Fleas on Flick

To my loyal Fleas on Flick followers:

I apologize for being out of the loop for so long.  I want you to know that I have not forgotten about Flick, but my focus in the past month or so has been distracted by work and some other projects.  I have tried a few times to sit down and create some new Flick comics.  However, I found myself getting frustrated because the ideas I kept wanting to explore were story lines that demanded more than just one strip a week.  For those of you who have been so dogged in asking me for more strips, I am sure you would like nothing more from me than to get few good two week story lines, and I assure you I would love to provide it.  Unfortunately, it just has not been practical for me to create at the moment.  I feel like if I forced it, I would start to make compromises with the quality, and I like these characters too much to have them become something I’m not proud of.

Yes, I have been continuing to give Oranges a voice for a few reasons: they are simpler to create, it keeps my creative process active, and I have someone in New York publishing them in an independent comics paper (called Coffee Talk, produced by Tony Murphy who writes “It’s All About You.”  Check it out!)

If it makes you feel better (which I hope it does), I am in the process of creating an Oranges book–

“But-but… WHAT ABOUT THE–”

–The Flick book I’ve been talking about for ages?  Well, Angry Fan, I am using this Oranges book as a practice run for the Flick book, so I can learn the ins and outs of the process.

“But Oranges are so LAME!!  Flick is SOOOO MUCH BETTER!!!  I HATE YOU!”

I understand your disappointment, Angry Fan.  I believe the potential for a Flick book can go far beyond what an Oranges book can do in many ways which is all the more reason for me to practice on another book first.  I want to make sure when I do Flick’s book, I am able to do it the best I can.  I am also working on a show that will combine improv with live cartoonists–

“AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!  I’ll never read about Flick or Dee-dee again!!!”

I have made this–

“ARRGHHHH!!”

Angry Fan!  Please… I have made this show a priority because I think it will be very beneficial to my work and many other artists in the future. I think it is going to be an exciting way to bring my theater experience together with my cartooning, and in the process give actors and cartoonists alike an opportunity to play and expose their work to new audiences.

So please, angry fans all over, don’t think that I’ve given Flick to the pound or that he ran away.  He’s still here, but like dogs do, he’s just sleeping a lot right now.  Stay tuned…

Sterling

Greetings those of you who follow Fleas on Flick enough to be reading this blog!  I must apologize for my break in work.  As an aspiring cartoonist, I have learned the cardinal sin is inconsistency, and since returning to draw these characters, I have worked hard to stay on that wagon.  However, my work schedule took a sudden turn for the busy and my ability to “get up  and go must have got up and went.” (To quote a song lyric that’s been in my head for weeks that I just can’t remember what song it’s from.  Violent Femmes maybe?  Suggestions?  It’s been driving me crazy!) Anyway, I am trying to get back on schedule with things.

On a side note, you may be pleased to hear that Stewart Filbert (my alter ego and author of Oranges Are Funny) is now a published cartoonist!  Oranges Are Funny was published in the first issue of an upstart newspaper featuring only comic strips called “Coffee Talk.”  Tony Murphy, the creator of It’s All About You, is producing the paper and is targeting the paper directly at coffee shops.

Thank you everyone for continuing to read Fleas on Flick, and hopefully by the end of August, things will be more on track again.

Sterling

I’ve been getting some inquiries as to why I am drawing two different comics at the same time, so I thought I would give a little explanation.  First of all, the current schedule I am working on is working great so far.  I would love to be able to write more of Flick in a week, but the one post on Saturday is currently working with the rest of my life, so I’m going to stick with it for now.

