First up:

1. I COMPLETED MY MASTERS!!!!

2. You would not believe the wild and devastating year I had. Not only did I have to wrap up my Masters, dedicate tons of paperwork (and money) towards an application for [REDACTED], and claw my and my colleagues' way out of the burning-building that was my former day job / this comic's former publisher, I had to also recover from what is probably some-years-worth of physical exhaustion... all the while figuring out how to make my comeback to publishing and earn a living! Yikes! You can imagine how little brainspace juggling all that has left me... which unfortunately condemned Alexander Comic to the dreaded disease of Prolonged Webcomic Hiatus.

3. I am closing the chapter for a lot of my many ~life transitions~, which has freed up much needed brainspace. I am still suffering from stress fatigue / physical burnout, as well as reduced regular income from the loss of my day job, so I am no longer as sure about my ability to regularly pump out pages at the high level of craft that I pride myself over. I am still going to maintain the production quality - just not so quickly while I prioritise my health and my financial survival.

4. Last update I spoke about some writing blocks that prevented progress on the script. I am very happy to report that I actually, legit, finally resolved the core story problem that has haunted Alexander Comic since its conception in 2018. Though I've forever known my approach to retelling and ending the 21st century Alexander Romance, nailing the execution is another thing entirely. After unravelling this 7 year Gordion Knot I'm feeling pretty confident now about continuing the story. Book 2 is going to be a fun ride. :3

5. Sadly, all of these resolutions which enabled my recovery from the Dreaded Webcomic Hiatus arrived too late. Last month, the reader who I primarily made this comic for, my consultant and mentor, Richard Stoneman, passed away. You may read my eulogy to him here on my blog, but to TL;DR my feelings, I am so regretful that Richard will never get to see what Alexander Comic will become. He was there for this project since the beginning, and gave so much to it in the brief time he spent with me. His passing has only motivated me to see to the end of this 21st century Alexander Romance and fulfill my promise to him, so that I may give proper closure to my grief.

6. Speaking of: man, what a double-page spread to emerge out of hiatus from lol.

This spread took me so long to problem-solve, not accounting for the disruption caused by the laundry list of troubles which you read just now. I don't know why it slowed me down so much, but it's done now. It looks better than the tangled sketchy mess I was trying to deconstruct (I have major aphantasia so I visualise by drawing, which usually works until it doesn't). I really do like the vibes of it and the balance it strikes between my Sicko Mode tendencies and the Classiness that I hope Alexander Comic embodies.

Anyway I don't have much to say. My brain is set in Work Mode right now, and I want to get Book 2 going.

See you in the next update, which hopefully won't be too long.

NOTE: My online store is open, and I have plenty of ebooks, including The Art of Alexander Book 1. I will be putting up the print edition of Alexander and other things soon when I find the time and energy for it.

Footnotes

Green with finned ears Royal MS 15 E VI, f. 6v (British Library)

Red lion face Royal MS 19 D I, f. 4v (British Library)

Green spots Harley MS 4979, f. 11r (British Library)

White dragon Burney 169, f.14 (British Library)

Tiny green dragon BL Royal 20 B XX, f. 8v

Goat head dragon BNF Fr. 50 120v (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

Shiny gold red dragon Peniarth MS 481 30r (National Library of Wales)

The British Library's archive still being broken is making it really hard to link to the exact source. :/