Well, folks… that’s it! Chapter 5 is done! On to Chapter 6!
But first, I think I need to take a little bit of time off. This chapter took me an awfully long time to complete, intersecting as it did with a lot of issues at work and at home, resulting in more than the average number of delays. I think a little vacation is going to do me some good, and let me stretch my legs, so to speak.
This is not, however, an indefinite delay – the “permanent vacation,” as it were. I’ve already written Chapter 6 and have begun sketching some of the pages out in advance of starting work in earnest on it. But I do think I’d like a little rest, maybe a month or two. This chapter was really grueling for me and I just need a little distance to get in the right head space to get back on top of it. Not only do I have a lot of regular work piling up, I have some traveling to do, and also, for some time now, I’ve been doing preliminaries for another comic that I’d like to try to make a start on, just as a side project; and when I’m in 6-Commando mode, I devote myself wholly to it and really one comic at a time is my genuine limit right now. I’m not sure what it’s going to be, if anything – probably nothing – but a brief change of pace will do me a lot of good, I feel.
At the outside, I will continue 6-Commando at the end of the summer, commencing Chapter 6 on August 17. I may end up relenting and staring the chapter earlier than that, but I’ll call that my outside start date. I know that sounds like an awfully long time, but I’m due, I think, and I won’t be totally dropping off the map – I’ll update here with sketches and banter and so forth, just a little less regularly than I normally do. Maybe I can even convince some friends in the comics world to do some guest art around the edges to keep boredom at bay.
But there it is. I just want to close by saying thank you to everyone who’s been reading for so long. This project has been a real pleasure for me and I’m looking forward to its continuation at the end of the summer. Your comments and support have been really terrific all the way along, as has your patience, as I’ve sometimes struggled to keep up with this. Drawing comics, let me tell you, is a really difficult undertaking, but also a very rewarding one. It does me good to know that you all appreciate it as you do, and for that I thank you.
So I hope you enjoy your summer and will join me again in August for the start of Chapter 6. I’ll be around!
All the best, everyone!
That was a great chapter, you’re doing a fantastic job.
Keep up the good work Mike, and enjoy your vacation 🙂
Thanks, man! I’m glad you dug it! It was a lot of fun to draw, but also a lot of effort. A little time off will be good for me and the comic.
Sweet, rest the brain. Doodle to keep limber and oh yeah…have some fun.
😀 I’ll certainly do my best!
*smirks* The opposite of the fully white page I see. ^.=.^
I will look forward to when you start posting again. Hope you will be able to rest good and well. 😉
😀
Yeah, a little time to recharge will be good for me. The thing is even if I jumped right back in, there’d immediately be new delays, since I have a bunch of traveling to do in the next few months. So I might as well spare you and just take the time.
I hope you’ll keep up and come back in August!
I will ravenously consume any and all filler
I’ll definitely do what I can!
To put it bluntly and simply, OH F**K!!!
In a world where multiple atomic bombs have been lit off in anger, I don’t think anyone has a clue just how powerful thermonuclear weapons are. So, WHEN they are used, that’s pretty much gonna be it.
Hydrogen bombs are more like forces of nature. A seriously big problem.
What a cliffhanger, sir! Enjoy the time off and I am sure we all are gonna be looking forward to the next one in August or whenever you plan on kicking it off if sooner.
Maybe if you can line up some guest artists, you can do another short similar to what you have had earlier in the strip. Whatever you come up with, I am sure it will be barely able to satisfy our craving until then.
Have a good summer!
Unfortunately, I don’t have any side stories lined up this time, but I think I have some bits and pieces in my back pocket to throw up now and then: tanks, maps, history, etc. hopefully it’ll tide everyone over. Like I said, though, the big thing is to reassure you that it’s not just an indefinite halt, but a vacation. I guess I’m kind of low impact, in that I’m shielding myself from “the real world” by just putting this up online and not, as most genuinely competent comic artists do, aiming for print. Check my Links page if you want to know what I mean by genuinely competent artists – they’re all much better than I am, let me tell you. Since I’m not selling anything, really, I don’t have any real fear of failure. So I’m in that odd limbo where I can do exactly the comic I want, and which you all seem to like, but without bending to a more generic view of the broadly popular or archetypal, or worrying about not being “good enough” for this and that.
Boy, my mind wandered there. But that’s why I need a vacation, anyway.
What the hell?
Yes, basically.
If anyone hears “winning” make peace with god.
Whoa! A whole frikkin’ page dedicated to a “Wait, what?”.
Well played, sir, well played.
😀
Every so often I reserve the right to go all artsy-fartsy and do a thing like this. Sometimes it even pays off!
Taking some time off sounds like a good idea. Nothing like a creative break. You’ll be back, just like last time.
I’mn looking forward to it.
Remember the “white page”? Yeah this reminds me alot of that… it send shivers down the spine.
The reciprocal has shown!
Climax and anti-climax (or something). great job man, great job.
Have a good and fruitful vacation!