The genesis of EGS:NP was an unexpected one. The newspaper format used for NP premiered on the site in a filler comic (11/30/2003), but was not actually intended for use with anything EGS-related. I had created the templates due to an interest in making a completely different comic strip for newspapers, which would be done in addition to EGS. That was before I did additional research on the subject. I knew the odds of getting into newspapers were low from the start, but I overestimated the payout. Evidently, straining along for a couple of years while having one or two jobs in addition to the comic is natural even for cartoonists with stuff in print.

I set aside the idea of getting into newspapers, and put the secondary comic on hold (it may yet resurface someday). I believe the format got used in a Filler because I was feeling rushed and wanted to get something up quickly while simultaneously commenting on how difficult it can be to make the double-sized comics consistently. A little bit later, I was being counciled by Nioi (12/14/2003) due to stress from making the comic so frequently, and because I wasn't too keen on the whole Painted Black story arc. I like the story arc in retrospect, but it often wasn't fun to make the comics for it.

The first EGS:NP comic premiered on February 24th, 2004. It was not intended to launch the EGS:NP section, but rather to be a story in the Filler section. I wanted to have a story in the filler section because I wanted to let off some steam from Painted Black and wanted some more freedom to tell stories that I wouldn't otherwise get to in the main story. As I was coloring it, however, I found that I didn't enjoy coloring it. I truly prefer working with black and white, with greyscale being a close second. I almost didn't do any shading at all, but then I used dot patterns I made that would allow for shading while still keeping it all b&w. This pleased me, as most of the depth would have to come from my own drawings. I decided I liked the look and I liked the story freedom, but it didn't seem to really fit in the filler section. Thus, I decided there needed to be EGS:NP, and the section was born.

I have bothered to go through the history of EGS:NP to point out that it was meant as a means of stress relief and freedom. I could do stories that wouldn't fit into the continuity of the main storylines, and it was artistically liberating. I have no intention of ditching the greyscale for the storyline, but there's something about drawing in pure b&w that's intoxicating... anyway, the main points are stress relief and freedom. Recently, EGS:NP has provided me neither. I'm forcing myself to make EGS:NP comics because I set up a schedule and I like being able to claim that my site has new content daily. Heck, I advertise that on all the latest banners I've made.

One of my goals with EGS:NP was to not have it interfere with the main comics schedule. This would be simply accomplished by virtue of the fact that EGS:NP comics are much smaller than the main comics, which should mean that making several NP in one sitting would be easy by comparison. In short, I would make an entire weeks worth on a Saturday, and be set for the week from an NP standpoint. This has not been the case, due in no small way to my forcing myself to stick to the schedule, which I haven't even successfully done. Putting too much effort into the NP schedule has resulted in it being even more difficult to maintain the main sections schedule.

I am not getting rid of EGS:NP. I am going to figure out how to give the "Respect" storyline a GOOD ending (I could give it a pretty weak ending at the moment), finish that (hopefully soon), and not post new NPs for a while. Basically, I'm not going to treat NP as a regularly updated section, at least not for a while. I'm going to create entire EGS:NP stories at my leisure, and when one is completed, the NP section will update as it used to until the end of that story. If there is another story after it already created, the updates will continue. If not, then EGS:NP won't update again until the next story is done being made. The reason for sticking to tues-thurs-sat updates with NP is to allow for site updates on more days, and to increase the possibility of there being multiple stories in a row. A 12-comic story would last for 4 weeks, during which the possiblity would exist that I would make another NP story.

As an additional measure for my sanity, I plot to go back to having Fillers on Sundays when I feel like making them. They're a fun bonus, but they can really get in the way of getting other things done at times, and the primary purpose of filler is to provide replacement content when the content that's to be expected cannot be provided for whatever reason. Considering how often I toss up "filler for filler" (aka sketch fillers), this seems like a good idea. Sketch fillers can be neat and all, but I would prefer to save those for times when I want or need to take a break from making comics in general, or as a last minute "I was so busy I didn't even have time to make a filler to take the place of the story" filler.

In summary, I hope to finish "Respect" asap, stories for EGS:NP will be made in their entirety before the first comic in the story is posted, and Filler comics will be on Sundays if and when I feel like making them. I'm fully aware that some of you actually prefer NP to the main storyline, but I hope you can understand that the story is more important to me from a consistent update standpoint. If that's small comfort, consider this: the further along the main story progresses, the more material for future NP stories.

Top of page - Return to Main