This year felt like a huge advancement in the things I’ve learned about making comics; from writing and art, all the way down to promotion and running advertising on the site. 2010 has been the first time I’ve truly had a chance to sit down and work through an entire chapter of the comic at once instead of working on it when I can, and I feel that the quality of it has improved overall as a result. This is kind of a bittersweet thing, since I’ve spent most of the year aggressively job-hunting – but I’ve also learned a lot about advertising, and have managed to make enough of a profit via advertising to pay (at least) for groceries in addition to the upkeep of comic-making supplies. I may be a broke artist, but at least I’m not starving! While I know that I’ll never be able to turn this comic into a full-time job, it’s an exciting and satisfying feeling to know that I’ve been able to do as much as I have just in the span of this past year and it feels worthwhile to have spent all this (unfortunate) free time I’ve had working on it.

Statistics-wise, 2010 has brought a huge jump in readership – up 66% on average, with about 200-300 more views daily over the same time last year. I’ve put a little bit of effort into finding new readers and getting the comic out there this year, so it’s really cool to see this pay off. That said, if you’re reading this out there (and I know you are) don’t be afraid to chime in on the comments or on the forum! I don’t bite, and your feedback is a huge motivating factor for me. My fanart section has almost tripled in size from what it used to be, and it’s still super humbling every time I get a piece of art from a reader. Knowing that I’ve produced something that people enjoy enough to say so or even to draw or write something based on it is such a cool feeling, and I don’t think it will ever get old. :)

All things considered, 2010 was fantastic. For once I really feel like I’ve made massive steps from where I started when I first put the comic online in 2004. If all goes according to plan, 2011 will be even better. My next steps include starting work on book 3 as soon as possible, getting through the rest of Part 1 of the main comic, and possibly doing some side stories from the Messenger universe.

But most of all, none of this would be possible without you – the readers. So, a huge thanks to you for all your support! I hope you’ll stick with me for whatever is to come. Happy 2011! ♥

I’ve been tweaking the forums a slight bit, including adding a new skin. I was tired of looking at the old one. I’ve been posting previews for new pages and exclusive book content, so be sure to register and check it out! If you’re a regular reader, please hop in! The forums can always use more activity and it would be great to hear from you.

Not much else to note in this update, but check back on Wednesday for new vote incentive art! Thanks for reading!

It’s been a busy week for me setting things up at my new house, but I finally have a desk and a proper workspace for doing comics again, which is really exciting after drawing at random flat surfaces for the past month or so. I managed to cut my thumb pretty badly earlier in the week, which kind of sucked. I’m just glad it wasn’t my drawing hand. D:

This is the LAST FULL WEEK for the extra page drive! If you’ve been thinking about commissioning me or buying something from the shop, February 28 is the final day of the page drive! All purchases from the shop, book purchases from lulu, commissioned art, and donations (which will snag you a copy of the current donation wallpaper!) in before midnight EST on the 28th will count towards earning a new page. One bonus page has been earned so far, and there’s still hope for a second page before the week is out. No contribution is too small!

The Cast page has been updated to include better descriptions and information, as well as some side characters who are still critical to the story. Everything has also been condensed into one main page for easier reference.

I have changed the policy for comments here this week. From now on, comments on pages will automatically close after seven days. Further commentary can go on in the forum. Any comments or complaints about this change can be taken up on the forums.

As usual, there is a new vote incentive this week, featuring Finnegan! We haven’t seen much of the younger of the Chio duo yet in the story, so taking a suggestion from the forum, this week’s incentive features facts about Finnegan. (Yet another reason to join the forums if you haven’t already! I’m always interested to hear the kinds of things people want to see on the site.)

That’s about all for this week’s update. Get your shop orders/donations/commission orders in for extra pages soon! Have a great Monday, and a fantastic week!

So who exactly is stalking Eldora, anyway? You’ll have to wait till next week to find out, tee hee. (Or sign up for the forums! I usually post panels from upcoming pages in a secret members-only forum!)

Just a couple of news bits this week:

The first (and most awesome) is that the February page drive is a success so far! $54 was reached in the first week, and the first bonus page went up on Friday. The count currently stands at $74.50 – just about halfway to a second bonus page! You guys rock.

I’m not sure what the heck is going on, but I’ve getting HUGE numbers of new readers over the past few days. So, um, hi, and welcome if you’re new! Please drop in on the forums (which are eerily quiet) and make yourselves known! I haven’t even done anything special in the way of advertising lately. This is kind of cool!

The second new-ish thing is an article – About the Chios. I keep a planning notebook (basically a small-scale universe bible) full of ideas and details about the world of the comic that helps me keep the story on track. Sometimes my brain is full of swiss cheese, and I’m always afraid of leaving out a key point or not closing up a loop when I get to it, and this helps out massively. One of the most major parts of the notebook is the story of the Chios, so I thought it would be interesting to do a little writeup about Chio physiology and where they came from. It’s fairly non-spoilery as long as you’ve read through Chapter Two. I made a couple of little illustrations to go with it, and I have a few more on deck to add later. (Which are also sketchblog fodder…)

Votes have also been up for the past week! Messenger is at just about the highest it’s ever been on TWC, breaking into the low 300′s! Thank you all for your votes and your support, I really appreciate it! (Now if you could just do it again and keep voting, I’d be ecstatic!) There’s a new incentive image this week as well, featuring outtakes from the set of Messenger!

That’s all for this week… Remember the February page drive is going on all month! We’re still early in the month, so there’s plenty of time to get in on the action and tons of opportunity for extra pages!

