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2012 UPDATE ARCHIVE 11-30-2012 - HAIR REMOVAL The "Let Your Hair Down" mini-comic has been temporarily taken out of the archives. I will upload the entire thing in December when the story is completed. UTC will return with Chapter 7 in early 2013. 10-31-2012 - "LET DOWN YOUR HAIR" MINI-COMIC Happy Halloween! Today was supposed to see the second page of chapter 7 of UTC, a wonderful Halloween episode which I have been looking forward to working on ever since UTC's creation five years ago. Instead, in the wake of being forced to put the series on hold, you will be treated to a consolation prize. "Let Your Hair Down" is a black and white comic I've been working on for a few weeks as a way of getting some ideas out of my system. It would have been finished by now, if not for Hurricane Sandy, so I'm still plugging away at it. The story focuses on a satyr granting a last-minute Halloween "costume" to a college girl, with hilarious repercussions. It does not take place in the universe of UTC. The comic will update two pages each day until it's finished. Please enjoy! 10-29-2012 - HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE HIATUS You were expecting page 1 of Chapter 7 today. What you are getting instead, it shames me to say, is another hiatus. I don't know how long it will be before you see the next chapter of UTC. But you WILL see it, one way or another, one day. This is going to disappoint a lot of people. Most likely, everyone. The hardest part to swallow is the knowledge that some of you saw this coming and tried to warn me about it. You deserve the truth. The truth is, I've been fooling myself thinking that I could keep up with a rushed production schedule. In the old college days, when I was more of a shut-in, I had all the time in the world to study, write papers, and draw comics. When I created UTC, my plans for the comic were ambiguous, but they were grand. The story would be the longest, biggest I'd yet told. It could run for twenty issues, possibly more, each chapter contributing to the larger story and over a dozen characters playing vital roles. UTC is still going to be that, one day. My foolishness stemmed from trying to make it happen too fast. Life is much more complicated these days. I actually have an active social life, for one thing. A full-time job, for another. There is less and less time I can devote to art, which is supposed to be a relaxing, enriching activity. But over the past 12 months, working on UTC, I've turned it into a chore. The other half of the problem is that I've become so intimidated by UTC's scale, I second-guess every decision I make regarding the plot and characters. I lost the confidence that used to come so easily, and the harder I search for it, the more it eludes me. Many of you have noticed the lack of artistic improvement in Chapter 6's pages. I'm not happy with my current drawing ability, nor my ability to construct a solid story. But if I keep updating UTC without stopping, even if it's only one page per week, all I will be able to find time for is that one page per week. I won't be sketching, exploring new ways to draw a face or a room, or lay out a page. I won't be writing scripts well in advance. I won't be growing as an artist, and that is something that I desperately want to do. I wish that I could have my cake and eat it too. I know you wish you could see UTC continue on a regular schedule AND see entertaining story and character progression. I wish I could deliver that. I can't. Starting immediately, I am going back to the drawing board and I'm going to figure out what will get me to enjoy drawing comics again. That means no schedules or deadlines, just a purely organic development process that will hopefully allow me to regain my artistic confidence and enhance my abilities so that, when UTC does return, it will look and feel better than ever. Thank you all for your constant, unwavering support and patience. Thank you to my friends for holding a mirror up and taking the time to offer your advice. I am extremely lucky to have such a fanbase. UTC has given me more than I ever expected and I am going to work hard to give even more back. This is going to be fun again. Please continue watching my gallery for future unrelated projects and stand-alone art pieces. I hope to be posting progress regularly. On Wednesday (if power in my area isn't affected by Hurricane Sandy) the UTC website will feature a Halloween-themed non-UTC comic sequence. I've been working on this side project for a couple of weeks now, and it's almost finished. Consider it half-"consolation prize" and half-"a picture of what may come." Until next time, take comfort in the knowledge that change is always for the better. 10-19-2012 - SIX IN Thank you for waiting as I spent millions of hours coloring the last page of Chapter 6. It's done! Look forward to Chapter 7, making a special Monday-Wednesday-Friday debut starting October 29! 10-10-2012 - NEW YORK COMIC CON 2012 Preparations for NYCC have caused me to abandon work on the next UTC page. I'm sorry I couldn't get the page done before the convention. Next week will have Tuesday & Friday updates, and then the comic takes a week break while I prep Chapter 7. Once again, if you see a tall skinny Nathan Drake, ask him for some free UTC books! 10-02-2012 - CHAPTER TRANSITION The last few updates have failed to upload on time because I have been working on them literally up until the last minute. I hope you find the story worth the wait. Twice-weekly updates have been moderately successful. We've gotten through this chapter in a little more than half of the time it would have taken had I updated only once per week. This has been the most difficult chapter to plot and many pages have challenged me as a comic artist. We're emerging from this with more experience and a lot of interesting things on the horizon for Cass and the rest. I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter. As such, to make sure the chapter is the absolute best I can make it, UTC will be changing its update schedule to a slower pace beginning in November. Chapter 6 will continue with Tuesday and Friday updates, and will conclude on October 16. Chapter 7's first page will arrive on October 29. P.S. If you are attending New York Comic Con next weekend, keep an eye out for me. I might have some free UTC comics. Look for the tall, thin, anachronistically pasty Nathan Drake cosplayer. 