Alright my friends, I need to get your general consensus here. Another week has passed and I have not heard from Noah, so I don’t know where we are at with color pages. I hate to commit to a weekly page, then not deliver, so last week I posted the black and white page two days late when it became pretty clear I wasn’t going to get the color page. I feel bad, because I know that Matt and John have worked hard to color flat these pages but they haven’t been finished, so you don’t get to see them in GLORIOUS COLOR. Noah, I really hope is OK. This happened once before and after about two weeks Noah got back to me. If he told me he needed some extra time or something I would give it to him, but he just doesn’t respond for over a week, I gotta do something.
So what do you, as the audience of Bearmageddon want? I am pretty sure if I get any further ahead of Noah he won’t be able to catch up and the comic won’t be color, at least until I can either find somone else to color or Noah catches up. I really want the whole book to be finished with Noah, I think his colors match my style well and he has said in the past he wants to finish it out. But if I keep posting black and white pages, the comic could be black and white for a while, but at least you’ll get your updates. Or, we could wait it out for a bit and figure out what is going on. If you have an opinion, comment, be nice, and based on the response I see here we will move forward accordingly.
And of course this is my obligatory reminder to check out my art/sketchbook/print sale to help fund my wedding in May. If you like this comic and my art, lease check it out!
Ethan
I vote keep them coming in black and white (and red). Gotta get my bear fix.
my exact thoughts
Many artists get this issue eventully, either if the artist color his own pages or someone helps him out. I think you should post the black and white pages and when Noah comes back, as I hope he does, he’ll just color for the next update and go back to color the old pages when he has time. I think the most importing thing is to keep the comic going, coloring can always be done later.
I say that it is ok to go on hiatus until you hear back from Noah. Then from there you can decide whether or not you want to keep posting black & white pages until he catches up. That way Noah gets a vote too, but most importantly, you know that Noah is ok!
I enjoy the color, but black & white pages are fine too for me.
I like content.
Dickinson is obviously quite strong. I see no issue with the logs, as long as they are not hardwoods.
I was so excited when I saw this page posted in the morning, even if it was in bw&r. I’m a huge fan of this comic, but I don’t complain when it’s late because, well, you aren’t getting paid to make this. I’m down to have it without color for now, just give Noah time. I like his style, and you can always let him catch up between the end of the comic and the printed version!
Keep up the good work! During the hiatus, I did a lot of “RraaAAHH!!”ing. The wife said “it’s just a web comic!” I said “It’s not just a web comic! It’s BEARMAGEDDON!!!”
Dickinson cuts through the skulls of bears with but a single blow. Aside from the fact the one log is jammed through the truck window, the other logs should roll into the river. From a perspective context, it was weird that Ethan should decide change the camera position so that it looks as though Dickinson is kicking the logs on top of the other character’s heads, but we know from the position of the truck that he is, in fact, kicking them off from the opposite side of the bridge from where the kids jumped. He is not endangering them.
As to color vs b/w – I am of the updates better than waiting camp. If you have a potential publisher waiting for the finished graphic novel, then Noah’s coloring can be a point of upsale on the hardbound copy. Get your copy of the FULL COLOR Bearmaggeddon, on sale now where ever quality graphic novels are sold in your town. Or order direct from _______.
I’d rather have updates than wait for the color. Send Noah our thanks and hope that he gets back to you soon.
Have you considered just posting the flat colored pages?
^ Seconded, though it doesn’t help Noah catch up…
I prefer black and white to incomplete color. Plus, I don’t have access to those. Noah is the go between on that. Luckily Noah replied today and said to keep posting, he promises to catch up.
I would honestly say go on hiatus until Noah gets back to you.
I know that would mean less income during a money-stressful time in your life, but you’ve made it clear in the past that you are *really* looking forward to bearmageddon being finished as one, complete whole some day, and making sure that the art is consistent from start to finish is going to be a big part of making that happen.
B&W pages are better than taking time off. Can’t Noah leave the uncoloured pages until the end and pick up colouring the latest page when he gets back?
