He's here in this journal...somewhere...

But that's not important, here's what is:

Why MFF was Awesome (If you were Boneitis)

1. People. WOW were there a lot of nice people at this con. I always say something like that but people were on fire with niceness and generally being not-awkward (except the guy who only wanted to talk about how much porn he faved. Fuck that guy). I couldn't even begin to name the amount of people I had downright wonderful interactions with so sound off in the comments so we can continue to make nice. I even would've avoided those goddamn chihuahua men if people weren't always texting pictures of them to me.

2. Artists. Most artists are evil and horrible, these five are not:  talenshi my ever present art-partner made out like a bandit and was a continuing pillar of artistic integrity and strength. A+, will do another year of cons with.  shadow-of-nights let us stay at her place (free lodging! Profit!) and, one year in, is doing better than any artist I've ever done cons with; watch out for this one.  kiriska came back from the past and had waaaaay too much in common with me and also taught me how pronounce words.  dreamkeepers is two people and both of them got dinner and drinks with me after...

3. My Panel! Did you want to see it? Maybe you did, maybe not but the entire hour long debacle is here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v0.....ature=youtu.be And my snazzy PowerPoint if you want: https://docs.google.com/presentatio.....dit#slide=id.p Learn all that yet? Aren't Dave and I great? Good because the con staff said it was one of the best panels they had and asked us to do it again!

4. Comics: WOW a lot of people want printed "False Start" to come back so here's the down low: single issues aren't profitable enough unless I sell them at insane prices SO I'm going to wait till I have six issues done and then do a big trade with tons of extras and a new cover. If I stay on track it could come out next year. Stay tuned and keep reading the madness,

5. Friends: when I got sick nearly three years ago it didn't take long for most people to realize that meant "worthless to my agenda and, therefore, disposable". These are not those people.  ralvrwuff and  the-great-furdini are an adorable couple who did everything from going out to dinner with me to fixing my stupid powerpoint, hope to see my babes again.  id_fox is sort of my new boss but he's the cool kind so it's good.  mstr.litamacwolf is really nice to me and kept pointing people to my table in the hopes of backing up traffic through the whole Dealer's Room.  varryance came out of the south and was confused so we took care of him as best we could.  deovacuus got me really drunk and then her friend's stole my cane and left me for dead (jokes on them, I can't die).  astrosquirrel and his wife (FA??) were also there in full force and I will hopefully see them more outside of cons! I probably (definitely) have more friends but my brain is full.

6. Enemies: still have failed to put even a knick on me. Step it up losers.

7. Art: Sold more originals than EVER! I don't have to buy new binders (yet) because people annihilated the originals binders. The 18+ binder in particular is looking pretty flaccid (ha), luckily...

8. Bisexuality: People got a lot of pin up commissions, of both genders! Has the balance been restored???

9. The Balance: A long time ago some people did some really shitty stuff to me and then no one bothered to ask me what happened because who honestly has the time these days? After about two years the hole in my heart where "trust" and other lame emotions go is finally healing as I've realized most people are despicable monsters. This is cool because that means the odds are against me and high stakes are more fun. (Plus it'll make for a sick comic)

10. High Stakes: Surrounded by enemies! Friends with awesome powers! An entire genre hanging in the balance! The Tale of Boneitis continues into 2016; set to be the most explosively deadly year yet!

Stay tuned and watch the shrapnel fly,

-Bone

Here's all the relevant info about me attending MFF you need in disposable meme format so you can not read it:

Where are you staying?
In an old Polish couple's house.

What day are you getting there?
The first one.

Who will you be rooming with?
 talenshi,  shadow-of-nights,  kiriska AKA: my all female troop of bodyguards.

How can I find you?
Look for a guy with spiky hair, a cane, pink tie, and is wearing aviators indoors. I'm hard to miss but also look better than most everyone there. I'm also going to have a Dealer's table: I11, get there quick if you want a badge or don't and complain on Sunday

Are there any panels you might be attending?
MY OWN
"Writing and Drawing Anthropomorphic Comics" hosted by myself and  dreamkeepers on Saturday at 2, come and watch Dave and I slowly realize we have nothing in common.

Are you attending any stage or public performances?
I'll be taking center stage at Heavy Horse's Magic Show for Children.

Will you be suiting?
Yes.

Which suit(s) are you bringing?
The Armani of course.

Do you draw?
No.

Are you taking commissions or trades?
Yep! Get 'em in early or you will be waiting YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

How old are you?
Weird Al's favorite number.

How tall are you?
Enough

Can I talk to you?
Yes, but only if it's fightin' words

Can I touch you?
If you pay the fee.

Can I visit your room?
If you pay the fee.

Can I buy you drinks?
What did you think the fee was?

Can I give you stuff?
If it's cool stuff.

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Don't be gay.

What’s your goal for the con this year?
To scalp my enemies.

Are you nice?
Trump 2016

How long are you going?
From the base to the tip.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
The "Sanford and Son" theme preferably.

Where will you be most of the time during the days?
At my table wondering how the fuck I'm going to get food that particular day.

What/where will you be eating?
Only at Denny's.

Can I come with you for food/fun etc?
If you've got a nice pair.

Can I take your picture?
Only if you tweet it with #furstworldproblem

I had said I was going to launch my Patreon before the end of October. Clearly I didn't. Here's why:

Proper scheduling.

Sounds boring but transparency is essential in this business model so here's the mundane details. The Patreon is meant to support the "False Start" and "Deadworld" comics which you may have noticed haven't updated in a while. I haven't updated THOSE in a while because I've got a big batch of commissions that I want finished before MFF because I want as clear a backlog as possible going in; I'm doing pretty good on that front. Had some bad days health wise but I'm pleased with the speed and quality of my output overall. I owe it to my commissioners to get their work done since they came before this Patreon idea I had.

SO

I felt it was unfair to launch a Patreon for a comic I wouldn't be updating at the time of launch, it'd be incredibly disingenuous and unfair. False Start and Deadworld will resume updating shortly and the corresponding Patreon will hopefully go live before the end of the year, should my health not bottom out (which can and does happen). So there's still time to unsubscribe from lesser artists and rob the rich to buy into my Vastly Superior Patreon Artistic Enterprise.