09-24-2012 - YOU CAN'T BE IN THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE AT THE SAME TIME tl;dr - This week's Tuesday update is canceled. The only UTC update for the week will be on Friday. The next three weeks are a jumbly fast and furious transitionalish time. I'm preparing for New York Comic Con, a visit from family, the final six pages of UTC6 and the debut of UTC7. Like just about everything UTC-related, there is a long story behind Chapter 7. It's going to be the last of the stories I first envisioned when I created the series five years ago. As such, there are a lot of things I want...need...to get right in this chapter. With the script to Chapter 6 locked down I have nothing left but to just draw and color the pages. I thought I could handle that while simultaneously developing the character designs and plotting the script to 7. I was wrong. This weekend I've worked feverishly to make sure that 7 starts off on the right foot, which is scheduled to happen just one month from now. There is also another major factor that I can't mention right at the moment, (the same factor as in the Sept 14th update) but if it pans out it means good things for UTC. That's what is really spurring me on to get this taken care of now, rather than in October. Expect more page delays on UTC, possibly without notice. One way or another, Chapter 6 will conclude in October, and Chapter 7 will begin. 09-14-2012 - I WILL GLADLY TRADE YOU GOOD NEWS TOMORROW FOR BAD NEWS TODAY UTC production is still sluggish, but this time it's due to preparations for potentially good things in its near future. You'll hear more about this in the coming weeks. For today, though, I'm afraid the page will not be arriving until this evening. 09-06-2012 - IT WILL BE A GOOD EVENING Again, this Friday's update will be pushed to the evening to give me more time to finish the page. Expect it around 8 or 9pm Eastern time. Thanks for your patience! 09-03-2012 - BACK TO TUESDAYS As of today, the bi-weekly update schedule is changing to Tuesdays and Fridays. Like earlier in the year, I've found it's more convenient for me to complete pages on a Monday than on a Sunday. Fridays are solid, though. You're still going to get two pages each week, unless something unfortunate happens. (As we have often seen.) 08-20-2012 - SORRY FOR THE DELAY; HAVE A CUDDLY CAT-SNAKE! We're back, and updating at the regular schedule of Mondays and Fridays. As I continue to draw and build a buffer, you're going to see M-W-F updates toward the end of the chapter. I'm not going to jump the gun and start faster updates to make up for lost time just yet, in case something else unexpected happens to delay production again. 08-10-2012 - CHAPTER 6 IS VERY CROWDED Fourteen significant characters is a lot of significant characters to make work in a 22-page story. Heavy script rewrites are holding up production on the next pages of UTC. I'm dissatisfied with the script for Chapter 6 as it is now. It requires more than just dialogue polishing. I'm basically rearranging the action and the character roles within the story. That means I can't keep moving forward with the plot until I know exactly how it's all going to unfold. Friday and Monday's pages will be delayed. The current plan is to finish the script this weekend, and release five pages in the next two weeks. (Either next week or the week after will see three new pages instead of the usual two.) On Monday I will announce the exact schedule. Thanks again for your patience. 07-30-2012 - IN BEFORE MIDNIGHT The third late comic in a row has finaly been posted. What's my excuse this time? Would you believe bedbugs? Although I can't say I was entirely prepared anyway. I have been getting so close to the wire on these recent pages, there is absolutely no room for anything unexpected to occur. That's something I will absolutely be fixing this week, however, because I am going out of town next weekend, so the next two pages will have to be done ahead of time and will therefore update on schedule. The thing I'm sorry for the most is not updating you all in a more timely manner, to assure you that a new page IS coming within 24 hours on update day. In this particular circumstance, I had no way of posting an update, but that excuse won't be there every time there is a delay like this. I promise to be more forthcoming with reasons why the pages are late, and when you can expect to see that day's page. IF there is another delay in production. I am embarassed enough at this point that I think I have sufficient motivation to keep the rest of the chapter updating on time. For now, please enjoy the page and rest assured Friday's will be up at the correct time. 07-27-2012 - OH FOR TWO Again I apologize for the late strip. A number of complications came together for this one. But it's updated before midnight! I'm getting right to work on Monday's tomorrow morning, so you can count on that to be on-time. 07-23-2012 - ANOTHER CHANGE THAT'S FOR THE BETTER I'm sorry, everyone, but a last-minute script rewrite has forced me to delay posting the page until this evening. It was either stay up to 2am to finish the page, or get it done after work when I'm more able-minded and well-rested. I made some serious mistakes during Chapter 5 when I put UTC's needs over my body's needs and both paid the price for it. That will not happen again. Expect the page to be on-line around 7 or 8pm today. (Eastern Standard Time) 07-16-2012 - PHASE TWO