I've been making so many mistakes with this Mohkdaun story that it's making me relatively angry with myself. I sometimes wonder if I just can't handle the breadth and scope of my creation. This here is one of them days.

So last Thursday (April 10th) I have Torg blurt out, in response to the unbelievable coincidence Wilcott was providing: "So you expect me to believe Riff is related to the Mohkadun God of Justice, my pet bunny is the Mohkadun God of Power, and we’re all called Sluggy Freelance? Seriously?"

I've established there is a connection between Torg, Riff, and Bun-bun, all three being somehow tied to the name 'Sluggy'. but I didn't reveal the origination of 'Freelance'.  You could read between the lines as Riff was a Freelancer H-C Scientist, and Torg was a Freelance webdesigner. But what of Bun-bun?
So that was my mistake. At this point of the story Torg should have only said 'Sluggy', not 'Sluggy Freelance', based on what he knows and what you all know. I know something different.

So the short version is I've already retconned the comic so now Torg only says "Sluggy." you'll understand why I wrote "Freelance" soon enough.

In other news, the awesome Clay Yount has started a new comic called Hamlet's Danish. This is great news, as, I miss Clay's sense of humor. In fact it makes me wish I could get out from under the trials and tribulations that Sluggy Freelance has been under since bROKEN, and get back to it's humor roots. And reaching the end of the Mohkadun storyline (with as few mistakes as possible in these last few weeks) I hope will open a door to that possibility!

For full disclosure, I should add that some days I do NOT find myself hating my mistakes during Mohkadun and dying to get back to the humor side of Sluggy Freelance. Somedays I'mma doin' jess fine.

So on Wednesday my wife started coming down with a nasty cold. I put up my purell defense shields too late and got hit with it Thursday. I can count on one hand the amount of times my wife and I have been full blown miserable-sick simultaneously. It's normally an extra nightmare because of taking care of the kids, but it became extra difficult because my parents came in to stay with us through the weekend and we had plans on Friday for Leah's birthday as well as plans to celebrate my parent's 50th Anniversary (which was technically last Valentine's Day) on Saturday. So between the plans, parties, and houseguests we had a great time but got ALMOST NO REST WHAT-SO-EVER so we're both still pretty miserably sick. On the upshot because we couldn't take my parents out for their anniversary we stayed in with a takeout feast from our favorite Sushi place! Ah, raw fish. It beats chicken soup for soothing a cold! For me. It works for me, I'm not advising it for the general populace. Actually when I say it out loud it sounds down-right stupid. The wasabi does clear the sinuses... moving on...

There was also a mistake in Friday's comic. Most of you probably wouldn't even notice or care. But for those of you who soak up every clue and breadcrumb I fit into a strip, I have mislead you. The last week of comics have been so critical, I feel terrible for possibly causing lots of incorrect speculation by one error in Friday's comic. In my defense I was working under the gun Wednesday to get the Thursday and Friday comics done before the impending sick-doom hit.

The mistake was the card displaying the picture of Darryl Domeyer that K'z'k holds. This was a time-saving move on my part. When K'Z'K refers to 'all the human trafficking' that will be happening, he wouldn't know with photographic certainty how that would go down. The web is more like guidelines and he doesn't know exactly what Queen Siphaniana is seeing in the future. He is keeping an ear to the tracks as it were...

I DID think it was important to indicate to the reader the 'human trafficking' as K'Z'K calls it, is referign to Darryl Domeyer and the other 'Ordained'. So grabbing the existing art was an easy way out as I raced the sick-clock. I apologize if it makes anyone's head explode... y'know, more than usual... and only because this was unintentional.

In any case I intend to retcon the image out with an appropriately vague one later. I also will allow my self one day of rest (Monday the 23rd) and try to work through the rest of the week best as I can. But that means filler strips for both Monday and Tuesday. I never run filler flippantly and HATE running it on a Monday but like the Bug, I've gotta play the cards I'm dealt.

UPDATE: Here's the fix!

Now it suggests imprisonment and the ‘release’ symbol, without the specifics. FIXED!

Snow Snow Snow Snow:  So we've been getting snow. And Ice. A LOT. Another foot coming in today. This has been causing so many snow days and early dismissals and delayed openings that I expect my kids to still be making up school days on the fourth of July! Its been really hard to work my normal schedule. And I've had some rough times from it over the last couple of months. But lately I've been on top of things pretty well. I guess I'm mentioning this because It's too good to be true and I suspect sooner or later I'm going to have to pull snow-day filler or 'no-elbow-room-to-script' filler, or suffer another prolonged power outage (once we get another load of ice on the wires).

I've managed to get comics in the queue through Monday so we should be safe until Tuesday's update. I'll keep you posted.

Whats up with the Hand Surgery? Well, it's a weird thing. I've just gotten used to my thumb-issues. There are certain tasks I can't manage the way I used to, but I just use the TV remote with the other had (for example). I'm still able to work a brush and marker and I don't even think about it anymore. So at this point unless something gets worse I'm going to postpone the hand-surgery indefinitely.

What does the future hold? Were almost up to a year since the start of Mohkadun and I don't expect it to run too much over that anniversary. I could have easily broken it down into multiple chapters but I feel like the entire run is a whole piece and significant foundation-work for the rest of the story. I also have a Mystery Side Project that I hope to reveal soon and theres the next set of books which I'll get to as soon as the snow stops piling on. And now you know!

Become a Defender! Help Support the Strip
This page has all the details but I also wanted to mention “The Sampire” Defenders-Only Comic Book! 37 Pages of Sampire!

Being a Defender isn't only about bonus content, it’s also about saying thanks for the years of entertainment this strip has provided you. And it gives me the gift of continuing to provide it for at least a few more years to come, for everyone! Just fill out the registration form, and you’ll be taken to a page where you can pay via Credit Card (link on the bottom left) or via Paypal. Your account should be activated almost immediately!* Checks and Money Orders can be sent to: Sluggy Freelance, LLC PO Box 453, Denville, NJ 07834 Please include a valid contact email with the check, and please allow 3 weeks* for account activation! (I can’t get out to my PO Box every day and personal checks take time to clear.)

Donate! When I started my last “New Defenders Drive” I was surprised how many people simply wanted to donate completely separate from Defenders Membership so I set one up! If you do go this route please donate at least $5 otherwise I' won't see much of the money due to processing fees.

*IMPORTANT: Once you’ve paid, (and waited the three weeks if paying by check or money order) if you can’t access Defenders content or log in for any reason contact me at defendersfix@sluggy.com and we’ll take care of you! We’ve noticed sometimes the Paypal payments and automatic membership activation don’t synch up, and I don’t want anybody left out!