[UPDATE march 28 2012]
i am currently illustrating John Carter: The Gods Of Mars for marvel comics. once finishing up the project in june i will be return full time to kukuburi.
thanks for your patience.
much love,
ramon.
[end of UPDATE shenanigans]
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
arriving a bit late here due recuperating from a nasty flu and well, the studio i share is moving. i really should have coordinated the move and my return a bit better… but it kinda happened after i made the announcement. meh, whadda gonna do.
so, move permitting, more kukuburi thursday!
other announcements… for those who may be curious;
next week, the 18th, sees the full release of TALE OF SAND, the book that i worked on over the past summer!
the next project to pleasurably to eat up my life will be an adaptation of JOHN CARTER: THE GODS OF MARS for marvel comics with writer sam humphries!
and finally, for those ultimately curious about RAID, our studio and our new space; check out our new Facebook page!
till the next page…
This is my second favourite Kuki page ever. Love the nomming!
And I’ve ordered your Tale of Sand (thanks to Amazon for shipping internationally!)
Please say you plan to publish Kukuburi, , , Please! It would be the ultimate to have a book to pour over and study all the little details that make this such a wonderful GN.
Oh, my… The littlest Mip seems to be pretty much all MOUTH! I do notice that he (?) doesn’t seem to be swallowing, however, which is probably just as well. We do know where those have been…
Happy, happy, happy. Patience is rewarded.
Yay! Heroes! :D
I loved todays page!
Hatmageddon! :D
Win!
Is that a bubble gum gun ?!
AWESOME!
Yay, my copy of Tale of Sand arrived today – fantastic object, someone’s done a great job on the binding, quality of paper etc – I particularly like the bookmark band thingy. Lookng forward to reading it. AND to more Kukuburi when you get the chance…
I have been waiting so long for Kukuburi’s return! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Just wondering when the next one will be coming up?
well, on thursday …
;-)
Well this is awkward. Here I am on Friday and no new posts.
Ramon? You have some ’splainin to do.
Yeah, you get on top of those client projects Ramon! Last thing any of us needs is to hear from you in a few weeks saying you had to stop eating since your clients reduced your pay for being late on their projects because you put your webcomic first XD
I do hope you get caught up quickly though C: And no more getting sick! Not allowed >:C
It wouldn’t be Kukuburi if things went smooth for Ramon. Getting paid is > free awesome web comic though. Bill collectors don’t really take the “I would have money but these total strangers really like my web comic.” as payment.
Sucks about getting sick, hope you get caught up on your work in a timely manner, and I hope your clients understand. Love the comic, waited all this time for more, what is a few more weeks.
I’ve noticed comic creators tend to get sick right when they get a break – christmas vacation, a short lull between projects, etc. I’m wondering if that’s bound to happen because of the sheer effort you guys put in – say 5 months of working at a breakneck pace and your worn out body succumbs to the infection right when it’s weakest in the calm after the storm. I know I got sick from the exhaustion at the end of all my college semesters. So don’t feel distraught over it – obviously you need time to recover from the workload. Come back when you can!
Feel better soon and don’t worry about us – we’re ok waiting. It’s totally worth it : )
Ramon, You need to stop worrying about your fanbase so much. Each of us loves your comic to bits, and is more than prepared to wait for updates, however long they take for whatever reason. Good luck getting better and catching up to your schedule!
I always check back every week Ramon, just as I did during the year hiatus, and if there’s updates it’s awesome! And if not, well then I shrug it off and check the next week. Hope everything is well!
Damnit Ramone!
Quit being so popular as an artist. I wish there was a way you could devote the amount of attention to Kuku as you do to paid jobs so we could see some progress.
Seriously, if you ever finish Kuku and publish, I’ll be the first in line to buy a hard copy.
HAH – thank you kurt! i’ll do my best… but i do plan on finishing kuku, hopefully sooner than later. putting forth a plan in action to make that happen.
