For some time now I’ve been meaning to write about my progress on Tonoharu: Part Two. Just this week I finished the artwork for the first quarter of the book, so I figured now would be a good time to devote a blog entry to how things are going.
Out of Tonoharu‘s four parts, Part Two is looking to be the longest of the bunch. It’s a good 40% longer than Part One, and is filled t0 the brim with hard-to-draw crowd & city scenes. *Sob*…
Just to clarify, when I say the artwork is 25% done, I mean that I’m 1/4 of the way through the drawing, inking, and computer stuff for the actual comic itself. I have not yet so much as even started any of the final edits/tweaks, nor have I started the dust jacket artwork, nor any of the incidental design work. And even once the book is 100% finished, I’ll still need to deal with production and promotion issues, which will tack on another couple-few months on to Tonoharu: Part Two‘s release date.
So the million dollar question is: when will Tonoharu: Part Two be done, printed, and available for sale? The honest (but unhelpful) answer is: I don’t know. It’s still too early to say with any confidence. I’m shooting for a release in the second half of 2009 , and if I’m able to stay on schedule, that could/should be possible. But an accident I suffered earlier this year reminded me in no uncertain terms that things don’t always go according to plan, so for the time being, I’m not going to commit to anything more concrete than maybe 2009.
My apologies to those who would prefer for the book to come out sooner, or to have a firmer release date. Trust me when I say that no one wants to see Tonoharu: Part Two come out in a timely manner more than myself, as my dream of making a living as a cartoonist is contingent on me, y’know, actually having comics available for sale. Rest assured that I work on this comic seven days a week, and make a little progress everyday…
I should hopefully have a slightly clearer sense of the release date with the next progress report, which I’ll write when the artwork is half done. If I’m able to stay on schedule, that update should occur in three to four months. We’ll see…