-Bone

I tried. I really, really tried.

I tried to avoid this point for as long as I could.

I have to make a Patreon.

I know, I know. Pelt me with rotten meat, get it out of the way but after I emerge from the pile of pestilent protein hear me out and then leave a comment. I'm going to need feedback on this because this is uncharted territory for me.

Patreon has REALLY took off in the last two years and I'd say about 90% of the Patreons I see confuse the hell out of me. Whether it's seeing people who make godawful content make a mint or being befuddled by the things people offer as "rewards" it's clear to me that I'm not exactly the target audience. This was only made more apparent after I did a sweep and checked to see if ANY of the comic artists I like have Patreons. Survey says? None of them. None of the artists whose work I follow closely have Patreon accounts. Maybe this is why I've held out so long, "None of the people I look up to have these dang things!" I say to no one in particular, "Why should I?!?!" Furthermore I checked on my anti-role models (people I occasionally look in on to see what I SHOULDN'T be doing) and all of them had Patreons; people were giving money to artists who rarely produced content and weren't that good or disciplined in the first place. The world was getting topsy turvy.

"Should I start drawing bad porn, make comics about boys kissing that DON'T turn into violent weird fests, wear a kigurumi like a jackass and rake in the money? Should I take the 'satirical' song 'Sell Out!' by Reel Big Fish seriously and... sell out?"

Luckily I have a gigantic poster I use at cons that literally says "Never sell out! Never surrender!" so sense was knocked back into me. I'm incapable of selling out. I've carried around my 'Fuck Communism' lighter for so long I'm allergic to the color red. So is there a way...is there a way to be a good artist, maintain my integrity, AND have a Patreon? Can I have it all???

I think I can. I want it all. My stupid gay baby body may be slowly shutting down but dammit I still want it all. So this is where you come in: what would YOU want out of a Bone-Fucking-Itis Anti-Patreon Festival of Madness? I've come up with some things I definitely DON'T want to do:

-Locking content behind paywalls. I'm not going to do some thing where certain scenes or illustrations are for patrons only, we're running this baby like PBS, the sexiest of networks. As an aside: people who do comics where adult scenes are behind paywalls are awful storytellers.

-Speaking of tacky: I'm not going to put that big dump "P" logo on the bottom of my pages, it's a disgrace to layouts. People who read comics want to see good layouts and storytelling, not every scene getting interrupted by a giant corporate logo and a list of names. Credits go in the back of the book. Get a clue.

-I don't know if this is a Patreon or a Tumblr thing because I've largely opted out of internet society and am gradually going mad but I hate character asks. You know what would make "Preacher" better? If I could stop the narrative flow every couple of minutes to ask the characters about their genitals and get a fourth wall breaking reply! Has life gotten so sad that we have to ask fictional people about their love life because ours are non-existent or terrible? I've never sent a character an "ask" but I have caught a shark and eaten it. Fuck you.

Things I'm iffy about:

-Sending out page layouts, pencils, inks, etc...before the actual comic page lands. This is mainly me being a stickler about narrative and presentation but I wouldn't mind sending patrons those things once the page is up, I don't really post my pencils and inks anywhere so would this be considered a paywall? The comic itself would remain absolutely free and I don't care if anyone shared the files anyway. I like to assume people who like my stuff and want to support me will, in fact, do so.

Things I would LOVE to do:

-Originals auctions. I have fuck tons of originals lying around and not enough cons to sell them at. I think it'd be cool to raffle off an inked or penciled page, an illustration, and...

-Livestreamed inked sketches. I wouldn't want to do penciled ones because that's lame. Inks are the choice of kings and I'd love to pop on my brand new webcam once a month, chat it up, and ink some anthropomorphic masterpieces.

This all just me free-balling it. I want to hear from YOU

YOU
YOU
YOU


YOU NEED TO COMMENT

What would you hate to see in my Patreon? Anything I don't seem clear on? What would be fucking AWESOME in my Patreon? What would make it worth your hard earned cash?

Start un-subscribing to losers and hoarding gold because this thing is going live by the end of the month and anyone who doesn't support it is going to regret it till they die.

-Bone

So  fayv was sniffing around on Twitter looking for possible MFF panels and I took the bait! So in December (they're still finalizing my time slot I believe) I'll be in front of...however many of you show up along with  dreamkeepers to talk about the my favorite thing in the world: Anthro Comics! Now, I know what subjects I would cover (mostly I think I'd go over a lot of the weirder "do's" and "don'ts" I've encountered over the years, I'm making a list) but I'm more interested in what YOU would want to hear about from  dreamkeepers and I (you can address questions to one or both of us). This way I can custom tailor the presentation for MAXIMUM IMPACT. If I don't get much feedback on this I'll just go ahead and make a presentation about whatever the hell I feel like and subject the audience to a barrage of my not-internet-safe opinions.

In case you're the nervous type you can also anonymously send me questions for the panel at my Tumblr: http://boneitisuno.tumblr.com/

Don't make this one of those journals with no comments! UNLEASH YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW

-Bone

I'll make this quick:

1) I've disabled notes for a week. I did this because I am working to get all my outstanding layouts done before the end of the week (note for stupid people: a layout is NOT a finished piece) and I've noticed that every time I upload a commission I get notes from people that, while polite, are asking for their commission. My answer to everyone who is sending this: note me in a week if you'd like to see progress, otherwise I'll just proceed to inking as I have a MUCH higher satisfaction rate when sending people inks instead of pencils. I would have had all my layouts done this month but we attempted a medication change to try and give me more energy and it ended up having the opposite effect; culminating in a day where I slept for twenty hours. Since I do not enjoy sleep this was very physically painful for me. (my body crushes itself while I sleep, I'm like a beached whale)

2) I fixed the dialogue issue on the newest FS page: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17801155/ so if that was bugging you: it's fixed! Leave a comment! The more people do the more people will like the comic (trust me this is true, things that appear popular become popular and I'm not above gaming the system) and the more I can possibly make a living off of this!

"But Bone that's sooooooo lame and you're such a sell out! UNFOLLOWED!" Good, unfollow me. If you think like this you weren't supporting me beyond saving my stuff to your hard drive and never talking about it. I've been a working artist for eight years and incredibly ill for two, I need some advantages at this point.

