Uh-oh. Stopped.
February 2nd, 2012
Yeah, we’re stalled. But I’m working on the engine, we’ll get it fixed again.
Part of this process is me doing some soul-searching as an artist. So I did a comic series that kinda bares my soul. You can read it here:
Lem “Hot Soup” Pew – Minneapolis, MN (complete)
We’ll be back on track when I get my head together. I promise Blank It ain’t dead – we’ve still gotta finish up Book 2, right?
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:29 pm
And eventually we have to see Lemmo carving it all on a grain of rice!
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:23 am
I’m assuming this “baring-your-soul” comic was written recently? I’m asking, because as I re-read the 3:30 pm page, I thought to myself, “This pages seems almost as if it was written before he even started Blank It. Like the ‘new concept’ he just penned was Blank It, and the domain name he bought was blankitcomics.com”. If you look at that page I’m sure you’ll see how one might get that impression. So now I’m all confused. O.o
February 3rd, 2012 at 10:20 am
No, sounds like this was done recently and the “new concept” is something new (but he wouldn’t tell me what it was).
It’s interesting when you read this last strip how it looks like they left it on an intentional cliffhanger as if they know what’s happening next but want us to twist a little…but at the same time made it sound like they just ran out of ideas.
February 3rd, 2012 at 3:30 pm
I miss you…
February 3rd, 2012 at 11:19 pm
Whoa. I’d forgotten all about the Winter comic… never got to read it all.
February 4th, 2012 at 4:17 am
I found Blankit by chance about a month ago, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it – reminds me very much of conversations on the nature of reality I’ve had with friends. I’m sorry I missed your earlier work (and now regrettably it seems I can’t read it).
I do remember references from Tatsuya Ishida, as well as Greg Dean to THE HotSoup and a comic drawing weekend. While I certainly can’t say how you relate to them now, I think that matters less than how you think they do, so I’d say just do what you want. I know what striking out on your own can cost (I’ve got the bankruptcy to prove it), and I also know the regretful happiness of a salvaged life (which is a pretty good life). Still, keep going, keep drawing, and keep writing. Fame isn’t what you create, it’s what you do and who you are, and the fact that I want to read your work (which before you posted this, I didn’t know existed) speaks well for it.
Keep trying, and keep enjoying the life you’ve built no-matter what comes of it. We’ll keep reading.
February 4th, 2012 at 8:43 am
We’re here for you, Lemmo. I’ll keep reading as long as you keep posting.
February 6th, 2012 at 5:11 am
Say, Lemmo, you wouldn’t happen to have any clue how to get ahold of DJN from the old Winter forums, would you? Still one of the nicest guys I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I’d like to regain contact.
February 6th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
We still love you, Lemmo. Good things come to those who wait, and BlankIt defenitely qualifies. Keep ’em coming, we’ll still be here!
February 9th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
after reading that bare-your-soul comic, I just wanted to point out…
my boyfriend and I had been reading BlankIt for quite a while. some time ago, we got around to reading the about page, which at the time still told your history. when my b/f read that you and Hot Soup were the same guy, he just about fell out of his chair and did a happy dance. something about that day stuck with me, I’m not gonna forget it.
the internet hasn’t entirely forgotten you.
however, you’ve pulled away from the internet, too. your old comics aren’t hosted here anymore. you can put them back up. you can gain new readers through them. you can achieve greatness again. put yourself back in the loop.
one last thing. I have a strong intent to make a webcomic of my own now. I’ve got a great deal of the story plotted and am trying to nail out character design right now. you’re partly responsible for this. I owe you for that.
I’m not saying “hurry up and get it going, dammit!” no. let that come as it will, I’m patient – but thank you for everything.
February 9th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
@shaelyn: Excellently put, I could not agree more.