Well I’m just glad you’re not pulling a Tessa Stone on us. However long the wait, I’m sure the outcome will be worth it. Thanks for everything you do!
Does ANYONE know what happened there? I havent been able to figure it out.
what’re you missin’ ?
Farbeit from me to presume to say, but I think the chapeau dudes have come in and they’re giving the bad guys hell with nom-ing and what appears to be maybe a bubble gum blunderbuss.
Sorry. I meant with Tessa. I loved Hannah.
I’d read John Carter of Mars, years ago – from the library before the internet, and I didn’t even know, at the time, that Edgar Rice Burrough’s had written Tarzan. Now to find that one of my most favourite online cartoon artists was chosen as the artist that is reinterpreting the John Carter story as a cartoon… awesome!
I don’t know how many people that can say this but I’m sure I will be buying every piece of your work, John Carter of Mars and Kukubukri as a book included.
I hope you never have to comprimise to complete Kukuburi. I will wait for your best.
Keep up the great work, all of it.
Kookaburra.
oops, compromise, not comprimise. ;-P
Still no update, huh.. I wish I could say I’m surprised..
I know I’m going to get a lot of “you don’t pay anything, shut up” responses, but I’m going to try to give a honest and respectful opinion anyway.
This is the comic I know of with the most interesting art – it’s pretty, whimsical, spooky and serious all at the same time. It’s brilliant. And the colours are smashing. The story is exciting and mysterious. The protagonist is likable and relatable, the protagonist is equally opposite. It has every potential to be among the very top of every list.
Instead it settles in mediocrity, because the creator chooses to prioritize other jobs. I understand that paid work comes in front of ones hobbyscribbles on the net, but this is so much more than that. If so many creators of the lesser webcomics (both in art and story) can live of their webwork, why can’t you? Of course you don’t have a steady readerbase right now, since you’ve had a year and a half hiatus (after a rocky schedule), and over like three months you made 10-15 comics, and then it’s nothing more for two months. Now I’ve been waiting all this time, and I’ll be waiting even longer, but I hope you find the means to prioritize this comic enough to make it your living – and thus a more regular schedule. The comic, story, characters, readers deserves that much. And so do you.
Here’s my version of “you don’t pay anything, shut up”.
(1) It’s incredibly, incredibly rude to presume to tell someone how they should make their living. “Hey, I like *this* thing that you do–you should make this your job, instead of what you are doing now for your job. Why isn’t this your job? This could be your job if you would just give it more time, because more people would come and you could sell advertising! Why would you want to even work on something else written by one of the most well read authors of all time, or help resurrect a Jim Henson screenplay, or work on Deadpool or Captain America anyway?”
(2) (related) Could you please show us your website where you are making money off of your art? I was just curious because you seem to know a lot about how much you can make that way.
(3) Also, while you’re at it, let us know what Ramon’s expenses, financial situation, and goals are, because all of those would need to be taken into account when making a decision about what your primary source of income is.
(4) If you think that someone with Ramon’s talent and experience hasn’t already thought of everything you brought up….
(5) How do you think it feels when you are giving something away for free, and you are working incredibly hard to make it high quality, and people complain? How about when what people are complaining about is the very thing you wish, that you could do more updates?
(6) This is so important to you, I’m wondering how much you donated. You’re willing to tell someone else he needs to make major changes in his life to satisfy your desire for more regular updates…and what are you willing to sacrifice? The donate link is the hat there on the left. You seriously owe him at least a beer for the way you approached this. “Still no update, huh, I wish I could say I was surprised” is NOT “respectful”.
first a thank you to msouth, distantvoices, and pike, for the kind words of support.
oid,
if i could do kukuburi everyday i would. but like most people i have an overhead i have to meet every month. home finances, mortgage, debt, food, clothes, web hosting, studio costs, and numerous bills. unfortunately i also live in one of the most expensive city’s in the world – which raises the bar on these costs. would i change it if i could – no – i love this city.
that said i’m not looking for donations – just patience. i’m not going to update just to appease the masses – i am going to update with the best story possible… and if it takes me longer in a more infrequent process, so be it.
as i take on jobs in my freelance career, it is no just to meet my immediate needs – i work hard to make more money than i need, so i can in turn take off a few months in the upcoming year to focus on things like kukuburi.
so please be aware that when i’m not updating kukuburi, it’s not because i don’t want to.
i am working towards returning a completing in one fell swoop the remainder of the story. if you’re not here – well, that’s your choice.
cheers,
ramon.