RE-RESUMES And here we are again! The sixth chapter of UTC begins today with the cover, and page one to follow this Friday. The comic will update every Monday and Friday until Chapter 6 is finished. I've also made a cosmetic change to the site wallpaper, which I think many of you will find easier on the eyes. UTC has been plagued with poorly-covered wallpapers throughout its existence. This is something I am still working on. 06-04-2012 - FAN ART BY THE SLEEPYWILLOE SleepyWilloe sent in a cute fanart of Cass in her Chapter 1 outfit trying to be more "one" with nature. It's something she should try to do in the comic, if she can be pried away from her computers and microscopes. Thanks for the entry! I'm still taking guest strips until UTC resumes in two months, so if you want to send something in, it's not too late! Catomix@gmail.com! 05-28-2012 - GUEST STRIP BY THE SHADOW DEMON The first guest strip came in pretty quickly. It's a fun "what else could go wrong" scenario with Cass and Morty. Thanks to The Shadow Demon (TSD) for the entry! Check back next Monday for a new submission. I'm still taking guest strips until UTC resumes in two months, so if you want to send something in, it's not too late! Catomix@gmail.com! 04-29-2012 - CALL FOR GUEST STRIPS UTC will resume with Chapters 6 and 7 toward the end of the summer. To fill the gap, I'm looking to make the months of May and June guest strip months! An open invitation is extended to anyone interested in creating a comic about our quirky bunch of mad-scientists-in-training. If approved, your strip will be posted on the main page, complete with links back to your webcomic, deviantArt gallery, or homepage. Submissions can be sent to catomix@gmail.com. I'm accepting entries starting immediately! I also want to give a shout out to a webcomic you probably already know of by now, Zebra Girl. I had the immense pleasure of sitting at the table next to Zebra Girl creator Joe England at MoCCA Fest this past weekend. UTC would probably not exist were it not for transformation webcomic pioneers like Joe. If you're hearing about his comic for the first time, I strongly encourage you to check it out. It's been one of my favorites for over ten years. 04-17-2012 - IRL ACTIVITY Chapter 5 is over! I hope you enjoyed the new adventure, and continue to look forward to further stories later this year. I've thrown up a teaser for future plotlines to help you rough out the coming two-month hiatus. The reason UTC is taking another break (a much shorter break, this time) is simple: I'm attending MoCCA Fest in New York City on April 28 and 29, and I've been working on getting some new original material prepared to sell there. If you're in the NYC area, please stop by the Lexington Avenue Armory and check out my stuff, as well as the variety of other talent that will be on display. The door price is cheap--even cheaper if you book on-line--and the fun is off the charts. I will be spending May and June working on the next two chapters of UTC, as well as the continuation of last year's Unfamiliar Reflection miniseries, "Afterimage." In late summer, UTC will resume with regular updates through the rest of the year. If you're interested in giving feedback on Chapter 5 and what you'd like to see in future chapters, feel free to e-mail me, participate in the comments section of my deviantArt UTC gallery, or drop by my MoCCA table to talk about it in person! Thanks for reading UTC! See you in July. 02-20-2012 - UPDATES MOVED TO TUESDAYS Based on the work schedules I've been keeping over the past couple months, I've decided that Mondays are not the best targets for weekly updates. So for the next few weeks, UTC will be updating on Tuesdays. This may or may not be a permanent change. 01-23-2012 - FEELING BETTER; UPDATE ALMOST READY Thanks again everyone for your patience while I recovered from my winter bug. I've got my energy back and I've been working very hard to make the next pages as good as possible. I was trying to push for a Monday update, but I need some extra time to get the page to a quality that I'm satisfied with. It's almost finished, though, so a Tuesday update is guaranteed and I hope you feel it was worth the wait. UTC continues on, albeit at a sadly scattered schedule. See you tomorrow! 01-16-2012 - SICKNESS SCHEDULE SOURPUSS I've been hammered by a nasty cold this week. It's holding up progress on the page, but I'm slowly working at it and I hope to have it uploaded by Tuesday or Wednesday. If nothing else, you can be sure that next Monday's update will not be delayed. I'll release both pages next Monday if it comes to it. 01-05-2012 - A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES And we are caught up again! The regular once-weekly-on-Mondays schedule picks up next week and UTC ought to be on time for the forseable future. As a consolation for making you wait, I LiveStreamed my work coloring and word-ballooning page 90. The three-hour video is full of random conversation, including an impromptu Q&A with the only person to stay awake all the way through the stream with me, as well as some random "VH1 Storytellers"-type anecdotes. There ARE minor spoilers about future UTC plot points in this video, so be warned! Click here to view the LiveStream. 01-03-2012 - MMXII Happy New Year! Apologies for missing updates the past two Mondays. As you can see, last week's page has finally been posted, and this week's page is coming on Thursday. The holidays were a busy time for me and I had to focus on a lot of personal things and then get some serious relaxation as the year wound down. But the new year is here and I am back with renewed vigor. I'm already at work on page 91 and it will be here on Thursday, and you can expect regular Monday updates from here on out. Thanks for waiting and have a great 2012! |
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UTC, Urgent Transformation Crisis, and all related material is copyright 2007-2014 Jim Whaley. | |
