So here's the scoop.
For the last few months, I've been pretty disillusioned with the whole comic thing. I felt like I didn't have a good grasp on it, I was running out of ideas, and I just didn't enjoy drawing anymore. Drawing isn't my job, it 's a hobby, and I sought out other hobbies to help me get through the day. I still drew a little, mostly at work, but never anything serious, and I never got that urge to start drawing comics again. My ads were pulled, because of low traffic volume, and I didn't have the energy to put them back up. I was feeling pretty depressed about the site in general. Then I had a talk with one of my friends about my comic, and my spark returned. Let me explain something to you: the original concept of BearHockey.
Originally, I created BearHockey as a programming project. A website that ran itself, and users would just give it things to host. The original (and pretty much only surviving) aspect would be a comic site; one where different people would submit their own comics as part of a collective comic archive. There'd be no plot lines to follow, no drawing styles to adhere to, no updating schedules. Just the basic image requirements, and an account. I didn't want just anyone uploading comics, I wanted it to be people I knew could do some quality work. To spring-board the whole thing, I started off basically re-tooling a comic I did back in college called Life 101. Same characters, similar art style, but just some puns and gags for kicks. It was fun, but no one else seemed to want to join in. They were either too busy with school, or their own projects, or just didn't want to commit to anything. So, since I was the only one doing any updating, I got a little ambitious with my comic, starting doing some more in-depth stories, while at the same time trying to expand the site. I started putting more and more effort in the comic though, both in writing quality and drawing quality. I realized I wanted to tell a story, in a humorous way, and be able to do it artistically. Started putting money into the site, and people actually were visiting it. Started advertising, etc etc, and soon it got to become bigger than I expected a hobby to ever really get. Then of course, it all kind of went south.
Two things have never really changed however. I still want to tell a story, but I've also never wanted to quit on the original site's goal of being a collective of works. I believe I have found a way for those two to work out now, and will be rolling that out soon.
For now though, I want to do one last thing, a self-imposed goal to strive for. I want to draw 100 comics, by myself. If I can do that, I think I will feel a lot better about anything else I do afterwards. So sit tight and enjoy the last few comics up to that point; after that, things are going to be interesting.