In news this week, I’m trying to promote the forums at the request of several fans. As I mentioned in my previous post, the forums have never quite built back up to what they used to be before the comic site was hacked a few years ago, so I’m working on that. I’ve added a new section that’s only available to registered members where I plan on adding sketches, page previews, and other “behind the scenes” extras. As we speak, I’m preparing sketches for chapter seven to upload this week, as well as one-panel-previews for upcoming pages. Come join in! :)

There’s a new vote incentive up this week, the second in a series of new coloring styles I’ve been trying out for work on Chapter Seven. I’m also willing to take ideas or requests for future vote incentive drawings, so if you have any characters or ideas in mind, leave a comment or post on the forum!

After looking through the script I’ve got going, and some of the pages I’ve got together, it looks like I’m running short on materials for working on Chapter Seven – specifically, Chio-colored markers. I’ve been using the same set of markers for the past six years, and they’re finally burning out on me. I work as a freelance designer, and business has been slow this past month, plus I’m getting ready to move to a new house which has an assortment of related costs. To try and alleviate the cost of picking up the new colors I need, I’ve added a special donation wallpaper to the sidebar. If you donate any amount, you can download a copy in your choice of two large sizes. Picking up a copy of the book would also help out (there’s a coupon code once again this month, use GREATBOOK when checking out from lulu.com to get 10% off your order. I also have an extra copy on hand that I’m willing to let go for $12 + shipping which I’ll sign and draw in just for you!) and I’m also planning on putting some of my original drawings up for sale, since all they do is sit around and take up space in my drawer, anyway.

I’ve been thinking about doing a little side story thing in addition to the regular comic, just for fun. I’ve drawn so far ahead that I literally feel like I have nothing to do other than a little write up for the new pages as they go up. Being prepared is almost boring!

That’s all for now!

Vote if you get a chance!

There used to be a small, but regular forum group a couple of years ago, but the problem was that my entire site got hacked and basically the entire thing was really broken for a really long time. There were some things I didn’t have backups for, which taught me my lesson about that. It took a long time to get everything put together the way it should be, and I’m still working on it in some places. The forum was one of the things that got eaten, and I was hesitant to put it back up after losing so much stuff. (I’m fairly certain the whole incident came from a security flaw in the forum software I was using at the time – I’ve since changed that and I’m extremely careful about the new one.) The whole thing made me learn my lesson about keeping better backups, and making sure anything I install on the site is secure and up to date. Unfortunately, the hard way.

The new forums are shiny and clean, and I’ve put a lot of effort into measures to keep the spambots out. (Another problem that plagued the old ones.) So I’d like to point out the fact that they’re there and usable, and encourage you to check them out if you’re a regular on the site!

I’ve been trying to get everything back together on the back end, making sure all the software that powers the site is up to date and in good shape. So far it is, which makes my life that much easier. :D

In addition to this, I also patched and updated the security on the forums, since they’ve been sitting pretty dormant for a while now and I thought it would be nice to have them up again. I’ve seen comments from a few new faces in the past few weeks, so if there are more out there don’t feel too shy to leave a comment or drop by the forums! (I don’t bite, I swear! My cat does, though.)

Been getting pages ready. I am taking a slightly different stance on the way I’m working through this chapter. I plan on experimenting more with the art and tools where I can, and taking it less seriously. I’ve been playing with a brush and ink and it’s something I could certainly adapt to the comic. It’s very relaxing to work with, which is what this all should be. Working on the comic has felt sort of stale lately, which is part of why updates have been so infrequent. Hopefully this will make it feel more new and interesting for a while. :)

Other than that, life is life as usual. New pages will be up the 27th!

All of the graphics on the site were broken when I uploaded the backups to the new server and after a lot of digging and tweaking URLs, they’re all back up again. The gallery requires a lot of fixing in order to work with the new file structure on the new server, so that will come back up in time. There might be a few other bugs around the site, but they’ll be worked out in time. If you spot anything weird, please don’t hesistate to post a comment to this journal and I’ll take care of it as soon as I can.

The forums will be down indefinitely because they were barely used and it was hard to keep a step ahead of the spammers. If there’s enough interest I’ll bring them back.

Another big change that comes with the new server is the fact that I can actually use the messenger-comic.com domain the way I’ve wanted to since I bought it as a birthday-present-to-myself a few years back. :D messenger-comic.com is now the official URL for the comic instead of the old megan-koss.net/messenger address. This way I can keep my portfolio and school projects separate from the comic, since it could get kind of confusing. (And I guess I’d like to keep my professional interests separate from something that’s kind of a hobby. D: ) The old address will still have a link/redirect on it from now till the end of time, but update your bookmarks! :D

Lastly, the important part, comic updates! I have a stack of pages in various stages of completion and plan to get them finished up and scanned as soon as possible. I’ve decided to give up on the weekly schedule since that’s a bit rigid for my rigorous design-student lifestyle. Not to worry, though. I am still going to continue to update, but I’m not going to try to keep a schedule that I know is going to get away from me. What I may end up doing is release pages in larger batches as they’re completed, since I often find it easier to work on them in a big group rather than one at a time anyway. It gives me something to do while I’m waiting for the backgrounds to dry on one, and so forth.

Thank you again for all your support and continuing to keep up with the comic despite all the issues I’ve been having with hosting and delays in updates. As a side note, on Monday, August 25th the comic will be exactly four years old! If you’d like to contribute fan art, comics, fiction, or anything else, I’d love to display it! Send it along to fancreated [at] messenger-comic.com! :D