UTC: Urgent Transformation Crisis

Salutations! I’ve started working on the pages for the next chapter. Things are going well so far, so I’m confident in announcing that the first page will land on December 21. (December 20 for Patreon early access members)

I also finished prepping the pages for Chapter 12 for the printed book, which will be available on Indy Planet, probably after Christmas. I made some fixes to the pages of Jen’s chapter that had been bugging me for a while. The most significant is that Trom is now pulling on the power cord of the soup cooker instead of the tablecloth, which a reader on deviantArt pointed out would be a safety hazard.

(Although, with a kid like Trom in the house, pretty much everything is a safety hazard.)

First, thank you to everyone who commented and wrote to me about the return of UTC. I can’t describe in words how much it means to hear from you and know that you still enjoy the comic after so many years and so many long breaks. I’m going to keep doing the best I can to bring Cass and Flint’s story to you all.

Stepping outside of the comic for a moment, I’m posting here the message that ran on the main page for the past two days. It’s down here now but it’s as important today as it was on Monday, and will continue to be important for a long time to come.

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all safe and well. I just wanted to give you an update on where things stand with the comic. New pages should start coming out in a week or two.

I recently upgraded to a new computer with brand new art software. Since UTC’s launch in 2007 I’ve been using now-ancient versions of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to color and balloon the pages. (During Chapter 11 I also used an equally old copy of Manga Studio to draw everything.)

I’ve now gotten Clip Studio Paint, and am learning the intricacies of that program. My hope is that I’ll be able to use just this one program for all of the comic’s digital needs starting with Chapter 13.

In the meantime I’ve been trying to finish up the remaining pages of the final story for Chapter 12. It’s ironic that they were the first pages I started drawing for the chapter back in November, yet it’s taken me until now to finish them up.

Given the lack of updates these past weeks, I’m putting the Patreon campaign on pause. Patreon supporters won’t be charged for next month’s updates.

I encourage everyone supporting me to redirect the pledges you’ve reserved for me to other artists who are in need right now. The impact of this virus is hitting freelancers very hard. I’m lucky to still have a full-time job. Many don’t, and they deserve a helping hand.

To anyone who isn’t already supporting artists on Patreon, if you have the means to, this is a great time to start.

Take care of yourselves, and each other.