December Update
almost 3 years ago – Tue, Dec 05, 2023 at 06:04:45 AM

Sorry I missed November's Update— Portland Public School teachers went on strike November 1st (not the whole state; just teachers in the city school district), it didn't end until November 27th, and it was almost impossible for myself (or Myrna!) to get any real work done in that time.

Then, as I was playing catch-up— our modem/router started acting up! Because my life isn't "interesting" enough!

But all that's taken care of now, and I'm here to report that Tom has now finished up to PAGE 10 of the final part of the story! Here's a nice detail from that page:

This means he only has 12 pages to go— and with the kids back in school, I'll be able to nudge him along more than I could last month.

Jerry is about half done inking Part 3— I need to get him more pages, and will do that today.

I still have a pile of Sketches on my desk. With life getting back to normal— and no big Holiday travel plans— I should have more time to devote to inking them. Besides, that'll give me an excuse to listen to Liz Chaney's new book (she even reads the audio version). I don't agree with her politically, but I admire her greatly.

I know it's been agonizingly slow going— but it is going. As always, I'm eternally grateful for your patience and support, and promise an end book that will be worth the wait.

KK

October Update
about 3 years ago – Sat, Sep 30, 2023 at 05:52:10 AM

Sorry for the delayed update. Things have been a bit rough for both Tom and myself.

First, I got extremely sick— the sickest I've been in decades. Not COVID. I suspect it was norovirus, but that was never officially diagnosed. It wiped me out completely for a full week— in severe pain for much of it— and operating at less-than-full-speed for some time after that.

Then my wife got the sickest she's been in decades— and this time it was COVID. She isolated herself in a bedroom while I double-timed it as a caregiver and single parent until she felt better (thank you Paxlovid!). Amazingly, no one else in the house caught it!

At the same time, Tom was closing on the sale of his house, trying to sort through his entire life so he and Nancy could downsize and move from living in 2000 square feet of space to about 1000 square feet.

And then, sadly, Tom's father died.

But Tom was able to get some work done. As I'm sure many of you know, he and I did a 12-page SUPERBOY story for an upcoming 30th Anniversary of the RETURN OF SUPERMAN book. That did sideline him from SECTION ZERO, but not totally:

Tom has informed me that he has his drawing board and scanner set up at his new house, and is working away at SZ59. In fact, yesterday he sent me another page to this last part. This means he only has 21 pages left to draw.

Then things will fall on me to wrap this book as quickly as possible (with the help of fine folks like Jerry Ordway, Bill Crabtree, and Comicraft). I'll admit I've let my part slide the past few months, mostly due to illness in my family, but will refocus on it.

Thank you again for your incredible patience. The end is in sight. And I firmly believe from everything I've seen from everyone involved that the final product will be worth the wait.

KK

August Update
about 3 years ago – Tue, Aug 01, 2023 at 06:00:14 AM

TOM'S HOUSE IS UP FOR SALE!

This is great news:

1) If you'd like to live in Saskatoon, Canada. I've never seen the place, myself, but I know there's a barn, not to mention the fact that this is where Tom drew everything for the past 30+ years!

2) Because getting a house ready to sell— especially one you've lived in for 30 years— takes a phenomenal amount of time. Not to mention downsizing and moving all your remaining stuff to a cabin that used to be your lakefront retreat and will now be your primary residence.

This process has been going on for for a while, accellerating in the past few months, and has consumed a huge amount of Tom's time. It also means Tom's gotten very little done on SECTION ZERO 1959 recently. But that's about to change, as Tom himself told me:

It's been a real whirlwind this past month. There's been packing, moving stuff to the cabin, cleaning out the barn, moving furniture around to stage the house, and showings. In and around all that I have managed to lay out SZ pages, but getting enough time to concentrate on turning them into actual pencils has been tough.

The Superboy plot was sent to me late Friday, and is terrific! I got started on it this morning  and have it nearly all thumbnailed out. In the next couple of weeks I'll be furiously juggling SZ and SB to turn in pages for both. Things are pretty much now in a state of readiness now as far as the house is concerned, so things are lightening up timewise.

Stay tuned!

So I suspect that very soon Tom will be handing in SZ59 pages at a good, solid clip…

…after he finishes the SUPERBOY story we're doing.

You probably already heard that DC is putting out a special 30th Anniversary Return of Superman book, and they have gotten the original band back together, as much as possible. Jurgens and Breeding on Cyborg Superman, Weezie and Bog on Steel, Jerry Ordway (Roger Stern wasn't available, unfortunately)and Guice on the Eradicator… and Tom, Doug Hazelwood and myself on SUPERBOY.

Tom's deadline for this 12-page story is in a couple weeks, and I'm pretty sure it'll be all he does in that time. But after that…

Well, I don't want to make promises— but I have a feeling this is a turning point.

Fingers crossed.

KK

June Update (It's Good News!)
over 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 12, 2023 at 05:04:42 AM

JERRY ORDWAY has started inking Part 3. (See above.)

TOM GRUMMETT has finished penciling the 8-page SARINA URSARI solo story.

KARL KESEL has finished writing Part 4 of SECTION ZERO 1959. This means the ENTIRE BOOK is written!

For myself: it took longer to wrap the SZ59 script than I expected simply because I wanted to stick the landing and end it on a high note. Give each character their due, their moment in the spotlight. And, of course, have them come together as a team. Fingers crossed, I accomplished that.

Now it's in Tom's hands, and if he can keep up even a fraction of the sudden burst of speed he showed with the last part of the SARINA URSARI story, the end is indeed in sight.

Can't thank you enough for sticking with us over this very long and bumpy road. I am doing everything in my power to make sure it's worth it.

KK

May Update
over 3 years ago – Thu, May 04, 2023 at 05:30:05 AM

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