Eat shit and die,

-Bone

Hi, I'm Bone. Hopefully you knew that. I draw a comic and do illustrations, it's how I earn a living. You probably knew that too. Two years ago I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after seven months and 13 different doctors/specialists did enough tests and took enough blood and spinal fluid to build a second Bone. This was the beginning of some Really Bad Shit. I didn't recover from the Lyme (I did get rid of the RMSF, otherwise I'd be dead) and it slowly wreaked havoc on every aspect of my life.

Since that day two years ago I lost my job, a lot of friends (people treat sick people REALLY terribly it turns out; we're useful for gaining points on social media and fixing broken relationships and then disposed of after with no consequences!) and my body is permanently broken. My sight doesn't work properly, my joints and other structural components are busted forever, my internal organs sporadically act up with no provocation (I lose days and weeks to these flare ups), even my mind has been compromised.

You read that right: my senses, body, and mind are permanently compromised. I do not know if these things will ever get fixed. I strive to repair my body but it is an incredible fight and it is very unlikely that I will ever truly "restore" myself.

There has been progress; I've done more cons than ever, been more successful at cons than ever (despite being instantly hated by nearly every furry artist I meet. Artists suck.), relaunched my comic (the thing I most enjoy doing), and have made a lot of progress on turning my situation around. The two artists who DO like me,  talenshi and  shadow-of-nights , have been absolutely integral to this turn around. I would not have made it without them and my other friends who have stuck with me through this shit.

That's the progress. That's on my good days. Recently I attended an out of town wedding which I am still recovering from a week later. That's correct: doing basic family functions can completely fuck up my entire body even more for WEEKS AT A TIME. In case you're wondering why I occasionally don't update the comic on time or take a while on commissions: that's why. As always, I will refund anyone who does not like this. I do not have the time or energy to deal with people who refuse to understand my situation. That being said: I SHOULD (should should should) have all my outstanding layouts done before the end of the month and PLAN (plan plan plan I'll say it a million times) to have everything done before MFF. Sometimes I pull it off, other times I end up hospitalized. That's my life right now and for the foreseeable future.

Other things I'm planning:
-A second, black and white comic. I enjoy working on comics more than anything so I want to do more even though they make me no money.
-Since my comic makes me ZERO dollars I want to launch a Patreon even though simply mentioning the word gets me booed and hissed. I'm not sorry, I NEED to make money. I'll do my best to make it fair and non-exploitative. Please consider donating to me instead of some awful, no talent, porn artist.
- talenshi is still on board to do the Meier comic, awesome!
-I'll be a dealer at MFF! Stop at my table, or don't!

This journal probably sounds mean and horrible but I rarely speak my mind and felt I needed to let people publicly know what was going on. So there you have it!

My very odd situation.

-Bone

FINAL GRADES FOR ANY AND ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE TRI-ARTIST-ANTHROCON RAID TRIP:

First up, my partner nation states:

- talenshi : Sat next to me in the Dealer's Room: SMART DECISION. Kept busy, barely slept, and further honed her image: A+; will continue to sit by until her aura decays and she is lost to madness.

- shadow-of-nights deployed into Artist Alley; expansion of territory into neighboring realms: SMART DECISION. First time at Anthrocon, made the trip profitable before the first day was even out: A+; will continue to haul across the country along with BONEITIS INDUSTRIES SQUID REPRESENTATIVE (Squid Representative is as of yet unnamed. People who make "Splatoon" jokes will be sentenced to power wash a deck since they obviously enjoy such things).

NEXT: ALLIES OF BONEITIS INDUSTRIES GRADING.

- deovacuus : Titanium Grade Strength Devil deployed as recon. RESULTS: was able to carry MY HYPER DENSE INFINITY POINT WEIGHT for great distances, consume incredible amounts of alcohol and still draw JAPANESE STRENGTH TATTOOS, and displayed GREAT CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS. GRADE: S; ally was strong like bear but was not in fact a bear. WILL SEE AT FUTURE CONVENTIONS

- kazekoe Enhanced Blue Type Wyvern deployed to Pittsburgh for AUDIO SURVEILLANCE. Collected vast amounts of audio data, had TOP NOTCH propaganda ideas, and brought FURTHER publishers under my domain. Grade: high; the wyvern soars above ALL OTHER WEAKER DRAGONS.

- gunrapt0r Tank Type Dog of War deployed for finding heavy grade munitions. Grade: Sherman; was able to locate superior ordinance: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17105775/

- sprech4 Gore Flank Mega Cannon deployed as backup to Artist Alley. Grade: HORRIFIC, was able to procure gore-type commissions, furthering the nation's understanding of Blessed Violence.

- pocketwolverine Unexpected Re-Emergence of a POWERFUL ALLY. Grade: Orange, looks to join the Artist Conglomerate; great are her skills at espionage and disguise!

-ASSISTANT: was not present, was meeting multi-billionaires instead. GRADE: W; he was meeting the Waltons. UNDERSTANDABLE.


NEXT: ENEMIES OF THE STATE.

-ENEMIES OF THE STATE BLANKET GRADE: F, not a single attempt on my life was made. DO BETTER.


FINAL GRADE: MYSELF.

-LORD OF INK BONEITIS GRADE: F+; was not crowned lord of the convention, WILL DO BETTER NEXT YEAR.


THE REST OF YOU: REPORT IN BELOW FOR YOUR GRADING.

-Bone

An announcement from His Eminence Lord Boneitis:

Let it be known both among my loyal constituents and my foul enemies: The Tri-Industrialist Alliance Raid of Anthrocon between our nation of Boneitis Industries, the Principality of  talenshi and the New Republic of  shadow-of-nights will be commencing next Wednesday on the 8th of July. Any and all citizens must report to table L12 for assignment of Thematic Pursuits. All enemies of the state will be shot on sight. Assignments this year include the following:

-The Purchase and Deployment of Propaganda: The Nation's table will have hundreds of pieces of mass produced print propaganda available for purchase. Upon purchase it expected of the Citizen to either hang such works in every room of his house (So that the Immortal Sun may watch over you in all your pursuits) or hung around the city to spread His Joyous Word.