February 10th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
I don’t know if this makes me sound like an ass (and trust me, that is not my intention), but I saw this coming. I don’t know why or how, but I did. But I was half-wrong — I thought it would be accompanied by an announcement that you were done with Blank It. I don’t know if this “soul-searching” is a good or bad thing (or neither), but whatever it is, I’m glad you’re going to continue with Blank It. Not that the webcomic is all I care about, but… Oh, you know what I mean.
I agree with Shaelyn as well. I was going to send you an e-mail (and I might still), and Shaelyn has inspired me to say part of what I have written in the e-mail:
Why do you say that you “used” to be a webcomic contender? Aren’t you still? What do you call this? What do you call Northwind? I mean yes, both Need More Love (look it up on TVTropes), but you have fans. Maybe the other webcartoonists and webcomics you mentioned are more famous overall. But I’ve never heard of them (except for Megatokyo and 3PS), and that’s not for lack of reading famous webcomics. Maybe Megatokyo is more popular. But I’m not reading Megatokyo. I’m reading this. Isn’t this a “proper comic”? Isn’t this “making comics work”? I think it is. And I know I’m not you, so from a purely pragmatic standpoint, it doesn’t matter what I think. This is personal — it’s about what you think. But maybe the thoughts of a fan are worth something to you, and if they are, then let me say that I’ve always thought of Blank It as a “proper comic”. I’ve always thought of you as a webcomic contender — or, to be more precise, I NEVER thought of you as a contender, because I’ve never seen ANYBODY as a contender. To me, that implies that it’s a competition of some sort, and I’ve never seen it that way. And maybe you don’t, either, or maybe you do. The point is, I have no idea what “webcomic contender” means to you. Your history as an artist/webcartoonist/whatever is a lot bigger and longer than what I’ve seen. I don’t know what “proper webcomic” means to you. I don’t know what “making comics work” means to you. And if you call yourself a failure or a washup, then I certainly don’t know what “failure” or “washup” mean to you. But then again, you’re comparing the present to a history I don’t have the slightest clue about. I guess I’m realizing for the first time that I have absolutely no idea who you are. And maybe that’s your whole point, when you say things like “I was a somebody”. So, I don’t know, maybe you’re right. I don’t know what this “webcomic revolution” is that you say you wanted to be a part of. Maybe if I knew, I’d think you were a failure, too. But you don’t look like a failure from where I stand. Not by a long-shot. You’ve written a webcomic. From what I can glean, you’ve written several. That’s more than I’ve ever done. I’m the one who’s going to be a failure if none of the things I’m writing ever get off the ground. To me, no one can be a failure, who’s done what you’ve done.
[end of e-mail excerpt]
(If any of the above made me sound like a dick despite my intentions, then you have experienced a small taste of why I’m very, very hesitant to actually send the whole e-mail. If it DIDN’T make me sound like a dick… Then let me know so I can send the damn e-mail without feeling like a horrible person.)
The reason I’m afraid that I come across sounding like a jackass is that, maybe I’m making assumptions. I have no idea what your life is like. Who am I to say that you’re wrong, that I disagree? It’s your life. You know yourself a million times better than I ever will. This isn’t meant to be a reflection on you, but if I tried to follow my dreams and ended up mired in debt, I’d probably think I was a failure too. I can’t say how my feelings might change if I managed to salvage a good life out of that, though. But the point is, people tend to be harder on themselves than they should be. I’m not trying to make you feel better — maybe you should be this hard on yourself, like I said, I honestly have no freaking clue. I’m just trying to communicate exactly what my thoughts and feelings are about all this, and what I feel, honestly, is that you are not a failure — but you reserve the right to call yourself one, as much as we may protest.
I do want to say that, just like with Shaelyn, you have inspired me, as well. You aren’t the only person who has inspired me, but you inspired me in a unique way. The strangeness and awesomeness of this comic pushes me to be creative and to not be afraid to be weird or different in my writing. You showed me how to be completely freaking awesome while also being completely freaking weird. Of all the things I’ve read, only Blank It could have taught me that.
