A Little Slower, But Still Moving Forward

I’ve come to that point in the year when an official job has crept back into the picture and stood tall enough in front of me that I have to respond.

That project is still my responsibility, and I need to see my part of it through.
It’s also a reminder that there is a regular life happening behind all the artistry. Responsibilities, bills, dependents, and expenses don’t disappear just because there is something else I love doing. In some ways, I can’t be who I am without those responsibilities and the parts of life I’ve chosen. The things I love are often dependent on what I do, how well I do it, and whether I can keep everything else in balance.
For the first time, I chose to give myself the opportunity to jump into my own lane for half a year—to get a better view of what I wanted to do on my own and to finally start working through a plan for the STARRFALL comic series that has been locked away in my head for almost three decades.

I’m glad I did.

STARRFALL is nowhere near the beginning or launch stage yet, and I’m not drawing the first issue at this point. The project is still very much in its early writing and concept-development phase. It is taking time because the universe I’m building draws from ideas that are older than this blog, older than this website, and in some cases older than my professional career.
A lot of these pieces existed long before I became a professional artist, and some have continued developing long after.

The earliest pieces of Evany Starr & Midnight Penn were seeded through a series of dreams that came to me in 2003. The following year, in 2004, I even attempted to write the first issue and began developing the original concept for the bionic bat that I eventually dubbed S.T.A.R.R. within the story.
So when I talk about building this universe, I’m not starting from an empty page. I’m digging through nearly three decades of ideas, images, characters, fragments, concepts and don't forget the music - figuring out what still belongs there and how all of it fits together. That takes time.
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And now, for the first time in about eight months, my professional work has stepped back into the picture.

As many of you may already know, I’m currently the artist on Hero Tomorrow Comics’ Punchline and Vaude Villains vs. Violante. I’ve been handling the pen-and-ink duties on those books since 2024, and I’m now working on my third issue. That work matters to me, too, and I want to give it the attention it deserves. 

So I’m not taking a break from this blog, and I’m not stepping away from STARRFALL.
I’m simply slowing the pace down.

I have a sketchbook filling up with ideas and dozens of notes and docs scripting my story. I have detailed story beats and issue outlines developed through Issue 1-9 and rough outlines for 10-12.  So there will still be new artwork coming, the worldbuilding continues, character material, behind-the-scenes development, and pieces of New Verance making their way onto the site. MASK ATLAS still gets an update at least once or twice a month. I just won’t be pushing updates everywhere at the same frequency while I balance the comic project with my professional work and everything else life requires.

If you’ve been following along, here's a big thank you!

This project has been sitting with me for a very long time. I’m grateful that I finally gave myself the chance to start bringing it out into the open.
It may be moving a little slower now.
But it’s still moving.  
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-YGA