And here we are, a comic!  Forgive me that it’s a bit late, this was medical week — an MRI on Monday, an epidural in the neck on Wednesday, and my cardiologist is pestering me for a CAT scan of my heart. He’ll get it, just not THIS week. And I have to see my family doctor on next Monday, and I have to call another doctor for a prescription…the chase has been a bit much the past couple of weeks.  And in all that, I started the Intro to Comic Art class from Comics Experience, taught by Robert Atkins.

WOW. Just WOW.

I’m going to learn a lot in this class. It’s stretching my limits a bit, but that’s a Good Thing(tm).

The title of this page is more than a bit of a double-entendre. I know it has taken me a little bit of time to produce it, and the next few pages may take me more than the usual week to produce, but I have a good reason — the story is getting fiendishly complex, I’m putting a lot more into the artwork, and I’m trying to keep the quality up and not let it slide in favor of just “getting it out”. I know, that isn’t the standard or even accepted “professional” model of pushing to meet the deadlines.

One. I’m not a professional yet. I’m still learning this stuff. I don’t have a pro’s skill or a pro’s speed.  So it gets done when it gets done, and when I’m satisfied that it’s good enough.  Period.

Two. I’m the boss, so the deadlines are mine.  I came from the computer industry, where all of the deadlines were artificial. They weren’t based on the publishing industry, that had to get something out by a specific date, or the theatrical community, where “the show must go on” is driven into your bones before you can talk — though I have roots in both of those as well. Believe me, it rips at me to let a deadline slide — I want to have that page hit at the tick, and I want the “curtain” to rise on the hour. These are embedded in my soul.  But just as embedded in me is a loathing of a deadline that makes no sense, that’s set just to be set.  I remember a hundred times a programming project was rushed to meet a deadline that was pulled out of thin air, a deadline that could have been changed when the circumstances changed, instead of requiring people to pull 12, 14, 16-hour days, or all-nighters.  When I get a boss, and that person sets a deadline, then I’ll meet it. But for now, the deadlines are mine, and if circumstances change, so will the deadlines.

Three. I’m disabled. My health comes before any project.

Four. I’m taking art courses so I can learn how to do this better. Those come out of the pool of available time.

And last, I can’t concentrate on this at the exclusion of all else, or I’ll fry out.  So far, this has been the longest I’ve ever stayed on a single project in my life.  I plan to continue on it to the end. That means managing my time and energy so I don’t lose interest or burn out along the way. This story will be told.  That’s all there is to it.

On another note, I’m not signed up to table at any conventions anytime soon, but I’ll be attending Intervention Con in September, so I’ll see anyone else who goes to it there. I know, it seems like a long way off to September…but Intervention fills up fast, and the time goes by faster than you think!

Here’s a timely short, based on the old wives’ tale that you can balance an egg (or some other object, like a broom) upright on its end at the Spring Equinox.  Jenny doesn’t do things by half-measures!

We’ve come to a point between two arcs, and I need a bit of time to get my ducks in a row.  I know, I know, I should have done this before, and I thought I had, to be honest. But when it came time to start putting things together, I found that I wasn’t as sure of where I was going as I had thought.  So I sat down night before last with my story consultants (my family) and talked about it.

Talking it through helped a lot.  I have a pile of notes and a much clearer picture in my mind as to where the next 47 story pages.  Why 47? That’s how many pages are left in Issue #3 and the entirety of Issue #4. When I hit Issue #5, that’s Part II, and things shift into a higher gear.

So here’s the upshot. Here’s a short to tide you over for the next week.  I’ll probably do another, unless someone sends me some guest art (hint, hint).  But I need a couple of weeks to get the script work done and the artwork done for the next chunk of pages.  But please don’t think I’ve abandoned you.  I’ve had some health issues, I’ve had some time management issues, but I’m going to finish this story.

And we’re back, with another comic!  I’ll update as often as I can, I hope at least every other week if not weekly.  My limiting factor is my physical condition, so it’s not something I can generally control. I’m going to finish this story.  It just may take me a while.

Sorry this one took a long time, but it’s six panels and they were really complex.  I think it was worth it, though.