Also, I was amazed at the “baring-your-soul” comic. Another thing I wrote in my would-be e-mail was, “Wow. That isn’t just ‘kinda bares my soul’. That’s baring your soul turned Up To Eleven. That’s…wow. Really courageous. I don’t think I’ve ever known of anyone who could even have the courage and honesty to write these things down, let alone let others see them.”
I think your honesty is beautiful.
And, if you need it, *hugs*
(If any of this made me sound like a jerk, I’m sorry. I suck at judging how stuff will sound to other people. But I get the distinct feeling that I sound like a jerk, and it honestly took me about ten minutes to work up the courage to press the “Submit Comment” button. *cowers* Please don’t flay me.)
February 10th, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Nori, my perspective, that wasn’t being an ass. that was being blunt. the line I draw between being blunt and being an ass is saying something harsh that the other person needs to hear versus calling someone names and otherwise verbally attacking them as opposed to driving a point home.
however, I often lack the courage to be blunt because I realize other people’s definition of an asshole differs from mine…and there’s usually a gentler way of wording things, not that it often comes easily.
you said a lot of stuff I didn’t have the courage to say or wasn’t fully formed in my mind but took shape while reading your words. thanks.
here’s my expansion on that:
Lem, there is a common artist’s fallacy to compare his or herself with other artists. you seem to be doing that. my advice (that I can never seem to take myself): don’t. you’re not in a race. a fight for money, maybe, but that’s not a race with other people. I read Blank It, Dominic Deegan, Goblins, So… You’re a Cartoonist, and brentalfloss: the comic. some I like more than others, but that means nothing because I still read them all. I don’t have to choose in the way a hiring manager would have to choose an employee. (as an irrelevant side, I’ll also point out that Blank It is in the top two) (as another side, whenever I do this, my boyfriend always makes a point to ask me what I’m doing this for – and remind me that it should be for myself. fans and money may keep me going, but at the very beginning and at the core, this is my art, my story.)
I feel as though I need to clarify one more point: when I said “you can achieve greatness again,” my points were made as I was seeing through your eyes. from my perspective, you’re already awesome – you wouldn’t be an inspiration if you weren’t. but if you find it hard to come to terms with that, then by your perspective, put your stuff that made you a contender in the first place back up, and rise again.
perhaps that didn’t need clarifying. this may be somewhat moot anyway. I’m feeling eloquent tonight and wanted to say it anyway, though.
kick some ass, sir ;)
group hug? :D
February 10th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
maybe I got off on a semi-unrelated tangent, I dunno. now it doesn’t seem to apply.
I should stop typing on the internet when I’m sleep-deprived.
February 11th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Naturally. That’s when you pull out the canvas and oil paints.
February 12th, 2012 at 4:00 am
my life since blankit, every few days I check the site for a new comic, read the news, I recommend it to all of my friends, several upon several times, I listen to a lot of mustache rangers, and I reread the comics every now and then, love your work hot soup
February 13th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Very deep man. Life is aiming at your head with an Barret .50. And what do YOU do? You put your hand up, and close it into a fist, and when you open your hand, the .50 bullet is compressed into a ball in your palm. You keep on keeping on lemmo. Hot soup maybe forgotten, but he will not die and will never die.
February 14th, 2012 at 12:25 am
Heck, I don’t think he’s even forgotten.
“I could’a been a contenda!”
Eh. We remember Hot Soup, and we’re not alone.
February 14th, 2012 at 6:31 pm
ditto Arcasius
February 16th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
HEY LEMMO AND ARIC! What happened to the iPhone app you guys had? it was out for a while, but it was taken down from the app store, so I couldn’t get it on my phone (it’s currently on my iPod since I didn’t delete it or anything). I’m unaware, but does it cost money to keep the app running? I truly don’t know, mainly because I’ve never made an app nor know how to. If possible, though, could you maybe get it back on the app store? It’s just that it’s one of my favorite apps on my iPod! ;)
and btw- holy sh*t! what’s up with all the super long comments?!?!
