10th Anniversary!

Feb05
on February 5, 2017
Chapter:

Welcome to the 10th anniversary of my drawing Bud!
Plus… it’s my 60th birthday!

The images on the bottom left in the image above are the very first time I drew Bud, and it also was the first time I had drawn in nearly 30 years. For those of you new to the comic and my art, I originally wanted to be a cartoonist as a youngster, but life/parents persuaded me to go to college and chase other “real” careers. I ended up briefly in the broadcast news business, and then I moved on to opening my own video production company that did very well.

But, as I turned 50 in 2007, I decided to once again pick up the old pencil and return to my original love of drawing. Bud came about as I was telling my eldest son, who was in college at the time, about my exploits in the ‘70s in college and rinky-dink bar bands. It hit me to start a comic about those times, and “1977 the Comic” was born.

A lot has happened in 10 years. I started the comic as a way to force myself to draw on a daily basis. My early efforts truly sucked. Poorly written, drawn, and executed. But, I improved as time progressed. I pumped out 150 comics per year for the first three years, and then the dark times fell on me. In short, a LOT of family/life issues fell on me all at once and I finally snapped. I fell into a deep, dark depression. The only thing that literally kept me alive was drawing, and doing this comic. I shit you not; I would not be here if not for my fellow comic friends, and you, my readers. (And my therapist & physician, but that’s another story)

So, 2017 brings me to the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of drawing Bud and the gang. I am not sure what the future will bring for me, but I hope to be drawing this comic for many, many years to come. We’ll see. My current depression medication helps a great deal, but I still struggle with energy and focus. We’ll get through this together. I appreciate each and every one of my readers, and you’re the only reason I do this comic. Rock on, man.

And, yes, it does “Feel Like The First Time” each time I open up Clip Studio Paint EX to start drawing a new comic! What better song to kick off the 10th year of 1977, then a song from 1977!