A break
[This was posted on Patreon last week, I realise some of you aren’t signed up to the free tier where you get the newsletters – sorry for the repeat if you do.]
From late April I am taking a two-month sabbatical from work. The long and the short of it is that I’ve completely worn myself out. About a month ago I realised I was going to have to take a serious, actual break. Usually, I get a second wind, a wind which on this occasion was not forthcoming. A friend got me to write down everything I’d done in the last two-and-a-half years, and it was ludicrous. It looked like four years work, if not more. Their words: “this reads like a really great death warrant”.
For a one-man show run by someone who lives alone, this is a serious decision. “Never give your readers a jumping-off point,” as I like to tell people. But my health is starting to suffer, so it’s best not to let things get catastrophic.
The next Solver story is finished, completing Volume 2, and will run throughout my break. After that, I’m going to re-run Murder She Writes (with commentary i.e. “mirthful asides”), Monday-Thursday for eight weeks. Not ideal, but I believe it’s been off the website for more than a decade, and it’s been titivated for a 15th anniversary reprint. Re-running it on badmachinery.com probably removes the need for a reprint, we shall see.
Patreon updates will continue, I have plenty in the queue, including a process zine that reprints a whole A4 notebook full of story notes and drawings. It is hefty.
My webcomics career has had phases – Bobbins, Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, the various nostalgic excursions during my time writing Giant Days every month, and the pandemic and post-pandemic stage of Steeple, Solver and various glossy minis, created full US-format comic style. Six years seems to be about the structural limit of any of these broader projects for me, and I’m ready to rethink my approach, which is near-impossible when I’m in full production mode (which for nearly six years has been all the time).
So, once I feel like myself again, I’ll start thinking about how to go forward. I don’t know if anything will change, a rest might be enough. But I’m too tired right now to think about what I want to do. I don’t know what comes next, and in a way, that’s liberating. I have a lot of unused story ideas on the board – years’ worth. I don’t want to throw them away. And I love making comics. I hope that still comes through.
Thank you, as ever, for supporting me here.
JA
Enjoy your break, and thanks for all the great comics!
Sleep well, you’ve been entertaining me since Bobbins.
I think you deserve a break!
Very sensible, look after yourself good sir. Be safe
If anyone is worried you’ll miss what’s next get an RSS reader and add this one badmachinery.com/index.xml
They’re great for following all the wonderful independent comics.
If there’s any justice in the world johns near the level of Mike magnolia where he can drop out of sight for a year or two and come back without much loss of readership (not that running his backlog and then a series out of print for a decade really counts)
I came to the comments to say this. Due to the miracle of RSS, I’ll never stop reading as long as the feed works.
Trixie Mattel had three months off last year and I thought it was VERY SENSIBLE. Those of you who entertain us on the internet do not need to work yourselves to death. I hope you have a lovely break.
Enjoy your break. You certainly deserve one.
Have a restful break; we’ll be here!
Do what you need to do. I won’t jump off.
Long time reader, seldom poster.
I’m a big fan of your work, please do what you need to stay healthy. Looking forward to the commentary on the rerun.
Please look after yourself, John. Take as much time as you need. We will all be here when you get back. xxx
Not a jumping off point, more of a hanging around to see what you do next point. If your previous form is anything to go by (it is), it’ll be worth the wait.
Take all the time you need, I’d much rather you be in good health and get comics eventually than you work yourself to death.
John, you could easily just put your output to date on continuous loop with extra commentary and we would be back every day begging for more – plus more opportunities to drive you mad with Dad-joke humour. As a case in point, Danielle Corsetto is on her second repeat of GWS and I look forward to every update. I realise that I may be assisted in this by having that memory aging thing (the name escapes me at the moment…).
Take all the time you need. Listen to that friend and dont rush back prematurely.
Thank you as always John! I wish you a restful R&R period and look forward to your next project whenever thst may be!
Wishing you a well deserved rest, John!
I discovered you by accident on GoComics a few years ago. Someone published a link to this site and I have been enjoying both sets of your comics.
GoComics switched to the solver series – the current one is new to me.
Hope your break refreshes you.
I don’t remember when I started reading Bad Machinery (which was serialising when I jumped on this bandwagon), but after an archaeological di… I mean, going through screencaps on an old computer, I found one from 2014 that showed BM in my favourites list. I was looking for the one I took of Ryan’s explanation of Boyle’s Law, but that one eludes me still.
I am excited to catch the rerun of Murder She Writes. I remember reading about Murder She Writes, but I don’t recall actually reading it. I didn’t catch all of the SGR archive before it went down either, so I certainly would not complain if it got a similar rerun treatment, new commentary or no, especially if it enables you to rest up and recharge.
Merry Christmas, and thanks for the years of entertainment!
Wishing you well ans hoping the break helps you feel more rested and yourself again and you work out what you want to do next
I hope your break is restful and rejuvenating.