So as of April 27th, the new run of Puck will have been going strong for three years. What does that mean? It means that three years ago I started posting the new comics on my dA profile. I started on Smackjeeves a few months after that, and the current stand-alone Puck site has been going strong for just over a year.
So what have these three years brought?
156 comics
That’s 149 regular strips, 5 ‘stickterlude’ comics and two guest strips. I only ever missed one update, and that was just a few months after starting the comic when my basement flooded during a ‘tornado-like event.’ (Seriously, that’s what the weather people called it.) Otherwise, it’s been one comic a week, every week. I’m pretty happy with that record. It’s not the most frequent update schedule in the world, but hey, at least I’m consistent.
A slight improvement in art quality
While strip 81 was a staggering improvement over the quality of the comic’s original run, I do think the art has improved in minor ways since then. It’s nice to see. There are few things that we as humans get better at with time; drawing is one of them. So even as I grow old and fat and bald and stupid, at least something about me is improving.
One interminable pregnancy and one baby
It was never my intention to have Puck become ‘the comic about the pregnant chick,’ but for a while it seemed like Puck would never not be pregnant. It took over two years (stretching from strip 100 to strip 200) but the pregnancy did end. Some people were sad when it did. I wasn’t.
A readership
In the beginning, I started Puck with an established readership of about 70 people (my friends on dA at the time). The last three years have brought well over three million pageviews (two million of those just in the past year) and over seventy thousand votes cast on TWC. There are many (many) bigger, better webcomics out there, but at least some people are reading my comic, and for that I’m grateful. I spent ten years (the hiatus between the old Puck run and the new one) where I worked on projects that never even saw the light of day. It sucked. So if you’re looking at this, thanks; thanks for taking the time out of your day to check out my crap. It’s made a difference, and it’s given me the energy needed to keep going creatively.
Zero dollars in net profit
Yay! I don’t think it’ll be a surprise to anyone out there, but making free webcomics is, generally speaking, not a profitable pursuit. When I started out, though, the comic actually cost me a fair deal. I paid for art supplies, computer equipment, hosting fees and advertising all out of my own pocket. Now the comic is at least self-supporting, and I consistently break even. So when I think of it that way, things are looking up! I’ve gone from bleeding red to flat-lining. In the business world, that’s called a runaway success story.
Lots of new friends and acquaintances
One of the best parts of doing Puck has been the people I’ve met through doing it. I’ve networked with other webcomic creators, I’ve had fun bantering with the people who leave comments, and it’s been a ton of fun. You people are fantastic!
Now we’ll see what the next three years brings…
