i never like to say “the end” as stories always live on.

especially something like butternutsquash which was, in a weird way, an auto-biographical account of rob and myself, our friendship, our surrounding friends and the quirky adventures we got up to. some comics were word for word accounts, others silly extrapolations. over the years as butternut progressed we diverged a little from this, and i think that’s where we lost it. which is a shame as i don’t think butternut got a fair shake. it came in spurts and a waves. in the interim rob and i drifted apart, not in friendship, but in the time we were able to share to knock out ideas. so this was another strike against the squash.

we have a little black book full of tales untold, and i think it’s something i’d like to revisit. not anytime soon. bns, deserves a moment of peace before a stray thought even enters our head with a new concept, idea, or joke. in heartfelt honesty, i’d like to see it come back. but, at the end of the day, that is something only time will tell.

in the meantime, i wanted to give bns a proper closure, it’s been sitting in limbo for over a year, and well, deserves better. in the true form of most time honoured comedies – we closed it but left the door open.

i hope you enjoyed our short little run on the web and the comics will stay here for your enjoyment.

if you’re curious what else might be doing; please visit KUKUBURI, my other online story, and RAMONPEREZ.com for further information.

cheers,

ramon (& rob!)

hello everyone,

i wanted to take a moment a thank you all for your patience in waiting for new kukuburi and take a moment to wish you all a happy holiday season.

life and career have been progressing very well here (knock on wood), which has been a welcome change of pace, however the side affect is that my time is being monopolized by wonderful opportunities. i am currently working on two books and have just signed on to a third for next year. the first two have been announced: Captain America And The First Thirteen written by Kathryn Immonen and Deadpool Team-up #883 written by Skottie Young. I will be handling art on both books, the third book is a much larger project of which i can’t say anything of yet – but it’s a doozy, of which i am very proud to be a part of.

this means things have been delayed on both kukuburi and butternutsquash more than i’d care to admit.

to be honest i don’t know when i will get back to butternut, it’s of a time and an era in my past and i feel i have outgrown it. it’s something i didn’t want to admit and for years dragged on – and as one reader said “we jumped the shark.” i laughed when i read said comment as it hit home. i’d like to bring butternut back in a different form, something more appropriate to the me of now… and i have some ideas, but time will only tell.

kukuburi on the other hand is still alive and well in my heart. despite lack of updates online i am constantly working, when time permits, on the story. whether it’s writing or art. but as i said before it is something i will not rush or pump out for the sake for an update – so hate me as much as you will – but it will be done as my schedule permits. though, i will try and keep you abreast of when new updates will come as best as i can. currently, with the way things are playing out, there will be nothing new posted till february – as at that point i will have a small window between projects that i can utilize. as i get a better grasp of my workload i will post a return date.

if are intrigued you can also keep track of my shenanigans via ramonperez.com or follow me on twitter or facebook.

thank you all again.

a merry christmas and prosperous new year to one and all

till next year my friends,

ramón.

figured it was time for another update to let you all know where things stand.

first off, thank you for all the kind words and support – you people are fantastic! it great to know that people still love the squash out there

it appears that everyone seems to like the idea of “seasons” … so rather than kill a dear friend, rob and i think we are going to take the squash in that route. right now we are focused on wrapping the currently (vastly overdue) story arc, it’s only another 15 or so strips. which are all, at this point. plotted out. however the end of summer had geared up to be a lot busier than i expected – as well on a personal note, there was a death in my family a short time ago, a close uncle, whose passing has become a catalyst for the gathering of extended family on my fathers side. many cousins, uncles, and aunts, some of whom i know others of which i do not. i will be travelling to spain shortly to be part of this first time ever event of my father’s family.

i mention this, as it will eat into a good chunk of my time and it is also causing me to accelerate my regular work schedule before i leave. so my days are jam packed with contracted work. i had hoped to update with the remainder of the squash before leaving, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen at this point.

so i am going to postpone all relaunches of web comics till i return. right now, i am going to have to slate the squash wrap-up relaunch for sometime, tentatively, in late fall. probably mid october – as the time gets closer i will post an official relaunch date.

the last thing to touch upon is the remainder of conventions and festivals that i will be attending in 2010.

FAN EXPO TORONTO – CANADA Aug 27-29 (this weekend – artist’s alley P40A!)

XV JORNADAS de COMIC, VILLA de AVILÉS – SPAIN Sept 15-18

NEW YORK COMIC CON, NY – USA Oct 8-10

if you’re in the area of any of these great shows please swing by and say hello! as the days get closer i may announce special items that i may have at each of the prospective shows…

talk to you soon,

r.

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 ]