About a week ago, I made the announcement that Urban Underbrush would be taking a break. Here’s my announcement from the comic notes:
“Urban Underbrush is closed for story maintenance. Expect it to return sometime this spring.
Some of you webcomic readers must be thinking: “I’ve been burned by this one before. A comic ‘takes a break,’ then the artist moves on to other things, while I’m still waiting for their return like an abandoned puppy.”
I promise that will not happen. I love Urban Underbrush and I know that its best stories are still ahead of it. But there are a few plot elements that aren’t working the way I want them to. I can’t make proper adjustments to the writing while still putting out new content. It’s like I’m running a machine with a broken part. If I keep running it, I’ll wear down the gears. But if I stop and fix what’s broken, everything will work better when I start up again. Things last longer if they are properly maintained and I want Urban Underbrush to last forever.
In the meantime, I will try to give you some extras to ease the waiting, such as some non-canon comics and extra updates of Draconis Wicked (which will continue to run on schedule).
You can check back here for the return, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter (so you won’t miss any news.)
Management appreciates your patience and understanding.”
Since then, I’ve been getting more of a reaction than I expected. No one has written to complain or anything, but my advertising revenue has dipped and, according to my site tracker tools, my number of visitors is dropping.
Up until last week, I had thought that Draconis Wicked was the more popular comic. If Urban Underbrush bowed out for a while, Draconis could carry the weight until it returned. After all, my reader numbers are always the highest on Monday (when Draconis updates) and the majority of visitors enter my site from the Draconis page (not the Urban Underbrush page or even the Home page.)
In spite of this evidence, it seems that most of my followers show up for Urban Underbrush. (I’m sure Draconis Wicked has its fans too, they’re just a bit fewer in number right now.) But I’m not worried. I whole-heartedly believe that the improvements I’m making will do more than make up for lost time. I wouldn’t have taken this break if I didn’t believe that.
-Marj
www.lepusstudios.com
