Change on Squid Row
Hello, Loyal Squiddies… I promised you an announcement… and well… here it is.
Squid Row will be undergoing some MAJOR changes. Yes, it’s going to be hum dinging. Keep Reading.
First off, let me dig up some Squid Row history. I created Squid Row in 2002. I drew what I knew… “starving artist living in a touristy seaside community.” That was me. Money woes, art hang-ups, lousy apartment situations… I wrote it. I drew it. And then I set off to get syndicated and follow my newly found “cartoon strip dream.” Long story short… I failed. Life stuff happened and the strip went into a drawer.
In 2007, it was suggested to me, having said I was thinking about revisiting the strip, that I put it online. The internet was, at that time, much more “with it”. So I got out the toons, cleaned them up, and started posting them on WebComicsNation. I did this for all of 2008, and I even made it to their top 100 list.
2009 saw the birth of this site, SquidRowComics.com. The comic had a new home… and a place to really live. It’s gained a truly wonderful community of loyal readers and supporters (thank you! and I am so proud of where it has come).
In 2010, Squid Row leapt into newspaper print! The Monterey County Herald picked it up and I was finally on my way into self-syndication! Squid Row stayed in The Herald for 4 wonderful years, gathering readers and making people smile when they read the morning rag. I printed the first professional collection of strips called Squid Row: Welcome to the Neighborhood. I even got into some weekly papers in Nevada.
Then sadly, in 2014, The Herald paper adopted a format which dropped local content (in their comics section) and I was axed. Crossroads. After some thought, I decided to go to three days a week, gather comics for the second Squid Row book… and then get started on a graphic novel. All of these things I’ve done except… One year later, I have reassessed this plan… and am now on Plan… ummm… we’ll call it XYZ… for giggles.
Plan XYZ is rather exciting! I won’t tell you EXACTLY what’s going on just yet, but here’s some of what’s going down. I’m stopping the comic as you know it on March 30th. This means that there won’t be comic strip updates on M-W-F. HOWEVER, I will be blogging (that thing underneath the comic) and will keep you updated with sneaky peekys into the new art, regular blog posts chronicling progress, occasional visits by Harold, and chit chat and stuff. (You’ll be able to comment on the blogs, as well). So Please, don’t go away!!! It’s about to get real FUN! Squid Row isn’t going away! Things are changing, yes… But Change is necessary to keep things fresh… to keep growing. AND I know you’re going to love the changes.
Hmmmm….. the question remains, will the comic continue in some recognizable way? I mean, I just got comfy here!
Change is important (look at what Bill Watterson did to his Sunday pages after he got tired of the monotony), and whatever format Squid Row is in, I’m sure it will benefit the comic. I would expect a comic strip about art to take some ‘artsy’ chances, so be brave and travel on with PLAN YYZ (sorry, XYZ…too much music playing)!
Please keep the RSS going for your new blog. I’m not so good at following sites that stop updating their RSS. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do.
Trev… Please… stay comfy… You will not be sad. You will be happy when you see the progress that I shall document here on this site.
Dada… Yes, yes… change is necessary for growth and non-boredom. As an artist person (as well as cartoonist), I find that when things stay the same too long, I make Randie move to a smaller apartment. Can’t do that now. Next step would be a cardboard box and I like her too much for that. ANYHOO… thanks for the kind thoughts!
qka… Yes… the blog will update regularly when things wind down on the strip at the end of the month. And you’ll get to see the neat stuff happening and still get it in your mailbox. Smiles! and yee-ha!
so happy it’s not the end of squid row my heart skipped a beat when I was first reading your announcement. Can’t wait to see where you take us next 🙂
I’m often skeptical of changes, like new Coke, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt because you’re a wonderfully creative person and you don’t need to rely on focus groups to make a good product.
FWIW, many of the new comics in the Herald are junk. Since they made the changes I stopped reading the Herald’s comic page altogether, and now use a tablet app selecting only the best to be among my favorites. Besides Squid Row, I gotta have Mutts.
Well, thanks for all the fun we’ve had. And good luck with whatever you’ve got planned for the future.
Eprinc… Smiles! I’m glad that you enjoy the Squid and would miss it… stay tooned! You’ll like what’s gonna happen.
Jim… Changes can be scary. I have always been a cautious changer…. probably to a detriment. BUT … when you question where things are going… and can’t see them going on like they are… then it’s a good time to do something about it.
The Herald makes me sad. For many reasons. I love and miss reading the comics over my morning Pop’n Tarts (just kidding… I eat oatmeal or granola most mornings… I am a waffle fan … the glue free kind).
Robert… Um… don’t go away… okay!? We will have fun together! I promise!
So excited!!!! You are such a rock star! Love you chica, can’t wait to see you GO! GO! GO!
Thanks, angel!