I like the black and white. It’s like classic TMNT.
Bingo. There’s been great comics for many years that were published B&W until they got the color treatment: Elfquest, The Tick, Cerebus, Conan the Barbarian and yep, TMNT to name a few.
The red is an extra bonus. Keep the content coming. I’m okay with breaks for fanart, too.
We have done the hiatus thing before and came back and had to take a break after two weeks. Please go forward not backwards.
Keep posting the pages color or not. If you take another long hiatus people might start to lose interest. Work on getting the newest pages colored first and you can always go back and color the old ones. I want to find out what happens next!
Myself, I feel like I can’t wait to see where the story is going next, and the pacing is already excruciating at one page a week (in a good way!). The black and white (and red) versions are quite fine in the interim.
I would say though, that if you are planning on doing the hiatus again, the fan art was good filler, so getting that process started as soon as possible would be nice.
I can confirm that Noah is, in fact, OK. He is a coworker of mine and works in the office about 50 feet from me. I spoke with him 10 minutes ago. Sounds like there was just a miscommunication. Ethan and Noah are both pretty busy dudes, I’m sure that it will work out.
Hrm. Tough call. I don’t realy *mind* the black and white updates on occasion. Girl Genius sometimes has had to do this as well, and they also post the color page later when they have it. But I think I’d rather see color pages overall, and I dislike the idea of getting so far ahead that Bearmageddon just irrecoverably becomes a black and white comic. So, I guess I’m in favor of either waiting for Noah, or perhaps switching colorists if that turns out to be necessary. Of course it’s your call in the end.
I prefer updates, but will still be here if you go the hiatus route. I gotta know what happens next! 🙂
Keep them coming in BW. I kind of like the idea even if Noah catches up with you. Speaking as a fan and a businessman, I like bergerjacques’ idea. You can upsell a color version (hard copy or digital).
The black, white, and red works for me. I’d like to see them colored eventually, but I’d rather have updates than no.
Make ’em black and white. Color really isn’t a big deal to me, and I’d rather see regular updates in black and white than delayed updates with color. Maybe save the color for the final (printed?) version.
My opinion on the matter is keep updating with B&W, and have Noah color the latest one and then go back and color the missed strips as he can. I understand (even if I don’t like) the slower pace and the previous hiatus, but you really need to keep some sort of pace going here. Hopefully things don’t get so out of control for Ethan that the world of rampaging mutant bears proves to be a comparatively relaxing escape!
Keep them coming. I’m here for the narrative.
Speaking for myself, I honestly don’t mind waiting a little longer if the overall product will be more complete. I have RSS; I’m not going to miss when you update the comic next. However, the suggestion made by others to worry about color for the next pages and then backtrack doesn’t sound like a bad idea either.
methinks BnW is the best idea for now. and i agree with the others that updating is more important!
I’d also say continue with the pages, when Noah gets back to you, start colour from the recent page onwards, then get back to these pages whenever there is ample time. Not sure if you’re planning a hiatus during your honeymoon, but if you are, that’d be a fair time to do the BWR pages in colour.
I agree, keep the B&W coming (I needs me some Bearmageddon) and have Noah (hope he’s ok and everything is fine) jump back on board when he gets here and go back as he can.
Of course you’d have to give yourself some sort of time limit, it’s no use waiting forever. But I think a few weeks of black and white will be plenty of time for either Noah to re-appear or for you to make a decision on what to do if he doesn’t.
Lots of great comments above. Here’s my take:
– While the colour pages are ridiculously good, I actually love the bw&r pages too. As a non-artist, it’s actually really nice to get a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process.
– I’d also say to keep on posting regularly, have Noah (or whoever, but preferably Noah) start colouring the pages from a future page (whatever works best with everyone’s schedule) and then come back and colour these pages later.