-Original Propaganda Operations: The making of State-Approved media is an arduous and long task. Some citizens find the Works in their many stage fascinating. Whilst Original Pieces are only available at higher donation rates they are that much more glorious. Original Pieces must be deployed in the same way and talked about at length with one's peers.

-Customized State Approved Portraits, Banners, and Illustrations: some ambitious citizens wish to have more personalized pieces. Such works are available on a commission basis during the TRI-ARTIST RAID TRIP. Please consult your Bone-Books for donation rates: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16222827/

-Nationalist Pride Badges: Others wish for smaller badges that they may hang from their person in order to show Loyalty to the Nation, these are also available during the TRI-ARTIST RAID TRIP. Donation Rates Apply: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10839251/

-Any and all queries will be answered below by a government sanctioned official in the comments below.

-Those wishing to to obtain commissioned work during the TRI-ARTIST RAID TRIP must arrive early as these slots are highly coveted and fill within the first hour of the convention.

That will be all. Production continues as normal.

-Emperor of Bones: Boneitis

This past weekend I went to, surprisingly, my very first regular ol' comic book/general nerd stuff convention. The con in question was "Wizard World" in my very own hometown of St. Louis. I've been doing furry cons professionally for seven years now so I'm pretty used to them; I know how they work and what to expect. It's no secret that I'm a terrible furry, I don't do a lot of furry things and don't really like most furry art or stories, so going to a con that had a lot of stuff that I was genuinely interested was a breath of fresh air. However not all was well at Wizard World so here's my run down of what I liked better at each type of con. Please feel free to un-follow me over these incredibly mild opinions OR leave really brutally dull and snarky comments below.

The rundown:

1. The con goers: if you switched every fursuiter at a fur con with a guy in a Deadpool outfit the two cons would be virtually indistinguishable. Smelly people, clueless chatterboxes, alpha-nerds, and all the other things that annoy me at a fur con were here as well. Comic con is the winner in this category however due to an influx of smoking hot Harley Quinn cosplayers instead of fursuiters wearing questionable pairs of boxers.

Point: Comic Con.

2. The Art: This is a tough one for me because I rarely ever buy any furry art because it looks very samey samey all too often (thin lines, big eyes and usually no background [please don't send me counterexamples, I'm not speaking in absolutes here you fool]) to me BUT at comic con I saw more photo painting and background tracing than I could believe. One booth at comic con was headed up by an "artist" whose entire line up was just photo traces of promotional art work (he literally had traced one of the Netflix slides for the new "Daredevil" show.) I was also distressed by the sheer amount of fan art on display, a lot of artists were seemingly incapable of coming up with original content, though they might also just be stifled by market pressure. On the MAJOR plus side I got to meet Ethan Van Sciver and J.O. Barr, though at fur cons I've met Stan Sakai and James Gurney, all incredibly talented awesome guys.

Point: nobody. Tracing at one con and derivative, background less mush art at the other means we all loose. Amazing pros like the ones I mentioned above are wins for everyone.

3. Networking potential: I'm always on the prowl for new connections and potential cool people. At furry cons I've lined up some awesome clients but have been either outright ignored by publishers (I was told my comics "weren't porny enough". Cool, good talk. Way to raise the bar) or even shadow banned from certain publications (artists don't like that I beat them at cons and thus, shit talk me to their friends.). At this comic con hugely successful artists and publishers were exceedingly polite and seemed genuinely interested in my work. I may make more money at fur cons but having publishers and artists act like human beings was a first.

Point: Comic Cons.

4. Artistic Freedom: I mentioned earlier how next to no one was doing original work at Wizard World and that it was sad. There may be no good furry comics etc...but at least some people are trying. Plus: as bad a rap as furries get for the whole porn thing I've noticed that the vast majority of my commissions aren't pornographic (I don't object to porn, I just don't want it to be all I do. That would be incredibly dull.) and that people are usually excited to see my take on their subject matter. I vastly prefer this to drawing endless fan art.

Point: Furry Cons.

5. Crazy People: at comic con we had some weirdos but furry has them beat by a mile. Hell, those goddamn chihuahua men alone are crazier than anything I saw at Wizard World.

Point Furry Cons.

6. Actual Comics: there weren't a lot of comics for sale at Wizard World and the ones that were were marked up heinously high. At furry cons there are comics for sale but I've only seen a scant few I'd even consider "good" come out of this community (Blacksad didn't come out of this community, it doesn't count).

Point: No one. Locking art behind price walls and being incapable of producing it are just two shitty sides to the same awful coin.

7. Deciding vote: there isn't one. It's an arbitrary tie because if I announced a "winner" I'd have to read more uninformed opinions than I care to, it's a dubious way to incense people and get a reaction out of them; really just manipulative. I made it a list/competition format so people MIGHT consider reading it. If you need a summation of my thoughts on the matter here it is: I love comics more than any other art form so I'm pretty critical of a lot of the aspects of them, including the venues I find them at. The furry community has been and will continue to be a great place for me to practice my craft in an environment of near absolute artistic freedom. The furry community could stand to expand its taste buds however; I want the most out of this community and meeting the incredible craftsmen who work outside of it has inspired me to only push my own art further and, hopefully, to push others too. This isn't an "us vs. them" thing, despite my ingenious framing device. "Us vs. them" is a dullard's way of viewing the world when we could be learning and bettering ourselves by analyzing other communities, genres, and individuals.

Feel free to take this as a hostile attack on your favorite genre (it's not).

-Bone

Well, "bound" is a bit of a misnomer here because GFM, AKA Gateway Fur Meet, is a con local to my hometown of St. Louis! It's small and it's only in its second year but I hope that'll make it easy to get to know lots of new cool folks. I could use some local furry friends to do art jams and stuff with.

So, if you're going I'll be in the Artist Alley with  shadow-of-nights while the awesome  talenshi will be in the Dealer's Den. You should definitely check them out, I do cons with them because they're awesome warriors of the upper outlier, and their art is good too. I'll be selling stuff and doing the usual badges and sketchbooks, looking to make a little spending money so I can go bonkers-all-out at Anthrocon later this year.

Hope to see the con grow exponentially!

