1224 Crybaby Bridge.

by

Someone was riding the teen drama express and forgot to get off at his stop. It was me.

I got up this morning hurt. Apparently I pulled something in my back and I ended up “sleeping” on the floor. In spite of this I got up with a plan in mind to make sure everything was prepared for tonight’s comic post. Then everything kind of fell apart. I didn’t even put the long completed page in the cue. At some point I laid back down just so I could feel a little rested before taking the Teen to therapy, got back up to set up the post aaaaaaaaaand didn’t do it again. Had to get right out the door because I got sidetracked. Did therapy, got water for the week (because our tap water is toxic) then took the Teen to the store. Got dinner, watched TV with the Teen, and by that point I no longer had any idea what day it was. I was blissfully unaware of everything I needed to do. I read emails, DREW PART OF A PAGE, and it never occurred to me that I needed to actually post the comic. Then the Teen found me and explained what she had clearly been on the verge of tears over before I left her room earlier. At that point all hope was lost for posting on time. I was on the train bound for dramatown.
I didn’t realize I needed to post anything until I finally looked at my phone and saw that it was Friday.

Honestly, if I don’t post at exactly 12 eastern don’t feel afraid to tweet at me or something. There was a time when someone always did if I wasn’t spot on with a post. It’s not like I don’t have the pages ready in advance, I just don’t like to leave the posting to the machine.

Anyway, I know that posting anytime on Friday would be considered “on time” for most cartoonists, but I don’t want to be that way. I’d like to hold myself to a higher standard in spite of all the changes that have gone on in my life. So I apologize for my mistake. I will try not to let it happen again.

36 Comments

No need to apologize, its your comic and if you posted late i am sure those who love your work would wait for it, myself included.

Absolutely no reason to apologize, but it’s a testament to your dedication that you feel the need to. RL pain and drama are important as well and can be really distracting.
Besides, I was reading through the archives and posting to the last comic that was up when I suddenly realized there was a new one, so it made for a good surprise.
This has been a great comic to read, I’ve enjoyed it quite a bit. Seeing how the art has evolved shows that you’ve been working hard at it.
As for this storyline, it’s showing me a side of Reggie I didn’t suspect existed. From what everyone else at the store has said about him, it seemed like he always was an arrogant jerk. But apparently he started off as as fairly nice guy and had a big fall. I didn’t think Reggie would become a sympathetic character, but you pulled it off.

I have to agree. Anyone who worries about getting his stuff out there on time is worthy of my admiration. Too many webcomic artists take the meh approach, lately.

Sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes you can’t help it, and mildly late is better than not at all. We love you Crave, and sometimes it’s more important to take on the RL problems first and then cater to your fans. Your fans can wait. Your life can’t always.

And somehow Reggie’s aunt armwrestled Steph to hire Reggie back, or made the next manager do so.

A long time ago, Thomas spoke of theft, and a purge. This is likely related.

Ha!
15 points for @Alpha Centaurifor paying attention! (The 5 bonus points are for having the memory to pull it off — I’d forgotten).

I also remember something about Reggie’s slate being cleaned on page 488 (“In the Mist”), if Mike gets fired and replaced. This suggests that he might’ve been fired more than once, which earns him my pity, since nobody should have to start from block one multiple times. Especially not when his contractor relatives view him as an accident-prone disgrace who lacks common sense.

Viewed as disgrace by family + no common sense, intelligence, wit, or sense of strategy + multiple employment terminations + abused by criminal managers and moronic employees + being fearful of a fat girl

= an arrogant, neglected, cowardly, sizeist, thick-skulled sap who isn’t catching a break from the battle or the Graves family anytime soon!

Sir, I commend your dedication to us the readers and I appreciate the lengths you go to give us a high quality comic on a clock work schedule. That being said, take care of you and yours first and don’t punish yourself for being human when things slip a bit. I can’t speak for anybody else but it would take a lot more then late comics to chase me away from the story and characters you’ve created here.

I have chronic back problems; a few years back I ended up with an inflamed disk, and there just wasn’t much they could do except shoot it up with steroids and wait (three procedures). In the meantime, my orthopedist tried a number of painkillers; opiates (opium derivatives) and opioids (synthetic, opium-like compounds). They all knocked me for a loop — not good for a systems analyst. I wrote some bizarre code; it worked, but to this day I get people calling me at my ‘new’ job asking me to explain it (“Sure, for $200 per hour”).

My doctor then prescribed Naprosyn (Naproxen), and the results were amazing. It actually helped more than the opiates and opioids, without the knockout punch. You can buy it over the counter as Aleve, in a lower dosage (200 mg as opposed to 500 for the Naprosyn).

Anyway, if I end up starting to like Reggie, it’s all your fault.

If Reggie really does have such great connections then maybe the solutions to some of the stores woes would be a reformed Reggie as manager? He would be longer lived I would assume… as long as he didn’t burn the entire store down…

Yes that seems like throwing Mike to the wolves but Mike doesn’t always seem to LIKE being a manager. If a REFORMED Reggie became manager he could hire Mike to a normal position or to assistant manager or something and then after some reshuffling maybe everyone would Live Happily Ever After? The End???

You bring up some interesting points, and as usual, I’m too obtuse to let them be.

