Well, lookie here, an UPDATE! It has been a long time coming, I know, but I was really blocked up and it took me a while to get the rocks out of the creative stream and get the ideas flowing again. The end of 2012/beginning of 2013 has not been especially kind to us, and it was just a matter of turtling up and getting past it. A trip to the Comic Geek Speak Super Show last weekend really helped charge me up, too. I saw lots of old friends — Dawn Griffin of Zorphbert & Fred, Danielle Corsetto of Girls With Slingshots, Megan Lavey-Heaton of Namesake, Chris Flick of Capes & Babes, and lots of old friends I never met before (that’s a better way to think of people than “strangers” — I’m awfully strange, myself).
I have artwork for a few more pages beyond this one already shot. I’ll work on the scenes for the next ones after that, and try to build a rhythm again. I think I have my energy back, but with this neck of mine, I can never be sure when I’m going to feel the bag of concrete fall on it and be going “ow, Ow, OW!” and not feel like doing anything besides sitting with a heating pad and a bottle of painkillers.
Suffice to say, I’m still here, and I’m still telling the story.
A final word about the Chinese phrases in the story — I’ve done my best to make sure I’m saying what I think I’m saying, barring finding a friendly Chinese-speaker to vet it for me. I have a program that checks each symbol to verify it is at least saying what the website I got it from says it means, so I’m not getting “Mr. Kwon’s Pro Station and Penicillin Clinic, Deliveries In The Rear” when I think I’m saying “Mind your own business.” My source is the venerable Firefly Pinyinary, which was already vetted six ways from Sunday before they aired the material in the TV show. I’m only picking what I think are phrases that fit the scene appropriately.
Not that these scenes ARE “Firefly”. Nope, not at all. Just a scene in a parallel universe with people who talk a mix of English and Chinese. Some of them wear long brown coats. Some of their buildings are rustic. Not “Firefly” at all. For one thing, they have hyperdrive, and can go to other star systems. So it CAN’T be “Firefly”, which is stuck in one highly-terraformed and stellarformed system. Don’t sue me, Evil Fox Executive, it’s just a coincidence.
Good to see this strip up and running again. I have been enjoying it. Take care of your neck and continue to stay well.
Hey Gwendolyn, are you still with us? I hope for an update, but what’s really important is, “How are you doing?” You have talked about your health so much that when you don’t post for a while, we start worrying. I hope you have just been busy with life and not in a bad way, but please let us know! A simple smiley face for a picture and a few words on what’s up would really make me happy. Any way, I pray all is well and you are having a decent summer and looking forward to a good fall. And playing Second Life or something rather than going through bad stuff. I enjoy your intriging story and hope you get back to it, when you are ready. Blessings, health, and financial reward to you! Have a nice day.
– Michael in New Mexico
Thank you, Michael, those were very kind words and I appreciate them.
I’m still out here, I just don’t have the energy and stamina I once had. I’ve had a challenging couple of months, with a serious kidney stone attack last month and eye surgery for glaucoma this month. It took quite a while to regain most of my strength after the kidney stone attack, which hospitalized me for most of a week. Then I needed laser surgery on my eyes, which, while less invasive than it used to be, is still stressful. I do have another page under construction, and the art for at least one or two more already prepared, I just need to do all the little fiddly bits and enhancements, to keep the quality up to my high standards.
I’m sorry that I’ve been so quiet, I’ll try to keep talking, so you’ll know I’m still here.
Sorry to hear what I a bit feared/expected, but I’m so glad to hear that you are trending back upwards. I, and I am sure many others, will pray for your health. I’m glad you are more worried about quality than rushing, because that is what I appreciate. I hope you take your time, and let your work be your relief and comfort, rather than another source of stress as you heal up. Your health is what is important, and loyal readers will check back regularly and find the updates when they come. So have a relaxing rest and be well. God bless.
– Michael in New Mexico
Dear Gwendolyn,
Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery.
We’ll be waiting patiently for you to get better.
In the meantime, perhaps this will cheer you up:
http://cosmicbeholder.blogspot.com/2013/08/jenny-everywhere-day-2013_13.html?m=0
Hope you’ll like it!