Comic for Monday, October 27th, 2025
Well. We’re back?
I don’t want to overpromise. Things are not going to pick right up; this is a bit of an awkward time to restart, since in the second half of November I take my ‘yearly vacation’ of sorts to visit family; long time readers will know there’s a break every year at that time in the update schedule (except for the olden days when I had a real buffer).
I will try to do one more comic at least before I go, so tentatively November 10th.
Admittedly I haven’t drawn literally anything since the last comic, so this was the first time I’ve drawn in months. It was a bit rough and rusty. I have no idea why I decided to have my first comic back take place mostly as reflections on a window. It’s just how I envisioned the scene when I wrote it, so its what I tried to draw.
I apologize for the long break and uncertain schedule. To make a long story short, the shit hit the fan a little bit in my ‘day job’ (D&D 3rd party publishing). After playing chicken with the tariffs for a few months, the books finally got to the country just to be promptly seized by US Customs for some real bullshit. It all got sorted out in the end, though it cost a lot of money to get the books back out of their claws. But the whole thing was pretty stressful and time consuming, since I live nowhere near the port the books landed in, and was stuck trying to figure out how to sort things away from the better part of 3,000 miles away. And the stakes were pretty high, since ultimately too much my business was tied up in that one shipment–it was 13 tons of books. That’s a lot of books for a single bloke company like mine.
This meant I got behind on everything, so even once I had that resolved, it was a bit of double time on that side of things to account for that I had gotten effectively no real work done for several months, and it all cost me a lot of money, so I needed to, you know, make money. Which–while I appreciate the folks that chip in all the years–the comic doesn’t really. On that note, I did pause the patreon for this comic while it wasn’t updating, so no one should have been charged there.
Anyway, I’m caught up on things over there, though I wouldn’t say the situation is really fixed, since I still need to figure out what to do going forward there. But that’s problem for future me. So I figured I’d at least get a comic up for now. As I get more time (if I get more time), we’ll get more comics over here.
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It’s been a while…
Past commented just below a few days ago.
Thanks; I missed that in my scan. I’d have posted anyway, though; I’m just echoing the first line of the comic! Ironic humor, not complaint!
But thanks again for pointing to Past’s recent post. I worry when creators go silent—not because of the content (tho I definitely miss that, especially this!). Rather, I know it reflects difficulties in their lives. Creators are people, and it’s easy to imagine life taking a toll—even worse possibilities than reality, usually.
I can wait (if I don’t die first, a possibility at my age). I’ve waited literal years for some comics, that did eventually restart. And I’m waiting on one for over a year that I don’t actually expect to restart, because of the underlying family emergency.
Good stories get loyal followers and supportive communities. What Past has created here is extraordinary; the depth of the world building, and writing.
But real life is more important. As much as I love this comic, I worry more about his side business, even though that’s not my thing. (Not that I wouldn’t enjoy it in the right circumstances!) Making a living as an independent creator is tough enough without these additional difficulties!
hey Past, how are you doing? asking as a friend.
Still alive. Haven’t had time to draw recently, but I’ll update the comic when I get some time. Currently figuring out things as far what I’m doing with my other business this coming year.
I’ll try to update some time in January though I’m not sure about the long term viability at the rate its currently updating.
For the time being I’ve paused the patreon for the comic.
All the best,
-Past
Speaking for myself, though I suspect most would agree with me, I would far prefer spsoradic, inconsistent updates long term over cessation.
Take the time you need, as you need it. Deal with what you need to. Good fortune figuring out your path.
We’ll be waiting and hoping for more.
Hey Folks-
I apologize, but it looks like I will not get the next comic up before I leave on my trip, so the next comic will be sometime mid-December.
I suppose we can consider this an extension of the previous hiatus briefly interrupted by a new comic, rather than a resumption.
See you folks in December with a new comic.
-Past
Thanks for the updated status!
May your trip go well and smoothly. We will look forward to seeing you in 4 weeks or so.
have a fun & safe trip
Conversations that are shown as mostly reflections in a window seem like an apt metaphor here.
That opening exchange, lol, it’s perfect
May your business be less hassled going forward, and I hope the family visits go well
Thank you for your persistence with us, despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune! I hope things settle down for your sake, as well as ours!
Woooooooo!! Comic!
Well, while that was a lot of hassle, I’m glad your D&D business was doing well enough for you to need to order 13 tons of books in one shipment. It would have been nice if it had been less hassle to do, though.
I heard of a number of problems last year with getting imported materials through customs. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will improve quickly.
Welcome back! ♡
oyoyoy, sorry you had to go through all that Past. hopefully things’ll be better for you.