The Last Standing Comic

Having to quit my webcomic, Akashik, didn’t really give me more time in the day like some readers wished it would. The whole point to having to quit was that survival wasn’t giving me any time. Sometimes, however, time does land itself in my lap. And that time has been spent on Heavenly Bride, my last standing webcomic.

I’ve been rewriting the opening to Heavenly Bride because, well, openings are my weakness. I always take too long to set things up, or I make things too complicated by introducing too many characters or giving the reader too much information. I’ve been working on that and where my webcomic used to get crappy reviews it has begun to get five stars – which makes me all a flutter and wanting to draw it even faster. The final page to the entire series, that last sealing bit of artwork, burns in my head day and night. I’d like to get to it.

The rewrite is finally over and two days ago I managed to seal the pact and begin re-releasing the chapters back to the public. They’re currently up on Amazon up to Chapter 4. I’m having a small hitch with Smashwords and their naming policies (They don’t want me calling the chapters “Chapter 2”, even though that’s kind of what the chapters are called for some sequential reason.) so they are currently only distributing Chapters 1 and 2. I’m currently trying to work with them on this because the old Chapter 2 they’re distributing isn’t very readable and I’d like for them to approve the new and approved, easy to read version I put up two days ago.

But I’ve got things together up to Chapter 4, which means I can now reassemble the first chapter book (creatively named Book 1) and put it up on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Or something. I dunno.

The thing is I’m currently at a loss for what to draw as the new cover for Book 1. I was just using the cover for Chapter 1, but yeah. That’s not working. I’d be interested in any ideas, but otherwise blaaaah. If I can find the time to draw it, that is…..

I murderously ended my webcomic.

Yes. I am a murderer – but a murderer in the evil stepmother sense. For I have taken my webcomic, Akashik, to the kennel today and put her down using the poisoned apple of “I quit but not really”. I can’t say it was very merciful, for I certainly have been suffering under its weight for the past several years in a not-so-merciful kind of way. I can say it was quick. It’s only vocal reader emailed me shortly thereafter and said it was a shock, but they understood.

I have my reasons why I did it. Most of it has to do with time. And health. All of it has to do with why so many webcomics die before their time: money, jobs, the future. The past. You name it. Akashik was online for 5 or 6 years (I stopped counting) and now its gone. But not forgotten.

I hate giving up on a story. I hate not seeing it finished. But I’d made a major mistake with Akashik: I’d begun putting it out before I had a firm script. It’s not even a fully written tale. That’s not a good idea with comics – or movies. So what do I do now?

I let Akashik sleep, is what. It shall reside in its little glass coffin. I let it sleep and hopefully once a week I go to the script that was never written and I write. And I write. And I get this story tightened up and clear – for what it was up until today was a clusterfrack – and I make it so that I CAN finish it someday. And I continue to hope my ship comes in.

And here, as with my other stories, I will post snippets so you can see that yes. The story shall always live in my mind.

And I shall also eat chocolate.