Big doozy of a blog today. I know it’s long, but I hope you read it. TLDR at the bottom if you can’t.
So. I’m going to be winding down Juniper within the next six months. If this makes you upset, I apologize for giving you sad feels, but I also thank you for being so invested in this weird little world I’ve been playing around in for the last five years.
I’m gonna be real with you for a sec. When Juniper started, I wanted it to be a lot of things. I can only speak for myself when I say that I wanted to emulate the web cartoonists that came before me and create something that could last for decades. I wanted the strip to save me from a job that I was miserable at. It was so, so important to me back in 2012 that people like it, I think, in order to validate my existence as an artist and as a person. It was success or nothing for a long time, and that attitude brought me a lot of weird turmoil that could have been avoided. My expectations were admittedly grandiose and a little misguided. But now that I’m a bit older, I see that the point of doing art isn’t to gain popularity or validation — it’s to learn, and enjoy partaking in a passion. I’ve learned that there is joy in creation, but there is a lot of bitterness to be had in groping for a vague, evasive definition of success. The fact is, creating is a success in itself. Making someone laugh is a success. Bringing someone joy, even for fifteen seconds a week, is a success. And I’m proud of that.
I’m turning thirty next month. I can hardly believe it. But now that my twenties are drawing to a close and I’ve mellowed out a little bit, I can finally see this project for what it truly is. What Juniper has been for me is a vehicle and an educational tool. I’ve learned how to make comic strips. I’ve learned the limitations and the strengths of the medium through slipping up and recovering. I’ve learned that I’m capable of regimented creative discipline. I’ve learned that my artwork is ever improving. And maybe most important of all, I’ve learned that it’s vitally important to be myself in my work, rather than trying (and failing) to be massively appealing.
After a lot of consideration, I’m finally ready to be completely creatively authentic. I’m ready to create something without caring if anyone likes it. I have another comic that I’m currently writing that is very, very different from Juniper. It’s a story about a woman who can lucidly travel through dreams, and the dangers of venturing too far from waking life. I’m really excited about it, but I know not all of you are going to stick around for it. And that’s okay! But for those of you that would like to see me get weird, I encourage you to follow me on social media so that you can get updates about this new project. Twitter and Instagram are my most used platforms for announcements and art.
So. The way the ending of Juniper is going to work is that I’m going to wrap up a few loose ends via two more arcs. I’m planning to put the strip to bed by mid December, but that doesn’t mean that the archive won’t still be available for you to pick through after that. If there is a book one day, it will probably be a best-of, rather than the entire archive. There are some clumsy, messy parts of Juniper that I just don’t feel comfortable immortalizing on physical pages.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you for reading. You’ve made my first foray into comics very pleasant indeed, and I really have appreciated your time and your patience and your comments. There are a million comics out there, and you chose to spend part of your week reading this one. That’s endlessly flattering, and I’ll never forget it. I hope to see a bunch of you in the comments on future projects, but if this is where we part ways, I ain’t mad. A thousand times thank you to each and every one of you.
If you have questions, I’ll be happy to answer them in the comments. Thanks again, you guys. You’re the best.
(TLDR: Juniper is wrapping up in December, please follow me on Twitter and Insta to get announcements about future projects.)
Juniper’s been fun, but as a reader, I still love a good ending (something’s satisfying about it, y’know?). I enjoy a lot of webcomics and I’ll definitely check out your new work when it’s ready. It sounds like this has been a really good experience for you, and I’m glad you’re figuring out what you really want instead of burning out. :)
Thanks for sticking with me! I really appreciate your time and dedication. :) It has been a good experience, but I came dangerously close to burning out. I’ll keep what that feels like in mind for next time.
I’ll miss Juniper, but it sounds like you learned a lot through making it, and you got what you needed as an artist out of this particular project. That’s fantastic! I look forward to seeing future projects, and (hopefully not too weird to say this) I’m proud of your work and your takeaway you’ve shared here – it’s really cool to see someone learn so much and be willing to share it openly.
It’s not weird at all! Thank you! I’ve been a little shy to be truly open with you guys. I’ve curated what I talk about pretty hard in the blog and in the comic. I felt like you guys came here for a good time, and I didn’t want to tarnish that too much with serious real talk. But I’m glad my sudden candidness wasn’t too badly received. :)
Hey, at least you’re actually, you know, wrapping it up, as opposed to just suddenly cutting it off one day with little-to-no-explaination.
Many wishes of well to you, and don’t think this is an entire end to Juniper- after all, it’s still your world, and you might want to dip a toe into it every so often. But if you feel it’s time to go on to bigger and better things, more power to you. Looking forwards to seeing what you can do.
During a down moment, I was honestly considering it. But I didn’t wanna do that to you guys. :)
I will definitely miss seeing Juniper every Monday. I’ve been reading for several years and have truly enjoyed it That said, I’m looking forward to your new comic. Sounds fascinating. I don’t really do Twitter or Instagram so I hope you’ll update us here and on Facebook as well.
I am considering creating an artist Facebook page that isn’t project specific so that I can talk to people on there about stuff. I’ll certainly let you guys know when that goes up. :) Thank you so much for reading!
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<3
I’m gonna miss this comic. Good luck with your future projects.
Thanks, Aji. I know you follow me on Twitter. :) And I’ll see you over at Chance of DOOM! once Robert has scratched his illustration itch.
Carrie, very wise thoughts!! I started reading juniper a year ago, when the kids got me onto Facebook, and I have enjoyed it each time. Some therapy during chemo and recovery — thanks for that. Looking forward to what’s next. It sounds fun and thought provoking!
I’m so glad to hear that it helped during your treatments! I’ll make sure you know when the next project comes out. :)
I really dig Juniper and I was just getting used to Lola and hoped I’d get to watch her for a while longer. That being said, I dig your work in general and hope you get where you’re aiming to be. Totally following your Twitter!
I did think about Lola when I decided to do this, and that’s maybe the most unfortunate part for me. I had been wanting to introduce a new character for a long time, and if I had it all to do over again, I probably would have introduced her sooner so that we could have hung out with her longer. :)
Go go Power Ranger! Do the things! You are wonderful and as long as you continue on whatever endeavors I will support you.
Thank you, Mel! <3
Boo. I’ll be sad to see it go! I’m not a big commenter, but I’ve read Juniper since the beginning, and it’s a part of my Monday morning ritual, for sure.
But, that said, I’ll gladly follow you into your next comic! Creating consistently is hard, and you’ve done an excellent job of it.
I really appreciate your longterm readership, truly. Thank you so much for your kind words. :)
It is bittersweet to read this. I’ve enjoyed Juniper since the beginning, and thought it a lot of fun. It was on my must read from the time I stumbled on it. So yes, I will miss it. But I’m an artist myself. I had a webcomic once too and I understand that weird turmoil you described very well. I can’t begrudge your decision. I will be here for whatever comes next. Thanks for Juniper, looking forward to seeing what you have planned.
Thank you so much for your understanding and kindness. I really appreciate you sticking with me for that long! <3