The Battlebarge

Important announcement (22 September 2009)

Again, lateness plagues Battle Barge. It''s inexcusable, I know.

In a way, this is a symptom of a greater problem, and one that I have reluctantly had to acknowledge.

[deep breath]

It is with regret that I here announce that this will be the last storyline of the Battle Barge comic. There are about five or six more strips to go before the last one then that will be it for Si and the gang. It''s been nearly 4 fun-filled years since I started this comic strip and it''s been a roller-coaster ride.

Sadly, though, there are more reasons to stop than there are to keep it going. In the tradition of the other recently-finished gaming comic, here''s a list of them:

1: Lack of time! There always seem to be other things to do! Decorating, DIY, shopping, support groups, travelling, enjoying time with Mrs Selezen and the kids and so on. All of them important!

2: Lack of ideas. Im finding it hard to come up with new and varied storylines for the characters (and I know you''ve noticed). I don''t want the comic to fade into boredom and unfunny parody. I hope it hasn''t already!

3: Dissatisfaction. The comic hasn''t advanced as much as I wanted it to by now. I had a dream of being able to do fancy artwork and complex storylines. Problem is that although the ideas in my head look fantastic, I would have to draw for 7 days a week just to get one strip out! As I keep pointing out, I''m not an artist! This stuff comes slowly to me, with hours of tweaking and looking at references in an attempt to get things looking right (and it doesn''t always work). The other option was to restrict what was happening to a set of viewpoints and storyline things within those constraints. That was beginning to get too restrictive for my ideas and I think the jokes and stories suffer for it!

4: Interest in other medias. I''m not actually a cartoonist, you know. No, really! My medium is the written word. I''m more comfortable with that as I can describe the stuff in my head much better than I can draw it. As such I''ll probably be concentrating more on writing fiction. One idea that crops up is that I would be more than happy to write stories and plots for a comic if someone would be kind enough to draw the comic! it works for a lot of people and it''s something I would love to give a try!

5: Other responsibilities. I''m involved with a lot of things these days, such as support groups for a couple of conditions that affect my immediate family. I get a lot out of these things, but they do require an investment of time! I''m also trying to start my own small business and again that is a resource-intensive task!

So that''s a quick look at why I''m putting a final shine on BB and leaving it on a shelf. I''ve enjoyed the work and I''ve met a shed-load of new people in the meantime. My main regret is that you fine readers have put a lot into this comic too, with the whole broken motherboard issue and your generous contributions to getting that fixed! I regret that I won''t be able to live up to your expectations and put a comic on the table for every meal. You have been a wonderful and supportive group and I thank you for your readership, donations and support from the bottom of my heart!

I apologise for the numerous things I''ve promised over the last year or so that haven''t materialised too. Again, it''s down to a severe lack of hours in the day.

One thing though - the last thing that will be done before I pack away the character templates will be to DRAW UP THE POSTERS I PROMISED THE DONATORS! Yes, I know it''s been a ridiculously long time since I promised to do it, but see above for the reasons why!!! However, I will be dedicating my time after the last comic is posted to making sure that I see my promise through to each and every one of you. I''m also planning to do a few custom art pieces for everyone to download and keep as desktop wallpapers or posters as they see fit! I''ll also be looking at putting together a proper, hold-it-in-your-hands-and-read-it, book of the complete Battle Barge!

Who knows? Maybe I''ll pick up the stylus now and again and churn out a few new artworks just for posterity! Keep checking back on the comic site or on the main hughesd.co.uk site for other projects and maybe even comics in the fullness of time.

For now though, thanks again and enjoy the comics to come before the end!

No comic this week (29 September 2009)

Looks like BB will be alive one week longer.

The dreaded Swine Flu has hit and I'm taking the week off. If I feel better towards the end of the week then I may be able to draw one up, but I wouldn't stake my life on it.

Sorry for the delay.

Sorry, still no update... (05 October 2009)

Still ill, I'm afraid. Lack of sleep for nearly a week, soooooo tired I can't look at a screen and a completely failed attempt to get back to work today. Just can't face drawing tonight.

Hopefully should manage to get some energy back tomorrow so will aim to get a comic up for tomorrow sometime.

Apologies again for the delay.