There’s something outside…
Just an FYI as it applies to the production of BMS: I have been in intense physical pain all week. My herniated cervical disc has flared up and for the first half of the week I could barely move. Multiple painkillers, neurological and muscle relaxants later, I’m doing ever-so-slightly better, but stuck with a heavy duty neck brace and struggling to find a sitting or lying down position which doesn’t make me groan in pain. I can no longer drive and my time in front of the computer is very limited. Leanne is doing an excellent job of looking after me, but it’s very stressful on her as we try to get through the next couple of weeks with pain management assistance and a visit to a neurosurgeon neck specialist.
I just want to say really quickly, that there are a number of our readers who are extremely supportive and encouraging and who have been a joy to please over the years. BMS continues to exist because of you guys.
Readers need to understand how petty some of the feedback and comments have been lately. The Yoda finger debacle; being told we don’t try hard enough and could do better; criticizing Leanne’s art or my storytelling; as well as the trivia and corrections, which really don’t apply to a cartoon parody whose main purpose is humor–not 100% accuracy! It’s a real shame that so many fandoms are afflicted by a small group of people with no life outside of the minutiae of their favorite subject; be it Star Wars, Doctor Who, or whatever. The result is some really insensitive feedback from people who seem to lack a sense of humor. If we’re letting these people down then why do they keep coming back each week?
You can’t blame Lucas for going back and making certain changes, considering the things that BMS is starting to get picked apart over. It does start to get annoying… While I’d be willing to ignore a lot of these nitpicks, when it keeps getting pointed out it starts to feel like a burden waiting to be addressed. Our enthusiasm has taken a few blows lately as a result of these trivialities at a time when we have larger and more important things to worry about in our lives. You don’t need this sort of crap marring one of your chief diversions.
I’ve always known it would be tough trying to complete our epic parody of all three movies in the original trilogy. I’ll try to keep BMS going (and there have been difficult times in the past), but I may remove the comments option for future strips.
It could be that we now have so many readers that it is inevitable that many of them take Star Wars way more seriously than we personally think is healthy and as a result the over-analysis is more frequent? Perhaps obscurity isn’t so bad after all!
In any event, we have a small number of strips that are ready and scheduled for the rest of this month, but the future of BMS depends entirely upon the happiness of Leanne and myself. I have removed the donation feature as I don’t want to feel that I still owe our faithful more strips if they’ve made a recent donation. I want the flexibility of being able to put BMS on hiatus, if necessary, without feeling I’ve let anyone down. Your thoughts are welcome in what is probably the last strip with a comment thread for the foreseeable future.
Come to BMS with a sense of humor and if you don’t like it, “move along… move along”.
Thanks guys. We should have a new festive themed Voting Incentive for you shortly.
First things first, I LOVE this comic! The vagynoc cracks me the heck up. Don’t let the overly obsessive dim the love for a fandom that could frankly use a kick in the sense of humor. And speaking as one with a herniated disc, I understand the level of pain involved. Take as long as you need, just don’t stop all together, please!
Rod, hope you get better.
I’ve been lurking, but I’m finally posting to say I really like BMS. I like SW, but I like parody, too. You and Leanne are doing a good job, and I hope you keep doing it.
Don’t let the haters get to you. Imagine accepting their apology. Or if that’s too dark for you, imagine using the Force to pick them up and slam them into the ceiling, then letting gravity take its course.
And keep on truckin’. (imagine smoking Jawa here)
I’ve always loved the art style and humour here, I’d be very sad to see it go.
If I may make a suggestion: Don’t manually moderate comments. When you have to read through every comment that’s submitted and make a decision to approve or reject it, you deal with the criticism in isolation. It also means you have to read everything that’s submitted! If you allow comments through, you can still delete them after they reach the comment thread if they irritate you and you’ll get to see the community backlash against people who are being unfairly critical of you. What I suspect you’ll find in that situation is that there are a LOT more people who are supportive of you and like what you’re doing. I find that negative comments don’t feel so bad if there’s a string of people replying who are on your side.
