Update on the comic

Hey all, I know that many of you get notifications when I make a new post here and I am sorry because I am sure you got excited thinking it was a new chapter notification.

Due to both personal and work-related issues it has been one hell of a last month. I could get into details but I would rather you just trust me on this one.

Making this comic, as in, the actual process of making it, is a really big head trip for me. And not even for the obvious reasons, like the fact that I am reliving the worst time of my entire existence. But it is a mindfuck for stranger reasons like... it seems like this comic has a life of its own.

When I started this thing, I thought maybe I'd be at it a few months (half a year tops) and  a few people would find it online. And strangely enough, had that been the case, my whole story would have probably been told in very broad strokes, with no real back-stories or biographical stuff included, no history of Joe Ricci, etc. 

But that didn't happen. And as people found it and as I realized a good amount of people were watching, I saw that I had this rare chance to do something. Something that could really make an impact and help to heal people, and educate people, and maybe even stop these kinds of places that rely so much on people not knowing about them.

I guess my point is that the comic grew larger as more people looked. And my own desire to push my own limits grew. And my concept of what a chapter was grew. And my idea of how to tell the story grew. And as all these things happened, everything else in my life still existed and suddenly needed to compete with the time I needed to keep making this thing grow.

And honestly, I am a stubborn motherfucker. And I am past the point of no return. And I am not going to fucking stop doing this. So when my life gets crazy and when work gets crazy, I am just digging deeper and deeper to keep making this happen. And remember, I am truly alone in the production of this.

So this past month, and this chapter which started out as the September chapter, it was like a wild horse and it kept trying to throw me off it's back. And as I dug my feet in and held onto that horse, something began happening and the chapter began to take on a life of it's own. A new angle, a new way to tell it, a larger look, a different process to keep this comic with the needed life inside of it, which is something that I believe can never be compromised with.

The evolution must continue and the moment I feel like "this is just some bullshit I have to finish" or "let me just wrap this one up real quick" then I have failed you and failed the story. 

So all that being said, the September comic, #49, has become the September-October comic because what needed to be said was too big to fit in one month, and the decision to compromise and "cut it in half" for September publishing just didn't feel right.

This one needed to be told like this. Big. Long. To show the full experience and the full transition. You will understand when you see it.

So please be patient. Know I love and appreciate all your support. And always know that nobody is ever obligated to keep giving me money month after month. Every single donation has been put on record and I will track you down when this thing is done and you will get what has been promised to you! 

So like I can't compromise my art to make other people happy, I hope you understand that you never need to worry about offending me or that I would ever question or hold anything against anyone leaving my Patreon. Because frankly, I don't know how long this will take. I really don't. Could be 6 months more. A year more. Could be 2 more years. It's hard to say.

But anyways, I hope you enjoy this next chapter, it will be published before you know it and I think a lot of what I just wrote will make sense when you finish reading it.

As always, thanks for listening.

"Joe"