Oid – part I’m with you, part I’ve got a hankering to stuff the predicted words into your eyes. ^^
You know, paid work is there for a reason: to gain a living. And sometimes, paid work drains all and everything out of a lad in a way that he comes home, stomps to the nearest chair, slumps down and goes to sleep straight away. there ain’ no room for spare time creativity or prioritizing stuff anymore.
So I just ask you to be kind and give Ramon credit for what he been doing so far and look forth to what he may gift to us for free in the future. I reckon it is worth the wait.
stay safe
I’m, sure it’ll be worth the wait, no matter what… just chiming in here, and expressing my interest ;)
Well. I love Kuku, I wanted to request more. I didn’t want to be an ungrateful bastard.
A $20 PayPal donation has been made for the item: “WHERE’S MY KUKU, DAMNIT?”
Does that sound like a reasonable balance between appreciation and desire?
I suggest you cross-advertise at Zebragirl… that’s another community that knows how to be patient, and knows the value of waiting for the good stuff.
Come on, folks… it’s FREE and it’s BEAUTIFUL… The web is full of other things to enjoy while you wait.
Would I like to see more of this comic, as soon as possible? Sure. But if it isn’t possible, i can understand that, too.
As for a graphic novel of Kukuburi, well… i’d LOVE that. My suggestion is Kickstarter; get it mentioned and cross-posted in the right places, and NOT ONLY will it almost certainly fund, but you will ALSO see a serious uptick in traffic, as people visit to see what you’re about, and to read your back catalog (as i just did).
Here’s to success, making a comfortable and happy living as an artist – and more Kukuburi for us all, eventually!
Kerinbot :)
thank you for the compliments and insights kerin… and for the patience! definitely stuff i will look into in a couple months as i gear up to return.
awesome avatar by the way :)
Is there a delay before comments show? IN any case – if i didn’t say before – LOVE this comic.
Kerin :)
Bought Tale of Sand.
Left tale of Sand on seat of truck.
Went into shoe store with wife.
Come out, book is gone. Disappeared.
Moral of the story: Never go shoe shopping with women.
oh, that’s not good.
Ramon,
You mentioned that you plan on “completing in one fell swoop the remainder of the story.”
In past threads, you have said that you see Kukuburi as a 3 chapter story, one that could span 600 pages.
a) is this still the plan
b) is this the amount you plan on “completing” or are you just speaking of the 1st “Chapter”
Also, (and forgive me, I don’t work in comics/ graphic design so I don’t know the process) Have you considered doing Kuku as a graphic novel. You have the connections, it seems, with the work you have done, from the Henson family to numerous super hero comics to now John Carter; someone must be out there that sees and understands your talent. What would it take for you to get someone to back Kuku in the same way they back you for these other projects.
I only ask these because I don’t want to see a talented individual, like yourself, let go or abandon prematurely something he loves if it doesn’t have to be abandoned. In other words, don’t feel like you have to shorten or diminish the length or quality of Kuku just for us. If it takes 6 more years, don’t worry. the internet isn’t going anywhere.
A pondering mind
-Ben
@bigbadbizzy
hey there ben,
You mentioned that you plan on “completing in one fell swoop the remainder of the story.”
In past threads, you have said that you see Kukuburi as a 3 chapter story, one that could span 600 pages.
a) is this still the plan
yes.
b) is this the amount you plan on “completing” or are you just speaking of the 1st “Chapter”
when i return, post john carter, i will aim on completing the first book. which is almost done. frustratingly close. once done i will focus on then publishing this volume in an effert to help “fund” my work on the second volume, thereby allowing me more time to focus on it.