Then if you don’t feel like reading through the comments, you don’t really need to. If you’re concerned, it may be worth considering looking for someone you trust who’s willing to be a volunteer moderator and let them deal with keeping the comments civil. It’s a really good thing when a strong community develops around a site, but if dealing with the inevitable dark side of the community is getting you down (you’re in it for the art and writing), you may be able to find someone from within that community who is willing to help you out.
Either way: Try to avoid having to trawl through all the comments yourself!
Webster, I was thinking the same thing! Rod, why should you alone have the burden of moderating the comments? Let someone else help. That way, you folks can keep doing this awesome comic! And, anyway, frak the nit-pickers!
Guys, think I’ve only commented here three times ever, but i am one of those who check weekly just to see what funny take you have on the next scene. I think by now everyone has expressed how the silent majority of us feel, and where the haters can stick it. In fact i just had to recover my hard drive two weeks ago and so far you guys and john’s page are the only two favorites i have added back. With or without comments I hope BMS will carry on, but if not I think we would all understand. Take care or your health first then if you still feel like it come on back and make the rest of us smile. If not I’d just like to say its been a pleasure following your Comic and reliving bits of my childhood from a bit of a skewed angle.
guys, you really make my day when i read your comic strip… but your personal life is way more important than anything else!… i really wish both of you only good things this new year, watever the outcome 🙂
greetings from Chile! :D… and if you ever want to take a vacation trip, you guys have a tour guide in here 🙂
You have detractors?
(You must learn to keep them close with a (stop the stupid shit) clause or you will have the same problem I have)
Running out of 55 gallon contractor bags; for real, damnit, 55 gallon contractor bags do not grow on trees.
As always, a great comic (and no, don’t sink your detractors in a lake; environmental pollution is a very.real.problem.)
I am thinking of switching to some Thermite reaction; if I can recover the waist heat (the bigger waist the better, heh)
Chalk me up as another faithful reader who rarely posts to say how much fun this comic is. I hope you want to keep creating great strips, but if you don’t want to do it, don’t! This is your labor of love, and if you stop loving it, it won’t be the same strip that so many of us look forward to.
Get well soon!
Rod and Leanne I love this comic and I love you all for putting it out for all to enjoy. For any asshole that thinks it is easy has no talent and/or staying power for the fine arts. THIS is your comic and YOU should put what YOU want in it. And,yes,there ARE too many people that think SW is Holy Scripture by the hand of George Lucas! As a fellow spine injury sufferer I know what those days are like and I close with this;”You people think you’re doing Art but what you’re doing is really therapy”,Dr. Ben Ploger,Delgado College,New Orleans,October 1977.
Thanks for all the work you two put into this. It regularly brings me a smile. Rod, I feel your pain (bad pun intended) as i’ve got a bad disc myself. I wish you good health, and fast!!! I hope BMS continues to bring you and Leanne joy to create to the very end, but if the haters get to be too much at some point along the way…well, then know that you’ve brought laughter and smiles to a lot of people (many you don’t hear from. Case in point: i have not commented til now, tho I’m a long time reader. Sorry for not lending my support earlier). I wish you much Forciness!
I love this comic soooo much
and this one in particular made me laugh so hard i almost fell off my chair.
The internet is full of haters, its such a shame … think how great something like you tube would be without all the d*cks….
On a more serious note I’m very sad to hear about your health issues. Your health is obviously the most important thing, so please look after that first.
I think all of us who see ourselves as BMS fans would be very sad to see it go… its such an epic undertaking and gives me personally a lot of laughter on a regular basis. Please try to keep it going in whatever capacity you can manage. But most of all I hope that your health recovers….
I run a coupla webcomics with readerships apparently too small for the troubles you’re having. Don’t let the bastards get you down. Keep it fun for you, or quit it with no apologies.
And when you’re done with Star Wars do Doctor Who. I’m so lonely.
LOL. Maybe we can manage a cameo at least. 🙂
That would be amazingly epic. I put Bannakaffalatta in one of my strips.
you could slip K9 into a strip as a droid! :))
You know K9 does look like a mouse droid with a dog’s head!