“If Reggie really does have such great connections then maybe the solutions to some of the stores woes would be a reformed Reggie as manager?”

I suspect Reggie’s Aunt in Texas (first mentioned in the episode
412 Origin) is already fully aware of the level of Master Boothe’s competency. She might twist an arm to get him rehired, or even sack the previous manager Steph, but making Reggie the baws would be be tampering with the laws of the Universe.

“If a REFORMED Reggie became manager… maybe everyone would Live Happily Ever After? “

I think we have to agree that the store crew is a family, however dysfunctional. Reggie is just that prickly cousin that everyone tiptoes around so they don’t tick him off, (although Ed had a bit of that to the fore). I believe that if Reggie was the manager, it would create many more problems than it solved. Go back through the archives to see just how abrasive and abusive he can be. Then, too, if everything was sunshine and light, the story would be over and @Crave out of a job.

I admit its a looooong shot. But part of my long shot was the idea of a future changed Reggie. We have been shown several characters with past selves different, sometimes radically, from who they are now. Then we get treated to seeing chinks in Reggies armor. This webcomic seems to have a lot of sub plots about personal growth/character development. So I took a big chance and bet on a future Reggie having undergone some growth into someone the others could follow (at least publicly with maybe Thomas in the background) or at least tolerate well between here and there.

I was hoping that as a part of this growth Reggie might do better professionally as well or complete some side venture (an online business, charity or something ) to prove himself a bit but maybe that is asking too much of the time “in comic” we have left… but it was a pleasant dream. :)

And thank you for the thoughtful reply.

You should also realize that “abrasive and abusive” is Carol’s M.O. when using authority. No one should have to resort to terrorism when making commands; the subordinates either obey or disobey

(Accidentally hit “Enter” key prematurely)

There was only one time I recall that I was afraid of a female supervisor, but it wasn’t fear of her or termination. It was fear of what I would do to her if she continued to shout tyrannically in my face, especially if what I would’ve done made me eligible for life imprisonment.

you know. I’ve read a fair number of posts, and I’ve come to a conclusion.

you’re just a stupid, asshole son of a bitch that likes to talk big on the internet.
I mean COME ON. “I’d be afraid of what I’d do to her *chest thump*” dude. you can find a non-violent solution for just about any situation that most of the time is more satisfying then acting like a gorilla.

I guess I can post a comment on DeviantArt if I’m awake but I don’t know if you see that right away. I don’t know your email.

I see we keep saying things like you don’t need to fight so hard to keep the comic on time etc… because we feel guilty for adding to your already full load for our pleasures but when we say that we aren’t really taking your feelings into account are we. Doing the best you can on it and getting it out on time means a lot to you and helps you get through your days maybe? So if we really wanted to help we would do things like let you know if the comic isn’t on time. I’m sorry I let you down after all the hard work you have done for us.

On a lighter note it looks like Jo has multiple links in the twisted web that is Reggie’s current state, probably explaining why he has shown particular animosity towards her on occasion, so she will probably have to be a part of or central to any successful effort to start unraveling it before he can be built back up a bit. Having a manager/authority figure show a lot of faith in him might go a ways towards soothing some of the burns he has suffered from “failing” in the eyes of his parents?? (and a nice healing reversal of that whole evil stealing manager that cast him down thing… )

Don’t worry about it, Crave! I just hope everything slows down and gets better for you and The Teen over the weekend. You guys have a lot of people in your corner rooting for you. Hopefully it will be a calm weekend. Enjoy!

When a comic isn’t posted on time I usually assume the artist is doing something that’s more important

If you need our forgiveness for posting later than usual, rest assured you have it. I’m glad to hear that you are looking after the teen and providing her with the stable, caring environment that she needs and the extra attention (a touch more than your average insecure teen but, hey, she’s obviously had bigger issues to deal with than your average teen). … and all this while dealing with back problems. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic and/or severe back problems can attest to how unimaginably all-consuming it can be at times, and yet you soldier on. Kudos to you Jackie – and double kudos.

That’s the #1 reason why the blogs I’ve started have all drifted into memory. I honestly think this kind of distractability or whatever you want to call it is inextricably linked to artistic talent, and there would probably be a thousand times more successful artists if we all carried around beepers and hired anal-retentive number people to beep us when we’re supposed to have posted something. But if the stars ever align when you’re late posting, I’m on time reading, and I realize that you’re late posting, I’ll tweet you or something.

Long time reader, love the work, admire your dedication. Some previous comment (sorry for leavingout the name, posting from my phone, hard to scroll) was made re: lots of character development.
Raging Literary Boner.
Character development is plot. Lots of writers miss that, but you nailed it to the wall, slapped it in the face, hung a sign around its neck proclaiming yourself the pimp, through a crisp new Benjamin in its face, proclaiming “clean yourself up, you look like shit”.
To sum it up, good job.
I hope this piece of literary gold gets made into a tv series, written by you, directed by Joss.
Thank you for your contributions.

Would really like to see a new vote incentive image. I’m thrilled that it’s Carol, but it’s not my favorite. Love your work, and look forward to every post.

Talk to that website. They won’t respond to my emails. I’ve never controlled that account, I didn’t set it up.

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