Aaaanyways one thing is certain folks and that is:
Comments
58 responses to “An Authorial Aside”
imayer
Have you considered writing an illustrated joint-biography of Lovelace/Byron/King (I never know what to call her) and Babbage? I absolutely adore your first ‘historically accurate’ comic (Also, it made me think of Larry Gonick’s cartoon history of the world), but it doesn’t go into nearly as much depth as your usually-hilarious footnotes. And I think the world could use a biography as funny and well-researched as yours would be.
This actually happening would be super awesome, and I would be thrilled to help with it, if help were needed. (I have degrees in CS and creative writing, so could probably help with that, or with paper-pushing type work). I left my email – contact me if interested?
I can’t tell you how much enjoyment I get from the adventures of Lovelace & Babbage (and Brunel) and it is an absolutely delightful diversion to daydream about a FILM VERSION. I mean, can you just imagine?! I can! It would kick derriere!
You are entitled to take your time and make sure you have space to breathe… just know we will all be glad to see more pictures as you have leisure.
Teenygozer
Oh, my; what *adorable* little monsters!!!
DebbieG
“Comics will be drawn!”….. and there is the line in the sand. Yay! And the better a thing is, the more patience one can have waiting for it. Awaiting very patiently…
David
I will patiently await the next comic since it just worth waiting for. In the meantime I will subsume my impatience with beer and graduate school.
elizabeth
I hope the Dead Tree version will be available in time for holiday gifting. :D
Will the App have a link to the user comments here? They are also highly entertaining and informative. :)
Marion
*squee*
E-wit
You bet, Sydney — keep on trucking’. We’ll wait!
Karen
I sit here in my Babbage & Lovelace tee, drinking coffee from my Lovelace & Babbage mug, (no kidding!) once again charmed by Sydney. Please consider the Android folks and get someone to devise an app for us. I spread the Gospel of Syd whenever I can so your genius can be rewarded! May your muse be good to you – and us!
Take your time, take care of yourself, and do the comic right. I used to work in video games so I completely understand the pressure you’ve been under wit the Barsoomian (Barsoomite?) monsters. In the meantime, re-reads of the stories to date are well worth my time.
And by the way, if the “Comics Will Be Drawn!” panel were to suddenly appear in your Shop in a men’s XL t-shirt, I might well invest in one.
Kristin Norwood
Lady Ada Day in 1 week!!!!
Tealin
Honestly you could never draw another proper comic and keep stringing me along with these little stop-gap doodles and I’d still be entertained . . . though I’d have the vague sense of something missing in my life that would bother me during quieter moments.
I’m glad this gift was given to you, regardless of Real Jobs and Crunches and all that. You have the ideal blend of dedication and irreverence to pull it off, to the extent that time allows. In the meantime, your app is so far the only thing that has successfully made me almost consider wanting an iPad, so maybe Apple should be sponsoring you. :)
sweetfa
Skips happily (Not really. That would be ludicrous). But very pleased.
Hahaha brilliant, thanks for the update Sydney, loved this post…
Anon, a Mouse
SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!
Hooray! No worries on your comic production schedule. We will all be here, pleasantly surprised, amused and enlightened when you post. Even most full-time comic artists only post new pages (smaller than your updates; a regular print-sized page pages) once a week, if that often. And don’t worry about the first-drafty feeling! You’ve got time to go back and update things before you go to print. Or final post.
Speaking of print/final post… please, please include these “Dear Reader” interludes. You are a comic genius even in real life. Pun intentional.
What Philippa and bunches of others here have said. Seems to me that the atmosphere of fun, and love of science and history and fantasy, and give and take around here is such that you needn’t worry too much (UNLESS you find it helpful to worry!) about “what the comic is”. If there’s a ton of stuff you want to do, that is simply wonderful. However long it happens to take for the current to come up to the surface and into forms you’re happy with, that’s art and that’s how it works.
Your comic’s FREE. I, for one, am not biting the hand that draws me lovely comics. Absolutely no apologies are required.
Take all the time you need to draw. You will NEVER leave my feed!
(Also, I will most definitely buy multiple copies of this marvelous comic if you publish in print. Multiple, I say! I also anxously await The App.)
Perzackly. Never complain about free ice cream, even when one plans to buy a buyable version later.
MJD
What can one say except, well, Huzzah!
Conrad
“Huzzah!”, indeed!
