struggled with pretty consistently for the last few years, and it’s time I made a more concerted effort to get better about it.

On the bright side, these last three weeks I’ve returned to work with a vengeance. I’ve managed to finish the next JL8 update and have already started on the update that follows it. I’ve also produced a new print—or eight, depending on how you look at it—with designs on another that I’m planning to debut at HeroesCon next month (Charlotte, NC, June 14-16)! On top of that, I’m getting caught up on some overdue commissions which I’ll also be posting once they’re finished, so there’s a lot of content coming your way.

As for when JL8 will return, I’m going to begin posting again on June 5. The update schedule will likely be bi-weekly (meaning every other week). I would’ve brought it back this week, but I’m not sure I can get the second-next update done before HeroesCon, so I figured I’d hedge my bets and post on June 5, giving myself until the week following Heroes to post the second-next strip. Admittedly, it’s been literally six months since I last updated JL8, so I HIGHLY recommend getting caught back up to refresh your memory. I’d recommend re-reading from #257 to current. 

Finally, I suppose I’ll push my HeroesCon appearance. Being away from the drawing table as long as I have, I’ve started finding myself in some pretty uncomfortable financial positions, and having a successful showing at that con would go a LONG way. For those unfamiliar, HeroesCon takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina and this year it will be held on the weekend of June 14-16. I’ve opened up my pre-show commissions for the con, so if you’d like to guarantee a commission from me, that’s the best way to go about it. They can be purchased at my BigCartel store. I really hope to see some of you there! Selling well would be great, but honestly, it’s just such an incredible convention, I hope everyone who has the opportunity to attend does at least once.

I think that about covers it. I’m sorry this was so long-winded. That’s what I get for being radio-silent for months on end. When I finally come back, I have to talk about all kinds of business. As stated above, I’ll be actively working on getting better about that, so please bear with me.

As always, thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your continued support. I’m excited for you to see where the strip goes next! I think you’ll really enjoy it!

All the best,

Yale

P.S.

Would you like to meet our new puppy? He’s a long-haired mini dachshund named Niles! I’d love to introduce him, but if you’d rather not have puppy photos showing up on your webcomic page, I totally understand.