Well, there you have it, folks.  Another chapter done!  Hope this one lived up to expectations!  Whew, boy, this was a lot of work – 48 page chapters are a lot to handle, with life on top of everything else.  But I’m happy with this one, and I’m just rolling along, here.

So!  Now it’s time to talk some business, I think.  First and foremost, these news: Lora Innes and Crystal Yates are running their campaign Comic Creators for Freedom starting today!  I’ve participated in this event for several years now, and it’s definitely worthwhile – over 150 comic artists collaborate to create a single work of art as a way of getting donations for a charity that helps the victims of human trafficking.  I know how awkward it can feel in the information age to donate to causes of one sort or another, but I urge you to at least consider it.  This year’s theme is “Awkward School Photos,” and so I drew up a little image of Sarah trying to make the best of her unpleasant high school days.  If you’re interested, have a look at the CCF website:

ccf_website_bannerAnd now, for some other stuff.  I’m going to take a couple weeks off, I’ve decided.  It will be at least through the holidays, and probably until the first of February.  I really hate to do it, but there are a number of reasons I have to do this.  First, I’ve been asked to draw a short comic for an anthology, and also to do some illustrations for a game supplement, and I’ve agreed to do both.  It being the end of a chapter, I’m ready to get into this without a major disruption, but I really need to focus on that totally until it’s done.  If the anthology goes to print in the near future, I’ll be sure to let you know – these things change fast, as I’m sure you can all imagine, but having committed to it on my end, I can’t just refuse to follow through.  And as for the game, well – I’ll let you know about that as soon as the author gives me clearance.

Also, I have to get some groundwork done for my licensing exams.  I had a lot of trouble getting authorizations to take the tests, and then they blacked out the system for a long stretch of months, and now that things are back up they’ve just announced that they’re going to be changing the rules for licensing yet again.  So I really have to set my teeth and get this thing over with, and given the choice between drawing comics and studying for a ing, bureaucratic and obstructionist exam, I usually would choose drawing comics.

And finally, I have been feeling over the past few months that I’ve been neglecting my family and friends in favor of my art projects, and that’s not really fair, either.  And it being the holidays, I don’t want to impose my art projects on them while I’m trying to enjoy some time off at home and around my circle in New York and New England.  So I’m going to take a little time to do that, as well.

In the meantime, I will put things up here as I have them on hand, and keep everyone posted as regularly as possible on my progress as I prep Chapter 5.  This is not a “permanent hiatus,” I promise – I actually can’t wait to get into the next chapter, but I know that unless I pause and get my business done, I’ll just keep letting things slide in favor of 6-Commando, and ultimately that won’t be good for this comic, or my commitments, or for me.

So there we have it, folks.  Keep checking back for fun bits in between, and look for Chapter 5 to begin sometime in February, 2014.  Until I see you again, all the best!