Let’s just get this out of the way, since I’ve tried to avoid it but most people have seen this coming:

I don’t have anything left for this comic.

And that’s definitely too bad. I enjoyed what I was doing and believe in the story – hell, that’s why I gave years of my life to its creation with zero pay. The plan was to finish this in a few years with 5-day-a-week updates, but then life got in the way, and then life totally changed for me.

I think some people are misinterpreting what that all means – my life isn’t shitty. It’s actually awesome. I’m a really lucky guy. I’ve got a full time job in an industry I love and am passionate about, and have an awesome wife and awesome new baby.

I want to thank everyone who’s been kind about this transition, and hey, even the people who are being nasty – it means they were heavily invested and are now lashing out. I’ll take it as a compliment, or something. But being a jerk about this (completely free) comic doesn’t really change anything, and CERTAINLY doesn’t make me feel like giving up my time to provide you with more work. Try to keep that in mind.

This was never about making other people happy, though. I did this for myself – the angsty, artsy, indie film/comic was something I loved in my 20′s, and I wanted to try it myself. That’s why there’s never been even an ad box on here, or any attempt at making revenue beyond some half-hearted prints that never made it out there. And now that I don’t have the drive for it anymore, nothing else can really change that. I’m not really going to explain myself more than that (and the previous blogs), but I’m pretty stoked about freeing myself up for other projects. My brain’s been almost 100% focused on Brightest for so long, it’s nice to come up for air.

I’m going to leave the door open, because maybe at some point I /can/ finish this some day – always good to keep doors open, right? – but for all intents and purposes I’m afraid Brightest is dead. A few people mentioned just leaving the story alone in case I could finish it as a comic, and ultimately I kind of agree. The widescreen shots and movie framing are as much a part of the storytelling as the writing, and giving that up is a hard pill to swallow.

Thanks to everyone for reading, I’m glad I was able to actually effect so many people, and I appreciate the time people have given over the years to read/comment. I’m sorry I’m not finishing the story, but I gave what I could.