In today’s comic, a conveniently placed room helps solve a problem for Rick. I am really digging coming up with new non-recurring characters. I save them and I have this idea of using them in a crowd shot or something…

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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	I’m resigned to the fact that Milton won’t join me on my quest to fight evil, and decide it’s time to leave…

Good morning!!

It’s FRIIIIIDAY! Wooohoooo! So how u doin’? I finished writing next week’s comics on Tuesday night and it was a lot different than I thought it would be. I tweeted about it a little bit so if you follow me on twitter and saw that comment before, you’re not having deja-vu. And where it ends up actually gave me an idea for the week after. My main focus for the rest of the year is content. The art, the writing, the story. So hopefully, you’re entertained.

SUCCESS only comes before WORK in the dictionary

This is my new credo – and I love it. I do a lot of research for the business side of the comic. The whole industry is in a state of uncertainty. It’s uncertain because the dynamics of the Internet inherently may shift the business model of webcomics faster than most people can adapt. Where do you focus your resources? Where do you try to build your audience? Where are my shorts?

The reality is, it comes down to the comic. If the story is unique, art is good and the writing is exceptional, then people will be attracted to it. So where does that leave Rick the Stick? I believe the story is unique. At least in the direction I want it to go. The art is probably good enough. The writing – that’s another story. It hasn’t been the strength of the strip. It needs work. Lots. I’m putting together the book and I’m realizing that it needs to be stronger. It needs to make you laugh out loud – litteraly.

When I started this webcomic, I gave myself three years. Three years to determine whether or not I could be a successful web cartoonist. Being able to do this thing I love so much, and to my credit, I came into it with a plan. Admittedly, is that I came into it naive. I thought I could easily conquer this, after all, it’s been my dream since I was a kid. The thing that’s opened my eyes is one thing – there are thousands, maybe millions of other people that share that dream. Listening to people like Scott Kurtz, Dave Kellett, Kris Straub and of course Brad Guigar say that it should take anywhere from five to ten years blew my mind, stomped on my spirit and broke my heart. But I’m over that.

I’ve resigned to the fact that most nights I’ll get six hours of sleep – on the high end. The rest may be around three or four. I work a full-time job as a web designer that requires a lot of mental effort. I also have had the amazing privilege to handle this through the birth and raising of an infant. Additionally, I haven’t profited a penny since I’ve started – which I only mention to show you that I don’t do it for the money. Sure I want a big house, lots of cars and toys. But the reality is, I have everything I want – except for this. My dream.

So I’m going to work harder than most people. I’m going to focus on the business side of webcomics. I’m going to struggle and at times I’ll fail. But I have my plan. The first year it was all about the art. It’s taken longer to get it to where I don’t cringe so much, but I like it. Since I’ve shown progression, I’m confident that it will only get better. The second year (currently) is about awareness. Building an audience. In that arena, I’ve spend some money on advertising and it’s been a successful summer. I broke personal visitor records and I’m encouraged by the amount of time most people spend on the site. In March I went to NEWW in Easthampton, MA, and in October I am going to Baltimore. I’ve had great conversations with other artists and am hopefully building good friendships as a result. I’ve gotten enthusiastic support from a couple of people and that makes the effort worth it.

Year three (starting in March 2010) will be about making a profit. Not making a living – I’ve been very clear to myself that I only need to show myself (and my wife) that this is a viable business and that my talents can sustain it.

So what have I written all this for? What am I bugging you for? I guess I’m just letting you know that I’m not working this hard to throw my art up on the Internet. I want to entertain you. If your still reading this post and haven’t vomited on your shoes, I only ask that you keep coming back. Post comments, vote in my stoooopid polls. Continue to give me a shot to show you I have a good story to tell, the art is charming and the writing will improve.

Thank you for your time – I know it’s as precious as mine. I also wanted to mention that I got a great, inspirational email from Todd (one of our infamous comment poster’s) yesterday – it was much appreciated. Now get outta here and enjoy your weekend!!!

Thanks again for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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	Milton and I discussed options on my genius new saying…

Good morning!

What’s up? I was just thinking last Friday that last week flew by. It’s amazing because the older you get, the faster time goes by. You only get 52 weeks, or Fridays every year – and here we are, it’s Thursday already! Someone please slow the world down!!!

Here’s some signage I’m thinking about getting made and bringing to Baltimore…

Wondering if I should put the book on there or just attribute it next to the image of Rick on the toilet.

I came across a saying that is my new credo: Success only comes before Work in the Dictionary. Word. Gotta get to work. Talk to you tomorrow!!

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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	Milton is having an identity crisis, while I’ve finally woken up! Things are changing starting now…

Good morning!

Coo coo ca choo… Sorry not much of a blog post, but working on the book. I had to change the cover due to the actual layout. In lieu of a post, I give you what’s probably the final cover art.

I'm excited to work on the back cover. The dedication had me tearing up a little bit. BACK TO WORK!

Thanks for the encouragement and comments yesterday guys!

And to everyone else, thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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	I’m standing there and I feel great! Suddenly I recognize that all this time who exactly it was I was standing next to!

Good morning!

