Hey folks.
A year and a half ago, I wasn’t sure where the comic would be at this point. I was unprepared, bright-eyed, impatient, eager, and excited to be starting my very first webcomic after 7 months of loose planning, and I knew the possibilities were up in the air. The outcome could be great, or it could be an awful mess. Regrettably, it turned out to be a bit of both. Which is why I must officially announce the early cancellation of “Ross Boston.”
This has come as more of a surprise to me than some of you, I’m sure. The hiatus must have spelled something awful in many of your eyes, but the truth is, the end of the comic has nothing to do with the hiatus, which had actually momentarily revitalized my interest in the it. Please read further so you can understand why I must do this, and what this means for me as a creator. It’s not as simple as “I don’t want to do the work anymore.”
The truth is, I have hit a slump in my life right now. My career, my skills as an artist, and my personal life…none of them are where I want them to be. For quite some time now, I have been largely displeased with the work I’ve produced for “Ross Boston,” and the thought of working on even one more page for even one more second right now – contributing to what I consider a sub-par piece of work – makes me feel even more miserable than I already do. To be clear, it’s not comicking in general. It’s THIS comic. It really pains me to be creating work that I am not confident in, and at this point, it just feels like a chore to continue pushing out pages that don’t fulfill me, even with all of the kind words and support from you, the readers.
I believe there is probably a future for “Ross Boston.” Despite my displeasure with where it’s at in its current iteration, I do love these characters and this world and all of it has potential. Perhaps soon, I can revisit it and turn it into the thing that it deserves to be.
Not anytime in the near future, mind you. But soon.
In the meantime, I’d like to focus on my illustration. I want to produce a shorter comic piece or two. And hopefully before the end of this year, I’d like to start a brand new webcomic. I love the format, I love comics, and I have a handful of ideas brewing in my head already. This may be the end of “Ross Boston” but it is not the last you have seen of me as an artist and as a creator. I’m still very much excited to tell stories and I hope you will continue to follow me on tumblr and twitter, where I will be sure to announce plans for future projects. On a semi-related note, I’d still like to be an advocate for LGBT-visibility in future projects. That is still important to me.
My biggest regret during this whole ordeal was the Indiegogo campaign, where I raised money to support me while I produced Episode 2 of this comic. Due to poor time management on my part, that obviously didn’t happen, and I deeply, deeply apologize. I will still be fulfilling rewards for those who donated – I cannot offer refunds, unfortunately. My list has been made and emails will be sent soon. It will probably be a slow trickle, but it will happen. Your continued patience has been appreciated. I’m mostly just really embarrassed that you’ve had to wait so long.
In regards to what will happen to this website, I am unsure. I put money into it every month but if the comic isn’t going to be posting anymore, I might just close the website (while continuing to own the domain names attached to it) and make the comic available to read on the official “Ross Boston” tumblr or something, so I don’t have to continue paying for this space. I have not made a decision about this yet, though, so we’ll see.
Anyway…I suppose it’s officially time for me to say goodbye to Ross and friends. Except for campaign rewards, I intend to step away from this property for some time and let my brain chew on other things while I attempt to improve my life. One day, I’m sure I’ll get the itch to try again.
So to all of you, thank you for being supportive. Thank you for reading and believing in this comic and in me. I hope you’ll follow me into the future, and I hope you understand why I am doing this.
Thank you,
~Drew
PS: This goodbye image is an homage to the first piece of promotional artwork for Ross Boston, back when it was still “The Super-Gay Adventures of Ross Boston.” You can see the original here, if you’re interested.
I’m sorry to read your news. I’ve read and enjoyed your comic because it was smart, well designed and funny. You really have wonderful skills and I look forward to following your Tumblr or whatever you end up having as a web site. Your story seems to be at the point of taking off, so I’m curious where you would have taken it. Would there be a possibility of making what you’ve done so far available as a comicbook or file that could be purchased? Have you submitted this work to the Prism Comics Grant?
I’m glad you enjoyed the comic! Definitely be sure to follow me on tumblr http://drew-green.tumblr.com or twitter @kingofsafari for future news. A lot of story details were just starting to take flight. I won’t be revealing any of them because many of those plots and details will probably end up in a future iteration of Ross Boston, should that ever happen. I’m happy to continue to provide Ross Boston for free either here or elsewhere and I would like to compile them into a ZIP file or something soon. I believe some of the Prism folks are aware of my work and I’ve considered submitting for the grant before, but obviously if I do that, it will not be related to Ross Boston.
I hope everything turns out alright in the future! Ross Boston has been such an enjoyable read (I just started a a couple weeks ago) I’m definitely sad to see it go. Your art has given me a lot of inspiration over the past few weeks. Like wow, it’s so crisp and fresh and just really great! It’s certainly interesting seeing the art style change from the beginning of the comic to now. I’ll definitely be following your tumblr.
Best wishes!
So you are a quitter and a thief. Amazing.
Umm how is he a quitter and a thief? He’s still giving out the donation incentives that the donators WILLINGLY donated for. I don’t think he’s a quitter, considering he wants to expand the story in the future and is still continuing his art career. Are you literally just going to call him a “quitter and a thief” after all the work he’s done for this webcomic?