February 25th, 2012 at 4:12 am
they had an app? or did you add to homescreen the page?
February 29th, 2012 at 10:45 am
My brother introduced me to this comic about 2 years back and I have read it through and through several times. You write an amazingly captivating story, and have created a wacky, beautiful world that is all your own! Even though it’s on Hiatus, I come back every day to check for a new comic. We miss you, and we want you back!
February 29th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
^ This
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:51 am
^ sames
March 3rd, 2012 at 8:56 am
I remember, back in the day, I watched a bid where you were at a convention and you were talking about how excited you were that everyone is so into this comic and are so eager to know what happens next :(
March 3rd, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I s’pose it’s been a while now, hasn’t it.
Aw well. I’ll just see how long I keep checking it once daily. Maybe go through the archives.
March 10th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Seems…. I was too late. I only just discovered you, and as you say, it seems your era is coming to a close. But I’d like to see more, like to see what you’ve done in the past, and like to see what you’ll do in the future. I’ve only just discovered Blank It and I found it a wonderful read.
So I congratulate you for your accomplishments and your family. I congratulate what you’ve done, and wish you the best in whatever you’ll choose to do next. I just hope you’ll share it with us all.
March 19th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
they blew it up? NOOOOO
March 26th, 2012 at 12:05 am
Great comics never die, they just fade away. Sometimes forever, sometimes though a comic is so good that it’s creators come back and breathe life in to it to make it tangible again. I hope Blank It is one of the latter.
April 4th, 2012 at 12:09 am
Yeah, I suppose if we poked it with a stick it wouldn’t move. It’s at least comatose at this stage.
So if they never die, do you suppose Blank It is in a persistent vegetative state?
April 4th, 2012 at 6:45 pm
@macksting I bet my platypus on that
April 4th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
@macksting I bet my platypus on that.
April 4th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
srry for double post
April 5th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
….And over four months later, we’re still waiting for Lemmo to fix the site, and get back to working on finishing the comic.
Just how long is this expected to take? Until next year?
April 5th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
I’ve seen a couple comics take a year long break and some that only post once a month. Just wait, and if they decide to bring it back online, then they will. Remember, they’re dang busy with things in their own lives!
April 6th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
I know they have things to do. I just wanted to know how long they expect themselves to take to get back to making comics. If they have no idea how much time, then i’m not surprised.
April 10th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Just popping in to make sure everythings all good I miss my comfort Blank-It :)
April 12th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Still checking in every day (more or less). Keep the hope alive! :-P
April 15th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
I don’t comment often — I never do on webcomics — but I wanted to say that I still love you, Hot Soup, and Blank It. A friend of mine showed me this comic a while back, and I told him I hated him for it because I would never get anything productive done again. Too busy reading and rereading Blank It now.
So hurry back. I’ll still be around, checking in every once in a while to see if you’ve come back. You’ve still got fans when you’re ready :)
April 17th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Cannot wait for the hiatus to end. Whatever you guys do next, do it well.
April 26th, 2012 at 8:50 am
Everyday I come back, everyday I click on that link, I think to myself, “Today. Today will be the day. This will be the day that a new Blankit will be out.” And every time I see this same, sad comic of a ship being cut in half by a shovel beam, I die just a little inside. I go straight from hope to ennui. Nothing but more Blankit Comics could fill the Blankit shaped hole in my heart.
April 27th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Y’know what’s going on, right?
This is the end. They just met themselves, or an analogous party anyway, and now they get crushed by a ship.
April 28th, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Any chance of this continuing?
It’s a great comic and I was just wondering… (:
April 30th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
I hate to see this die, but it is dead. I’ve followed Lethal Doses, Winter and now Blankitcomics. I’ve met Lemmo in person once and he was a nice guy. I don’t know why it happens but it seems just as he’s about to gain a lot of traction he stops. It appears he doubts himself. I don’t really now why, he’s a great artist with a recognizable style. Well at least there’s the Gamestop artwork to enjoy. And he’ll start another new comic in a year or so I’d guess.