Funny thing happened to me last night. We were invited over to a friend’s house for dinner and we started talking. I was telling them I need me some coffee in the morning to give me a little kick because I’m working so late every night. They asked me why I was staying up late…

Then it hit me. Funny little thing. I was embarrassed.

I was excited too – don’t get me wrong. You see, I’ve known these people a little bit longer than I’ve been doing the strip and they never knew that what I was doing. I assumed my wife had told them, but in hindsight, I guess I don’t know when that conversation would come up – sooooo, yeah.

Anywho, they were very kind, and very interested in the comic strip and actually pulled it up on a laptop while we talked about it. Then more funny hit me. I was REALLY embarrassed when they clicked back to the first strip. That art is horrific – and I’m really tempted to pull it, but it’s part of the strip, part of the history of RTS and it stays. One thing I am doing is pulling the button to go back to the first strip. That will help me sleep tonight.

I guess as a faceless person behind the computer right now, I’m comfortable. I know I can control the conversation. Face-to-face is another story. I’m not comfortable with personal accolades. I appreciate them and I want them – REALLY BADLY – and I will work my ass off for them. I’ve just never learned how to accept them gracefully – simply put I’m awkward as hell. Here’s the bad ugly part – I expect to excel. I expect to get accolades. I expect my comic to be kick ass. I was arrogant when I started this strip – I expected to be a huge success within the first year. I thought I would get discovered by someone and I’d be rolling in accolades and success.

PSSSST! That didn’t happen. Honestly, I’m VERY glad to have been humbled. But I won’t lie – I expect to get better, I still expect to be successful, and I still expect that I’ll be awkward.

One thing I would like to say. I do NOT take your time here with Rick the Stick for granted. I appreciate every pageview, every comment and every email subscription. Every month the numbers grow. Every month, I work harder and harder – hopefully it shows.

But today, I was embarrassed and I was – definitely – awkward.

As always, thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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Good morning!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I spend some quality time with the wife and her family and got a chance to hang with some friends. Very nice!! I also was able to squeeze in a 6 hour (UGH!) round of golf. Playing for my first time in two years, my short game was non-existent and I had at least 4-5 three putts. Not good! Regardless, I had a blast in a horrible heat.

Weight update:

Since I was off Friday, I didn’t weigh in on the official scale. So the updates are not complete. To keep on track, this Friday, I should ideally weigh in around 229 – breaking the 230 mark for the first time since 2006 (when I did it for only a week).

Here are the stats as of Friday, June 26, 2009

Starting weight: 273.6 (March 6th)
Current weight: 234.2 (week 14)
Weekly loss: N/A
Total Loss: 39.4 lbs
Goal weight: 222
Remaining to lose: 12.2 (25 days from today)
Goal date: 7/31/09

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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Good morning

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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Good morning!

Don’t forget, there will be a new comic tomorrow – in case you’re off for the holiday – you can come back and catch an extra RTS!!! A bonus to your long weekend!!

Have a great holiday everyone! Happy birthday America!

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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Good Monday morning!

A quick note before I get to my weigh in update… You may have noticed a new feature where Rick actually gets a chance to explain the strip. It’s there for two reasons. The first is to give Rick a voice – and he may be able to include some back story or tidbits that put things in context and secondly, it’s to let the people who see the tidbits on Facebook and other sites that don’t show a preview of the comic what’s up in today’s strip.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Now to Friday’s weigh-in. What a disappointment after last week’s 5+ pound shredding of the shedding!

Here are the stats as of Friday, June 26, 2009

Starting weight: 273.6 (March 6th)
Current weight: 234.2 (week 14)
Weekly loss: 1.4 lbs
Total Loss: 39.4 lbs
Goal weight: 222
Remaining to lose: 12.2 (32 days from today)
Goal date: 7/31/09

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

Would you like this comic strip to be specially hand delivered to you first thing every weekday morning by Magical Interweb Genies? Become a Subscriber McScriberson Get on it! CLICK HERE NOW and fill in your email address – SPAM FREE!!! And thank you! *Be sure to click on the link in your email that verifies you REALLY want the strip!

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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Good morning

Hey, hey – it’s Thursday!! And you know what that means! Only one more Rick the Stick this week. Major bummer right? I mean, I can totally feel your pain. Sometimes you really don’t know where to get your fix of mediocrity on the weekends – right? Well, your like always welcome back here on the weekends to like, catch up on stuff, check out the characters pages, click on some advertisers to check out their webcomics too. But luckily for me, I have an outlet. I get to create the mediocrity in full force on the weekends. So I sit there and I totally, like think of some mediocre things to say, then I like…dah. The “totally” and “like” crap isn’t working is it? I was trying to be crafty and check some target demographic stuff and thought I could slide it by you. But look at you – shaking your head in disbelief that I tried that. I apologize. It was pretty weak wasn’t it? Sorry, but hey, it just reinforces that the mediocrity is the real deal!!

Sooooo, let’s try this… Here’s a poll. Feel free to answer it, feel free to ignore it, but just click on one of the little radio buttons there and hit the vote button. I know you can do it! [poll id="19"]

Thanks for dropping by!
Ken

©2012 Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs. All Rights Reserved.

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