Beginning of the end of the beginning

Finally began the last part of Book 1 of Dicebox with this action packed page(permalink).

Forgive me father/mother/sister/brother it has been 43 weeks since my last update.

…

I just died a little there calculating the time lapse.

I actually drew 62 pages of comics during that time–just not Dicebox. Work for hire stuff, babies cost money and all that. But those pages don’t count, somehow. (I try not to think about how if they were all Dicebox pages I’d be done with Part 1 of Book 2. Nope, not thinking about it. Not me.)

All’s this to say it feels good to be actually doing updates on Diceboxagain. It feels right, even with all my dissatisfactions with this page* Actually, that feels right too.

Now as I’m still in a time of chaos and upheaval,** I will be alternating weeks with Patrick until “Don’t Look Back” finishes. I’m hoping my updates will become multipage affairs soon. Truth be told, I was hoping to make this update 4 pages in length as this is a slow passage even for me and will be more sensible and purposeful with the next three pages. Oh well, best laid plans and all that.

To sum up: I MISSED TORMENTING MY LADIES. Glad to be back to it. I feel like a whole person again.

*If you subscribe to the RSS feed, it’ll update after I correct one faux pas when I get off work)

**Not just the Kid, but some home repair that has currently left an office nomad. I can make art just about anywhere, but my work flow gets seriously disrupted which makes me less efficient.

How Taran stole the April fish

Man, I was all set to do a joke update today, sketched out the art and everything. And then, about 3 weeks back, our four month old daughter who used to sleep through til morning began waking once or twice during the night. (I feel sucker punched, here.)*

Sigh.

I really enjoy April Fool’s, look forward to smirking through out the day (example, our IT guy announced a way to reduce costs and energy usage through limited email access: Last names starting A through M will have email access 6:30 AM through 1:00 PM. Last names starting N through Z will have email access 1:00 PM through 7:30 PM.) And I was totally stoked that this year’s was on a Wednesday, my regular update day. But between the day job, freelance, baby care** and the 5 hours of sleep per night AND baby’s first shoulder dislocation this past Friday AND AND a sudden computer upgrade… just not meant to be. Not with me enjoying it, which is the whole point.

I was contemplating going with a simple “screw comics” post, but I already did that and caused unintended heartburn for some folks. And I don’t think I’m in the right mental space to pull that off, all things considered.

And I told Patrick I got this week so no update from him either, I’m afraid. Entertainingly enough, my original April Fool’s prank was to present a slick, hyper stylized, action and boob packed comic as Dicebox’s new direction. Kinda redundant now.

As penance, and a way to rev back up into Dicebox as I complete other obligations*** I will be attempting to post something in the Dicebox Process Journal at least six times a week for the month of April. I will start tonight with a one of the cleaned up and colorized sketches. And this weekend I’ll share some concept art for Book 2 that I was originally planning to share today a balm for goofiness.

Oh, and updates to Dicebox here on out: Patrick and I will be alternating every other week until he’s finished, allowing me time to ramp up fully as well for hime to wrap up this epic. And they’ll be truly Wednesday updates again! With as much material as we can manage in two weeks time.

See you on April 15th with the beginning of Dicebox Book 1: Part 9: Out of a Molehill. No fooling.

*What she really wants is to sleep in the bed with Kip and me, something I gave her a taste for when traveling–hated the crib arrangement, room temperature and we were in a king sized bed. It’s also part of her biggest growth spurt yet, not just size but mental activity and physical ability. And it’s the fact that she can now roll and hoist herself along and over things that has me firmly vetoing her sharing the bed with us. Which means a good couple of hours every night getting her to settle and go back to sleep. In her own bed/bassinet.

**By which I mean breast feeding. I produce at least a quart everyday for our little monkey girl and, man, what a time consuming, exhausting enterprise that is. Looking forward to weaning, tantrums and all. I’ve seen it compared to a part time job, seven days a week and boy they’re not kidding.

***And wean the Kid.

Rocking it

Across town from me, at this moment, my daughter is wearing this very ensemble. That thought pleases me. (Note the stylish R. Stevens original onesie she’s sporting.)

Who else has been rocking it is Patrick Farley in his Dicebox saga “Don’t Look Back.” I realize that I’ve neglected mentioning it here for the past couple of weeks. If you depend on this journal for update notices, you’ll wanna go back to page 27 for the last three pages.

But back to talking about my daughter. Taran is 13 weeks old as of today and is indeed rocking my world. And shaking it, rearranging it, spitting up on it…

I never really sought to be a mother but I have to say it’s actually kinda awesome. There’s nothing like watching the person she is and is becoming emerge each day. This past Sunday, she invented her first game.

Here’s how it goes: while I hold her against my shoulder, she looks at and engages the person sitting next to us. Then she squeals in delight and hides her face against my neck. Then turns back to the the person and begins again. She did this most recently with Bill; both seemed to enjoy it immensely.

Of course this whole motherhood thing has been very challenging for me, especially since returning to the day job a couple weeks ago. And frustrating in regards to getting art done. However, I’m managing and have actually figured out when I’ll be resuming Dicebox: March 4th. I might be splitting updates with Patrick as he finishes his mini retro epic, but the show will (finally) go on.

Recurring theme

A peek from the latest page of Patrick Farley’s Dicebox Aside, “Don’t Look Back.” (permalink) I predict punches real soon.

There was also a two page update last week that I neglected to mention here due to my current reason and excuse for most things these days: Taran. I am getting the hang of her (and her me), and a rhythm is emerging. Even so, I get frustrated at not being even remotely on top of things. Hell, a good day is when I manage to do all the dishes if nothing else. But I have very few if any regrets in having her; it does help that she is pretty darn cute:

This photo shows another reason I’m grateful for Patrick’s epic page count for this guest story (up to 23 pages and still going!). That’s me holding her and the hand brace on my right hand—a.k.a. the drawing hand—is due to the carpal tunnel injury I’ve had for seven weeks now. Apparently this is a common side effect of pregnancy and delivery, even more so with a c-section, though it ought to have gone away by now. So it’s off to the hand specialist I go.

I went about 5 weeks without drawing a damn thing, then gradually began sketching again as I couldn’t stand it anymore. It’s a bit clumsy and slow going yet, with frequent breaks, but getting better. I even managed my first bit of cartooning yesterday (and did all the dishes to boot!). As with everything else these days, it involves the Kid:

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So, a week ago, I gave birth

Specifically I gave birth to a 10 pound, 5 ounce baby girl named Taran Jack Manley, 22 and a half inches long with a full head of hair and eyebrows (the delivery team seemed the most impressed with the eyebrows.)

I’ve already posted the log of Twitter posts that Kip, Dylan and I made during the process. This here is more about the whys-and-where-ores and my feelings about the whole thing.

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