-Bone

FWA 2015 ended three days ago and I'm only just now feeling up to writing a journal; those of you who attempted to find me on Friday know why: on my way into the con last Thursday my hilariously compromised immune system fell victim to one hell of a bug. During the drive to Atlanta I spent over six hours crammed into my own car while being blasted by continuously compounding nausea pangs that, whenever the hell they felt like it, morphed into a downright impressive amount of vomit; followed by my entire body going numb for some reason. I ended up in some ER in Tennessee that sort of helped and then, around four AM my ragtag crew and I arrived in Atlanta.

I decided to take a day and it's a good thing I did; the vomiting gave me the worst dehydration headache I've ever experienced. Friday was a loss.

Luckily Saturday and Sunday were amazing. Tons of people stopped by my booth. The love was real. All the amazing things that went down and cool people I met quickly erased the nightmare that was getting to FWA.

Now I'm home and rested and just writing this for two reasons: 1: so that people who only came by on Friday know that I'm alive and 2: so that I can simply say that I'm organizing all my folders and references so I can hop back on to doing pages and commissions.

Thirdly (I lied): I just want to thank everyone who made the con such a hit especially my two roommates  talenshi, her super smart and chill boyfriend, and  shadow-of-nights. Thank you for putting up with me.

See you at GFM and AC you godawful animals.

-Bone

In that order no less, so you can read just the parts you like!

FIRST: I'm going to FWA! I'm a dealer this year! I'm at table 37 under "Boneitis Industries", also at my table will be the best watercolor illustrator I've ever known  talenshi. If you want liquid madness in the form of paintings there is no better artist at this con, any less and she wouldn't be flying under my banner! THE IRONCLAD BANNER OF BONEITIS INDUSTRIES: PUTS FEAR IN THE HEARTS OF LESSER MEN AND INVIGORATES THOSE WHO HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND FIGHTING SPIRIT

Also, though she will be in the artist alley and sadly not under my banner, the fierce inkstress  shadow-of-nights will be running with my crew. I don't often find good inkers but this fellow ferret is more than my match. Seriously: ask to see her large scale stuff, it will take your pagan breath away and then fill your lungs with the beautiful bonding liquid that connects science and spirituality: THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE COSMOS FLOWS FROM HER PEN

At my table I'll have new prints (thirty since MFF, hundreds since my last FWA), tons of originals, patches of my artwork by  hi_nu_gundam81, magnets, wall scrolls, and then some! As usual I'll be taking at the con commissions (slots fill up in less than an hour so get there fast! ONLY WARNING) and take-home commissions for more advanced illustrations. I'll even be debuting a new and simpler pricing structure.

SECONDLY: I beat "Bloodborne" recently and it SANG TO MY HEART so if you get a "Bloodborne" themed commission I will be giving a discount. This is because A) that game is hot right now and B) it's the sort of project that aligns closely with my own artistic principles (IE: everything is horrible and unfair). Discounts will vary depending on level of finish and complexity.

THIRD: The ever vigilant  xiscapia (who has a really cool icon I might add) is tracking down a somewhat difficult to track illegal art host. Here's the info he passed on to me, you all have been AMAZING at helping me with technical stuff like this in past so let's hear it!:

"To cut to the chase, I'm trying to help out a friend of mine on here by the name of Zeefa. She and her mate are working to get their artwork taken down from sites that are using it without their permission, and I've been trying to help out. Recently I came across an archive that has some of her mate's work on it, but unfortunately neither her nor I know how to go about getting the archive taken down since it's a bit esoteric compared to a site like FA. If you know what to do or can even point us in the right direction I know she'd appreciate it, and so would I. If not then I still appreciate your consideration, and you can consider this a friendly hello!

For reference, the appropriate links:

Archive in question: https://vj5pbopejlhcbz4n.torstorm.o...../silvernshark/

Main site: https://torstorm.org/

Affiliate site: https://cryptostorm.is/index.html#section7 "

So: what do you all make of it? How do we get something so....sparse taken down? Is it even feasible? Sound off in the comments; let your cry be heard!

See you in Atlanta you rotten scumbags.

-Bone

I'll keep it brief since I don't like advertising EVEN MY OWN STUFF:

I’m doing my second ever online original art auction. This month, every week, I’ll be posting two sets of originals to be auctioned off (one adult set and one general audience set).

Bidding for the Adults Only set can be found here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/159...../#cid:93464051

And the general audience piece bidding page is here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15909071/

Even if you are completely flat broke it would help me a whole heck of a lot to share the pieces on Twitter/Tumblr/Gryzzl etc... I am ABSOLUTELY AWFUL at online marketing and could use "signal boosts" and other such things. This is a lot of cool art to go on sale in a month and I know that there are people out there who would be interested in these originals.

Thanks to everyone who helps out in the slightest and Happy Bidding!

-Bone

Journal title is something my friend  talenshi told me recently.

As anyone with working ocular nerves could put together: my art and comic output is pretty slow right now (The last FS page was in September?? A work desk picture over a week ago? Holy hell that's slow!). That word though: slow; that's the big point right now, I was careful to use that specific a word. I could have used "terrible" or "unacceptable" and, truth be told, I HAVE been phrasing it that way in my head. I'm naturally a very driven person and I've used phrasing such as that to keep myself moving at a pretty good pace before. But right now some of my worst Lyme symptoms have flared back up seemingly out of nowhere, and it's made keeping up with even basic tasks -much less drawing and brushing up art everyday- extremely difficult. We tried new medication (worked for a week) and then I was in the ER again (a place I have seen enough of for this life). And that's where I'm at right now: I'm on a 4-6 week intensive outpatient therapy regimen and it's been an interesting ride already. I'm only partially through my first week.

Of especial interest was how much some of the medication I've been on might have been exacerbating some of my symptoms. One I was able to quit cold turkey as soon as I found out, it wasn't very difficult, but the other "toxic"(too popular a word these days?) medication I have to taper off of or it could flat out kill me or mess me up in other ways; too bad, I'd have liked to just get a move on! But there it is again: I'm slow, and it's weird. I'm not used to being slow. During my most productive years I took on insane amounts of work just to see if I could and was, essentially, training myself to be an output machine and now...well now something is in my system that's got me all out of synch and it's killing me trying to be who I used to be in a busted up body with a fucked up neurological system.

