Author notes

Hiatus Announcement

Macattack

on Aug. 11, 2011

I just want to take a moment to announce that I'm putting SOS on hiatus until further notice. This is a choice that's taken a lot of thought but I believe this is the best option. This is not due to workload strain or inspiration failing. As a matter of fact SOS has gained a very special place in my heart. Whenever I draw Jed Ian, Sam, or my nameless main character it feels like meeting with old friends again. My reason is more because it is getting harder and harder for me to write strips of the light hearted humour SOS deserves.
I started writing SOS two years ago as I was preparing for my first year of college. It was a fun way for me to laugh off the parts of school that frustrated me while at the same time, express myself in a medium I really enjoyed.
{Comics have always played a major role in my life. I first started drawing them when I was five (at a much lower quality… I hope) and have studied almost every creator's works since the moment I could read. There are many things I love about comics, their light hearted views on things that frustrate or upset us, the looks they give us on the social psych, and most of all, their ability to give people like me a chance to enjoy reading. Being dyslexic myself I have trouble reading large blocks of text, and although I love writing, it has always been difficult for me. Comics; being in such short blurbs of text, have always given my a medium I could turn to without headaches or frustrations (besides my lack of artistic talent.)}
That being said, these last two years of school have been rather hard on me. My course has frustrated and annoyed me; kept me up at night and all in all made me really question my abilities of going anywhere in life. Despite my best attempts to keep happy through it, this has made me depressed and rather bitter about the school system. It has gotten to the point that people I care about have begun to notice my anger rather easily and I don't want that bitterness to seep into this comic.
SOS is a lighthearted gag strip. That's all it was meant to be and it's all I really want it to be. If I begin using it as a method of venting my anger towards the school system, then the strip will start to become depressing and angry. I will have destroyed everything I (and I assume you readers) have come to love about this strip and that is something I cannot bring myself to do.
I want to thank you all for reading this comic. Even if you don't always comment on this site I know you're all out there and have gotten to know a number of you very well. You have always been very supportive of me as I've grown as an artist and I still feel as if I never say enough to thank you all.
I want this by no means to be a goodbye. I hope that after this last year of school I can lose this bitterness and come back to writing these strips in a way I can be proud of. In the mean time I will continue to try and update my comic Wireless on Wednesdays, and I have been giving some serious thought into bringing back my fantasy/mmorpg comic Quest though there I give no promises.
And so this is 'so long' until further notice. I hope for a speedy return as I love drawing this strip and on top of that I hate feeling bitter. (Bitterness is such a waste of an emotion) In the mean time however I bid you all fairwell and I hope to hear from you all again
Malcolm