I keep checking some of my favorite webcomics, and I see more and more slowly slipping into long-hiatuses or even non-existences. It’s a sad thing to see the passage of time slowly taking away the things we enjoy so much. While others start up and die quickly, many have stood the test and have proven themselves to the public, only to be stopped by the creator/author/writer/etc skipping an update, then two, or three, then a week, a month, a year goes by and no updates.
Every so often I chat with other webcomic artists, who tell me there reasons for not updating, “I have work”, “I can’t find the time.”, “I don’t have the energy.”, “I’m depressed.” All valid reasons to delay updates, after all, the comics are a hobby, not a job for many of us. And the whole time in the back of my head I’m thinking “Really??… If I can be in a WAR zone and keep updating 2 webcomics (even though the updates schedules may be delayed), you can’t update one once in a while? or at least buckle down and make a conclusions for the fans?
Though I get writers block and delayed at times for various reasons, I’m glad that you haven’t given up on me, because despite how busy I get, or where I am, I plead to keep both ‘I Dream of a Jeanie Bottle’ and SailorSun.org going as best as I can, till they are concluded and not before.
For many people, once a hobby becomes an obligation it loses all appeal. Recently the creator of Exiern ran up against this issue, but decided to stop trying to make a business out of it, rather than abandon the comic completely. I think that’s a healthier perspective, even if it does re-introduce the possibility of losing the webcomic over funding.
This year, I also had the feeling on one point, that I had to split between my stories/comic of Martha the genie and my work. I even thought about abandoning the story at one point. Luckily, I got over it. But I decided that if the story doesn’t appeal me anymore, I’ll post the last episode and that’s it.
People change, their lives change… one way I defend against the disappointment is following many webcomics, and seeking new ones frequently. And I don’t stop recommending one just because it’s on hiatus.
That said, I would appreciate authors saying something. All too often they vanish without a word. Oh well, at least they usually leave the comic online.
I’ve also been sad when a webcomic I like hasn’t had an update in a while or stops. If you’ve been busy keeping a roof over your head or had an accident, that’s understandable. However, that does not mean that you can’t make a blog update every once in a while if you don’t have time to do a comic; you know, tell the readers what’s going on. The Winter holidays (examples: Christmas and New Years) can also be valid reasons for not updating because that’s when many people travel to visit family or vacation.