It occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that while I have always tried to take the comic just as seriously as I have any “real” job, one thing that real jobs have that this one doesn’t is built in vacation time. I’ve missed days due to illness or injury, but I was busy being miserable. I haven’t had any real downtime away from the comic in… 5 years?
So I’ve decided to take myself a real, honest vacation. I will continue to post little things every (week) day, videos, observations, questions I have, sketches, what have you, and I’d hope that you guys’ll continue show up and let your voices be heard in the interim. The comic will resume on Monday, January 3rd, 2011. I’ll keep a countdown as we go. (Viewership always drops like a stone during the holidays anyway, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity.)
I know some folks first reaction is to freak out and worry that I’ll never get back to it, but I promise that isn’t going to happen. Finishing this up is very important to me, and the only person that could keep me from doing it… Lena… is incredibly supportive and helpful, and knows how much it means to me. So no worries there.
Enjoy yourselves, have a happy whatever you celebrate, and don’t be a stranger!
Kevin
We certainly hope that H.O.L.E. doesn’t fall into the black hole of complete eternal plot suspension like The Wotch did…
Does this mean there will be no Friday comic? I understand you need a break and I’m ok with that but it feels weird not ending the weekend with a Friday Comic.
I thought so too, but Lena actually made the rules up for my vacation, and rule one was: Immediately.
So you’re saying we should all blame Lena?
Dude, wrong verb. Not blame Lena, thank Lena.
Kiss-ass.
You’re not very good at English yet if you haven’t learned how to use a word to indicate–in whole or in part–the opposite of its dictionary definition. Many of the most respected usages in English intend as many different possible meanings and inversions of a word as possible actually.
No. Rule One is Cardio.
Duh.
The Wotch is dead?
Ding Dong! The Wotch is dead. Which old Wotch? The crappy Wotch!
Ding Dong! The awful Wotch is dead.
Wake up – sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the awful Wotch is dead. She’s gone where the goblins go,
Below – below – below. Yo-ho, let’s open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong’ the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The putrid Wotch is dead!
You Better Wotch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I’m tellin ya why…
Anne is gonna Ka-Girl, ya now….
Oh no, I will be stuck in a plastic universe where boobs are a royal pass to manipulating others with no accompanying actual drawbacks to femininity and all gender and character construction is hopelessly flat, lifeless and unrealistic?
Except I won’t since The icky Wotch is dead. 😀
But I like being a stranger!
You’ll always be strange… 😉
Man did I or did I NOT give you a vacation when you were laid up with injury? Its times like this I feel you are seriously being ungrateful for all the hard reading I put into this comic. And these comments I make? You think they type themselves? NO. I do them. ME.
You know what? FINE. Go have a “good time”, and be with your “friends.” I don’t need you! I’ll find my OWN dysfunctional DnD group. Yeah, how hard will that be, right? Maybe it’s better this way.
Sniffle. I miss you already.
Dysfunctional D&D groups literally DO grow on trees. I have one in my front yard.
Those might be squirrels. Or rats.
I was thinking Mon…er…I mean APES… (Looking nervously at the librarian…)
A dysfunctional tree?
Debugging a dysfunctional tree structure annoys the heck out of me, I’d rather just reconstruct a database scheme that isn’t broke and salvage data into that.
Enjoy your vacation Kevin, After 5 years you deserve it! Will be waiting for Jan 3, already feels like it is never gonna get there, Are we there yet???
We’re not, but the Prophets are.
Huh, you know what the alternative answer is?
You need to work EVEN HARDER to build up a buffer of comics, then you can take a vacation whenever you want.
No, seriously, ’tis cool. Have a good holiday.
Melly clistmash and all that.
Happy Stuff and Stuff to you too!
No worries here, it was going downhill anyway, both art and story-wise. 😉
It’s been a long time since anyone said that.
Lena just came over and asked me what I was laughing about.
Then she fussed at me because I’m not supposed to on the site AT ALL until my vacation is over. But that’s just crazy talk!
Is it Jan 3 yet?
In Januarythirdland it is!
You realize of course that just like a kid in the back seat of the car, i’ll be asking this repeatedly…
One part of that post worries me, the “finishing this up” part. That sounds like one day it will END! I hope you meant just this episode and not the comic itself as I have really enjoyed it. I read 5 webcomics in all. I could read more but figure I’ll just stick to the good ones and would hate to lose one of them 🙂 Enjoy your vacation and be assured I’ll still be here for your great entertainment when you return next year. Have a Happy (insert your holiday name here).
