Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Interesting Times is going on hiatus until Monday, April the 28th. See you again in three weeks!
Lately I feel like I’ve been on autopilot. I’ve become concerned that I’m writing out of habit and obligation, and not because I’m actually driven to do so. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate drawing and I think my output has been fine, quality-wise. And I get that habits are actually kind of important to sustain a project for any length of time (coming up on eight years, for this one!). But, the comic was started as a personal outlet for my little jokes and stories and I’m just checking in with myself and evaluating how important this outlet is right now.
(If I may be a little more candid; There are, I’m realizing, other things going on with me these days that seem to have made a little cloud of ennui that’s been following me around. The main thing is that I’m having a difficult time feeling passionate about my interests, which is troubling.)
Anyway I hope that makes sense and sounds reasonable. I know breaks like this hurt readership and I understand. Don’t feel bad if you drift away. No offence, but this site is supposed to be for me first anyway. Of course I’m happy for all the people who’ve read and enjoyed my work — it’s brought me some amazing opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Of course feel free to contact me if you want to talk about it or just want some sort of sarcastic, one-line reply. (Please indicate which you’re hoping for). I’m @npfehr on twitter and there’s always nathan@interestingtimes.ca or the Facebook page.
Eight years is a long time for a single project. You’ve given a lot of awesome to the internet already. Go forth and explore life! You’ve certainly earned it!
As much as I’ve enjoyed reading these comics on an almost daily basis for such a long time, I can fully understand the need to break out of your habits and of your projects. I lose interest in my own music if I spend too long working on it, and that usually only means a few months. I can’t imagine what it’s like to spend almost an entire decade on one.
If this break is what allows you to explore your passions again, then it’s for the best. 🙂
And if it turns out that you soon decide that you don’t want to continue Interesting Times much longer after you return, then I’ll just say that I’ve really enjoyed reading these short comics. There’s only a few webcomics that I’ve been reading for as long and as consistently as this one.
I had a meeting with Gideon, Bentley, and Buddy. They all feel you have earned some time for yourself. Beware of Gideon as I caught him trying to buy nitrogen fertilizer and diesel fuel ! That cat is dangerous