good morning folks.
little bit tired here, the days have been packed to the brim of late allowing me very little spare time to focus on my favourite little things. but i’m persevering – cause i want to see this book come out this fall if i can!
thanks you all for coming up to bat for me over the comments over the past couple updates regarding my dedication and professionalism. i love kukuburi, but it is something i do in my spare time. and when i say spare time it’s not like i dedicate an hour or two and then i’m done. a page alone can take up to 16-20 hrs to do from start to finish and i’m not including writing and layouts. so all in all i’m spending about 3-4 full work days on kukuburi every week, which i don’t mind doing, but then that leaves me 4-3 days for butternut (my other webcomic), corporate work, a life, and all the curve balls life throws at you from time to time. i wish i could update kukuburi everyday, but it’s just not financially plausible.
i’m not complaining, i love what i do, but when people attack my professionalism it kinda irks me as i’ve been a professional illustrator/cartoonist for almost 15 years.
that said, here is part one of this weeks update, part two will be going up thursday afternoon.
cheers,
r.
Heh. You provide something for people for for free – a labor of love which takes up much time and effort for NO PAY. And whaddaya get?
People who act like they PAID.
“Ingratitude are the wages of the world”, as my mother would say..
Last frame. The pain. The horror. The rage. Just plain awesome.
Got my credit out and ready. Now, gimme that book, sir. :)
The only time I get annoyed at unpaid webcomicists is when they don’t act professionally, but Perez IS professional and, as much as I love Kukuburi, I can be patient and wait for when he is so courteous and able to give us an update and that we should be just as courteous and kind to him (although it seems as though most of us are).
So good job, Perez :D
Dude, I think you’re awesome, and you are a HUUUGGGE inspiration to me as an aspiring illustrator. As someone with a fulltime job who then tries to get freelance work done after hours, I am AMAZED at the stuff you are able to create in your spare time. I will keep reading both Kukuburi and BNS, no matter how long I have to wait for a panel. Keep it up and don’t let impatient idiots discourage you.
Huh? I thought this comic is pretty consistent in updates. Anyways, still scared …
I’m a huge fan and totally appreciate the work that you put into both Kukuburi and BNS. I would be thrilled to see either one of them develop enough readership that you could support yourself with them and make more and more regular updates. As long as you’ve got to support yourself with other work, though, I totally respect that that’s not possible.
I can understand the frustration of some people, though, not with the fact that your comics update irregularly, but with the fact that the irregular updates are so often accompanied by promises that regular updates will be starting any day now. I would perfectly respect it if you just said ‘hey, this is my hobby and I update it when I can, so deal with it’, but I do find it a bit irritating that most updates for a year or more are accompanied with promises of a more regular update schedule that will start any day now.
Again, this is coming from a true fan and someone who would kill for a fraction of your incredible talent. If you can update Kukuburi once a month and it’s finished in 2030, I’ll wait happily and buy every book. If you can update three days a week, I’ll run around my office with my pants on my head yelling ‘wheeeeee!’ But if you can only update occasionally, just tell us that’s how it is and we’ll live with it.
I wanted to thank you (and the others who have made suggests regarding the schedule) for doing so in such a civil manner. I may not agree with you, but I really appreciate that you took the time to express yourself calmly and respectfully.
Ramon – THANK YOU for providing something so wonderful for us to appreciate here on the internets. Whatever schedule you keep, I’m sure you will always have eager fans!
Love the current frame. As an artist myself I can appreciate the work that goes into one frame. Personally I’d rather wait two weeks for a new frame as long as the quality is as great as it always is here. There are plenty of daily web comics that have lower quality. I enjoy a lot of those too, but I come here for the beautiful artwork, design, layout, and writing.
Wotcha – can’t say that I’m much of a reader of the comments but I gotta say this – people who’re complaining about your update regularity can go get knotted!
1 – It’s free – 2 – No one’s making the read it and they can see it via RSS and not even have to check up on the page – 3 – You’ve been upfront with where you’re going to miss updates as far as I can see.
I also have points 4 through 201 but they’re just reiterations of points 1 and 2 as I think they’re kinda important. :) Love the strip – I’m happy to see the story evolve as it does and I look forward to your updates as they art is quite unique amongst those webcomics I read.