Kevin has previously stated that HOLE’s whole story will end, probably within a year. That was some time ago, so we may not have even a year left.
He could always start a new project afterward.
Sadly Ken, this is true. I already have the jitters thinking about it. There will be other projects after HOLE, but they will likely be writing projects. I am considering writing a book set in Lesser Earth. We’ll see how it goes.
The quest for the “H.O.L.E.-y Grail?”
“The Ameteur Necromancer and the Warlock’s Ghost?” (Some low level necro manages to conjure Martin…hilarity ensues…)
Maybe “The Ball of Cat-thulu?” (About one of his cat toys falling into adventurer’s hands)
Don’t worry everyone. Kevin will be back on schedule in January as promised.
I know where he lives. 😉
I have a safe house!
Where all the underage-hookers and drugs are kept…
Look, just because they aren’t in their sixties yet doesn’t mean they’re underage, and he’s American so you’re just going to have to excuse him having asprin, anti-inflammatories and various opiates in his medicine cabinet.
There’s no age like underage. 😉
You forgot the medical marijuana, but that’s “natural” so I wouldn’t expect you* to include it in the “bad drugs” department like the rest you mentioned. Unless you meant it as “why are they allowed and not MJ?”, but that doesn’t work now that there’s a legal medicinal use for it.
And it’s technically Thursday, so there.
*My views are simple- take cyanide for all I care, just leave me out of it and don’t operate heavy machinery near me while you’re under. Die and let live/die, as I say.
He’s never shared that he’s dying of cancer and living in California, I doubt he’s got legal weed around.
Have a great vacation, Kevin, you have certainly earned it! I really enjoy reading your comic and blog will still be obsessively checking in every weekday to see if you’ve posted anything (but no pressure, right?)
There will be something there every day. Unless the site blows up.
An explosion is something, so you are covered even there. 😀
Have a great vacation, both of you.
Besides, some down time really helps those creative talents to continue being creative.
I’ll be waiting for your return.
*cough* Just HIM. I’m still working. And keeping an eye on him so he actually takes a break! He’s run into my office to talk at least 10 times today. I might brain him before this is over.
Kevin: Thank you very much for not posting up a political topic to kill my free time today, I think I’ll catch up on sleep.
Hey..we need to be thinking of the wonderful holiday-that-must-not-be-named this time of year…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IZgL1mZ1i4
We? What’s with this we? I have never made a secret of my anti-consumerist and atheist positions.
Could be worse…you could be stuck with the PC Police with me here in California: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCo5b-zZPaY
Or worse, this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wskT6YfVB6E
(Dang….it doesn’t like multiple links I guess…Could you Unzap that, Kev?)
Kevin, you sure there’s no “please don’t flag posts for moderation from regulars, I trust em, really…kinda…OK, maybe….” checkbox?
Dang…the creator of the Pink Panther movies died today…The world was a more fun place thanks to him…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti_Oh1di81U
Hi Elfguy.
I just found something you REALLY have to see…
http://www.cracked.com/article_18892_5-insane-barack-obama-comic-books-you-wont-believe-are-real.html
😆
Barak Obama Erotic Manga?
Brain bleach….where is the FRIGGIN BRAIN BLEACH!
I know. I’m evil.
I don’t care WHO does the art…no WAY is Hillary Clinton a Milf…
She might’ve been…20-30 years ago.
Well OK, she was never anything special even when she was young, from the pictures I’ve seen.
No wonder Bill was always sniffing around to find some juicier bones.
What, are you folks leaving me with the responsibility to repeat the widely believed rumours from that season of American Political Soap Opera? Damnit, where’s the crowd that takes Glenn Beck, Anne Coulter and Rush Limbaugh seriously when you actually want them?
Fine, “Dyke!”
Three weeks without sweet Martin-torture? 😯 Whatever shall i do until then? Write my own H.O.L.E. fanfics?
Have a nice vacation, Kevin, and drive safely. Happy holidays to you and Lena.
Merry Zodmas!
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/merry-zodmas
See? We knew you were into torture-porn! Busted! 😛
It’s not half as funny now that Martin plays a female character.
I liked evil Fleece. 😥 Now she is possessed by Martin’s spirit. Maybe Morty can re-create the scene from The Exorcist.
Have a good vacation Kevin, you’ve definitely earned it! And don’t worry, the Sluggy Freelance guy is on vacation sketches almost as much as he works, and he’s still flying high:)
Well Kevin, enjoy your much-needed break. And don’t forget about us.
Count Rugen: Get some rest. If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything.