So I haven’t posted since June and it’s now November.  For quite some time I’d been thinking of giving up on the comic, but a few things have recently spurred me to give it another shot.  First of all, we continue to get lots of views each month (for a relatively obscure web comic) for our Left 4 Dead and Dwarf Fortress strips.  Second, a recent episode of FLOSS weekly with webcomic artists made me consider giving the comic a second shot.

I think part of the reason the comic lost steam after my move was due to the fact that we were trying to have both a comic with a story and a laugh-a-day comic.  You can’t really do both well.  So I’m considering a reboot of the webcomic focused on a story approach.  If we go along the reboot will come in Season 2 along with a few story changes, but I think it’ll be for the better.  One thing’s for sure, I’m probably not going to continue the Tues/Thurs pace.  I may back it up to one a week or one every two weeks so I don’t feel so pressured that I lose interest again.  After all, I have quite a lot of other things going on.  Update to follow soon.

Along with the other changes for season 2, I decided to go to just publishing on Mondays.  This should be an easier pace for me to keep than twice a week and it gives us more leeway to take some breaks without interrupting the story.  The header has already been updated to reflect the change.

One of the things I love is when web comics I follow come up with desktop backgrounds featuring the characters parodying other characters.  I’d wanted to create a desktop background for L4D, and Dan thought it was a great idea too, but for one reason or another, it fell through the cracks.  With L4D2 coming out and Dan super excited about it, I thought it was a great time to come out with this.  I put up a few common resolutions, if you want to make a request, let me know and I’ll render it and add it in here.  Just click on the image and then save it to your computer to use as your desktop.

I'm Not Mad L4D2 Desktop Background 800x600

I'm Not Mad L4D2 Desktop Background 1024x768

I'm Not Mad L4D2 Desktop Background 1280x720

I'm Not Mad L4D2 Desktop Background 1680x1050

Between Failures is a web comic that is like Clerks in two ways.  The First way:  The pacing is very slow.  In Clerks, the entire 90 minutes covers one day at work for the protagonists.  Between Failures was started in March 2007 and so far only one day has been completed in the comic’s world and it’s been the second day for most of 2009 (if not earlier).  This doesn’t mean that the comics are released infrequently, he’s on strip #536 as of Friday.  It just means the pace is deliberate and not rushed at all.  In a way, this is perfect; the comic is supposed to depict the boredom of life at a chain store and you feel as though the days drag on for you as much as they do for the characters.  This doesn’t mean the strip is boring, just that it makes you feel the “day” like the characters do.  The Second Way:  The strip is not so much about working at this store.  (Masago, by contrast IS about working at a restaurant)  The strip is about the witty banter and relationships of the characters in the store.  And this is the greatest strength of Between Failures.  If you find yourself enjoying Kevin Smith or Tarantino movies because of the dialogue between the characters, you’ll enjoy Between Failures.

While the comic started off in black and white, the author now publishes the comic in color, three days a week.  The comic took a few strips to grow on me.  Having gone through it myself, I realize how most comic authors take some time to get a real feel for the characters.  Even though they have created the characters, it still takes some time to get to “know” them and how they would react to situations and how they will grow as time passes. The first day in the comic timeline had a very satisfying resolution and that played a big part in my becoming addicted to the strip.  On days when it comes out, it’s something I’m sure not to miss.

In conclusion, if you are into comics that are more about story than about action, Between Failures is an excellent find and highly recommended.  And, unlike many comic authors, he is pretty much always on time with the latest strip.