Pfft. Ever since I found your work, you’ve been one of my comics/illustration heroes. Not only is your art utterly gorgeous, you’re friendly to your fans as well :)
Sadly, the internet’s full of awful people who will moan about ANYTHING. You’re providing a service for free. They never seem to realise that they don’t have to keep reading it. There are LOTS of webcomics out there with much, much worse update schedules. You do very well speed-wise considering the quality of your work, and when you think you’ll have to miss updates, you generally tell people.
Anyway. I love the way the story’s going, so much emotion and suspense! I’m working on a Nadia fanart right now actually. I’ll be sure to tweet it at you or email you it later :)
At the end of the day there is this wonderful thing called RSS feeds and oddly enough Ramon has one right there, look at that orange little bastard up on the left. With RSS nobody is wasting time. When the update is there, you know, when it isn’t you know as well, all part of the daily ritual of checking your RSS.
One of the best print comics I have read in a while, “The Walking Dead”, even slips dates. And this is a comic that is printed, marketed, advertised, pr’d and sold in the real world by a company designed to make profit.
For a man on his onesie doing this as a hobby, I tip my hat good sir. Like most people seem to be saying on this page’s comments, the net is filled with fans and fools and luckily the fans know good stuff when they see it (eventually – joke, joke :) )
I apologize if I offended you. All I wanted to state is that YOU don’t need to apologize, because the artwork is near perfection. Every time it pops up on my rss feeds is like a nice surprise.
Im with everyone else on this Ramon. This webcomic is free. We get to see beautiful artwork, generally twice a week, for free. And with that beautiful art we get an awesome story… for FREE. If people cannot appreciate that the non-paying stuff has to be put behind the stuff that brings home the bacon then clearly they are too stupid for their opinions to be worth anything anyway :P Trust us Ramon. The majority understand and the majority don’t care. Unfortunately there is always a loud, whiney minority that can’t see past what they want and look at the bigger picture.
Another great strip and I really really can’t wait until you can get that first book out!!
You’ll always get people, especially on the Internet, that want more from you than you can give. You can ask people to be reasonable, but you’ll just end up preaching to the choir. The unreasonable people either won’t read what you write, won’t understand what you mean, or simply won’t care.
If the fools bother you, mute them. Disable comments. It’s the only way to get rid of them.
People’s entitlement is wild: HEY MAKE THIS FREE THING FASTER JERK!
So suffice to say: you have more rational readers who appreciate your dreamy vistas. Thanks.
Gotta first, second, third (ad infininitum) all the above comments . As a reader and enjoy-er almost from Day One – Ya gotta complain – Pound Sand – and I’ll send Guido No-Neck round to see ya !
Ramon – we love what you do – take all the time you need – and if something arises where you can make some coin – but you need a few weeks to do it – Go Man – Go . We will wait .
no worries, Ramon. Some people complain because they love this strip so damn much and are venting … however there are positive ways to express a desire to see more.
;)
Love your stuff. I have the privelidge of seeing some of your original art at the home of a certain short cousin of mine, and seeing the ‘real’ lines and brush strokes is a thrill. Big fan. Keep it coming…
Now to my comment about Ch. 151:
“Ohhhhh FU–!”
(love thos tears … makes my heart skip a beat..)
It’s the “free ice cream” model — if someone’s handing out free ice cream in the park, you don’t get to complain if they don’t have a certain flavor or they’re not there one week. It’s free.
Pay no attention to the ingrates and the whiners, Ramon. The rest of us are behind you 100 percent!
I just wanted to say that I love, if not adore, this comic. I really, really do.
Of course it’s a dissapointment when I see you’re not going to be updating for a week or two- because Kukuburi is just out of this world. There’s nothing like it out there. But, I’m human and I understand that you have a life and other priorities.
So, if something does arise, and you need to be gone for awhile.. I’ll just wait until you have time again to blow my mind away. :D
The surprise in her face is priceless.
Complete panic…
You have swept thousands off their feet! I don’t know how it will end! can’t wait for what you have in store for it.
Ramen I’m sure you could update every day, as long as you don’t spend as much time drawing Kukuburi or planning the story, as long as you’re willing to make it into a daily stick figure webcomic. Seriously though, there are few webcomics with such brilliant artistry and story, when Kukuburi goes on hiatus I mark the return date in my diary. It is and will always be worth the wait. It’s the internet and anonymity to some people is a free pass to be an arsehole, remember the best way to treat a troll is to ignore them. Thank you for your professionalism and for Kukiburi.