– announcing that these pages are finally coloured sometime down the road honestly just adds interest to the comic as we can come back and see these pages again in a new light (side note: I would love to see a link to the bw&r pages on any of the coloured pages, just to enjoy the differences and experience Bearmageddon on multiple levels)
– Bergerjacques mentioned above that keeping some pages in bw&r helps give you a different product to sell when you finally release the full printed version NOW IN FULL COLOUR! That gives you a nice financial angle, so I have to second his comment as a pretty good idea if you go that route.
– posting regularly keeps people coming back regularly, and it gives you a platform to maintain interest AND keep advertising all your side sales to help generate that little extra income when you need it. Personally, I love Axe Cop but I don’t check it as often simply because I love Bearmageddon more. The Axe Cop updates and news here actually keeps me connected to that comic and story as well. (side note: if anyone drops out of the top end Bearicatures or if you feel like adding in one more, COUNT ME IN! I was definitely bummed to miss out on that one… so I will happily give you my money for that! Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in signing up one more)
– Selfishly, I just can’t wait to find out where this story goes next. I often check the site on random days… just in case… so I will take any form of an update in the story, any way I can get it.
– At the end of the day, you may lose a follower or two no matter what path you go… but the rest of us will happily support whatever you feel is best.
Those are my thoughts, but do your thing man.
PS Kudos for actually involving your fan-base in this discussion. I’m not sure I can speak for everyone, but I appreciate the respect for your audience in that decision. Plus, it’s cool to feel as though we are ‘part’ of the creative process, even if only minutely. That decision has helped us ‘own’ this comic just a little bit more. Thanks for that.
More incentive to buy the finished colored book afterwards haha.
True! That’s what Travis Hanson does with the Bean. It’s a good incentive to buy.
I say post the black and white pages.
It doesn’t actually matter to me: I will read them as BW&R, as I will patiently wait for them if you release them after a while.
For me this is like asking from your audience while making an album: would you like it with additional studio effects or not? Both, please? 😀
After browsing directly from today’s bearmageddon to today’s xkcd, I have a suddern urge to jump off a bridge (from a reasonable height though). http://xkcd.com/1170/
My vote is for more black, white, and RED! then extra color updates later.
I’d wait for color. But black and white is cool, too, and it’s true that it creates an interesting kind of interest, i.e. wanting to see the colored pages later.
If the choice is between black and white or nothing at all, I choose black and white. When your colorist returns, he can resume with the current strip and work on the missed strips when he has extra time. The strip would lose its momentum and possibly many followers if it goes on hiatus.
I would rather have black and white updates than no updates at all. Full color pages are higher quality and are nice to be able to do, but seeing the story is more important to me, and I don’t need color for that.
I’d rather see b&w than nothing. Can always update to color when you get them.
Here’s what I recommend: Do the B & W updates as long as it’s not causing you undue stress to do this and Axe Cop.
I will read this comic. Color or no.
Keep it B&W&R until you hear back from Noah. I assume we’re nowhere near the end of the book — if you get a new colorist, pay her/him to redo the already finished pages. It’ll make the end product a little more expensive, but it’s best to have a consistent style.
Crowdsource the color with one of the sources. You might help someone get discovered as an awesome colorist.
I got no problem with Noah coming back in 3 months, being all “oh shit I gotta get coloring”, and you just keep going in B & W and Noah is 12 pages behind you with color pages.
Can you just post the color flats? I find the bw&r harder to understand. It’s far better than nothing, though, and you’ve got me hooked on the story, so please don’t go on hiatus.
I’m fine with black and white.
I like his coloring, and it makes sense to wait until he can finish it.
Hope he’s all right.
yeah, you know we love your comic and it doesnt matter as much that its black and white, only that its there. keep up the good work, bearthan!
Man, I am SO glad I’m not one of these guys. And not just because I wouldn’t want to be chased by mutant bears bent on my destruction. Mostly because I can’t swim (and I’m terrified of water deeper than my chest). Add in my brother’s phobia (“Could there be sharks down there?”) and I’d be bear nom-noms for sure.
