In what some would consider comic suicide, I have decided to dump the MADBURY archives and start anew with a redesigned format for the comic. Allow me to explain the changes I am making and how it affects what you’ve come to know about the comic and the time and investment you’ve made with the characters of MADBURY!
The cast is NOT changing, the characters you’ve come to know and love or loathe will continue on as you’ve always known them to be, this reset is also going to allow me to expand the cast base going forward as well. What will change is in how they interact with one another based on a shift in writing style and presentation. By writing style, I’ve decided to disband the gag a day theme I’ve been doing and have decided to go in a more serial dramady [some drama/mostly comedy] route that will allow me to expand the depth of the characters. As for the presentation, it will be in a vertical page design that will allow me to make the comic whatever size I need for the work I wish to present that week. The art and design of the characters will remain as you’ve known them, with some minor tweaking having been done. 7 comics from the previous version of MADBURY will be familiar to you as they role out in August, but not exactly what you read of them the last go around. Dialogue has been tweaked, as have visual elements, to also notate the change in direction and tone going forward. I encourage you to read them and comment as you always have.
Beginning JULY 30th, MADBURY will re-introduce 7 of the former “Fruit Of Their Loins” series of comics leading up to the September 17th launch of all NEW comics from that point forward. Occasionally, you may see comics from the old archive intertwined into the new version [rewritten-redrawn], but they won’t come back verbatim, unless the older comics content works with whatever is going on now.
There will be -NO- future resets or name changes for this comic, I have, after a few years of toiling with this comic, come to an understanding of what I want to do with it and what goals I intend to accomplish with it. My hope is that you, the reader, will allow me the luxury of making this change, a change that will allow my creativity to flow unimpeded by mistakes and learning curves of the past few years.
I look forward to many years of MADBURY, join me won’t you?!?
— Jynksie
This sounds interesting, Jynksie. I can wait to see how you’re gonnahandle this new revamp. As long as you enjoy this new process, I’m sure we readers will be willing and able to follow along.
I have said on many occasions that three or four panels don’t do a lot to develop characterization. That format merely allows for the scenario, the set-up, then, BOOM! the punchline.
That’s why I prefer to throw out a super-sized comic every now and then, so I can give my readers a chance to see how my cast operates and interacts without there necessarily having to be a big joke in the end. I really prefer to term my comic as being akin to a sit-com.
Good luck with your new plans, and I will be one of the first of many awaiting the premiere!
You’ve always had my back George, much appreciated! ..and you hit the nail on the head, with the 4 panel, its a constant, scenrio/setup/punchline and you arent really left with much room for more. My hope is the new presentation will effectively give me as little or as much room as I need to play! I love doing MADBURY, I simply hadn’t found it’s rhythm til now!
So if you are redoing dialogue from old cartoons can I just redo the dialogue from my old guest cartoon the next time you put out a call for them?? hahah
No- sir, you cannot! [smirk] …you’ll have to do the work by redrawing, rewriting and merely giving a sense of familiarity, rather than a verbatim redo! You can only accuse me of “slacking off” once, regardless of its perpetual cycle! [wink]
You do whatever you need to do for your own needs, Scott. I support you every step of the way. I know what it’s like to be struggling to tell the stories of people who simply popped into your head one day while you were busy writing and drawing something else. Things change; we change. We learn and sometimes we get the chance to start over. Sometimes we have to wrest it from the nay-sayers. Looking forward to the New Improved Comic. Best of luck!
I think your work inspired me to add some emotional depth to the comic. Sure, its fun to make vasectomy jokes and menopause references, but what about the psychology of the characters behind these issues and decisions? Its time to find out, no? [grin]
I think this a bold and very neat step forward sir. I don’t feel in any way you are committing comic suicide by doing away with the archives. Heck, just save those and put out a book down the road with them. “Madbury revisted” or something like that.
This is definitely going to be a very cool “zeroed out” approach. You will be as fresh to past readers as you are to new readers, thus we will all be experiencing these characters and stories as for the first time. I’m excited to see how this goes, and to get on board the Madbury express…next stop, entertainment.
I think past readers will have the advantage of knowing them on a deeper level now. …and by deeper, I mean gloriously dysfunctional! It also allows me to bring in characters I couldnt have without the change! I’m glad there is excitement about this!
Thanks for the support Todd! [bows]
Jynksie, you can rebuild it. You have the talent and the technology. You have the capability to remake Madbury. Better than it was before. Better, stronger, different format. Best of luck, I’ll be around watching the epic unfold.
I didnt have the technology wherewithal when I began the comic and I had foresight to know this then, luckily. I knew a day would come where I’d be booting and re-booting! I’m glad its been met with a positive response by all! [bows]
I totally get it… a reset once in awhile can help keep the creative process fresh. I think when many of us start our comics, we’re trying to figure out how it all works. Now that you’ve been doing this for awhile, you can focus on the stories you really want to tell, with art that you’re happy with.
You nailed it Jer! When I began this strip, heck, it had a different name to it. I changed that when I found it boxed me in. My earlier work was plagued by the learning curve of making a comic digitally and in many cases, just plain wrong!
Now, whatever I make is made in a way that can be transferable to print or e-book or original prints. I took the time to learn the craft and I’m glad I had the balls to make this leap. I was nervous!
I know exactly where you are coming from, which made it all the more interesting because I’m also changing the way my comic works. I wish you luck in the new Madbury, but I do so out of mere solidarity, and not because you really need it, because if you are working on something you love (and by the sound of it, you do) success will certainly follow.
This thing we do, is a labor of love. The few people who may dislike your work have thousands of other webcomics to choose from, so keep your eye on your passion, do the best you can do, and rest assured that those who like your work will stay, and many more will follow.
Congratulations on the launch of the new Madbury, we will stick around to see the new stories.
It is a labor of love and I will continue to nurture it and grow it as best I can. I’m glad you get what I’m doing, it seems most everyone does and it has certainly eased my jitters! Thanks for that!