Delayed update 6/19
Hi ya’ll, next update will be 6/26.
To offer some clarity about the update schedule, I’ve had really shortened work weeks recently due to my (very young) kids being out of childcare a lot for public holidays or school development days. This week, for example, it’s Juneteenth (no childcare) and we’re also doing emergency childcare for a friend. I’ve also been working on finishing the recent edition of my role playing game magazine (which is available now!) and didn’t expect it to consume so much of my time this week.
At the start of the year, I grappled with insane burnout. Part of this was trying to pace myself to finish the comic by next year (I figured with around a hundred pages left, it would take me a year and a bit with two updates a week, minus holidays, etc). Every time I’ve pushed myself to do a double page update a week at this time in my life, it’s been very hard to hit the mark without exhausting myself. Being a parent means I’m often up at 6am with the kids (who are both under 5), at work by 8:30/9, cooking at 4, hanging out with the kids until bedtime at 8:30, then having my only time to myself from around 8:30-10. If I have any doctors appointments, errands, personal time, time to eat, or chores to do, they have to fit in my working time from 9-4. Trying to fit what could be 20 hours of ass in the chair drawing in that time was extremely tight and often led to me working late. I was put in an extremely bad mental health state for around a month or so and decided to pull back to 1 page a week, which immediately improved things. That has left me a little time in the start of my week which I’ve used to resume RPG work (which I can work on at a more flexible pace), or take on client work (for professional tv/video game studios most recently) but I’m still trying to find a good balance. If you ever see me doing illustration or role playing games work, that’s because it is (piecemeal) much easier to fit into my week than comics.
I’m also trying to wrap this comic of 13+ years. The pacing has been extremely hard for weekly readers to follow I think, due to this being a prolonged action scene with a lot of movement, that requires specific page pacing that’s going to suck reading week to week. The work has therefore been a little brutal for me at times, especially with the level of detail on some of these pages. I trust the outline and work that I’ve done to carry these part of the comic to its conclusion but I’d ask you to bear with me.
I could take a prolonged break of a month or two, then release 4-8 pages at once (like I did last year), which would help the pacing issues, but does not match how people mostly engage with and consume media content nowadays (as fast as possible and on a regular schedule). When I last did this, it was also intensely stressful to stretch my work over so long a period, so I think that’s a no go for now.
Anyway, I just wanted to be clear about the situation. I would rather consistently update at a pace that’s healthy for me and finish strong rather than self destruct trying to sprint for the finish. There’s a reason not many long running comic series get finished (and not many web comics), and that’s because they are a tremendous, overwhelming amount of work that is an intensely heavy burden for one person. I think that’s partly why they are so unique and beautiful though.
Thanks for reading – we’ll be back next week strong and we will continue until it is done – likely next year or early 2028.
Cheers,
Tom
aba… do what is best for you. everyone with a shred of wit cherishes you <3
Take what time you need, Tom. On the one hand, as Count Rugen once said, “If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything.” On the other, even for those works that made it over the finish line, too many disappointing mistakes in various media have been because the creators rushed it. See: Star Wars prequels, Game of Thrones, the sequels to The Dark Tower, etc. etc.
Take your time. Be a gifted home chef, not a burger flipper. 😄
take your time man<3
Thank you for all the work you’ve shared with everyone so far. The story you have created is amazing, and I enjoy reading it.
Going at the pace that works best for you to enjoy creating the story while balancing your other responsibilities is no small feat! Your praiseworthy efforts set an example for us all.
Thank you also for the transparency, that was a nice gift.
Setting boundaries is a sign of royalty…
Speaking for what I suspect is a significant amount of your readers – I’ve been here for years, I’m not going anywhere, and I will love the comic the most if you take the time you need to be happy, healthy, and land this exactly the way you want. I can’t wait to see how it all ends, but we’ll all definitely wait happily for you to take the time you need to bring it home.
I do prefer a large drop of pages for aforementioned pacing reasons, but also feel no entitlement to it. If i get sick of how slow the action is developing I can back off and read it as a lump sum later. I’ve been reading for years, I’m invested enough to read to the end no matter what, I’ve reread everything once and I’ll surely do it again. Whatever it takes to have a thoughtfully crafted finale I’ll take as I can get it and be grateful. Artists do their best work when they are at their best; take care, Tom.
sometimes you need to stop cooking and let things marinate mate else you’ll burn yourself out.
Relax. We will wait for this excellent comic you give us for free. Love your little ones and be present with them, be your best self with them. To echo someone else, I am not in a hurry for the comic to be over anyway. The story is magnificent and your artwork, I mean damn. Off the charts.
You can’t do double page spreads every week. What are you, nuts? Chill. Love you, bro.
Oof, yeah we’ve got to deal with childcare days off so much, all the time, it’s brutal. Good luck, keep being amazing on your own terms!
no worries dude. no matter what pace it comes out this comic is sick as hell
Seriously, you do you. I will still be here in 6 months if you want to release it all at once <3
When the finish line is in sight, the instinct is to sprint. But you need to keep doing what’s worked the whole time: a steady pace. Sometimes the fastest way to get something done is to go slow.
I hope you know that we care about you! You are incredible for your dedication to your family and your projects. I fully trust that you will see this through and want you to feel healthy while you’re at it.
I will not pretend to speak for my fellow fans of K6BD, only myself. This is one of the absolute few comics I’ve regularly kept up with since finding it, admittedly a few years ago at best. I may be a new reader, but the depths to this world have me entirely engrossed to the point that I can confidently say if you took your time and focused on the best possible work life balance for yourself, I’d still show up. Even if it takes another year or two. Better a quality story finding a natural, fulfilling ending than something rushed to the point that too many threads are left dangling while others just get cut too short. At least that’s how I feel about it.
Safe travels Abbadon and fellow followers of Al-Yis-Un!
o7
Dang as a parent with a 6yo and a 1.5yo this was the most relatable post of the whole series lol. Keep at it dad, you got this!
Dude, you are working to finish one of the most intricately-illustrated webcomics I have ever read and have updated consistently WITH young kids and family responsibilities/crises in that whole time. I have seen simpler projects put on pause indefinitely for much, much less intense reasons. You are a champ.
Take as long as it takes, man. None of us are in a rush and I’m looking forward to re-reading the finished physical book someday to see how it flows more naturally anyway.
PREACH
o7