Wow thanks for all the input everyone! It is amazing to see how many people read this comic and are into it enough to read the blog and post a reply. I don’t have time to respond to individual comments, so here are some comments addressing things people have said:
-I personally like black and white art, like someone mentioned it is reminiscent of TMNT, and also the great work of Doug TenNapel.
-I prefer this book in color though. I think the coloring adds a dynamic to it, and also the pages are drawn with color in mind. If this was going to be a black and white book I would probably shadow things a bit differently.
-We actually do have three colorists. Matt and John do flatting, then Noah does the textures and shadows. I do not like plain flat color though. It does not look finished to me, so if I don’t have a finished colored page, I will post the black and white. I add blood because I do not draw the blood in black ink, I leave it to Noah. So if I post black and white pages I will add red for blood so it doesn’t look like no one in Bearmageddon ever bleeds.
-However, I do not want to go on another Hiatus. My traffic on both my comics really took a hit last time I did that, and I do not want to let down those of you who ordered Bearicatures.
–NOAH GOT BACK TO ME today, so that is good news. He said he is extremely busy right now. He said to go ahead and keep posting pages. He promised me he will catch up and is has not jumped ship.
So I am going to keep posting. There will probably be a few weeks of hiatus around the wedding that I will try to fill with guest comics and fan art. If anyone wants to contribute, please do! Thanks for being such a responsive and supportive audience. I am excited to keep posting pages!
Ethan
I say just keep on chugging with the B&W posts and refresh the older posts with color as they come in. That way, we get double the fun!
Or … yeah, what you just said up there.
I say go with your gut. We trust you 😀 I’ve been reading since the beginning and true to your word, your last hiatus ended.
I would rather read the story now than have to wait out a hiatus. If and when you get somone to colour again you could ask them to work on the current week’s comic instead of playing catch up.
One more vote for going ahead with the B&W if possible.
…oh, and who said White Men Can’t Jump, huh…? 😉
Wait for the colors. That’s your artwork; you owe us nothing, and that’s how you want to see it.
Black and white all the way! I actually like them a little better this way to be honest.
Also, when you do find Noah, don’t have him re-color the previously published comics right way if he doesn’t have the time. Have him focus on the new content and add color to the previous ones whenever he gets the chance. It’s better than playing catch-up.
Besides, it’ll give him something to do should you ever take another hiatus.
Please keep producing content.
I like the idea of Noah catching up with the newer pages, and working his way backwards when he has time.
I’m all for the b/w pages. the story is good and really like that characters are real. Great job Ethan!
I know peoples who would want a child from this man !
thanks for the new update Ethan! and Glad to hear your excited!
Like everybody else: B&W(+R) is still great for the mo and we’re all loving it as a nice little change, knowing full well that it’ll be in colour come the printed version. Got a nice TMNT feel to it.
frekin awesome strip
Keep posting the black & white pages.
Post the colored pages when you get them.
I vote: wait for the color. I feel that it is a huge element of the comic’s draw. Perhaps not for existing readers, but for new readers, the color really pulls the reader in. Also having a comic in color seperates you from the pack of all the other web comics. Think of how Elfquest is sold in glorious color, but then availalble online in b&w…. but the magic is gone. Plus Colbert will like it much more in color. 🙂
I kind of think you should switch between the two depending on the mood.
In colors when people are somewhat calm, and then black/white/red when shit gets real.
Kind of think the thing with lots of white, thin lines and little shading thing makes for a good adrenalin/combat high/oh shit sort of atmosphere, ya know.
I know.
He’s not going to do it like that. ;_;
tacos…
Yes.
Indeed.
By now we are all hooked. It’s great in colour but black and white looks pretty tidy too. We love this anyways. Keep posting!
My vote would be on waiting two weeks and seeing what happens with Noah. He’s done an amazing job with the color so far, and I’d like to continue to see color pages. But if there’s no word from him in two weeks, I would say post the B&W pages, and when he does come back, have him work forward from wherever the story is currently and then later go back and color the old (these) pages.