First and foremost, I want to say thank you to everyone for your support. Putting yourself out there is not easy and having to endure insults isn’t easy.
I have a major announcement to make. After everything that’s happened and how my world has been turned upside down, I’ve come to a decision. I’ve given this a lot of thought.
My main priority now will be to finish Sunnyville Stories #14. Once that is finished, I’m planning to take a long rest from Sunnyville. The saga of Rusty, Sam and friends will NOT be ending; it will go on hiatus.
Once I finish Sunnyville #14, I will take a break from everything. I’ve got a plan. First, I need some time to raise more money for Different Mousetrap Press LLC so there can be advertising and bigger print runs.
Second, I need to work on marketing & selling Sunnyville and other properties of mine such as Von Herling and my Ingmar the Wanderer concept. In addition to hitting the convention circuit for sales, I need to make connections with influential individuals who can provide me with much needed coverage in the media, both in print and online. Some of the people at Carmine Street Comics recommended I head to the bigger conventions to meet those who may be able to get me attention from the Comics Journal and Comic Book Resources. I may not be able to get back to New York City or to Los Angeles, but I am looking at possible options in Minneapolis. As I am about four hours away from there in Fargo, this might be able to work for me.
Third, the story of Sunnyville has gotten away from me. I need time to go over the universe and the story ideas.
Fourth and most important is that I need a “sabbatical”. Some of my detractors have been attacking me for having bad skill at drawing. To an extent, they have a point. While it’s always been my intent to improve upon my skills, it’s been hard to do that while also working on my comics. Once I finish Sunnyville #14, I will take a complete break from drawing any more regular stories to work on my technical skills. Besides working on basic drawing skills, I need to re-examine the comics form more closely. I’ll have more details on that soon.
While I had been contemplating a break for awhile, this trip was the catalyst. I need time off to rest, improve my skills and take a good look at everything.
