This… This is a very hard post to write. I have rewritten it a number of time. So let me just cut to the chase;
I am quitting Exiern.
Now the answer to the big concern about this announcement;
The comic will NOT be ending.
How is this possible? I have sold the comic to Dan Standing Entertainment and Dan will be the managing editor of the comic. He is going to keep the comic running after I “retire”.
As for who is going to write it, I honestly I don’t know the answer to that one yet. Dan is will be looking for a new writer and I have promised to stay around to do some script doctoring and helping the new writer get a feel for the story. Dan will have more information about that shortly. We are going to be running on my script for a couple of months at least as I have some buffer built up.
As to why I am quitting there are a number of reasons from but it all came down to this. When I open up the comic a couple of weeks ago to upload the latest page, I just stared at the page a sense of dread overtaking me. “I don’t want to do this anymore” I said to myself.
After another 5 minutes of staring I said “I don’t have to do this anymore”.
“I am not going to do this anymore” I finally said after staring at the screen for 2 more minutes. I wrote Dan an emails saying “how’d you like to buy a comic” and after thinking about it he said yes. We are in the paperwork laden period known as the transition. Transferring a comic with revenue sources from a million places is no easy task.
The deal I worked out with Dan is that he gets the comic as long as he promises to keep it running because the one thing I don’t want to do is have the story die, like so many other webcomics. We have a good thing going here and there is no reason for it to stop just because I don’t have the time for it.
In general I feel really good about this. Dan is dedicated and has a lot of good ideas. I really think he is going to take the comic to new heights. I also think that it’s a good idea to get new blood into a story from time to time. Webcomicer tend to get a bit clingy with their creative works and often strangle. The dedication must always be to the story not to the glory of one individual and when that story is no longer speaking to you then you pass it on to let it grow and flourish.
There is on down side to all of this. I am going to miss you guys. I must say I have been blessed with the best audience of any webcomic. You guys are funny and intelligent and quite simply a joy to interact with. It was an honor to talk to you on a regular basis through this comic and I am proud to call you my friends.
Not that I am going away. I’ll still be kicking around the site and doing other small projects. But I will miss that direct connection I was able to have with such an awesome group of people.
Well… See you guys around and as always a cookie for you if you read all this.
PS: Dan will start posting here in a day or two. Be nice to the guy. And when a new writer is selected be nice to them as well. The comic will be different of course but different is a good thing for the growth of a series.
