The Monster Under the Bed by Brandon Shane is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The Monster Under the Bed
“Embrace your fear.”
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
First great page.
Ok, so I never comment on here. This is first for me. Posting here. I just happily read. However, that changes today. I have seen so many people telling Brandon how great his work is and then demanding more pages. Some are new readers, and others are long term followers who just keep harping and harping. Normally I just be quiet, but I feel this needs to be said. Brandon if you wish to remove this post that is fine.
Seriously for everyone hounding the author about more pages and trying to guilt trip him, just back off.
Drawing takes a lot of work, time, and effort. He has a day job that pays the bills and this is hobby. He uses his free time to make content and out of the sheer joy of it posts it for your to read and immerse yourself. Instead of actually being grateful you are demanding he produce more pages for your enjoyment without understanding that he has a life.
Being a full time artist is not always the glamourous profitable gig it is made out to be. You burn out a lot. You go for a long time without work. You deal with people who have completely unrealistic expectations that can’t or won’t comprehend that you are person with limits. Drawing excessively will give you issues with your wrist, hands, and arms. Which can result in no longer being able to draw again. I have seen other artist literally have to give up their passion due to overworking and injuring themselves. Considering Brandon admits his hands shaky he shouldn’t push himself past his limits. His update schedule is actually a good pace and reasonable especially since he doesn’t have a buffer. (Buffers for those not familiar with the term are when you have multiple works or in this case pages that are already done that you put out as needed.)
Brandon is not a professional full time artist. He is an artist, but it is not his career. Be understanding of that please. As a professional I can tell you from my own personal experience the frequent gripe Is everyone just expects everything right now. They don’t factor in time, supplies, materials, or the hours sunk into the creation process. My own stuff takes anywhere from a week to months. He is doing this with a full time factory job if I remember correctly. So you can have a nice Sunday treat. Be reasonable. Other comics have teams of people working on their product that is how they achieve weekly or more updates. He is one man. ONE. Not a team of six or more. For this comic he is the concept artist, sketcher, line artist, inker, typesetter, proof reader, page layout, and author. I just listed eight jobs right there that he covers as one person, again ONE MAN, and he does eight jobs by himself.
It is wonderful you that you all like the comic. It is great you are enjoying it, but give the poor guy a break. It is a free comic. I silently read each page. Happy with when I do get to see something new. I have seen time and time again people asking for quicker updates and more pages. Brandon is a person not a machine. He has a life outside of this comic. For all those demanding more pages quicker, he could do more pages quicker, burn out, and then no comic. Or you could just be happy with what you are getting.
Brandon as one artist to another keep up the awesome work. Work at your pace, and ignore everyone demanding you stress yourself out for their sake. Hope you have great day.
Ahhh! Thank you very much! It is very much appreciated!
I have been sweating this page for days now since I missed the Sunday update, and being dead after work the past two days. Like I literally ate dinner and had a nap and that was my Monday evening. I picked it up again Tuesday and finished it at my friend’s house tonight while I was trying to maintain some semblance of a social life.
Heh, it has been posted, and I am relieved. Phew. Tomorrow it begins again, back to the literal drawing board!
On the other hand, your art matured quite a bit since the start! Great work man, keep it up!
You are welcome Brandon. I hope it helps people be more understanding. Most readers just don’t realize what actually goes into a comic or how many people can work on one. I realize there will still be people who just don’t care and demand. Those people you can just tune out.
*high-fives stormangel*
Well said, brother – well said.
As someone who also posted comments of similar nature, I wholeheartedly agree, but want to play *a little* devil’s advocate concerning the nature of some posts.
It’s very harmful to believe that demands for updates comes from malice, quite the opposite really. Sure there’s naivite, unrealistic expectations, or not being able to see the factory worker beneath the veneer of a comic artist.
But as a political activist myself, I cannot be surprised. When I started out my political work I did it mostly out of self-indignation. But recently, I was struck by the sheer ugliness of reality – a friend of mine who works as a nurse in a clinic forgot that we had a meeting after her shift and as we started discussing the matters of preparation for the upcoming election and then she burst into tears – hospital workers are understaffed and overworked in Germany, and I expect it is the same for many other countries as well, especially if a government cuts corners and underfunds things.
The automotive industry is no better – the only reason why there are no 2 shifts in Ford in Cologne has to do with the fact that not many people are buying cars, not because they care so much about the workers. Workers have their temperature measured before entering the factory which is a very shitty way to test for corona. Instead of issuing a hard no-factory-work lockdown Germany is in this continuous semi-lockdown that has psychological effects on practically everyone, even a math student like me.