WOW! First, let me add my voice to the silent majority (how would that work… anyways) and say how much I love BMS! You have never failed to bring a smile to my face and laughter to quiet office.
I hate the fact some some people dont understand that a parody, by its very definition, is a written or musical work in which the style of an author or work is imitated for comic effect (Webster’s dictionary for kids). Even more tho, I hate that you and Leanne, suffered in silence over these things! We, the real fans, understand this is a labor of love, not an obligation.
Rod, I pray you get some relief from the pain and that both you and Leanne can look back on this time as one of being encouraged by your friends and fans instead of discouraged by a few *CENSORED*
Lastly, as for Leanne’s art style…where can I commission a sketch from her?
Haters are gonna hate, not much you can do about them.
Well, other than hire an assassin and have them all killed, but that’s kinda expensive just to get rid of some jerks who hide behind internet anonymity and mouth off about something.
Just hire C-3PO. “Would it help if I killed your uncle?” Lol.
I swear, Zayne, one day they’re gonna find out threepio’s uncle is HK-47/HK-50…
Haha I know right? He’s just got that hunter/killer blood…or oil. 😛
Hope your neck/back problems get better sooner for you, Mate. Don’t waste your time worrying about the haters. The internet is full of them and if they don’t whine about your strips they’ll just whine about something else. All you have promised is to make a mockery of a series that we all know and love for our entertainment and that is what you deliver with every webisode. Please, please, PUH-LEASE keep ’em coming!!!! 🙂 This is one of the funniest SW based comics ever and I love it! 🙂 Leanne’s art is awesome too. Keep up the good work and don’t worry about the people that complain. They have nothing better to do while sitting in the basement of their parents’ house wishing they had friends…;)
Get better soon! Don’t stop writing BMS! If people want it written and drawn differently let them start their own comic and pay for it.
I can see some discussion about the differences as, nerd that I am, that’s what we love…but nitpicking is a bit much. For example, you could have drawn Yoda differently…but he looks very muppety, and as it is your choice I dig it, and since he is a glorifies muppet that makes more sense anyway.
Anyway. Get better soon please, take time off if you need it, but please come back!
On an aside:
My son’s picture you asked him to draw at Balticon has been done forever…mine will take a while since I have my own issues to deal with too…I will get them to you asap as a get well help.
Aw, thanks Xenon. I can’t wait to see them!
Sorry to hear about all the icky stuff culminating right now w/ back problems and negative people who can’t keep their mouths shut.
I (like many other people here) love this webcomic. It’s so wonderful encountering people who are even bigger Star Wars geeks than I am (and that’s a pretty difficult title to achieve!!)
Certainly if nonconstructive criticism of others and life in general are getting too much in the way, and you need a break – take it; we the fans will be bummed of course, but will understand.
Hopefully if BMS *does* take a hiatus it’ll be brief (I still haven’t made my BMS ice cream carton yet!!!!!)
I really enjoy the strip. The parody is fantastic, as is Leanne’s art. Obviously, this is your world, so do with it what you need to do, but know that I will be sad to not see how it will turn-out.
Rick
Can I have some money? Because you sure look like an ATM!
So I like so many others am a less spoken follower. I read BMS weekly and I come back all the time constantly checking to see if I new one was posted or even one of your insentive strips. I absolutely love your work and am glad my friend showed me this. It’s almost a religious happening for me. In another note besides reading the strips themevles I always enjoy reading the comments that other people post and what their crazy take was on that particular strip (usually related topics spawning from the strip). It makes me sad to hear that you want to end this amazing project or even remove the comments thread on account of some over zealous people.
To all of the shit heads out there I you are reading this either enjoy their work or fuck off.
The fact that you two have become demoralized is very sad and I’m going to be devestated if this project dies before completion.
Rod I hope you feel better soon and are able to get back on your horse and bring us a proper BMS ending.
If you do have to go on hiatus, you have to. Hope you get some relief soon. Please keep us posted with your condition.
