After a busy several weeks, I’m back from my trip and it’s time to get this ball rolling again. First off:
The cover for Issue 4 is finally ready, and just as well, the issue itself is still good to go for April 3! We have help from a guest writer this time around, so this issue is sure to be a really special one, this time around, in my opinion.
As promised, I have photos from my trip to Japan! I picked the ones that stood out the most to me (there were quite a few):
We had an amazing time and though we didn’t get to experience nearly everything we wanted, we accomplished a lot! We’ll be back to visit sometime down the road!
This’ll probably be the last you’ll hear from me here for the next few weeks as I’ll be traveling out of the country to Japan! Maybe I’ll share a photo or two of my travels!
The comic will still update over the next couple of weeks and Issue 3 may or may not finish before I get back, but as previously stated, the comic will take a two week break following the end of Issue 3 and start back up April 3. I’ll post an update or two after I return so the site isn’t just, like, dead, but otherwise we’re wrapping this issue up soon.
Sooo…the wheels on the comic creation train screeched to a halt the last few weeks. Why? Because I decided to blow out some candles for my birthday recently, and wouldn’t you know it—the universe hit back with a little gift of its own. Got slammed by the notorious bug whose name rhymes with ‘blovid blineteen.’
Here’s some free advice: get your shots, mask up, or at the very least, don’t be that tool who thinks they’re above it all.
Magnus has been playing a little too much Street Fighter. Let’s see how Page 3-9 plays out!
Production has been a little slow due to work at the day job and me being sick the last several weeks (fuck bronchitis), but I’m feeling better now and work on Issue 4 is continuing in the background. I’m hoping to have a few previews of that coming soon (I promise), so keep an eye on this space for when that rolls around!
Things have been busy again between work and other engagements. We’ve been going to cons as of late, though as attendees, as opposed to exhibitors. That being said, we’re getting ready and strategizing for next year’s con season now that we’ve gotten some projects moving again. If you’ve been looking for us at cons and shows, Elliott and the others will be out to play again soon.
I’m also working on a writing project to flex some other creative muscles! The original idea was to do it for NaNoWriMo, however, the scope in planning seems to have surpassed the scope of what I can reasonably finish in a month, so I’m just going to keep writing until it’s finished. Maybe you’ll like it!
That’s the date. Issue 3 will launch on October 4, 2023.
I’m currently touching up the last page of the issue. I’ve got a few other bits of things to prep for the new pages, plus some other obligations to handle, so it’ll still be a while. It took a year and quite a few revisions, but I’m proud of what I’ve been able to put out.
I’ve been hammering away at commissions, so I haven’t had nearly the time I thought I’d have. Either way, I’ve made time here and there to get back to work on the comic. Sure, it sounds like empty promises, but there have definitely been Electric Fencer-related things going on behind the curtain.
I’ve been working on that new-ish style for coloring, and it’s been showing a lot of promise with how quickly I can get illustrations completed (the image of Elliott and Andrew as children above was worked on and completed in only a couple of hours).
Work (the 9–5) has gotten to be a little hectic and draining to the point where it’s actively getting in the way of producing the comic, but for the month of October, I’m going to focus on getting back on track despite the situation. Electric Fencer Issue 3 will be up a bit later than I initially intended but it’ll definitely be worth the wait.
Speaking of which, updates on Issue 3: I wasn’t especially happy with the direction it was going and I figured rather than going forward and simply hoping the comic levels out, I decided to start from the beginning, but this time with better knowledge and more tools in my belt. The new coloring style practice has been a result of that effort. Additionally, Issue 3 will be our first BIG issue with it being a whopping 36 pages as opposed to our usual 24. I wanted to really give the characters a chance to show what they can do as well as touching on some other bits of character development before we go full swing into the adventure.
Tags have been added to each of the pages make your favorites easier to find. I’m new to this SEO business (I imagine some SEO guru out there is saying, “Ooh! He said the thing!!), but here’s hoping this little update will help each new page or post gain some traction and more people can find them.
The layout of the front page has been changed as well and now there’s a background to make the site not feel like you’re looking at a wall. There’ll more of these types of cosmetic changes in the future as well.
While you’re waiting for Issue 3, why not reread the series so far from Issue 1? I hear that’s a great way to build hype for a new season of TV, so maybe it’ll work here? We’ve also got our three articles in the Extras section—Sestius? Wait, What?, What is Klein?, and It’s a Fairly Large World, After All—covering some element of the worldbuilding for Electric Fencer. I promise you won’t be quizzed on it, but they’ll all play some role down the line in the narrative.
