Sluggy Freelance

Hey all! For January and February of 2021 we have the Research and Development versions of (Slaw)Teresa and Monicruel! Research and Development Wars is the current theme as I get to work on Sluggy Freelance book 22!

Following that theme, Tadius and 'Kaka' (glares at Torg) will also be showing up in book 22!

Wow, what a year! Thank god we are almost through it! We can all agree that 2020 sucked lemons and it's time to move on!

I want to thank everyone for continuing to support me through this difficult year. A lot of small businesses have suffered and floundered and I appreciate that you all stuck with me and allowed me to continue this Sluggy Freelance thing here! Defenders, word-spreaders, Sluggy shoppers, it all helps. So thank you!!!

Being creative was extremely challenging this year to say the least. As much as I loved having my wife and kids home and safe, it made it harder for me to work (I really need an empty house to create). So developing story lines and scripting comics became more of a struggle than ever before. On top of that, I had major computer issues, like my fairly new laptop deciding it did not have a hard drive anymore, thanks 2020. While I tried to use an older computer to accomplish my tasks, it was even more frustrating because it could not do what I needed it to do and I struggled with that too. I appreciate your patience with me. And I *did* succeed in publishing Sluggy Freelance Book 21 and getting so many of them into your hands despite technical issues. It's been a mental struggle too, I think we can all relate to that. I'm hoping to find a better brain in my stocking. Yep, I'm kinda over-visualizing that metaphor too. :)

I wish everyone a super Happy Holidays, belated and otherwise, and a Happy and Healthy New Year! Come on 2021!

Sorry to fall so far behind but I'm finally caught up! The Pawnz and Bookmarks for October and November will be mailed out and digitally released in January! December and January pawnz and bookmarks will hopefully go out in February and I'll be all caught up AT LAST! For October we have Shika "Noogy" Nogeyama in her casual attire seen in these two comics. The next bunch of pawnz will be focused on the upcoming Sluggy Freelance Book 22 to be called "The Research and Development Wars"! We start with Clyde & Blinky in their R&D Wars Crushestro inc. versions! And I can think of no better way to ring in a much-improved 2021 than one of my personal favorites, 'Slaw'Teresa!!!

I HAVE BOOK 21 IN HAND! I'm positively thrilled with the nearly 300 page epic Sluggy Freelance book that needs to be in your collection! Huge thanks to the staff at Ka-Blam for taking care of me through some Himalayan-sized bumps in the road!

IMPORTANT: If you are a Defender 20+ level 4 or higher (and been so for three months or more) you're getting a Book 21 sent to you free! We will begin sending these books on Monday September 28th so make sure your mailing address is accurate!


So WHAT'S NEXT?
For the next few weeks we will be getting the free copies out to the eligible Defenders. Once that is under control we'll announce a Store Opening date. Probably early to mid October. And a short time after that we'll make it available at Indy Planet.

Also I'll be sending out the Pawnz and Bookmarks I've owed some of you Defenders since February. If you're getting a free book too, I'll just throw the bookmarks and pawz-postcards in the same envelope. If for any reason you've 'opted out' of mailed swag in the past, you'll STILL receive the book. AND IN ALL CASES THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING A DEFENDER 20+!

August and September Pawnz will be sent in October.


International Mailings: If you're outside the United Sates I'm not sure how dependable international mail is moving at the moment. It might be fine, but I need to do some legwork first. I may email you directly if I suspect an issue or to give you a tracking number. I do not want to send you things that never reach you. Because logic. ;)

Hey guys! After careful consideration I’ve decided to resume strips. I’m going for one a week. Three reasons for this:

1) I am well on my way to finishing the book, but because of the sheer size and scope of the book and the UNPRECEDENTED 15-16 page bonus story, it requires more time than I’m willing to have you all wait. This book may be the one of my proudest achievements.  It’s been a back-crushing anxiety-driving labor of love, but I can finally see the finish line! It’s going to be so worth it when we all have it in our hands!

2) You guys have been waiting weeks and I don’t want you to disengage any further from what will ultimately be a very meaningful story.

3) There's rarely been a week without Sluggy Freelance comics EVAR. I’d hate to break precedent and have a month without strips. It feels like letting the pandemic win a little. Screw you, coronavirus!

So for those reasons I’m switching from 'no comics' to 'one comic a week'. The next two comics should land on July 22nd and July 29th!

As far as the book being off to the printers, I think It’ll be by the end of July, or not far past that!

Hey all! I'm getting sleep again (THANK GOODNESS). This hiatus from the strips is working! And I've completed step one in getting back on top of the pile! Let's talk Pawnz and Bookmarks!

A NOTE ON MAILING PAWNZ & BOOKMARK MAIL REWARDS!: I haven't sent out any physical rewards (Pawnz-Postcards & Bookmarks) since February due to the pandemic-caused-postal-chaos that has ensued. I think domestic mail is under control now, but that there are still issues with international shipping. I need to do more research when I have time! In any case I'm going to send all rewards out eventually, never fear!

YOU CAN NOW OPT OUT OF PAWNZ & BOOKMARK MAIL REWARDS!: Several of you have expressed that you're pledging at a higher tier to keep the strip going, and not because you want postcards and bookmarks in your mailbox every month. Well now you can Opt Out here! https://login.sluggy.com/subscription_profile  also found from hovering over yourusername -> Subscription Profile. THIS WILL NOT OPT YOU OUT FROM RECEIVING EARNED BOOKS! If you earned a free Sluggy book I'm damn-well going to see you get one, and you can't stop me!


