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Plans: 2015

Welp, 2015's here, folks. First month of it is nearly over and gone. It started out on a promising note, but I've gotten...lost. Having two jobs will do that to you. Saps your energy. Then again, having no job also saps your energy. Every time I think, "Hell with this, I'll just live in a commune", I realize how little I'd actually do if I wasn't getting paid to do it.

Some people call it, "lazy". I call it, "practical". Or even better, "energy efficient".

Anyway, back to comics! In February I'm taking a sabbatical to New Mexico (gotta get my head right by getting lost in the desert), then it's definitely Back to Business. I'm getting Bone Boy #2 and The Human Cannonball #5 printed and put out in stores. Then I'm going to get the Albatross ready for scanning purposes.

Oh, you didn't hear about the Albatross, did ye? Heh heh heh. It's a giant office "print center" I picked up at the MSU Surplus Store for $50. It has your basic printer/copier/scanner combo, with a finisher attachment that folds paper (I don't think it staples). So far I just need to set up the scanner and make sure that works. I call it the Albatross because the damn thing needs a lot of work and takes up a huge amount of space - it's in my bedroom right now, but I'm hoping to move it out into one of the rooms - and I know it's going to be expensive to fix. It won't print double-sided, and the color process is all fucked up. Needs to be cleaned, or something. It's my own bullheadedness that keeps me from dumping it by the side of the road (and the fact that it weights 300 pounds). It's about owning the means of production. Yes, I'm hoping to print comics on the damn thing.

On the other hand, maybe I'll just steal the scanner bit out of it and dump the rest.

Anywho, the inimitable Joe Haines and I are currently collaborating on a SECRET PROJECT. I can't tell you about it at the moment; it's very hush-hush. I'm doing the pencils, and Joe is doing the inks. It'll be pretty spectacular once it comes out, but that might not be for a while.

On February 20th, we have the MSU Comics Forum, with keynote speaker Sergio Aragones! Yes, Blind Alley Comics will be at the Artist Alley there, hawking our wares and whatfores. After the MSU-CF, I'm not sure what our next moves will be, but we'll have to think of something. Mostly I'm worried that we've come to a real crisis point, a real crossroad; I can't really see much beyond the Comics Forum. All our business plans have dried up. It's bound to happen. The question is whether or not we're willing to move forward and create an actual business out of it.

Anyway, I'm ready to go home now. I'll try to post continually, maybe with some pictures (you know, like a real comics blog). I don't think I've scanned anything in two months. Guess I've just lost faith in the interwebs, or something.

Rick Out.

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