Roberto
Cool!!
MrSmith
All the funny comments have already been made; just adding my voice to the general chorus of approval!
Phillippa
Joining the chorus: So glad the monsters didn’t trample/dismember/chow down on you. As the world’s slowest novelist, I am not in any position to judge. You take time to figure out where you want this to go and update whenever you have something you’re willing to let the rest of us see, Sydney. You’ve added a lot of joy to the world already.
Terry P-B
My hero! This is a red-letter day: “The Return of the Author!” And I heartily second Josef’s comment: I’d pay for it. Oh dear, another creepy comment…
Ian
Dammit, can I edit that ‘yourself’ to ‘herself?’
No, I can’t.
Bother.
Ian
Your work is awesome. No one should doubt your commitment. We are getting more than our money’s worth.
Although, half the entertainment value of a tortured artist is watching her torture yourself.
That sounded a little creepy, didn’t it?
EFH
There may actually also be a future to “The Adventures of Sydney” comics. This update is great!
Lance
We demand large tables of comics…
…without error!
Poz
YES! Comics WILL be Drawn! …And we shall read them, laugh, and be happy once more!
…Make it So. :)
Sara
I wholeheartedly agree with Josef Svenningsson. Kickstarter is a great idea if you need some ‘tidemeover’ money while doing the next story.
Also – count me in the very pleased crowd for the new story!
Also, whether or not you think you are actually creating “something”, it sure feels like it something to the rest of us. In fact it feels a whole lot like a wonderful something.
I am looking forward to the curious and scientific adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. And of course the daring and dastardly Brunel.
Ceridwen
Take a break. It is what it is and will become what it will become. You can’t stop it. Underlying it all: “Comics will be drawn!”
That is nearly a Significant Kirby Pose in the last panel. :-)
Kat
Many of us have been amazed that you have been able to produce ANY comics (especially given the breadth of research you give to each…) while holding down a full-time job. We will be happy to see whatever you provide – whenever you provide it.
We are your dogs lying hopefully under the dinner table of your creativity – waiting for whatever scraps come to us, because they are so TASTY!
Josef Svenningsson
So you’re not sure what this something is that you have been playing with. I say: keep doing what you’re doing, we all love it. And eventually I think you’ll find out.
Of course there is the issue of having to feed oneself. In case you do eventually realize what this something is that you’re doing then I suggest you pledge some money for it, at, say, kickstarter. I know there’s lots of us who would be willing to chip in to help further the cause of the comic.
James
Hear, hear.
John
Don’t get so down on “three comics.” Even the full-time comics guys take time (Cameron Stewart’s “Sin Titulo” has been going irregularly for four years), and for something on the web that’s not a maybe-funny quicky? No big deal if it takes a while. As someone else mentioned, RSS means knowing a new page is up pretty quick without spending day and night clicking “Refresh.”
So true! There’s a lot of content here, good depth.. C’mon, peoples.. can any of us honestly say that we’ve squeezed ALL the juice out of the footnotes, primary documents, and pretty links provided herein?
Comics will be drawn? Then comics will be read! And admired. And possibly bought, as well.
Slants
As a fellow drawing person, I feel your pain. Keeping a drawing schedule is the bane of all artists
Ellie
Every posting here is a pleasure to read – including the non-comic ones! Patience is rewarded and it’s understandable that monster battling can get in the way of comics. If only you could enslist Brunel to keep them in check… but that would probably lead to more problems than it solved.
Good luck!
tudza
Yes, time to draw a line in the sand. Make it Lovelace shaped.
Samara
Hey, the playwrights of the world feel you on this, and support you on your taking-the-time-it-takes journey, yo. *(Whistles “Art isn’t easy” riff from “Sunday in the Park with George.”)* Breathe. Eat. You are nice to apologize, but we’re not paying you, so…
The nice thing about an RSS feed is that I can afford to be patient. Whenever something new shows up, I get notified, and then I read it with delight.
Lady Tsara
“COMICS WILL BE DRAWN!”
Hear Hear! Let there be comics!
James
Also your fans shall worship you from afar (concurrent with other fans persuading rich people etc.)
Judy
I shall start a campaign to make rich people give you their money so that henceforth you may stay home (and well away from monsters) and only draw comics!
Darryl
Eagerly awaiting the iPad app so I can read ’em all again while waiting for whatever you come up with next!