May 2nd, 2012 at 10:59 pm
I was thinking maybe if we submit some side adventure comics to Lemmo it might help? I know there was a guest artist who took over for a couple weeks way back when, maybe if us fans pitched in some stuff it’d eat up some time :)
May 4th, 2012 at 12:08 pm
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result then I am off my freaking rocker by now. I have checked this site every day for the past six months, and will probably continue to do so for the forseeable future. This comic is just that good. :-)
May 7th, 2012 at 4:16 am
oh ya know, Arcasius here, popping in as usual, im commenting to tell you i still have faith in you (lemmo) and blanket :D it will never leave my comics bookmarks and everytime i see the bookmark i put all doubt aside and check, just for that miraculous day when blank it starts back up again, just gotta take the old engine down to the shop and get it fixed up good as new, and seeing as the site is still up you gotta be still paying for the thing, why dont you drop by and post a new bulletin or somethin, let us know how things are and stuff
May 7th, 2012 at 4:24 am
also one of the things i like to do is make references to the shovel beam, when ever i get bored in a conversation or have to make up somethinf crazy i think back to that shovel beam, and tell the story of how a curious impulse created a town of nameless shadow people, which now that i think about it, it kind of reminds me like some sort of post apocalyptic communist society lol, over thinking much? they all had no names, so i assume no one was greater than another because they didnt exactly know who was leading them, and the more visible they were the more distressed they were, so if it was all peacefull before aric an lemmo showed up they wouldnt be able to see the nameless person leading them either
May 12th, 2012 at 2:00 am
Where are you, Lemmo?
May 14th, 2012 at 4:31 pm
about a year ago, my b/f and I went to a concert. at the concert, they had a raffle to go on a trip or something.
when they called the numbers in the raffle, the auditorium remained silent. the people in the row in front of us and a bit down were rustling…this guy there couldn’t get to his ticket. his name was Douglas. he wrestled for it, and couldn’t find it…as his friends/family tried shouting to the stage “he probably has it!” though they were very close to the stage, and the auditorium was otherwise quiet in waiting, they were never heard. finally, the man on stage called another number, and someone else won. just after the prize was claimed and as the lights started to go dim for the second half, there was a resounding “Douglaaaas!” he had found his ticket. it was the original winner.
I don’t know why that story comes to mind, but it does. “Lemmoooooo!”
I guess I’m saying, don’t be too late…
May 16th, 2012 at 9:36 am
Alright guys, I dreaded coming in here and reading this, but I forced myself to. Actually, Mollu told me to.
Blank It isn’t dead. I’m saying this on May 16th 2012. So if you’re reading this in the neighborhood of the summer of 2012, I’m sticking by those words. I just did a bunch of draft work for how we’re going to wrap up book 2, all I need is for Aric to come back to the table so we can pen it out and finish it up.
I’ve also been working on a few other projects. Unfortunately when you’re a webcartoonist, people assume if they can’t see your shit online, you’re not doing anything. Comics – good comics like this one (and yes, I think Blank It is good), take months of weeding out bad ideas. And Aric, do you know what he’s doing? He’s got an insane side project that could turn him into a TV star if played out right.
I’m not done making Blank It, and I’m not done making comics. But the internet is such a “here and now” medium that it’s really easy to forget. If I have to, I’ll put up another news post. But you guys gotta give me at LEAST another month of getting my shit together before I can start putting up pages again. Because when we start Blank It, I intend to update weekly until book 2 is finished, which means no false starts.
May 16th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Awesome :D thank you Lemmo!
May 17th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Thanks for the update! I hope you aren’t going to give this up after book 2 is done, because you still have a lot that can be tied together later on.
May 17th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
@Lemmo
Do what you have to. I ain’t goin’ no where and i’ve got plenty of time.
