I Don't Know Why You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

OK then. Let's get this show on the road.

Technically speaking, I did have a blog way back when--right here--but there were two problems. One, it was on Livejournal, and thus (aside from all the problems that developed later) I could never get it to look like something that wasn't a moldering pile of wombat barf; and two, as you can probably see by perusing it, it wasn't updated often enough to make it worthwhile.

Which makes a nice segue to this.

I've decided it's time to really get serious about Phantasmic Tales, and comics in general. I've been developing a few projects, and a couple of them are really starting to take off now, but what's really changed is that I've finally decided webcomics are the future of the medium. Or *A* future, anyway. Not in a John Connor we-have-to-make-sure-this-happens kind of way, but in the sense that it will be a legitimate form of comics delivery and profit in the years to come, and it's time I stopped treating it like a hobby.

This might seem like a weird thing to say after the last few months, in which updates have been sporadic and sometimes half-finished, and everything except Freak U. has sunk without a trace. In my defense, there's a couple of legitimate reasons for this, including a work contract that's stretched out to three times longer than originally planned and doesn't leave me anywhere near the amount of time I'd like to work on stuff, and the aforementioned "other projects" I've been developing. But really, what it boils down to is that I've had trouble believing in webcomics as a medium.

That changes now. I've got a huge summer planned for Phantasmic Tales, one which includes the return of Night Shift, and the launch of a new, extremely slick-looking-if-I-do-say-so-myself comic called Lemuria. I also plan to have more Critterville up by the end of the summer, culminating in the big Toronto FanExpo show, where I'll hopefully have print editions of lots of this stuff.

"But Adam", I hear you saying, "You keep sort of fading in and out. You update patchily and unreliably. You keep taking hiatuses. How do I know you're going to follow through on this?"

Well, you don't. I must shamefacedly admit that I've broken rule #1 of webcomics creation, which is: ALWAYS UPDATE ON TIME. So I won't ask you to trust me on this, but the fact is that I've had an attitude adjustment. I think I "get it" now, and I hope to make a living with these comics. And the only way to do that is to update consistantly. Since the main person I'm hurting by not doing so is ME, I can only ask you to sit back and watch. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Enough flaggellation. Phantasmic Tales Phase 2 starts tomorrow, with Free Comic Book Day, which will hopefully drive a boatload of new customers to this site via a comics sampler being distributed throughout the Durham Region. Yes, I've gotten all promotion-y. I'll be blogging regularly, and keeping you up to date on the forum.

Meanwhile, Night Shift will be back on Monday, and Lemuria will be going live that day as well. (Link to Follow.) Freak U. will return in mid-June, as mentioned, and Critterville will be featuring a new story sometime by the end of the summer.

And, um, the blog posts will be more entertaining. I never know how to do these Portentious New Beginning things.