Well said
First of all, I’d like to state that each and every page of this comic is worth waiting for, no matter how long it takes. As was already stated repeatedly, you don’t get paid for this, and thus your professional life (the one from which you actually earn money) comes first.
While I agree that others have no right to complain, I do have one suggestion to offer: It might help if you only promise what you absolutely know you can deliver. For example, promising four updates the week following a week of missed updates sounds great on paper, but is that even plausible? Not being able to post pages on time is perfectly understandable, but it may be the empty promises that are making people frustrated. Please don’t think I’m attacking you, as I know how difficult it is to find time for hobbies when real life takes up so much. I only wanted to point out that an unexpected page (as in three or four pages one week to make up for a previously missed update), or even just the expected updates after a week with no new pages, would not be cause for complaint, whereas others may find reason to complain when these pages are first promised and then not delivered. That’s just my advice. Take it or leave it! :)
I have to say it.
That is the worst “Oh God my friends have probably all died” face ever/. But it could just be how close they are.
Now i want to see her randomly saved by bones. Cause i think he needs her. in the needs her to have power kind of way.
I’ll chime in with some more positivity. This comic is a true gem.
I’ve been a huge fan since the day I found it. Please know that
for every jerk out there dogging you, there are hundreds
of people who really appreciate what you are doing here.
This update is outstanding as always.
Thanks.
I’ve been reading Kuku for a long time now and I’ve never minded if you had to go live your life. People who gripe about your professionalism are just brats. You update this wonderful comic for FREE and you put yourself and your vision out here for our enjoyment with every update. You don’t have to do that, but you do and I greatly appreciate it. Kuku is always worth waiting for.
Ramon, I love kukuburi and in terms of professionalism, I have to say that at least when you go on furloughs and are unable to update, YOU LET US KNOW!!!! Very few webcomics give their readers that courtesy.
And further agreements about how effective your expressions are in conveying multiple emotions that cannot be expressed equally with words. It’s rare indeed that someone is willing to forego words and rely on their art to communicate.
Let me add my voice of support.
I’m glad you enjoy what you are doing and I feel lucky you are happy to share it with us.
Ramón, every page is a gift from you to us. I am filled with wonder at your art, storytelling, dialog, and generosity.
Also: wow that last panel is emotional. I want to see what Nadia does. I don’t know if it will be the right thing or the absolutely wrong thing, but it will certainly be a Nadia thing.
Poor Antoine’s got battle scars. The pressure is building up quite nicely.
Love the comic, and wanted to say that there are those of us, who don’t mind the breaks. Your comic is so beautifully done, it’s worth it :)
Just like a lot of others have said- you give us super quality artwork and story for FREE. You do it in your spare time yet you have dedication to your readers, letting us know when there will be pauses, updates, etc. Besides, because Kukuburi does not update every day makes it even more special and exciting when it does.
Ignore the jerks and keep on rockin’!
This comic is awesome! Take your time, do it right, and have a life (as you do). There are always @$$holes with an overinflated sense of entitlement and no manners. Don’t let them get to you. They are (hopefully) a sad minority. As for the guy who suggested that maybe this medium is not for you because you prefer quality over quantity, a) this is not a competition, b) I’ll take quality over quantity any day, c) you have a loyal audience – I don’t read the quantity over quality comics. They bore me. I’ll take this high, high quality and totally enjoy the anticipation of the next update. You never fail to deliver. d) you are always upfront about time/updates/intentions. Sometimes life gets in the way. That’s the way it is. Don’t change a thing!
Oh, I and I forgot one thing: Thank you!
You are generally very good about updating, and you always let the readers know what’s going on if its late and such. Keeping us readers in the know helps calm those “OMG will I ever see Kukuburi ever again!” thoughts. However I think that the dramatic and huge art spreads that as amazing emotional emphasis but don’t move the story along in a big way make readers crave the next post a little too much. I am not suggesting you change a thing, but I do think this comic is much better suited for print for that reason. (and I’m excited for it)
Awesome comic. I still can’t believe I get to read it for free.