Grow up.
Neither of those things are true, but you don’t need me to explain that to you. A few people have come to my defense and I thank them for that.
What I will say, though, is that you are an asshole. I would not usually be so forward and rude to a commenter, but you are. You are not an asshole because you have left one rude, judgmental, misguided comment on my comic. You are an asshole because you’ve done it several times. You are an asshole because you’re the same guy who was so apparently uncomfortable with his own manhood that he couldn’t begin to fathom the concept of a drag queen, and you hounded me with your shitty opinion at least twice after I was completely nice to you in my responses. You are a waste of space and I pray that you don’t follow me into whatever venture I may pursue in the future, because I really don’t need it.
Go be an asshole somewhere else. Asshole.
Good grief, what a jerk.
We all face times like this in our life, without conflict, where would the story be? I’m glad that this comic exists, and for what it counts I really liked how the story was developing. It’s fresh, fun, and made me feel like comics are really magical for telling a good story.
As a young comic artist you are one of my role models, and I hope to make art as great as yours one day.
It’s a shame, but I understand that forcing yourself (and it’s obvious you’ve tried to make this work) to work on something you know you can’t do justice isn’t helpful to anyone. Good luck with the fallout and your future endeavors, hope to see more on your tumblr.
I’m really sorry to hear that this comic is going away, it’s been one of my favorites that I follow. But I look forward to following you for future projects and wish you the best of luck.
Can we at least know how the rest of the series turns out? I’d at least like some closure :3
It’s a shame to see this comic go, but if the end result is you going on to be even more amazing, then all power to you, and I wish you luck in your next ventures.
Sad to say I’m only a recent reader, so to watch this drop before I could even catch onto the update schedule makes me a little sad. I usually end up reading a lot of story-driven webcomics as they’re about to fall off the cliffs of uncertainty, maybe I should stop reading comics?
Though you feel the work you’re putting into this comic is sub-par, for whatever reason, I must say the style you’ve chosen fascinates me. The old Hannah-Barbera, early CN look with themes that neither company would touch with a 10-foot barge pole? Colour me entertained! The style comes across really well, in such a way that few comic artists seem capable of pulling off. You can do it, and it’s glorious. If this is what you consider sub-par, I eagerly look forward to seeing what you bring to us in future. I know things get difficult or unmotivating from time to time, seems to come with the artist package. But looking at the comments, plenty people love you. Assholes aside.
I’ve added you to my tumblr and twitter follow lists, and I can’t wait to see more of your stuff. I’d love to commission you for pieces at some point.
I am really sorry this is a goodbye but I also understand you don’t want to produce something which doesn’t bring neither enjoyment nor money.
However Ross Boston has been my first and only web comic that I’ve read with joy. You are an inspirational artist and my style has developed to be like yours.
There is something I wonder. How would the story go on If you chose to go with it? I really would like to hear what you were planning to happen. Specially between Ross and the Elevator Guy ( I could never learn his name. He is the elevator guy and that’s it. )
In my opinion sometimes it’s best to take some time to step back from something, such as you have, to gain some perspective or get things in order for the self, so that it might better reflect in the work you show. I’m sad to see this will not continue for a while, but I also understand the reasons. I think anyone would rather you finish this with your heart put into it, rather than forcing it like a chore. So by all means take all the time in the world. For what it’s worth, I loved all the characters and the style used to present them looked flawless. Great job overall. Thanks for letting us read it!
Thank you for sharing Ross Boston with us. I’m very sad to see the comic coming to an early end, but I’d hate to see you force it onward since it’s not working for you. I’ve really enjoyed the story and world, and I thought the art style was fun and expressive. I really look forward to following your future work.
I’m also sad to see this comic end early. I was enjoying where it could be heading, but in a way, I like to think I understand. I’m going through something similar. Keep doing what’s right for you. I do enjoy your works, and I’ll be excitedly waiting to see what you produce next! Thank you for sharing this story! It was fun!
The style of this comic has always reminded me a bit of My Life As a Teenage Robot (I think it’s the eyes?), and I think you’re a great artist and will just keep getting better.
I’m sad that Ross Boston is ending, but it’s the right thing to do if you don’t like it. I hope that you’re much happier with the next comic you create.
I’m really sorry that you’re ending the comic, but at the end of the day it’s your property – we were just lucky enough to have you share it with us. And Ross Boston will forever hold a place in my heart, as the comic was one the things that introduced me to you and your work. All the best with your future endeavours sir, I look forward to seeing what you do next!
Big hugs from across the pond,
Jxx
I have totally enjoyed Ross Boston, but as an artist, I too understand what you are saying. I wish you the best, and if you come back to Ross Boston I will be pleased as all get out. Good luck!
Aw… well… im sorry and I hope everything goes good for you otherwise, we’ll look forward to it if you ever return to Ross Boston.
I hope we will see Ross again in his adorable bearishness, but I am also keen to see your other work!
Woofs!
David
It pains me to see such a wonderfully funny comic go down. however if this is what you need to do then i wholeheartedly congratulate you. do as you like not as your made, live out your life to the best of its days. work to improve and not to impress. if its your choice then it’s the best. heres hoping i see more of your work out their. good luck