So what? Have I given up and said "I'm just going to be slow/quit"? Not at all. I don't give up on anything. Instead Ive compromised with myself and, just like my journal title says: my job right now isn't to make art at my old pace, it's to get better so that I CAN actually do my shit again and do it well! I LOVE doing commissions, some of my best work and personal revelations have come out of them! I may upload things on my better days (I have them sometimes still, they're great!) but I'm excusing myself from some of the pressure so that I can make a promise to everyone who likes me as a person and/or artist: when I've beaten this thing into the ground I'll be back full force, possibly like never before; Lyme has been in my system in for eight years, I want to find out what I'm like on the other side. So, for now, slow it is. Tough as it is to say.

As always if you're a commissioner and don't want to wait I understand completely and I'll refund you immediately, no harm done. Alternatively you can always message me and we can talk things out. I like to think I'm pretty reasonable and that we could always hash out some sort of deal.

So keep your radios tuned to channel B-62 and I'll do my best to get better so that I can deliver to you the best possible comics and illustrations I'm capable of. Thanks for your understanding, patience, and support. I'll be grateful forever.

-Bone

...and all I got was this lousy t-shirt: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2bmF0WCQAAAX0O.jpg

(Thanks to my friend Jessica for that stupid joke and my impending Dude Sweater.)

Anyhow, MFF: surrounded by madness and yet...things went very well! I met loads of new cool people, along with some long time fans/friends/people who will probably murder me. On the gas attack note: I was in a different area at the time so I was COMPLETELY unaffected by the attack, it probably would not have gone over well with my current condition. Speaking of which: that con was EASILY the most difficult thing I've ever done! Between my body deciding to reject my antibiotics (read: lots of puking) and evenings where I couldn't move for hours due to pain/fatigue I'm still not sure if the whole thing was some sort of fever dream or what. Luckily people were super understanding about my limitations so things went really well in that regards. I should have a VERY busy December ahead of me; expect to see a lot of output from  talenshi and I!

Enjoy the holidays ya bunch of filthy animals,

-Bone

Hey all just dropping a small journal here to say: I'll be at MFF! This year I'll be attending with my artist friend  talenshi and doing the Artist Alley! I wanted to get a dealer's table but it's INCREDIBLY difficult to get into the MFF Dealer's Den (apparently it sold it within hours of opening up) so I'll be kicking it in the Artist Alley as per MFF-usual. Here's some bullet points about what I'll be doing at the con:

-As always: TEN SLOTS will be available at the con for badges/sketchbooks. Standard Disclaimer No One Believes: These slots go FAST (under an hour usually) so if you want one find me fast!

-I'll also be taking take-home commissions but, since I'm still working on beating Lyme disease, they can take a VERY long time. Once I'm through this crap things will speed up considerably.

-I'll also be selling prints and original pieces so if you want something to take home I've got you covered no matter what. Prints aren't very expensive but originals can get fairly pricey.

-I don't do parties or anything like that, I'm too busy usually, so please don't be offended if I turn an invite down. (Though I do sometimes go out to dinner with random people/groups who ask)

-If you've never seen me I'm the dork in the pink tie in this picture: http://boneitisuno.tumblr.com/post/.....throcon-that-i

-"False Start" issues are just about gone so if you want one this is probably the last chance for a while until I work out something with my printer.

-If you want some of my work but won't be able to attend the con I now have an online store: https://inkedfur.com/creator/bone/

-I also sometimes still walk with a cane so don't be alarmed! It just helps me get around during long weekends.

I think that covers everything, though if you have questions don't be afraid to ask. Otherwise: looking forward to getting out for a bit, being sick keeps you pretty cooped up and I could use a con to stretch my legs. See y'all in Chicago!

-Bone

I don't like things like Patreon or "tip jars" (as I see the system abused far too often) so I am extremely happy to say that there is now a way to give me money AND get artwork at the same time! This new, radical idea is something called a "store" and somehow I stumbled into getting one! The nice people over at InkedFur decided I was worth having as one of their launch artists so if you're into supporting artists, small businesses, or me specifically this is the way to go: https://inkedfur.com/creator/bone/ So far on my store front I've got about a hundred different images available that range from "G" to "XXX" and are any style from refined pencils all the way up to finished paintings so if there's something in my gallery you've ever wanted for yourself here's your chance (and if there's something in my gallery NOT on there just note me and I'll see if I can add it).

Other  inkedfur stuff worth knowing:

-They're currently having a "Buy four get one Free" sale so take advantage of that and buy a metric shit ton of furry pornography as xmas presents for your entire family and then never have to attend family get togethers again so long as you live.

-If a piece YOU commissioned is on the site and you'd like to buy a print of it (any size or style) send me a note and I'll send you a coupon code good for a $10 discount, all in the Spirit of Giving.

-For a while I had the only lesbian art on the entire site because I am extremely progressive and interesting.

-If the site does well and expands they're hoping to start printing "False Start" issues, should this occur I could justify working on pages more often. The reason I rarely work on "False Start" currently is I'm still incredibly sick and have to prioritize commissions since people pay for those and "False Start" is something I do for free (even the issues I sold only allowed me to break even due to the high cost of full color printing).

-If you only get one print make it this one because it has a good name: https://inkedfur.com/print/nip-nip-slipadelphia/

Regardless: once I've beaten Lyme disease and sent it to hell where it belongs FS will resume updating on a weekly schedule, commissions will fly forth from my fingers and, presumably, other good things will happen.

See y'all at MFF! (more info tomorrow).

-Bone



Short version: I have a furry print store, this is it: https://inkedfur.com/creator/bone/ it is owned and operated by these people:  inkedfur .

I don't like things like Patreon or "tip jars" (as I see the system abused far too often) so I am extremely happy to say that there is now a way to give me money AND get artwork at the same time! This new, radical idea is something called a "store" and somehow I stumbled into getting one! The nice people over at InkedFur decided I was worth having as one of their launch artists so if you're into supporting artists, small businesses, or me specifically this is the way to go: https://inkedfur.com/creator/bone/ So far on my store front I've got about a hundred different images available that range from "G" to "XXX" and are any style from refined pencils all the way up to finished paintings so if there's something in my gallery you've ever wanted for yourself here's your chance (and if there's something in my gallery NOT on there just note me and I'll see if I can add it).