Samuel Goldwyn said “Don’t pay any attention to the critics-don’t even ignore them.”
Thanks for sharing your wonderful story.
Told you guys that the whale was THAT close and that they would get rained on by rock shrapnel. Mr. Bones doesn’t seem the slightest bit worried about the rocks falling just feet from him.
Ramón – thanks for sharing Kukuburi with us! I’ll agree with everyone – it’s free so who are we to complain? (Although I hurry to add that I will -GLADLY- purchase a book when Chapter 1 is done!) It’s amazing how much time such a masterwork takes, and I’m just grateful to be along for the ride.
I would like to add that if it would make your life at all easier, I could deal with one page a week – I’ll miss my twice a week fix of the amazing art and wonderfully gripping storyline, but I could cope.
(Being on the verge of launching my own webcomic, I understand the restrictions on time! Keep up the most excellent work – ce chef-d’œuvre est sans pareil !)
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Anticipation works just as well.
Thank you for sharing these, they are the highlights of my weeks.
Love the strip, I’ll wait as long as I need to for the next one.
OMG! OMG! OMG!!! I want to KILL Mr. Bones!!!! Lookit him with his hands in his pockets. Grrrrr.
Poor Nadia! She just doesn’t get a chance to catch her breath before something worse happens!
Gosh those are gorgeous panels.
Ramon, I agree with whoever said it above, that you don’t need to make promises. Just letting us know that there’s going to be a lapse is a great courtesy so that we don’t think you got hit by a bus or something. ;) You don’t need to say when it’ll be back (just that it will!) and we very addicted Kukuburi fans will be happily waiting like little meercats on alert for the new eps. I agree with Madam Teepot–the anticipation is always great. And you do not fail to surprise and amaze.
@Bas Grolleman: That was classy of you, sir. :)
Woah… Kukuburi has been an amazing read until know, but this cliffhanger is just plain MEAN. Deeply enjoying this (and still deeply sad I couldn’t meet you and the rest of the Transmission X crew during your European tour), no matter what I’ll keep following both this and Butter Nut Squash!
Ramon– I haven’t personally taken the time to read any attacks made against you/your character/professionalism, as I wouldn’t waste my time.
I have, however read everything associated with Kukuburi, including your need to defend your time schedule.
Most people do not get to see a work in progress– there is no reading over an author’s shoulder in much of the business world regarding writing.
For a nonpaying customer to make demands/ slander an artist is outrageous to me.
You sir, are writing an inspiring book I cannot wait to own and cherish and share with my loved ones. Do not let anyone nor anything compromise the integrity of your art, and may your endeavors be blessed with success and personal satisfaction.
Cheers and one million thank you’s for Kukuburi. –JOhm
What they said.
Mate love your work, keep it up! love both comics and happy whenever the updates come.
I agree with everyone else who commented above. Alot of people, like myself, are more understanding if we waited & be more appreciated on the Ahhh-ish factor in each panel you make. To be honest, I rather you ignore what other people say or do that would negatively degraded the comic because those people do not learn that good things happened to those who wait. And if volume one is up for pre-order, I will definitively sign up to get my copy! :)
Regarding the comic (your professionalism isn’t at question to me):
Wow. That went from 0 to 11 much quicker than I’dve guessed. Sweet.
h8rs will h8, papi – it’s what they do. you just go on and take as long as you need to take to tell your story.
Ramon – your professionalism is evident in every panel. I eagerly await each one, and I can afford to wait.
Kukuburi is absolutely beautiful, and I’m just happy that I get to read it. Honestly, if having to delay the pages a few days is what you need so that you can actually spend time to make them right and to make them this amazing, do it. This is a great page, and I actually love reading them at this pace. Hell, it gives me an excuse to go back and read the archives!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by calaverakid: yup, there’s a new #kukuburi page up right now. just sayin’… http://su.pr/19XyUN...
Ignore the greedy, selfish trogs. Ditto the ones who want you to announce unexpected delays in advance. You craft strong, beautiful art that’s gripping both emotionally and visually and anyone with half a brain knows that takes time and care. You’re upfront with the fact that Kuku has a few things ahead of it on the ‘to do’ list, some of which are ‘HAVE to do’ things like, oh, earn a living. Keep on keeping on, Ramon!