2023: Return of the King(s)

HEY EVERYBODY. Thanks for your patience this month while I was bodied over and over again by conventions, craft fairs, trips to my parents' house, and FINALLY bad news from Gannon's job that's thrown the rest of the year into question! Nothing has happened yet but boy are we both suffering with anxiety in the meantime!

In a panic, I went comics goblin mode and planned out a production and release schedule for both Robber/Robert Chapter 2 and Sakana Volume 4. In true Sakana form, it only took me being extremely stressed out to get the writing flowing again! WHOOPS! 

I'm not announcing this publicly yet, to give myself time to get a little further into the plan without needing to backpedal if things DO go south and my schedule gets screwed up. But here's what I'm thinking for the next few months: 

APRIL 2023: 

• I keep thumbnailing both comics until I have about 20-30 pages ready to start penciling 
• I start penciling RR pages and working on Sakana pages (which have never had a formal pencil > ink > etc process, so I'd basically just start making and finishing them)

MAY 2023:

• I keep working on both comics, getting as many pages done as I can
• Hopefully by the end of May I will have at least 10 pages of both comics finished and ready to post

JUNE 2023: 

• I RELAUNCH ROBBER/ROBERT with hopefully a 10-20 page buffer. I will have posted all finished pages to the $7 tier by this point, but now they'll start posting either on Slipshine or publicly (depending on upcoming contractual talks)
• I keep working on both comics
• Either May or June, I'm hoping to have the Sakana website refreshed with new art, cast pictures/bios, and a better system for reading the main comic and bonus comics

JULY 2023: 

• My birthday month, I RELAUNCH SAKANA, with hopefully a 10-20 page buffer. The $5 and above tiers will have seen all the new pages at this point, but now it will start posting publicly again
• I keep working on both comics

THE REST OF 2023 AND 2024

I keep making comics! :V

This may or may not sound like A LOT to you, but I've got double tailwinds of ENTHUSIASM and TOTAL UNCERTAINTY at my back, so I think I've got a fairly good shot at nailing this if things don't get TOO hectic in my personal life. (which, not saying they will yet! just not totally sure!) 

If you've been following my work for a long time you might realize I'm trying out a really cool new technique called BUILDING A BUFFER, which, historically, was a difficult task for me. But I'm older and steadier now, so I'm looking forward to it! 

ALSO, if this seems like it's coming out of left field, it kind of is! But I've also already started on all of it! I have 18 RR thumbs and 3 Sakana thumbs finished already! (3 might not sound like a lot but I was wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to jump back in after 3 years out of the game, so the fact that there's any Sakana thumbnails at all at this point has me feeling extremely pumped.) (Also, ALSO, historically that's like 1 or 2 extra thumbnails than I ever let myself draw before I started making the pages, so I'm already practicing a high level of restraint.) 

Anyways, this got long! I'll be posting more info on both comics at the $5 tier (sakana) and the $7 tier (rr) after I push send on this post. Just wanted to get my thoughts out there! Thanks so much for your support!