So here's the Pawnz & Bookmarks for June, July, and August!

June has already passed but as long as you were a Level 2(or higher) Defender by mid June, you will have this little NOM-possesed Bun-bun in your digital collection, and a nifty NOM bookmark to use on the site! Level 3 or higher gets the physical postcard (allowing you to cut out and fold your own little pawnz NOM-Bun-bun) and bookmark mailed to you once I resume mailing! The “Safehouse: The NOM” story appears in the upcoming Sluggy Freelance Book 21, 4U City Red.

July is special, and as long as you’re a Defender of the right level by mid July you’ll get both of these guys! FROG and CORSICA! Same deal as for June! Level2+ for digital copies, Level 3+ for physical copies as well!

More Details (optional read): When the store reopens, the digital Frog Pawn will be available in the Sluggy Store for $0.99. So Corsica is the Pawnz of the Month, and Frog is a Store Item. Frog is close to core-cast so I wanted him available to all. But I really wanted the 2+ Defenders to have both at once, and the 3+ Defenders to be able to make the cut-n-fold amphibian couple as a set, so this was the simplest way to make that happen. If that's confusing don’t worry. Anyone can buy a digital frog for a buck soon. Defender Level 2+ you’ll have Frog and Corsica digitally free, Defender Level 3+ you’ll have Frog and Corsica postcard mailed to you free.

For August 2020, and for Sluggy Freelance’s 23rd Anniversary, I can think of nothing more fitting than the irascible Frog unleashing an angry tirade! The Angry Frog Bookmark, Pawnz and Postcard! Nifty!


And that's Pawnz & Bookmarks DONE! On to Book 21!

This news story is actually two recent headline updates that were taking up too much room.
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6/26/20 UPDATE: Head’s-up everybody! I don’t know if you read the “Light Switch!” news story in the news section below, but I’ve fallen back into ‘Light Switch OFF’. My severe insomnia is making work near impossible. I haven’t gotten to the ‘Pawnz & Bookmarks’ for this month even though this month is almost done because I’ve been pushing to complete Book 21 work in the background. The anxiety from falling behind on first the ‘P&B’, and then the book, and soon on the strips, is causing anxiety that's causing the insomnia that is increasing the anxiety.

This circle of stress-anxiety-insomnia may cause delays in future strips. With everything going on in the world I have nothing to complain about but I did want to explain, if for no other reason, that your understanding may help me lower the anxiety. I’m putting all this pressure on myself and I’m having a hard time willing it away to get a solid night’s sleep.

Anywho I HOPE to reveal the June P&B before the end of June, I HOPE to get the book off to the printer in very early July and I HOPE to keep the comics coming Tuesdays and Fridays but all bets are off until the Light Switch goes back ON!

6/30/20 UPDATE: IT’S WORSE! Yep, the insomnia train keeps on rolling. Its hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it, but it really feels like losing your mind a little bit. Thanks to all of you who reached out to me to let me know everything’s OK.

I've made a tough decision on how to proceed. After today's comic (June 30^th), I'm on ‘vacation’. I'm not going to the beach or anything (I hate swimming in a soggy mask!), but will allow myself to try to sleep stress free. As soon as I feel up to it, I will create the Pawnz and Bookmarks for June, July, and August. After that, when I feel up to it I will complete the bonus story work on Book 21, wrap it up, and send it off to the printer. And only then will I resume strips. With the self-imposed weight off my shoulders we should get back to business as usual! I'm really excited to tell this story and don't want my deteriorated brain-from-insomnia to screw it all up!

Could this mean no new strips in July? I sure hope not. And I may change these plans especially if I start getting sleep and feeling better. In the meantime wish me luck, stay golden, and be kind, empathetic, and smart.

I hadn’t been sleeping for a couple of weeks. Maybe 3-5 hours a night? And my usual power-naps that I could always rely on for a nice hour midday had just stopped working. Then, as inexplicably as it started, it stopped. My naps worked, I got 8 hours some nights, and I was like, “Wow, THIS is what it’s like to not be exhausted all the time! I remember this!”

The thing was, I didn’t realize during it how exhausted I was. I was functioning at 40% thinking I was at 80%. Now, it’s like a light-switch flipped on. My reality is completely one thing. Oh, now my reality is completely another thing.

So (as blog-post reading defenders already know) I’m normally not able to write in a house full of people. I used to have an empty house half the day and ability to go off to a hotel in writing emergency situations. No more of that. I’d been coasting on Anima scripts I had done in 2019. Chapter 73 was a blank sheet of paper, and try-after-try I couldn’t fill it. I knew what I wanted to do with Chapter 73, but it was ambitious and required focus I could NOT achieves. I was seriously concerned there’d be no knew scripts, and thus no new comics at all in June.

So my family worked with me to create the best environment possible for me to avoid distractions and interruptions and gain focus. No guarantee it would work, but our best shot. And then after 48 hours the light flipped on. I went from a reality where Chapter 73 was a blank sheet of paper to I GOT SCRIPTS! Not just any scripts, ones for that ambitious story I wanted to tell!

The blank sheet is no longer blank. The road map is drawn from start of journey to destination. I WILL have to work out some kinks along the way. Like, if I have writers block or script issues and delays, it’s in hammering out the specifics, which is still hard to do in a house full of people. BUT I HAVE THE GENERAL PLAN ROCK-SOLID! I love that light switch in the on position. Chapter 73, The Immortal King, begins Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020. 6/2 UPDATE: Due to unforeseen delays Chapter 73, The Immortal King, begins Friday, June 5th, 2020.