Other  inkedfur stuff worth knowing:

-They're currently having a "Buy four get one Free" sale so take advantage of that and buy a metric shit ton of furry pornography as xmas presents for your entire family and then never have to attend family get togethers again so long as you live.

-If a piece YOU commissioned is on the site and you'd like to buy a print of it (any size or style) send me a note and I'll send you a coupon code good for a $10 discount, all in the Spirit of Giving.

-For a while I had the only lesbian art on the entire site because I am extremely progressive and interesting.

-If the site does well and expands they're hoping to start printing "False Start" issues, should this occur I could justify working on pages more often. The reason I rarely work on "False Start" currently is I'm still incredibly sick and have to prioritize commissions since people pay for those and "False Start" is something I do for free (even the issues I sold only allowed me to break even due to the high cost of full color printing).

-If you only get one print make it this one because it has a good name: https://inkedfur.com/print/nip-nip-slipadelphia/

Regardless: once I've beaten Lyme disease and sent it to hell where it belongs FS will resume updating on a weekly schedule, commissions will fly forth from my fingers and, presumably, other good things will happen.

See y'all at MFF! (more info tomorrow).

-Bone



Short version: I have a furry print store, this is it: https://inkedfur.com/creator/bone/ it is owned and operated by these people:  inkedfur .

I really hate writing these journals. That's why I've put this one off for so long, I just flat out didn't want to write about my deteriorating health anymore; it's demoralizing and doesn't feel worthy of attention. Plus a small part of me thought "Hey, maybe I'll get better and can just go back to work and not write any more of these stupid things."

But that's not the case. I'm not getting better, not anytime soon anyway. Things started to get more intense around late September when I decided, after a lot of research and deliberation, to have a picc line installed. For those who don't know: a picc line is a tube that goes into your body (in my case it starts in the arm and then 43 inches later ends in my chest cavity) directly to more efficiently distribute medication; in my case: antibiotics that should eventually kill off this Lyme thing. Here is what mine looks like: https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....71127878799360 It doesn't hurt (veins don't have nerve endings) though if I lie on my side I can sometimes feel it internally which is a tad odd. Sometimes it gives me stomach aches. I haven't noticed much improvement yet but I have been to the ER three times this past month (first two ambulance rides! Whoohoo!). The first one was because I simply passed out after having chest pains, the second one was a mistake with my picc line where we, and I am not exaggerating, gave me my medication dose 2,640 times too fast. It was INCREDIBLY painful and I've never fought so hard in my life to stay conscious. My memory of what happened is...fuzzy.

The third time was the real kicker. As I've said before: Lyme attacks the immune system so I have multiple co-infections and other health issues. One of the ones that has been very hard to deal with has been heightened anxiety, which landed me in the hospital twice in the spring. This was different though. It was a Monday, my anxiety medication had gotten low and I'd called in for a refill on the previous Friday, which was really a mistake on my part. By Monday it had not been refilled and I played phone tag with my doctor as I desperately tried to get them to refill this medication. The nurses continuously told me that they'd "have it done by the end of the day" and that "The doctor was in another building". I now know that they are liars. Five o'clock rolled around and: no refill. The problem here was that I'd spent the previous nine hours in a new kind of hell whilst trying to negotiate my health and well being over the phone. I can't even describe it. I sweated and froze intermittently, anxiety pangs attacked my stomach and radiated out as pain. I thrashed and gnashed my teeth uncontrollably. I choked on air and gasped for breath for hours. I honestly thought I was going to die It was a shitty Monday.

So at five thirty I went to the hospital. Just to get my medication refilled. That's all I needed, that's how fucked up the medical system is in a first world country. I found out from my nurse that the medication I needed (lorazepam/ativan for those interested or curious) has "severe to fatal withdrawal symptoms". My doctor who prescribed the medication had opted to not tell me this AND not get me a refill in a timely manner. I didn't even know it had withdrawal symptoms much less that they could kill me. I had been "off" for about two and a half days. Suddenly that scene from "Trainspotting" seemed a lot more relatable, though what I felt was like that but for a few days instead of a brief montage. Suffice it to say: I am looking for a new doctor.

This was all compounded in terms of "Overall Shitiness" by the fact that my dog Jax had died suddenly the day before. We brought him to the vet because he was breathing funny. They said he had congestive heart failure and he was put to sleep. He has been at my side through this entire Lyme disease mess and I couldn't ask for a better companion. He would've been 15 in January. This is the last picture I took of him (left): https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....21559699087360 We'll be receiving a box of his ashes in the mail.

Luckily it's not all bad. I still have two wonderful dogs in my life (Ranger and Tanner) and, despite difficulties on all fronts I still plan to attend MFF. This year I'll be going with my longtime friend  talenshi who has been an ENORMOUS boon to me this year. She's also a fantastic watercolor artist and I hope that, once I'm better, we'll be doing some major collaborating. Making it to MFF will be tough but I really want to be there. I'm going to do everything I can to finish off older commissions and make it the best convention I can. A lot of people over the course of this thing have stepped up to help me (including one anonymous commissioner who volunteered to put himself at the end of the queue. I was so overwhelmed by his words of support that I couldn't bring myself to respond. He says he reads my journals. You know who you are, you're awesome.). Countless others have sent me notes, emails, tweets, steam games, all sorts of things. Trust me when I say, when I've beaten this stupid fucking disease: it will be worth it.

-Bone

I'm modifying this meme a bit so I don't lose my mind, I was tagged by  two-tails who was attempting to do just that I presume.

RULES :
1. Pick a character you've created (this originally said "OC" a term I don't like using, I also don't like saying "my character").
2. Fill in the questions/statements as if you were that character.
3. Tag at least four people to do this meme! (I will not be doing this part, sorry. I'm mean and horrible.)
4. Tell people that they been tagged with a link from your journal (HA)

Character picked: Bone (I was half tempted to do someone from FS but that seemed incredibly tacky)

1. What is your name?
Boneitis, or Bone. For short.

2. Do you know why you were named that?
I blame Matt Groening and Jeff Smith.

3. Single or taken?
Sick guys got no game so: very single.

4. Have any abilities or powers?
Using more ink than people like in artwork. Seriously, people hate ink. Don't draw like I do if you want friends.

