are we dead yet?

not a chance.

the readership of the squash may have dwindled to four over the past few years and our non existent update schedule but we still love you cats.

i’ve been away from the drafting table on a personal level for the past couple months for a variety of reasons. the main one of which is that i was buying a house. i decided to take that big first step into being an official adult (it’s a facade really) and become a homeowner, especially after all my renting woes of the past few years. it took an inordinate amount of time, and a lot of hunting, but i found what for me is the perfect place. i made the move on july first and have been slowly unpacking and settling in over the past few weeks. the place feels great – like i’ve lived there for years – despite still having much of my stuff still in boxes. though i hope to rectify this in the weeks to come.

as i mentioned above the squash ain’t dead. yet. rob and i have sat down and wrapped up the story we had going and now i just have to draw it. once things wrap though, i’m not sure where they’ll go.

we might end it and call it a day.

we might return in more “season” like instalments – i mean it works for tv, why not for us?

the reality of the situation is i love telling stories, whether it be the squash, kukuburi, or the other dozen tales in my head waiting to get out. but i’ve had to admit to myself that i can’t really tackle more than one at a time. so, once bns wraps – i will proceed to wrap kukuburi – after which i might return to bns or focus on another project. it’s a quality versus quantity idealism that i’m trying to adhere to. i figure a concentrated dose of bns a year is better than no dose at all…

hope y’all can respect that.

that said, when will the story end? gimme the remainder of the summer to get unpacked, settle in, and do some doodling, and i promise you you’ll hear the end of our ridiculous tale come september. i will post a return date for all the bns army troops out there still listening…

best,

ramon.

it’s been busy days – i’m not making excuses cause i’m done with that, i’m just gonna work at the pace that i am able, so i’m just telling it like it is.

why the lackadaisical updates?

since mid january, on top of my regular workload, i have been spending 10-20 hours weekly hunting for a new home. not a home to rent, but to buy. after recent years events, i came to the conclusion that my renting days had to end. so to stretch my spare time even further i have also been taking on extra work to build up my savings to make realize this endeavour.

nothing is concrete yet, but as the month closes i might have some good news, and once the dust settles i can get back to focussing on what i love; comics.

thank you all for your patience. i look forward to returning when i can – i just wanted to let you know what was going on.

cheers.

it’s been a rocky month, but the dust is settling, and it’s good to be back.

i’d like to thank everybody that made it out to C2E2 and said hello. you all really made the show a truly memorable experience! i look forward to returning next year if i can. prior to leaving for chicago, and upon returning i was immersed in a last minute deadline for marvel – which kept me away from the squash and kuku. despite the tight deadline, the project, a dazzler one-shot special, was a tonne of fun to do! i am officially responsible for half the book written by jim mccann and also illustrated by kalman andrasofszky. please check it out when it hits the stands on may 27th! for some sneak peaks – check out my personal site; ramonperez.com.

speaking of shows, this coming weekend sees me attending TCAF! Transmission-X will have it’s own room with all creators on hand, a deluge of swag, and the debut of the brand new collection of the abominable charles christopher!

or weeks.

i’d like to thank all that came out to visit me at c2e2 this past weekend in chicago. i had a great time meeting you all! you definitely made my first chicago convention amazing and memorable. i look forward to returning next year!

due to my travels and the last minute deadline of the marvel/dazzler contract i picked up before i left for chicago i am going to have to satiate any squash desires with a pinup. this piece was done a couple years ago for a calendar to raise money for breast cancer care. the theme was nude webcomic characters. butternut was appointed september, hence the back to school motif.

i felt this appropriate for now as school is ending, which holds no bearing for me, but i am feeling a bit caught unawares with my schedule. hence the feeling of nekkidness.

the remainder of this week sees me wrapping dazzler, of which i’ll share on my personal site as soon as i can, and catching up on my monthly commitment of max finder… and then i’ll be able to return to the squash.

see you all next week!

[EDIT]

HEY ALL – apologies for the lack of update this week. it’s been so busy here at the studio i’ve barely managed to work in sleep. i will try and have a little something something up next week – and remember may 8th and 9th you can come hang with us a TCAF, the free toronto comic arts festival!!

in a couple of weeks fellow tx’ers cameron stewart, scott hepburn, and myself, will be attending the chicago comics & entertainment expo. the expo (c2e2) is being held at mccormick place from the 16th to the 18th. we will be located in artist’s alley in row F tables 3 & 4 *. there will be sketching and a variety of swag – swing on by if you can!

[ * updated: formerly row H tables 11 & 12 ]

sometimes i get a strange image in my head and have to jot it down. kinda like when i get the craving to do a strip starring rusty the narcoleptic dachshund and rob looks at me all cock-eyed. this is one of those times…

ps/ this weekend sees me attending the chicago comic & entertainment expo! swing by and say hello if you’re in the neighbourhood.

back on track after a long rollercoaster ride. i know it’s going to take a while to earn back some of our readers who left over the past couple of years, but rob and i are pretty stubborn so i think we can do it. i’d also like to welcome some of our new readers who have dropped in over our sporadic updates.

next week tx talents cameron stewart, scott hepburn, and myself, will be attending the chicago comics & entertainment expo. the expo (c2e2) is being held at mccormick place from the 16th to the 18th. we will be located in artist’s alley in row F tables 3 & 4 *. there will be sketching and a variety of swag – swing on by if you can!

also a new site to spruce things up… you can now buy a print of any favourite comic, and soon you’ll be able to purchase original art should you so desire. plus, if you have a hankerin’ visit the tx store and see what other bns or tx swag is available!

i want to apologise to all the bns fans out there. the squash has been getting the shaft of late. there are many reasons for this, some personal, some professional, which i won’t bother you – regardless butternut should have been getting the love it’s always deserved. rob and i sat down for a coffee the other day to see how we could rectify the situation. it was our first coffee in a while, there was a little life catch-up banter – it’s sad how little i see my best friend anymore, we’re just so busy.

anyway it was a good coffee (accompanied by a slice of pie) and we were able to hash out what we need to do. a big change of dynasty spanning proportions is coming that will hopefully enable us to do what we want to do and bring back the squash to the place where it was always meant to be.

thank you all, again, for your patience…. expect us next week, on wednesday, and on time…

no, really.

andy’s adventure continues as he leaves the confines of his jungle prison… but not his mental one

so as everyone’s noticed and commented on – we went a little awol for the past few weeks. there are numerous reasons for this for which i won’t really apologise for, but for what i will apologise is not keeping you folks abreast of what is going on.

rob and i started the squash eons ago shortly after we first met and spare time wasn’t a commodity. back then i saw rob on a regular basis. these days, things are a little different. my career is exploding in new directions keeping me quite busy, i’m possibly having to move in the coming months so i’ve been apartment hunting and rob having been promoted to a managerial position at his store now works longer hours and because of our divergent schedules we barely see each other.  people will then shout that i no doubt have the time to write and draw my other webcomic; kukuburi. true, but i handle all the chores on that on myself. butternut has always been a collaborative effort between rob and myself. if that dynamic isn’t there then i feel a little guilty moving forward. at times i will grab the reigns and tackle the squash on my own, but it’s not the same.

hopefully in the coming days rob and i can find the time to sit down and knock heads on a bunch of ideas we have floating around.

with BNS #200 on the horizon we plan to wrap up all the ongoing storylines and then pause to reboot. restart in a way that will allow us to tackle the squash in an effective manner to bring it to you the audience on a timely basis. but at the same time, with everything else going on, things might be a little sporadic for the time being. i wish it wasn’t so. both rob and i love doing the squash and we will do it when we can. that, right now, is the best promise we can give.

cheers.