Alrighty gang, You’ve been waiting long enough! Head on over to RobotPirates.com to check out my new project. The site is pretty sparse right now, but you can expect plenty of concept art, illustrations, and updates concerning the progress of my animated film in the days and weeks to come.

Looking forward to seeing you over there!

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When I started writing my treatment for Robot Beach back in 2008 it went a little something like this: (SPOILERS for anyone who hasn’t read through Robot Beach yet)

Act 1: A Robot wakes on an island to discover he is alone in the world save for a friendly Seagull and a not so friendly Crab. After a brief adventure, The Robot learns of his origins and that his makers (humans) have all died off due to some world devastating calamity. Despondent upon learning that he has no true purpose in life, the Robot throws himself into the sea. However, before he drowns he discovers an unconscious girl floating on the wreckage of a ship. Instead of committing suicide, he saves her from drowning.

Act 2: The Robot, Crab, and Seagull learn from the Girl that the ship she was on with her parents had been attacked by a band of savage Robot Pirates and they were still out there and searching for the girl to finish her off. The group build a fort on the beach and prepare for the coming Robot Pirate attack.

Act 3: Robot Pirates attack, there is a big battle with the Pirate captain, More Robots emerge from the Island to defend our band of heroes in an epic battle to the death, bla, bla, bla. Fun for all. The End.

That was all well and good, however as I began writing Robot Beach strips, I realized that the whole Robot Pirate angle wasn’t really a good fit and so I dropped it.

But I never forgot about it.

And so, as I now find my inspiration for Robot Beach waining, I find that my excitement for Robot Pirates is growing. I’ve developed a fascinating group of characters and an engaging story that I am excited to explore. This means that yes, Robot Beach is ending. I feel I’ve said everything I really wanted to say with that story in the first 200 strips. Honestly, my heart isn’t in it anymore and I don’t feel that I could properly do the strip justice if I were to carry on with it at this point. I will take the many lessons I’ve learned along the way and apply them to many future projects. The first of which is Robot Pirates.

So what will Robot Pirates be exactly? Well, I’ve got some interesting ideas, but I’m not ready to announce anything yet. However, you can check back here soon for more details!

Finally I want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed Robot Beach over the years. Your comments, emails and support have brought me many hours of joy. I hope all of you will join me as we set sail on a brand new adventure in 2013!

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Earlier that day my wife had received the phone call telling her that her new Kidney and Pancreas had arrived and a year of daily dialysis treatments and 15 years of diabetes was going to soon be but a memory.

We knew our lives were going to change in a drastic way, what we didn’t realize was that change wasn’t going to be all positive. Twelve months and over a dozen hospitalizations later we now find ourselves facing yet another surgery and yet another long recovery.

The focus of my life has certainly changed this past year. Hospital bills have forced me into “must-make-as-much-money-as-possible” mode and so most of the more relaxing and pleasurable things in my life have been put on hold. This includes Robot Beach.

So what is the future of Robot Beach exactly? When will it be coming back? I don’t really have a good answer for that. I’ve got big plans for what I want to do and where I want to take this little cartoon world I’ve built for myself, but until I have a better idea of when I’ll be returning I’m going to keep it to myself.

Thanks again for your patience! I’ll be seeing you all soon enough!

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Thanks to @davidneedham for pointing this hilarious animated Gif out. Also, I feel like I haven’t drawn Larry in months!

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Recently the National Cartoonist Society Foundation contacted the organizers and offered to match up to 10,000 dollars of Kickstarter donations. This means that thanks to their generosity, your donation is worth TWICE as much as before! There are great rewards available for donating, so please consider giving today.

Please take a moment and check out their Kickstarter page here.

(If it helps at all, Adam Huber of the comic Bug and I plan on being there. Perhaps we will see you there as well?)

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“Again and again across the centuries, cosmic discoveries have demoted our self-image. Earth was once assumed to be astronomically unique, until astronomers learned that Earth is just another planet orbiting the Sun. Then we presumed the Sun was unique, until we learned that the countless stars of the night sky are suns themselves. Then we presumed our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the entire known universe, until we established that the countless fuzzy things in the sky are other galaxies, dotting the landscape of our known universe.

Today, how easy it is to presume that one universe is all there is. Yet emerging theories of modern cosmology, continually reaffirms the improbability that anything is unique…”

-Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The surface of the Earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean. From it we have learned most of what we know. Recently, we have waded a little out to sea, enough to dampen our toes or, at most, wet our ankles. The water seems inviting.”

-Dr. Carl Sagan

More strange-yet-oddly-inspiring videos can be found at http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

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Anyway, I’ve been rather inconsistant in my updates lately and I owe you an explanation. Many of you know that my wife has recently had a Kidney and Pancreas transplant. Although It’s gone very well, we’ve had a few setbacks in recent weeks. The good news is that it seems we are past the worst of it now, but it hasn’t been easy. So, I’ve been focusing most of my attention on my family and not my comic. When I’ve felt up to it, when I’ve had something funny or intriguing to present I draw a comic. When I’m busy or I don’t feel very funny, I let the updates slide.

No worries though. As I said, things are starting to look up and I plan to return to consistant and timely updates soon enough. Plus, I’ve got a book I’ve been promising you all in the works and I am looking forward to getting that put together as well.

Thanks again for your support and your understanding! I appreciate you all!

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Sorry for not getting a comic out last week. Just a heads up; if I don’t put out a comic on time, generally it’s not because I hate you all. Usually it has something to do with the hospital.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this fun illustration I did for floatlearning.com. (above) It’s not often I have an excuse to break out the charcoal sticks!

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