By the way, don’t let the bad comments get to you. You two put out one of the funniest webcommics going.
I want to say that I’ve been an avid reader of this comic for quite some time. I’m a big fan of the Star Wars films but am not one of those nitpicky ones. Heck, there’s flaws in just about everything these days if we look hard enough. I choose to enjoy the comic for what it is – humor. I love good parodies and spoofs and this comic definitely fits that bill.
I am sorry you’re not feeling well. I can totally relate to your pain issues as I live with Spinal Stenosis and degenertive arthritis of the spine among other things. I work in food service and go to pain management in an effort to keep working. I do hope you’re able to find some relief. Take care of yourself first. While I’d love to see the comic continue, I would understand if you need to stop because of your health. That should come first. Thanks for what you’ve done.
Thank you VERY MUCH for BMS, and all the humor it has brought to my life. *Hugs* to you both while you are going though this difficult time. Remember that while you are stressed by real life, it will be even harder to not take the haters personally. But please consider that the VAST majority of your readers don’t feel that way. Maybe some faithful readers you know well wouldn’t mind being moderators for you?
Good luck, and take it one day (or hour) at a time.
This is my first post.
Are we going to see more of Yoda’s Iforce (yes i call it an Iforce) in any future training settings, or is it just for the layout?
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Maybe he means the iPod Yoda has in the banner? I really have no clue either, though.
Oh. Yes, when we get to the scene. It’s still a few strips away.
I’ve only made like two or three comments in the past, but if this is the final comments section (forever or for some time) I would just like to say thank you Rod and Leanne. I’ve been reading BMS since I got the card at Celebration V. After I went back and read every strip, I would check the site 3-4 days a week even though I knew a new strip was 2 or 3 days a week. I enjoy the humor and art style ver much and because of that you two have created some great versions of characters such as BMS Vader (my favorite) and many others.
Thank You again, feel better Rod and Happy Holidays!
Sometimes I wonder what console a jedi would use. A Wii’s graphics isn’t that strong in the force, but must be good for lightsaber-practice. a PS3 with all the Playstation Network seems to be a little to the dark side, and an Xbox 360 lacks the patience and skills of his master, Windows Pee-Cee…
I’ve not posted before; but, it seems like a good time to do so. I wanted to thank you for the hilarous body of work that is BMS. I’m very glad that I stumbelled upon it as it always brings a smile to my face. You have a great gift for parody and I’m very thankful you share it with us. Whichever decision you make, know that you have a vast community (silent or otherwise) who support and appriciate what you do here.
Thank you Rod and Leanne. Blessings upon you both.
P.S. Biggs Rocks!
I’ve posted in the past but not recently. I just want you to know that I love the comic and hope things work out for you as far as nit-pickers go. I like being able to congratulate you on particularly amazing strips but I will understand it if you decide to take away the function. In the meantime, I just want to let you know that I feel gratitude towards you both for sharing your inspired vision of the Star Wars saga.
Hope you get better soon and may the force be with you!
Do NOT put this comic on hiatus.
As Biggs’ #1 fan I hereby order you to keep writing and drawing one of my favorite webcomics. Because if you don’t I will be very, very sad. 🙁
BTW, on a lighter note. There’s a statue in the National Gallery Garden that looks just like that monster. Just without the wings. And it’s no less disturbing.
Just wanted to say, my friend sent me a link to your strip last night… I read the entire series in one sitting! A fan of both the Family Guy and Robot Chicken parodies both, I hope you know yours is the most original AND the best! I’ll always picture Leia as a chain smoker now LOL! I hope you never lose you love for your art! Thanks for the laughs!!! And PLEASE keep writing!!!
Dude, that is one of the nicest comments we’ve gotten in a long time. Thank you!
So waitwaitwait. Jabba is human, Brigg’s Darklighter makes regular appearances, Vader is completely apathetic and has a favorite stromtrooper he uses the force to fly around like an RC airplane. BUT YODA HAS THE WRONG NUMBER OF FINGERS? O NOES!
How can you disrespect THE CANNON? 😀