HISTORICAL RECREATION OF THE LAST NINE MONTHS:
Comments
58 responses to “An Authorial Aside”
Have you considered writing an illustrated joint-biography of Lovelace/Byron/King (I never know what to call her) and Babbage? I absolutely adore your first ‘historically accurate’ comic (Also, it made me think of Larry Gonick’s cartoon history of the world), but it doesn’t go into nearly as much depth as your usually-hilarious footnotes. And I think the world could use a biography as funny and well-researched as yours would be.
This actually happening would be super awesome, and I would be thrilled to help with it, if help were needed. (I have degrees in CS and creative writing, so could probably help with that, or with paper-pushing type work). I left my email – contact me if interested?
I can’t tell you how much enjoyment I get from the adventures of Lovelace & Babbage (and Brunel) and it is an absolutely delightful diversion to daydream about a FILM VERSION. I mean, can you just imagine?! I can! It would kick derriere!
You are entitled to take your time and make sure you have space to breathe… just know we will all be glad to see more pictures as you have leisure.
Oh, my; what *adorable* little monsters!!!
“Comics will be drawn!”….. and there is the line in the sand. Yay! And the better a thing is, the more patience one can have waiting for it. Awaiting very patiently…
I will patiently await the next comic since it just worth waiting for. In the meantime I will subsume my impatience with beer and graduate school.
I hope the Dead Tree version will be available in time for holiday gifting. :D
Will the App have a link to the user comments here? They are also highly entertaining and informative. :)
*squee*
You bet, Sydney — keep on trucking’. We’ll wait!
I sit here in my Babbage & Lovelace tee, drinking coffee from my Lovelace & Babbage mug, (no kidding!) once again charmed by Sydney. Please consider the Android folks and get someone to devise an app for us. I spread the Gospel of Syd whenever I can so your genius can be rewarded! May your muse be good to you – and us!
Take your time, take care of yourself, and do the comic right. I used to work in video games so I completely understand the pressure you’ve been under wit the Barsoomian (Barsoomite?) monsters. In the meantime, re-reads of the stories to date are well worth my time.
And by the way, if the “Comics Will Be Drawn!” panel were to suddenly appear in your Shop in a men’s XL t-shirt, I might well invest in one.
Lady Ada Day in 1 week!!!!
Honestly you could never draw another proper comic and keep stringing me along with these little stop-gap doodles and I’d still be entertained . . . though I’d have the vague sense of something missing in my life that would bother me during quieter moments.
I’m glad this gift was given to you, regardless of Real Jobs and Crunches and all that. You have the ideal blend of dedication and irreverence to pull it off, to the extent that time allows. In the meantime, your app is so far the only thing that has successfully made me almost consider wanting an iPad, so maybe Apple should be sponsoring you. :)
Skips happily (Not really. That would be ludicrous). But very pleased.
Hahaha brilliant, thanks for the update Sydney, loved this post…
SQEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!
Hooray! No worries on your comic production schedule. We will all be here, pleasantly surprised, amused and enlightened when you post. Even most full-time comic artists only post new pages (smaller than your updates; a regular print-sized page pages) once a week, if that often. And don’t worry about the first-drafty feeling! You’ve got time to go back and update things before you go to print. Or final post.
Speaking of print/final post… please, please include these “Dear Reader” interludes. You are a comic genius even in real life. Pun intentional.
Aww!! Bo-peep Sydney is the awesomest!
What Philippa and bunches of others here have said. Seems to me that the atmosphere of fun, and love of science and history and fantasy, and give and take around here is such that you needn’t worry too much (UNLESS you find it helpful to worry!) about “what the comic is”. If there’s a ton of stuff you want to do, that is simply wonderful. However long it happens to take for the current to come up to the surface and into forms you’re happy with, that’s art and that’s how it works.
Your comic’s FREE. I, for one, am not biting the hand that draws me lovely comics. Absolutely no apologies are required.
Take all the time you need to draw. You will NEVER leave my feed!
(Also, I will most definitely buy multiple copies of this marvelous comic if you publish in print. Multiple, I say! I also anxously await The App.)
Perzackly. Never complain about free ice cream, even when one plans to buy a buyable version later.
What can one say except, well, Huzzah!
“Huzzah!”, indeed!
Cool!!
All the funny comments have already been made; just adding my voice to the general chorus of approval!