Also, (and forgive me, I don’t work in comics/ graphic design so I don’t know the process) Have you considered doing Kuku as a graphic novel. You have the connections, it seems, with the work you have done, from the Henson family to numerous super hero comics to now John Carter; someone must be out there that sees and understands your talent. What would it take for you to get someone to back Kuku in the same way they back you for these other projects.
to the first part, as i said above, i do.
here in lies the problem; which is most companies will not “fund” such projects. most comic companies will take a book that is already done and publish it, usually taking 50% ownership in the process. so basically we still have to do the work for free and then give up part of our profits. book publishers will pay and advance on such projects (usually you have to have a good portion of it done already anyway for your agent to shop around – who then takes 15-20%) if they think the book has potential. but the advances are quite small, and at the end of the day you end up working mostly for free and then getting about a 5% (if you’re lucky) royalty on book sales. a quick note, your advance is also an advance on royalty; so whatever you’re given upfront has to be made back by the publisher before you start making any more money.
so at the end of the day, though the road is longer i try to fund things myself by working on such projects as john carter, where i can work with some talented people, hone my talent, and at the same time make a decent amount of money. then i can afford to take a few months “off” using my saved income and focus on, in this case, kukuburi.
I only ask these because I don’t want to see a talented individual, like yourself, let go or abandon prematurely something he loves if it doesn’t have to be abandoned. In other words, don’t feel like you have to shorten or diminish the length or quality of Kuku just for us. If it takes 6 more years, don’t worry. the internet isn’t going anywhere.
and don’t worry, i won’t be abandoning kukubrui. i may lose readers over the course of my hiatuses – but hopefully when the first book is done, the breaks will be shorter, as the first book helps fund the second. especially if i self-publish.
thanks,
ramon.
Hey Ramon, just wondering if you’ll be coming to C2E2 this year. I saw you there last year and it’d be great to see you again.
i will most definitely be attending C2E2 again this year! see you there :)
Hey Ramon:
Kickstarter would be your friend in this. Many webcomics are already achieving their dream of publishing, and this way of publishing allows you get preorders done sufficient to fund the project, while letting the kickstarter site handle collections, and waiting until the full project funds to commit a dime. And if it does NOT fund, no harm no foul. People with much less polished and gorgeous art (though of course, still loved by their fans) have funded and published this way successfully. Hope you might consider this?
Best of luck! :D
Yea! for working on a cool new project!
Boo! for having to wait for more Kukuburi!
Obviously there are no guarantees on what will happen with any kickstarter, but your work reminds me a lot of this guy’s work
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jakeparker/the-antler-boy-and-other-stories
(some of which I had previously seen in Flight). Like @kerinbot said above, you don’t have to commit to anything until it’s completely pledged. Might be interesting to give it a shot. Your work is very much at the same level as Mr Parker’s. Of course it’s not just your work, but also your *net*work that matters in a kickstarter, but I dunno, it would be neat to just see if you can get whatever your named price would be to get it complete. I would definitely pledge if there was a signed book in it for me.
(BTW, this is not meant as pressure, but encouragement from an enthusiastic fan.)
[also, obviously the kickstarter above is different from your case--he is just collecting completed stories and getting them printed, whereas you are talking about completing an incomplete work. Still, I guess I just think that the amount he was able to raise was encouraging, and it seems like your books would serve the same market--people who love quirky, beautifully drawn and colored comics with highly imaginative story lines]
i will most definitely look into kickstarter for KUKUBURI volume 1, or even to fund the development of volume 2. food for thought for sure.
but first i must survive the next couple months, relax, and then get back on kuku full time!
thanks for the input msouth, it’s really great to know that i have great readers and fans like you out there, it’s a nice balance to some of the hate mail i get!
Kickstarter sounds brilliant. Shut up and take my money! :)