Your comic has won many hearts, Brandon. You can be proud of that. I can sympathize with you as many others on this blue piece of rock flying through the universe. I don’t think you need to be given a pointer to have an organized life – you know it from experience already. Most artists take breaks or have less-demanding jobs than you. You are plowing through like a boss! I know you can sort your life out, find place for creativity and solitude, work on side-projects, whatever. It does not really matter if I don’t end up liking it, really. It has been a wild ride so far and I want to sit this one through.
Here, HERE! I totally agree with every word and sentiment ~ I have said similar to Brandon before! I follow another YEARS long slow Webcomic that is literally beautiful ~ Outsider, by Jim Francis… beautiful comic..but slow.. and that’s JUST FINE!
Keep up the great work… AT YOUR PACE Brandon… every page is a gift of brain candy! Thank You! 🙂
Maybe people are trying to be encouraging and supportive, but coming across in a way that hit you wrong?
Or they could be dicks.
I’m very much hoping that this story will take Brandon to a level where he can put more work into his art without having to worry about a dayjob.
I’m not sure I’d enjoy doing art as a day job… I’d get totally burned out in like a month.
When you’ve got it, flaunt it.
They’ve all got it!
Well acked, indeed. Shadow is on high heels. No question. Welll, does it involve she and Tim will meet each other tonight?
They’ll meet… soon!
Yay
My phone decided to wig out and open stuff on its own to the new page. Lol. Also im loving this comic. Take all the time you need. Quality over quantity and this comic definitely has the quality.
Did you break the 4th wall on purpose in the first image?
Also very nice drawing man
If you don’t mind me asking, are we close to Tim and Shadow meeting again? It’s just been so long since I’ve seen them together.(I don’t mean to stress you. Just curious.)
Nightmare shows lack of confidence again.
…loudly enough that Lady Moonlight noticed this?
She just needs another dose of “anal candy” to keep her calmed down… she has self-image issues and over compensates.
Tits… that’s literally all I have to say on this one
I found this like 3 hours ago its 3 am and I love this Comic I can’t wait for more this is great
I was startled when I caught a glimpse of Panel 1 while looking at something else entirely.
Brandon, was it your intention to make the clips on Midnight’s loincloth look like eyes?
But they do!!
That throws Middy’s whole loincloth into a new perspective.
Having now interpreted it once as a FACE I cannot unsee it again and I see Midnight”s formal dress as a crotch-hugger.
*squints* While I don’t see it personally, maybe that’s chalked up to me knowing exactly how it looks in a 3D turn-around in my brain.
Of course you’re closer to the design than anybody else (except Middy) and you have understandably potent prconceptions of how you wanted it to look.
That’s fine.
So after 2 weeks waiting and a botched release before that; we don’t get any plot development. Just some fan service cheesecake titty stuff.
So… par for the course.
You need to get a writer to work with so you can focus on drawing, ‘cuz this story has not just stalled, it’s run out of gas, the tires have gone flat and mice have set up a nest in the radiator.
Lol
Wow. Just… wow!
*shrug* Yeah, I know.
Well, all I can do is keep pushing forward and prove these types wrong.
Say, isn’t that pose on the second panel inspired by Wakfu’s intro of Amalia Sheran Sharm? Whether yes or no, it has a nice touch.
Uhhh, I don’t know! I’ve never seen Wakfu beyond a few character designs. Is it a TV show or a game?
“Is it a TV show or a game?”
Short answer: Yes.
Originally a strategic MMORPG called “Dofus”, the mechanics and gameplay were rebalanced and released as a sequel MMORPG “Wakfu”, which in turn was popular enough to get an animated series. It’s drawn in the “French anime” style, like “Code Lyoko” and “Oban Star Racers”. Despite the fact that it was animated with Adobe Flash like “My Little Pony”, the art and animation is actually very good.
Work my slave! Work harder!
Just kidding. I too am a creator. For the last couple of years I had bee writing a Sci-fi novel in the style of Japanese Light novels. I have written five volumes, each of about 50,000 words, with illustration at each chapter beginning, covers and characters’ avatars (I desisted in trying to do the drawings since I didn’t want to learn to draw manga style and instead used a 3D software for the purpose.) And I’m doing this for free! I don’t intend to publish them expecting payment. The first two volumes has been checked and corrected and released to a small group of friends for reading, now they are after me, like hungry beast biting at my legs as I run from them, clamoring to be fed, more and more of the delicious morsels that I threw at them, and… Shit I got in author mode. Brandon keep-up the good work. I enjoy it very much. But… I’m hungry… hungry… I want more…
It’s all about to come spilling out al over the place, this is like, a last breath before shit gets real.
Oh, and yeah, I get that. That is the trick I figured out that got me to finish writing my old story of this. Periodically give it out publicly and see how people react to it! Knowing there were interested people out there waiting pushed me to keep working on my story.
That hair really is well packed. Everything else looks ready to burst.
That’s the correct way to pack “everything else”! ;]