April 29th , 2008~

Beginnings and Ends

Hello once again readers. It’s time once again for I, the author, to jump in and say a few words. I guess we have a bit of a wordy strip today, huh? I admire Sara’s dedication to her younger sister, what about you? Remember, send any thoughts, questions, or whatever to tom@aiacrowd.com. I always love hearing from you guys.

Anyway, I have an announcement to make. A little over a week ago, I started a brand new full-time job with a rather large and notable company. Career-wise, this is nothing but good news for me. However, not only has it has forced me to drastically change my daily schedule, but it has also taken away a lot of the free time I had beforehand. Naturally, I used this free time to work on the comic (because, you know, having a life is overrated). My point is, it’s taking me some time to properly adjust to my new schedule and this has affected my “Alone in a Crowd” productivity. Now, I want to avoid making “Alone in a Crowd” a continuous “one comic update a week” strip as much as possible. I want the story to move along and you guys to be able to get as much access as I can manage. However, to allow myself time to get used to things and get the time it takes me to draw the comic with this new job down-pat, we’re going to have to settle for just one comic a week for a few weeks. I know, I know, I’m not happy about it either. BUT WAIT!!! To make up for it, the site will still update twice a week. One of the days will be a special fanart or art-day kind of special from me. Does that sound fair? So this week will still have today’s update as well as Friday’s. Then starting next week, every Tuesday will be an art update, while Friday will be the new strip. Ideally, I hope to only have things stay this way for two to three weeks. Keep an eye on this space for new announcements for when I’m going back to two strips a week.

I’d also like to take this time to wish a happy 10th anniversary to D.C. Simpson’s “Ozy and Millie” comic. It’s kind of a bittersweet ten year anniversary, as Simpson has also announced before the year is over, “Ozy and Millie” will come to an end. I’m certainly disappointed to see one of my very favorite comic strips end, but I’m happy D.C. is going out on a high note, rather than waiting for when the strip loses it’s charm and interest from both readers AND creator. After all, it’s a well known fact that too many comic strips just don’t know when to quit (I’m…not naming any names). Nice to see this one going out in a noble way. So congrats on ten years D.C.S. and I wish you all the best in your next endeavor. “Ozy and Millie” has been a HUGE inspiration to me and I will always treasure it.

Until next time, keep Hope alive and have Faith.

- Thomas D. Szewc