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.

So the latest issue of Art-o-Rama (zine) is about imaginary friends. I’ve had them. You’ve probably had them, too. For this “out of the box” 15th issue, you get mini comics. Mini comics are made from one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and cleverly folded and cut to make a little book. Last year I gave a little workshop on Mini Comics Day (held annually in March) at our local comic book shop, Current Comics. It was a hoot!

Are you Zine Curious? Been meaning to subscribe to Art-o-Rama and haven’t?… fear not… you can click the Etsy link on the left under the heading “Buy Squid Row Stuff”… once on Etsy you will find options… if you want to only buy this one issue (or others) you will find them there… or if you want to subscribe for an entire year… with or without the extra art option, you can do that, too! Or, simply contact me via the contact button and we can arrange a subscription there on email. 30 bucks/year… 50 if you want extra art with each issue. A real steal!