After a little trepidation with the USPS/Canadian Postal Service, the drawing giveaway reached its destination yesterday safe and sound. PHEW! Once again, I not only got a confirmation email but photographic documentation to boot! Daniel Lafrance apparently didn’t let it rest for any period of time before it was up on his wall! He received it yesterday and in the same afternoon had this image fired off to me.

Thanks for the pic, Daniel! Once again, I am left with a warm feeling with the happiness that my art has brought someone else. You guys are the greatest. Thank you.

Now, you’re probably all wondering if I get such a warm fuzzy from showing you my art why I have been so stingy of late. Yes, I’ll admit that this project has suffered from neglect and I promise that will soon change. I am currently in the process of finishing up one project as I prepare to launch a couple more. My previous state of the webcomic address was before the Eisner Nomination and my opportunities have multiplied since then. It’s been a bit of a juggling act trying to keep all the balls in the air. But come early June, you will all have some more graphic storytelling from me. I’ve already hinted at it but I’ll have to say this. It is a future chapter of ‘the Process’ told out of sequence in searing four-color glory. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll be thrilled. That’s a promise. Once this project launches, I can then go back to a regular schedule of Borrowed Time 3, the Process and ‘PROJECT X’. Thank you for your patience and loyalty.

Yes, I know. I hate to disappoint and I worry that my silence and lack of updates may result in losing people’s attention. Please take heart that my reasons are good and are beyond my control. As some of you already know, I was hit with a major setback thanks to some herniated discs in my neck. The good news is that I’m feeling much better and am now mostly out of pain and have gotten sensation back in all my fingers. Hooray! My plans are to be fully operational in two weeks. Once I get healthy again, it’s time I start taking measures to improve my regularity with updates. It also means the resumption of a severely delayed project, Borrowed Time 3.

Borrowed Time 3 will get cranking again after NYCC but in the interim, I’m working on a short story that will appear later this year. This one’s tuns o’ fun and has been good to help me get back into action. For a hint as to what this may be about, I’ll direct you this way. I’ll have more to say about this as we get closer to show time.

Once that’s in the can and BT3 is in full swing, I’ll resume duties on cardboard theater construction for page 33. The plan is to do double duty on BT3 and this project. Once Chapter 2 closes with page 34, I’ll take a short break during which time, I’ll plot out Chapter 3 and construct a majority of the remaining projected set pieces. With those things in place, I expect to be able to update on a more regular basis. Every two weeks will likely be the schedule but that’s still negotiable.

Something else I am considering is implementing some blogging about the actual nuts and bolts of my thinking behind each page and the overarching themes and motifs of this story. I have been reluctant up to now for fear of spoiling the mystery and discouraging participation. If I reveal too much of my own intended meanings, readers might be content to settle on my ideas and not explore their own. On the other hand, it might inspire some more comments! These have been hard to drum up so maybe if I let you in on my thoughts, you’ll share yours. Does that make sense? If I told you some of the things that have informed my decisions and cast a light on some of the big ideas, would you be more encouraged to tell me your interpretations? I’m curious to know. I always wanted this blog to create conversation and an exchange of ideas so let’s see if we can make that happen.

As April comes to a close, I’ll be shaking the bushes a little to generate more attention for this original art drawing I am having. I expect that there will be some media coverage to help make this happen. We’ll see how that goes but either way, come May 1st some lucky reader will be getting a fine piece of art.

How does all of this sound? Can you hang on for two weeks? I sure hope you do and I’ll reward your patience with tons of intriguing art and mysterious adventure. At the very least, there’ll be some studio shots, perhaps some coverage of NYCC and other fun stuff to boot.

Thanks for being such a loyal fan and reader. You are an integral part of this and I am very appreciative of your valuable time. We’ll be seeing more of each other very soon!

Joe