May 18th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
WOOOOOO
May 18th, 2012 at 8:34 pm
I don’t know how many months, maybe even years, I’ve been waiting for this moment, because counting that wasn’t important. What’s important now is that we know that BlankIt is back, and if a month or so is what it takes, I think I speak for the entire BlankIt fanbase when I say that we are more than prepared to wait it out. Never doubt that you create quality stuff, Lemmo (and Aric, gotta share the love), and that as long as you keep putting up comics, we’ll be here waiting. But I must say, now that we have some news at last I am SOOO HAPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:21 am
*tear* thank you, this is the most creative and funny webcomic i read and i’ve been reading since about post 30. I love your stuff and think you’re absolutely hilarious as well as a gifted artist, i hope aric’s thing works out for him. No rush to post new stuff, just make sure that when you do it’s the same quality as the stuff you gave us right from the start
May 24th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Great news, Lemmo! I still have Blank It in my bookmarks bar in my browser–I still click it at least 5 times a week. Whenever the comic resumes, you know I’ll be ready!
May 24th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I found blank it on the app store, believe or not. It was my favorite app that I had! I wasted hours staying up and reading the comic strips when I couldn’t fall asleep, and even when I just didn’t want to! I asked for the Blank It first volume book, but it was out of stock. I honestly thought that it was because so many people bought it and the demand was greater than the supply! I absolutely love this comic, even more than the ones in my newspaper (The Washington Post)!!! I just want to let you know that your artwork and crazy-random storylines that you create are extremely fascinating and amusing. I really wish there were more shirt designs, like one of the Socks Foxes. Or even the picture that you released as a gift with Aric and Lemmo shovel-beam “bathing.” Remember this, if anything, we love your comics, otherwise we wouldn’t be here right now, and we will support you in whatever path you choose. If you would like, I could spread the word about this superb we comic! Just let me know! Email me or something! Know that we are all thinking about you! We <3 you!
May 27th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
I did already read this my mind is dtreriotaeing.I never realized that Ryan looks just like David, only with different glasses, more hair, and no spot color on his shirt.
June 4th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
Nah, we don’t forget, Lemmo. At least, the good ones of us don’t. I still check back here every once and a while, just to see how things are going, and I will continue doing this until… Well, until you finish Blank It :P
June 5th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
@Lemmo I squeed when I read that. I’m definitely gonna still be here for when Blank It starts back up, and hopefully for any future projects of yours. A Marshmallow never forgets! Or something along those lines…
June 5th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
OOOHHH. MMMMMYYYY! GGGOOOOSSSHHH. If you will excuse me, I a going to jump around in pure clean joy+happiness for the next month waiting. Blank It is still at the top of my bookmarks. If you can’t tell, i am excited Blank It is still going. (goes off to jump away.)
June 11th, 2012 at 2:18 am
Thanks for the new one! THANKS!!!!!!
June 11th, 2012 at 10:32 am
I forgot to come back and check this comment thread, so I ended up seeing today’s comic before seeing Lemmo’s comment on here. Nevertheless, reading the announcement made me very happy.
I’m actually amazed — this news update, and the comment I posted, were made only four months ago. It felt like it was at least in 2011. :P
@Shaelyn, Thank you for your appraisal of my comment. I’m glad you, at least, don’t think I sounded like an ass, and that you seemed to like it. :) I really like your “expansion” on it as well.
Honestly, I expected people would read my comment and get upset with me. But so far you’re the only person who’s even replied to it. XD All that worrying for nothing, I guess…
Good to see you back, Lemmo. Best of luck to you and Aric. (That “insane side project” he’s got going on sounds exciting!)
Now I need to go thank Mollu for making you come and read this thread. XD
June 11th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
LOL! all that worrying for nothing. I’m glad you read my reply (and I hope Lemmo got something out of it too…but if not, Lem, I’m glad you and Aric are back, regardless!). and you’re welcome, Nori :)
YAYYYYYYYYYYYY HAPPY DAY!!!!
June 12th, 2012 at 9:36 am
HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!! XD