Oranges are Funny, written under the pen name Stewart Filbert, was originally a joke that started from a film I was in here in Chicago.  The character’s name was Stewart Filbert, and in the movie I did an improvised bit where he showed the cartoons he was drawing.  I was trying to think of the absolute dumbest idea for a comic I could, and oranges was what I came up with.  However, we were laughing so hard at the idea and the sketches when we were filming that I thought I’d try to do some more as a joke blog.  Part of the fun of it was Stewart Filbert’s character being the author, but as I drew more, I noticed the cartoons were starting to get a little more complex than Stewart would write them.  I stopped for awhile about the same time I stopped writing Flick just because I couldn’t keep up with the schedule.  As a discipline exercise, I wanted to see if I could come up with a new orange cartoon everyday of the week.  They’re pretty easy to draw and turn out quickly, unlike Flick strips which can take me a few hours at least from blank paper to finished web comic.

When I decided to get back to drawing Flick, I decided to pick up Oranges again for a few reasons.  One, I had a lot of friends who really wanted me to draw the orange comics again.  For whatever reason, the humor seemed to hit home with a lot of people I know, so I figured there must be something there that may appeal to other people I don’t know, too.  I put them on Sherpa to test that theory and the response has been interesting to say the least.  While I’ve gotten positive responses, I’ve also gotten negative responses which always make me laugh simply because Oranges is supposed to be terrible to begin with.  I know some people just want me to focus more time on Flick cartoons which is endearing to say the very least.

However, there is another reason I am trying to keep up with both comics.  As part of my career as an educator, I am currently developing a class applying the creative process of comic writing to work on the stage and vice-versa.  Writing both Flick and Oranges is giving me the opportunity to explore the ins-and-outs of two different styles of comics: one-frame and a strip.  If anyone is local to the Chicago area, I am hoping to start up a test run of these classes in the future, so stay posted for details.  In the mean-time, I’m throwing up a bonus page for Flick followers with a little glimpse into my creative process.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback.  It means a lot and it definitely helps keep me motivated through the week creating new comics!

Sterling

To all people who might be reading this post:  HELLO!!  If you are here, that means either you just recently stumbled onto my comic and are checking it out, OR you must be very devoted to these characters because I have not posted a new comic in over two months.  My apologies to Flick and Francis for being so neglectful, and of course to you, if you happen to be that devoted fan who has continued to check for updates.  I am going to try posting some strips again, but I’m going to try going at a less rigorous pace than I was.  I am also going to be polishing the strip a little in an attempt to streamline my process and clean up its look, so I may be experimenting a little with letters and borders and such.  But do not fear!  The characters themselves are going to be just the same.  I’m going to try to get up at least one comic per week to start out.  If I have time and get inspired, you might get to see some bonus strips in there.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sterling

Hello, Fleas on Flick readers!  First of all, I just wanted to thank those of you who have been sending me messages trying to get me to write new comics.  It means a lot to me that I actually DO have some angry fans out there.  I am sorry I have not been able to keep up with Flick’s life the way I had hoped, but creatively and professionally, I’ve just been spread too thin in the past few months and my comic strip hobby was the first thing that had to be cut back.  I would like to say that I will be back on track to keep producing comics regularly, but I know honestly I can’t make that promise with my schedule the way it has been.

For me, Fleas on Flick has been a great release for me to express what I am feeling about the world, and it has been a fantastic creative experiment.  I know now first hand the demands of a regular comic strip artist’s schedule which was part of my intention.  If I already respected the work of professional comic strip artists when I started, now I bow to them and build colossal idols of their likenesses in admiration for their disciplined and talented lives.  I was able to give the regular demands of a five day a week schedule a go for a few months, but that was during a slow time in my theater career which is my first passion.  I do not doubt that in the future, I will be needing to visit Flick, Francis, and Dee-dee again, but after the past six months of writing, I can better gage how much my time and health is willing to forgive with my other responsibilities.

So for those of you who are fans of Flick and company, stay on my email list and I will continue to write new strips as I am able.  Just know that it may be some time before I am able to find a schedule that allows me to do regular comics again.  It is my goal to find that balance again because there are few things I love more than sitting at my drawing table listening to music and finding new ways to bring these characters to life.  Thank you so much if you are visiting and reading this.  And do not despair, angry fans!  I have every intention for completing a book of Flick comics in the coming year!

Sterling