Joining the chorus: So glad the monsters didn’t trample/dismember/chow down on you. As the world’s slowest novelist, I am not in any position to judge. You take time to figure out where you want this to go and update whenever you have something you’re willing to let the rest of us see, Sydney. You’ve added a lot of joy to the world already.
My hero! This is a red-letter day: “The Return of the Author!” And I heartily second Josef’s comment: I’d pay for it. Oh dear, another creepy comment…
Dammit, can I edit that ‘yourself’ to ‘herself?’
No, I can’t.
Bother.
Your work is awesome. No one should doubt your commitment. We are getting more than our money’s worth.
Although, half the entertainment value of a tortured artist is watching her torture yourself.
That sounded a little creepy, didn’t it?
There may actually also be a future to “The Adventures of Sydney” comics. This update is great!
We demand large tables of comics…
…without error!
YES! Comics WILL be Drawn! …And we shall read them, laugh, and be happy once more!
…Make it So. :)
I wholeheartedly agree with Josef Svenningsson. Kickstarter is a great idea if you need some ‘tidemeover’ money while doing the next story.
Also – count me in the very pleased crowd for the new story!
Also, whether or not you think you are actually creating “something”, it sure feels like it something to the rest of us. In fact it feels a whole lot like a wonderful something.
I am looking forward to the curious and scientific adventures of Lovelace and Babbage. And of course the daring and dastardly Brunel.
Take a break. It is what it is and will become what it will become. You can’t stop it. Underlying it all: “Comics will be drawn!”
Last panel = epic
That is nearly a Significant Kirby Pose in the last panel. :-)
Many of us have been amazed that you have been able to produce ANY comics (especially given the breadth of research you give to each…) while holding down a full-time job. We will be happy to see whatever you provide – whenever you provide it.
We are your dogs lying hopefully under the dinner table of your creativity – waiting for whatever scraps come to us, because they are so TASTY!
So you’re not sure what this something is that you have been playing with. I say: keep doing what you’re doing, we all love it. And eventually I think you’ll find out.
Of course there is the issue of having to feed oneself. In case you do eventually realize what this something is that you’re doing then I suggest you pledge some money for it, at, say, kickstarter. I know there’s lots of us who would be willing to chip in to help further the cause of the comic.
Hear, hear.
Don’t get so down on “three comics.” Even the full-time comics guys take time (Cameron Stewart’s “Sin Titulo” has been going irregularly for four years), and for something on the web that’s not a maybe-funny quicky? No big deal if it takes a while. As someone else mentioned, RSS means knowing a new page is up pretty quick without spending day and night clicking “Refresh.”
So true! There’s a lot of content here, good depth.. C’mon, peoples.. can any of us honestly say that we’ve squeezed ALL the juice out of the footnotes, primary documents, and pretty links provided herein?
LET ALL THE COMICS BE DRAWN!
Comics will be drawn? Then comics will be read! And admired. And possibly bought, as well.
As a fellow drawing person, I feel your pain. Keeping a drawing schedule is the bane of all artists
Every posting here is a pleasure to read – including the non-comic ones! Patience is rewarded and it’s understandable that monster battling can get in the way of comics. If only you could enslist Brunel to keep them in check… but that would probably lead to more problems than it solved.
Good luck!
Yes, time to draw a line in the sand. Make it Lovelace shaped.
Hey, the playwrights of the world feel you on this, and support you on your taking-the-time-it-takes journey, yo. *(Whistles “Art isn’t easy” riff from “Sunday in the Park with George.”)* Breathe. Eat. You are nice to apologize, but we’re not paying you, so…
Woot comics!
The nice thing about an RSS feed is that I can afford to be patient. Whenever something new shows up, I get notified, and then I read it with delight.
“COMICS WILL BE DRAWN!”
Hear Hear! Let there be comics!
Also your fans shall worship you from afar (concurrent with other fans persuading rich people etc.)
I shall start a campaign to make rich people give you their money so that henceforth you may stay home (and well away from monsters) and only draw comics!
Eagerly awaiting the iPad app so I can read ’em all again while waiting for whatever you come up with next!
DRAW ALL THE COMICS!
Indeed!
Like so:
http://postmyimage.com/img1/451_drawallthecomics.png
Or indeed like so:
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e314/Nexxo00/KeepCalmandDrawComics.jpg
Extremely pleased.
Your fans are VERY pleased at the thought of comics being drawn!
Your fans are pleased.