Priorities

So today I was thinking some more about the comic I already draw (the Berkshire Hunt) and the comic I want to draw (working title - Hero's and Villains).

The main problem with the Berkshire Hunt is that it was heavily based on, inspired by and amusing for Manny and myself. But now that I don't see him all that often I have very little inspiration for comics. I've only written down ideas for about three comics since I started and two of those came about through conversations we had while he was in Sydney. That means that at some point I'm going to get to the end of the limited buffer of scripts I have. I could come up with ideas for strips as I need them, I'm sure people do it this way. Truth is I haven't tried to sit down and have another comic script brainstorm in a long time anyway. There's just no passion there.

At this point it feels like I'm doing the comic just to get it done. Not because I enjoy drawing it or because I honestly think I'll get an audience and then keep doing it. I'm going through the motions. But hey at least I'm getting drawing practice. The truth is I doubt I'll ever make an effort to get this comic out there. I used to think I would but at the moment that just doesn't seem like it's ever going to happen.

Right now it's funny to me that the comic I really want to do tells a story. I don't really read narrative comics that often myself, I prefer gag-a-day style comics. When I do read narrative comics I prefer reading them as a whole, like a book. Browsing archives is infinitely more fun than trying to keep up with, and remain interested in, a story that gives you three pages a week over several years but would normally take you a day or two to read as a whole. But I've always had a need to tell stories and it just so happens that I think this story will work better as a comic than it will as a book.

I won't stop using this blog and I'll probably still post comics here every now and then when the mood takes me. If Manny moves back the chances of seeing comics here will drastically improve as well. The plan at the moment is to continue drawing the rest of the comic strips I've already written (and any that pop up along the way) while I plan out the story for Hero's and Villains in more detail. When I get to the end of the of my buffer of scripts I'll decide whether I want to keep trying to write scripts for the Berkshire Hunt or just have a crack at this narrative thing.