Thursday, April 1, 2010

Unhappy News

I’m not really sure how to say this, so I’m just going to go ahead with it.
Leigh and I have decided that we can no longer work together.

Please don’t misunderstand. We’re still friends. There was no big argument or fight. It’s just that we’ve been business partners for over three years now and in all honesty, neither one of us really feels it anymore.

You see, when an artist and a writer first start working together, it’s like magic. The artist loves the bold, intricate plot lines the writer devises and the writer is amazed at the gorgeous images the artist creates to bring his stories to life. But then, after a while, that first blush of collaboration fades. The dialogue isn’t so compelling anymore. The art begins to look the same.

Oh, but there’s no reason to stop. You still work well together. All the other artists and writers think you’re getting along splendidly. There’s just no spark anymore. Every so often, one or the other tries to spice things up. The writer will throw some poetry in. The artist will do that bit of extra detail. In the end though, all it really does is remind the two of them that things have become humdrum.

Ultimately, one of them will stray. The writer might notice an artist with a fresh new style. The artist may read a script he’d just love to draw. The other partner may not know, but they’ll feel it and eventually, they’ll see that script they didn’t write or pencils they didn’t draw and they’ll know it’s over.

This is the point that Leigh and I have come to. We can’t just do it anymore. To continue would be dishonest and neither one of us want that. Therefore, we’ve decided to shake hands and part on good terms.

I just want to make clear that we still care for you, our readers, and that we want you to be happy. We won’t force you to choose between us. We have decided on joint custody, so that we can share you equally and provide you with the art and writing that you deserve. The details remain to be worked out, but we’re confident we can come to an amicable separation.

We realize that you’re probably hurt and confused by the suddenness of this and we apologize for that. We just want to make sure you’re cared for, even if we can’t do it together.

So, if you need to talk, we’re here for you.

-Jason and Leigh

P.S.
April Fools.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

ah gads

i keep forgetting april fool's joke. i almost had a heart attack.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you son of a... I read this on the 3rd, so april fools was two days ago... Nearly died of shock.

Jason Janicki said...

I freely admit, I am a horrible person. :)

iwfish said...

I keel you now!

Anonymous said...

I was thinking 'This has got to be an april fools' when I saw it, but it was dated april 2, I was almost worried untill the end when it got funnier :P

Unknown said...

Cool. Got me.
Sooo, any chance we'll see a new comic soon?
Seems like noths... oh wait.
Yeah, I'm a miserable, sarcastic %$!@#%

Tinstaafl55 said...

Really? April Fool? The only April fools here are the ones (I guess Like me) that keep returning to this page hoping for a new posting...

You have now reached my level of Frustration that hereto was only reached by Phil Foglio (pre-GG online comic that is).

Hope you can get it together soon or or latter. Because it is a good comic.

Tins...

The Hypocrite Himself said...

The best jokes have an element of truth to them. Or is it "many a true word spoken in jest"? I wouldn't be surprised if things collapsed here simply because apart from the occasional blog post, nothing happens. The same stale, boring, comic has been displayed on the front page for ... how many days now? I have to scroll down past that to see the actual blog posts themselves, only to see that like the comic, they haven't been updated or if they have, they are dull, trite, or boring. The ones I continue to read for are increasing sparse.

"Do not worry, dear readers" we are told. You're working on this, that, and the other project and things will happen again soon, but honestly, people don't frequent a site for promises of the future that may never eventuate.

When I first read this blog post, I thought "not surprising, you haven't drawn or written anything for ages".

This site is surviving on little more than the stores of good will built up by the comic originally, but those are drying up fast.

Jason Janicki said...

Thanks, I appreciate the comics.

To Book and The Hypocrite Himself:

Yes, I realize that we keep making promises and you haven't seen anything yet. However, all I can say is that we will be making an announcement in May about our new update schedule.

Our only two options right now are a) end the comic or b) do what we can to eventually return to an update schedule. We chose 'b.' However, we don't want to come back with a haphazard update schedule that will just irk our readers more. We want to be able to provide a consistent update that will make everyone happy.

We fully understand that it's been a long time and that readers are jumping ship or thinking about it. All we can say is please be a little more patient while we get things organized.

If you feel like you have to go, then good luck and we're sorry to see you go. If you want to stay and see what happens, then we're delighted that you're hanging in with us.

Thanks and look for an announcement in May.

Slamlander said...

That's okay, my portal page has you listed as on-hiatus for months now. Right on up there with twelve dragons.

There are a number of y'all that have done this sort of thing to me, I *hate* unfinished stories and I get *really* irked at producers that do that to me.

To be honest, the entire story should have been written before the first page was drawn, IMNSHO. Artists can then be found. I am considering doing exactly that with a branch off one of my novels. A steampunk-ish branch.

No artist means text-mode story lines until artist has been found but the story has already been written.

The art so far has been good and the story as well.

Tinstaafl55 said...

OK, Bookmarks are cheep. I'll return now and again to see what has occurred... I mean really why give up now?

Tins...

Jason Janicki said...

Glad to hear it, Book :)