DZO Update! (Patreon)

Salaiix asked if we can pause the DZO pages for this week to give him some time to catch up. So, the plan is to post Page 12 for ‘Early Access’ supporters this weekend, after which Page 12 will update on the DZO site next Wednesday. Hopefully, this will get us back on schedule and allow us to resume the regular ‘Early Access’ updates as well.

Fortunately, all of the regular Patreon art will continue uninterrupted.

This is the part of making comics that I dislike most—the delays, missed updates, etc., and how they disrupt the flow of the story. I genuinely try my best to plan ahead and avoid these scenarios, but sadly, delays still happen, often due to circumstances on the artists' end that are outside my control, whether it's health issues, computer problems, or something else.

When it comes to our update schedules, I always try to prepare for the worst-case scenario because, inevitably, delays will happen.

Case in point: prior to launching Code Mari, I made sure that Mimpi had completed enough pages to give us a two-month buffer. After he'd completed a set number of pages, I started posting the comic. Honestly, I never imagined we'd miss a Code Mari update, given that we already had so many pages completed and ready to go.

Unfortunately, Mimpi's chronic health issues quickly ate into that buffer. We'd briefly get back on track for two weeks, only to fall behind shortly after. Eventually, we landed where we are now, with updates that aren't as consistent as they should be. It's gotten to the point where I've even considered looking for another artist to take over Code Mari.

For DZO, this is a recurring issue as well. And while Salaiix has had health, computer, and moving-related issues that have affected the schedule in the past, the main setback with DZO is typically a bit different: maintaining the high quality of each page.

In a typical American comic, you have pencilers, inkers, colorists, and so on, with different people handling different tasks. Salaiix does all of that himself, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

The great thing is that he knows exactly how everything should look, so the finished page matches his vision. We also don't have to coordinate multiple people working on the comic. It's the "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation: if the colorist or inker is delayed, the entire production falls behind.

The downside is that Salaiix has a much heavier workload. At this point in the comic, both Salaiix and I are trying to maintain the highest quality possible. Maintaining that level of quality takes time, and the additional work involved sometimes pushes him behind schedule.

I know not everyone is interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of making comics, but for those who are—or for anyone interested in writing comics themselves—these are, unfortunately, some of the challenges that come with the process.

My ongoing goal is to find a better long-term solution so that these delays become less frequent and we can maintain a more consistent update schedule.