SECTION ZERO 1959!

July Update
about 1 year ago – Mon, Jul 07, 2025 at 10:37:19 AM

While I still have a half dozen pages to ink to finish Part 4, I did skip ahead to the last page, and since it doesn't spoil anything, I wanted to share it with you:

I am very happy with this page; as in "Maybe this should be a Poster!" happy! Hope you like it, too.

I continue working on the rest of the book. Pages are always on my desk, whether I have most of a day to ink, or only a few minutes.

A few Updates ago, I said I would not launch another Kickstarter until SECTION ZERO 1959 was done. And that was my intent. But today I launched a new Kickstarter.

What's going on with that, right?

What's going on is that I believe we've got some serious economic troubles coming our way— not just for the US but for the whole world. This is a man-made disaster caused by one, chaotic man for reasons I can't comprehend.

But looking at that landscape, as the unstable ground continues to shift under our feet, I could plainly see that I would earn more from a Kickstarter now than I would probably earn from the same project 6 months from now.

I don't earn a lot from these Kickstarters. And the idea that I could earn thousands— possible tens of thousands— less the longer I waited to launch my next project… well, that's food on my family's table. A roof over our head. Maybe a little nest egg in the bank to weather the storm.

This is not what I wanted to do, but I felt I had no choice.

You may think I'm over-reacting. And maybe I am. God, I hope I'm wrong, and nothing bad happens to any of us. But for my family's sake, that's not a gamble I'm willing to take.

So I launched a new Kickstarter today.

Luckily, a vast majority of that project is already finished. (Another reason I chose it— maximum output for minimum input.) Yes, I'll have to devote some time to it, but my main focus will remain SECTION ZERO 1959.

KK

June Update
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jun 04, 2025 at 05:57:28 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Long Overdue Update
over 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 04:50:05 PM

WHAT YOU SEE HERE is what I was able to do in the first 10 days of this month, minus 4 days when I took my daughter to a futsal tournament in California. 

I had been trying to sneak in work on SZ59 here and there, and it simply wasn't working. It was difficult to get into a rhythm, or keep any level of consistency.  So I doubled-down to totally clear my desk, and am working on nothing else the rest of March— and into April— except SZ59.

That may not finish the inks on the book, but it will get me very close. I will have to take some time off in April to fulfill my IMPOSSIBLE JONES book, but then I will be back on SZ59. I will not launch a new project until this one is done.

I know this has been beyond frustrating for all of us, but I think the pages are coming out great— I really do love inking Tom— and I know the finished book will be one I will be very proud of, and something we can all enjoy.

KK

November Update
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Nov 12, 2024 at 06:05:42 AM

Very sorry for the extended radio silence. Since we last talked, I've been sidelined or slowed down by Covid, 2 conventions (I only went to 3 all year), and the gut-punch of the US election.

And life. That seems to get in the way, too.

We have a 12-year-old son on the autistic spectrum. He presents fairly normally, but spend time with him and you quickly see he's not. He is quick to anger, verbally and physically abusive, and destructive. He lives in a group home now, but we see him every day except Sunday. Because we love him. But I cannot think of one of those get-togethers where he didn't call us names, swear at us, or push us around (physically and/or emotionally). He has often hit us. He will complain bitterly if we remind him to do something, but also complains bitterly if we don't remind him. He has a righteous anger, believes he is constantly being wronged, that he knows all the answers, and anyone who disagrees is an enemy.

He has the same personality as Trump. And I do not say that as a compliment.

The other day, our son tossed a piece of plastic on the lawn as he went into school. A teacher asked him to pick it up. He heard her, but kept walking. A school staffer stepped in his way, extending his arm in front of our son to block him from entering the school. Our son became outraged and left school. Walked to the group home (which, thankfully, isn't that far away). I dropped everything I was doing and went down to figure out what happened. Our son was taken back to school by the home, where our son claimed the person who blocked him "hit" him in the stomach with his arm. The other person said our son had simply walked into his arm. I said it sounded like an accident. Our son would hear none of it. He threw things about the school room, knocked items off desks. I was asked to take our son back home (to the group home), and that he could return to school the next day after he had cooled down. At which point our son simply sat down and refused to leave. It took another half hour to get him out of there.

This took all morning. It drained me, and left me feeling hopeless.

The way many of you felt after the election (myself included)? Very similar to what we go through nearly daily with our son. And I know what we go through doesn't compare with the fate of our nation, but I also know we will never have a family vacation, never have a joyful Christmas morning together, never sit at the dinner table and talk about our days.

There are days when it is very hard to push all that aside and make fun comics.

I'm doing my best, and will continue to do my best. I know 6 years is an unforgivable long time to wait for this project. But it is a project I believe in, and will continue working on to the best of my abilities. I did finish inking one page yesterday. The first page of the final chapter:

I plan to start inking the second page today.

KK

TOM FINISHED THE BOOK!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 07, 2024 at 04:25:16 PM

This was one of the last panels Tom drew:

A fitting capper to his work on the story.

Normally I'd say this makes me feel GREAT…

…except I've come down with COVID and feel lousy! I'm quarantined to my studio, it hurts to wear my glasses for too long (swollen sinuses), and I'm generally bored half to death. I'm taking Paxlovid, however, and that does indeed help. (Except not with the boredom.) Once I'm past this rough patch, however, I will get into inking the remainder of the pages. Really looking forward to it, actually.

BALTIMORE

I will be bringing Sketches to hand off to :

• Carl Sondgren
• Earl Campbell
• Mark Hager

Tom is trying to finish Sketches for Michael Cross, Anthony Burns, Randall Cyrenne, Randy Martin, and David Jeffry. If he gets them to me in the next few weeks, I will have those inked and ready to hand off at Baltimore, also.

Time for me to take a nap.

Talk to you in a month…

KK