You’ve probably noticed that I’m having some issues with the weekly publishing schedule.  This is largely because I’ve got more stuff taking up more of my time, the weather has been more mercurial, which makes my body more uncomfortable, and the pages I’ve been doing have been very challenging, requiring lots of special effects and digital painting that I can’t model in the base art. It all adds up to not being able to get the page done in a single week.

Rather than rush it, and produce a lower-quality page, or push myself too hard and hurt myself, I’m going to say that the target is a weekly post date, but if the page isn’t ready, it will be up the NEXT post date.  I can’t let myself slide too far, or I’ll just slide into oblivion, but I have to be realistic and give myself extra time when I really need it.

This week’s page is very complex and very important to the storyline, so I want to take some extra time to do it right.  It won’t be up for Monday, but WILL be up for the Monday after that.  I’m going to be spending a bunch of time getting the next arc put together as well, so we’ll see how time comes together.  I may need to ask for some guest art if anyone is willing to contribute some.

We’re back, with a new comic page!  I promised you one, it just took a little longer than I wanted.  Sorry about that, what with bad weather and stomach problems, I just couldn’t get the time at the tablet to sit and be creative as I needed to do. But I’m better, it’s a sunny and pretty day, I feel good, and the page is ready and up for your enjoyment!

I’m sad that something had to happen in the DigiCon organizers’ lives to prevent the February con from going off as planned, but hopefully it’ll come around again soon, and we can gather there online and have a nice weekend together.  I’m not going to sweat it, these things happen.

In case the references are vague, Locke is talking about Dante’s Divine Comedy, a poetic masterpiece in which he relates a story of his own allegorical journey to both Hell and Heaven.  In Hell, his guide is Virgil, a Roman poet.  In Heaven, he is guided by Beatrice, his ideal woman.

Ooooh, the plot thickens!  And no, he’s not a Time Lord, despite any superficial resemblance to a Gallifreyan regeneration! It’s nothing like that, really.  That’s my story (literally), and I’m sticking to it.  Any resemblances to any evil rogue Time Lords, living, dead, or ravenous cyborg, trapped in the Time Vortex for all eternity with Rassilon and the Council of Time Lords is purely coincidental.  Really. (Even though I really thought Anthony Ainley was one of the best-looking and most debonair Big Bads in history.)

I have bad news on a peripheral topic.  Due to circumstances beyond our control, the DigiCon in February had to be cancelled. It’s all about car accidents and sudden expenses in the convention committee, and family emergencies trump everything — we all understand what happened, and we’ll just reschedule it for later down the road, and not worry about it.  That’s the beauty of the whole DigiCon concept; if there’s an insurmountable problem, we can reschedule it without having to break hotel contracts, deal with pro contract failure clauses, food spoilage, you name it.  Our con committee member can handle the emergency without having to worry, and later we’ll just have the con and everyone will be happy.   I’ll keep you posted.

Finally, a story comic!  I’m sorry it took me so long.  Bad weather really has a negative impact on the condition of my neck, and THAT has a proportional effect on how long I can work in one sitting.  Mom Nature finally figured out it was winter here in Philly, dipping the temp and throwing a bunch of rain, sleet, and then snow at us, with precisely the kind of cold, clamminess that makes my neck turn into a screaming monkey-fist knot, emitting red ouchie lines.  And as Zach Weiner will be the first to tell you, red ouchie lines win every time.  (That’s a reference to his comic “Captain Excelsior Stupendous“, where a court case is tried on the basis of “ouchie lines” from someone’s hand.)

We’re two weekends from the next DigiCon, on February 4th and 5th right here online. It’s a comic con you don’t have to travel anywhere to attend. I’m hoping to have a comic in progress at the con, so I can share my desktop and let interested parties watch me work.  Last I heard, I was going to be on a panel with Fesworks on the subject of Jenny Everywhere, too.  The first DigiCon was a lot of fun, and this one promises to be even more fun.

Today, many comics, web hosts, and service providers like Google and Wikipedia have blacked out their pages or placed placards in protest of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act, and the H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act,  or SOPA, the corresponding House bill.  I’m going to give some of the persons behind these bills the benefit of the doubt and say that the damage they could do to the Internet and our economy would be through “unintended consequences”. They cynic in me believes otherwise, but I don’t feel like going off on a rant.

Story comic soon, and the DigiCon on February 4th & 5th!