It’s weird to think it’s actually finished. Actually, there's still ONE page left. I've spent the last several weeks in a haze of trying to keep up with other projects, so I haven't had any time to sit and think about it.
A little over five years ago, I was a very different creator. I was completely content to keep filling in for whichever artist couldn’t draw whatever Marvel or DC comic that needed to be done that month. But then, Ron Richards at iFanboy.com asked me to design a t-shirt with something that I owned.
I didn’t own anything. I had no ideas. What was I going to do?
The first thing I drew in my sketchbook was a barbarian riding a pug. Ron thought it was great, and for a year after that, people would ask me at conventions when the comic was coming out. I had no intention of doing a comic, but the idea had been planted in my head. I decided to do it.
Not being a patient person, I settled on doing a webcomic. I thought doing a page a week for what was turning out to be a pretty long and epic story in my head would be an easily managed schedule. I was right for a time, but as most webcomickers will tell you, it becomes a grind pretty quick.
Almost immediately, the comic was accepted by the comic book community, but we had to take time to get readers online. That’s the way webcomics works. We’ve won Eisner and Harvey and Shel Dorf awards and nominated for a Rueben. I’ve had people dress as my characters and shared dog stories with people all over the world. It’s been a humbling and amazingly satisfying creative experience, and while I’ve learned a lot these last few years, I feel like a poser compared to the other talented creators that put out consistently great webcomics day in and day out. This is a tough job… but rewarding.
I’m proud of what we’ve done, and by “we” I mean my co-creators - Chris Crank and Allen Passalaqua. I literally could not have done this without them. Allen’s colors are the reason anybody even looks at this comic, and Crank’s lettering and general friendship has made it fun. I love these guys. And will continue to work with them forever. I'd like to mention Josh Emmons for designing this Squarespace template that, to my knowledge, is the only webcomic template that exists (Get it out there, Josh!!!)
Speaking of which…
Battlepug isn’t over. I will be making more. I’m just deciding what form that will take. I promise.
Until then, THANK YOU for sticking around this long. Your support has honestly changed my life.