update (Patreon)

Hello there, my friends. I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. I have a wittle bitty update for you. I'm officially working on a new book! That's right. It only took me six short years to put together a sequel to my first book, "Mr. Lovenstein: Volume I." I've completely changed up the structure for the new book. Instead of a collection of strips in chronological order, the upcoming book is structured around a unifying theme. The theme is "failure," a popular subject in my comics and my life. Doing it this way lets me pick comics from my entire library, old and new, instead of limiting myself to a narrow window of time. As you might infer, that means Volume I will stand alone. No Volume II. No prequel. It’ll be a strange, special oddity for those of you that own it. I can’t think of a better representation of Mr. Lovenstein.

I'm teaming up with a publisher this time to avoid the absolute hell that is self-publishing. They're giving me total creative freedom and control over the entire project. They're handling all of the boring logistical bullshit and assisting me with anything I need. It's honestly been great so far. As of now, the book weighs in at around 180-200 pages depending on how the Kickstarter campaign goes. Every copy is hardcover, and there will be a Kickstarter exclusive edition. Yes, there will be a Kickstarter. Will I do another pepper challenge? My body says "please god no" but my mind says "mayyybe." Will there be book exclusive comics? Yes. Will there be guest comics by artists you know and love? Yes. Will there be a new, book exclusive Rock and Roll Panda comic? Possibly. When are we getting that Left and Right book you promised? I have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm super excited about finally putting together another book. It's long, long overdue. These are the exact kind of projects I can take on because of your continued, reliable support. This just wouldn't be possible without you guys, pure and simple. I'll keep you in the loop as the project progresses and I'll even ask for your input from time to time. Your thoughts are extremely valuable to me because obviously you "get" my work more than most. You’ll be the first to know of any new developments. As you can imagine, this project is taking up an ever-growing amount of my time. So far I've tried to do all of my usual Lovenstein stuff and squeeze in time where I can, but I'm quickly realizing that isn't feasible or healthy in the long run. I've been working 12 hour days every day for months now, and the burn out is for real. For the sake of this project and my sanity, I have to start cutting back where I can. Until this project wraps up, the Monday Morning Comic is switching to Every Other Monday Morning Comic. I may have to cut back elsewhere if need be. I'll try my best to keep cuts to a minimum. I apologize for the slight reduction in content and I hope you can see it in your hearts to forgive me. At the very least, in one of your kidneys.

I hope you’re excited as I am. Sorta devastating if you’re not but ok. If you have any questions, fire away. There are a few things I have to keep hush-hush for now, and other things still up in the air. Above all else, I want to say thank you. Thanks for supporting my work. Thanks for supporting my life. Thanks for enabling a total lunatic. Every pledge at every amount every month adds up. You’re letting someone live their dream, and in return I hope I’ve made you laugh at least once.

Thank you.

JL