IT BEGINS.
So a little bit more about this story. Namely, why it's happening, and what to expect.
CosPain's format was based on the classic Japanese 4-koma comics, like K-ON! and Azumanga Daioh. That's why, for example, the strips are oriented vertically. When 4-koma comics are collected into volumes, it is very common to intersperse longer, manga-style stories throughout to expand upon the assembled strips. As a result, I have been considering doing something like that since the very beginning of the series.
In addition, the last year has put a serious strain on CosPain. It's difficult to keep writing a comic about conventions when you haven't been to a convention in person in almost a year and a half. While my backlog of ideas (and some new ones that managed to pop up) have allowed me to continue producing strips, it has become harder and harder to do so. That's where stories like this come in: not only do they let me take a creative break by switching styles, but they can introduce and expand upon plot elements, giving me fresh material to draw upon. Regardless of whether or not I end up making more of these, this one story will allow the comic strips to keep going.
So that's the deal. For the next few weeks, "The Office Party" will be posting new pages every Tuesday and Thursday at noon EDT. We'll get to see more of MP's work life, which up until now has only been periodically glimpsed, while setting up for potential future storylines. It's an experiment, but I am optimistic that it will be a successful one.
Since this is me trying something new and different, I want to hear from you while the story is being posted. Let me know if you like the idea, if you dislike it, if you think something about it could be better. I'd even love to hear you discuss it in the CosPain Discord Channel (although please use ||spoiler tags|| if you wanna discuss the plot, especially if you're a $3+ Patron and see the pages before everybody else). The whole point of doing stories like this is to make my job work better, which only happens if you are happy.
Rock on, guys, and never stop drawing.
So a little bit more about this story. Namely, why it's happening, and what to expect.
CosPain's format was based on the classic Japanese 4-koma comics, like K-ON! and Azumanga Daioh. That's why, for example, the strips are oriented vertically. When 4-koma comics are collected into volumes, it is very common to intersperse longer, manga-style stories throughout to expand upon the assembled strips. As a result, I have been considering doing something like that since the very beginning of the series.
In addition, the last year has put a serious strain on CosPain. It's difficult to keep writing a comic about conventions when you haven't been to a convention in person in almost a year and a half. While my backlog of ideas (and some new ones that managed to pop up) have allowed me to continue producing strips, it has become harder and harder to do so. That's where stories like this come in: not only do they let me take a creative break by switching styles, but they can introduce and expand upon plot elements, giving me fresh material to draw upon. Regardless of whether or not I end up making more of these, this one story will allow the comic strips to keep going.
So that's the deal. For the next few weeks, "The Office Party" will be posting new pages every Tuesday and Thursday at noon EDT. We'll get to see more of MP's work life, which up until now has only been periodically glimpsed, while setting up for potential future storylines. It's an experiment, but I am optimistic that it will be a successful one.
Since this is me trying something new and different, I want to hear from you while the story is being posted. Let me know if you like the idea, if you dislike it, if you think something about it could be better. I'd even love to hear you discuss it in the CosPain Discord Channel (although please use ||spoiler tags|| if you wanna discuss the plot, especially if you're a $3+ Patron and see the pages before everybody else). The whole point of doing stories like this is to make my job work better, which only happens if you are happy.
Rock on, guys, and never stop drawing.