5. Stop being a Mary Sue!
Shut up.

6. What's your eye color?
Gray-blue.

7. How about hair color?
Dark blonde.

8. Have you any family members?
THERE ARE MANY BONES. PAY ATTENTION.

9. Oh? How about pets?
I have three dogs: Ranger, Jax, and Tanner (my shithead puppy).

10. That's cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don't like.
Comics that lack gumption.

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?
Art is my job, so not a hobby or an answer but I do like inline skating and fishing.

12. Have you ever hurt anyone in any way before?
Sure, they usually deserve it. More or less. It's a gray area.

What kind of fucking question is this?

13. Ever… killed anyone before?
Maybe I should have answered this as Meier...

14. What kind of animal are you?
Useless ferret.

15. Name your worst habits.
Getting in over my head.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?
Sean Murphy and Eric Powell are the two artists I most admire and the two I strive to be on par with.

17. Are you gay, straight, or bisexual?
Very bisexual. People have told me I'm "the most bisexual person" they know. Is that good? Bad? (I don't care, it's not interesting. Just is.)

18. Do you go to school?
Graduated from SCAD with a degree in Sequential Art, proceeded to use that degree to raise kangaroos for a living.

19. Ever want to marry and have kids one day?
I've got to kick Lyme disease before really thinking about that. Roping someone in at this point in my life would be cruel.

20. Do you have fangirls/fanboys?
I think so. People send me porn in the mail that I didn't ask for. I assume they are fans that have gender.

21. What are you most afraid of?
Government-sanctioned censorship.

22. What do you usually wear?
Relatively nice clothes and hoodies (I have to stay warm or my joints lock up).

23. What's one food that tempts you?
Imo's pizza, since I can't currently eat it.

24. Am I annoying you?
A question is not a person and, thusly, cannot be described as "I". So: yes and no.

25. Well, it's still not over!
Who wrote this? An Invader Zim fan?

26. What class are you (low class, middle class, high class)?
I'm pretty classy.

27. How many friends do you have?
A few.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?
Should always be served a la mode.

30. Favorite drink?
White Russian.

31. What's your favorite place?
Star Clipper Comics.

32. Are you interested in anyone~?
SICK BOYS GOT NO GAME SON

33. That was a stupid question.
It was very furry.

34. Would you rather swim in a lake or the ocean?
Ocean, I like snorkeling and I'd like to see a few more coral reefs before they all die.

35. What's your type?
Ambitious.

36. Any fetishes?
Attractive people.

37. Seme or uke?
I'm not Japanese.

38. Camping or indoors?
I like camping, but currently it's not really an option.

39. Tag People!

Consider yourself tagged if you want to answer these questions in your journal, FREEDOM! (?)

My last submission was 17 DAYS AGO??? WHAT???? NO!!! How did that happen? Well ok I actually have been drawing and inking when I'm able (though progress pieces are relegated to my twitter almost exclusively: https://twitter.com/Boneitis ) but what I haven't been posting about is my numerous Herxheimer reactions and the ambulance trip that have happened since that last submission.
I'll keep it simple: Post-anthrocon I've been on a very strict diet (no gluten, no sugar, no nightshade plants or spices) and a huge daily medication regimen (16 pills every morning). Due to this I've seen...not *exactly* improvement; if anything I now violently yo-yo between being almost perfectly healthy and bedridden-deathly-ill. Last week was a good example: I had four days in a row where I was energetic and working. I painted and inked every day AND I even drew three commissions in one go (something I used to do quite easily that has since become very difficult). After that draw-a-thon day though? I went to a friends house and accidentally passed out in a locked room. My friends, (  grimshanks included ) picked the lock and carried my body over to a couch where they promptly tried to call an ambulance as they'd never seen someone pass out, go blind, and have seizures (Though this exact thing happens to me on a weekly basis, once landing me in that aforementioned ambulance ride). They eventually got me home and, as is the usual for me when these "episodes" happen, I had two days where I couldn't get out of bed at all, followed by two days of semi-awareness, and now here I am feeling pretty good. So, my plan is to take every day where I feel even remotely good and work as hard as I can; sometimes I can only get in two hours, other days I can comfortably work almost all day. I essentially have to take each day as they come while I work at getting better, it is a long, strange, and completely unpredictable road and I am very thankful for all the people who send me so much goddamn support. More so than anything that support means to me that, when this Lyme thing is over, I'll have every reason to hit the ground running and continue to pursue my goals and the life I want at %100. So whether you're a friend, fan, reader, commissioner, or some combination of the above: thank you for listening, trust me: I'm tired of this shit too.

~Bone

PS: if this week goes well for me I've got lots of cool stuff to finish and post!

After missing FWA due to medical issues I entered AC with a fair bit of trepidation. My fears ended up being totally pointless though because AC completely ROCKED this year! It may have been the best con I've ever had even! Here's some bulleted highlights:

-The return of my artist friend  talenshi! I hadn't heard from her in years but it was absolutely awesome to have her along.  talenshi is a powerhouse illustrator and, what more, she'll be going with me to MFF later this year!

-The preponderance of Bones! Pics because it totally happened: https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....292737/photo/1 and even a Ladybone showed up! https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....075264/photo/1

-People reacted AMAZINGLY to my switch towards a harder edged, more traditional style. I'd been doing a lot of hand inking since my arthritis was keep ing me away from my computer and it turned out to be a great move! I was so relieved that people like my super-dark-and-texture-heavy inks.

-My ever-present partner in no-goodery  grimshanks returned to AC and bought hilarious amounts of merchandise AND brought some amazing tunes for us to work to. I didn't know I had it in me to listen to the "22 Jump Street" soundtrack eight times or so but it turns out I totally do.

-Badge slots filled up in a record 57 minutes! Last year it took three hours! Damn!

-Just about sold out of "False Start" issues so I'll try to scrape together a second printing, also sold a lot of originals. Mostly of Meier (whoda thought?).

And, of course, I met tons of cool new people AND reunited with lots of long time con buddies. If I saw you at some point make sure to sound off in the comments so I can link a face to an avatar! Otherwise, I've gotta get cracking on commissions hard. Also: expect "False Start" to resume in August, I just need some time to play catch up.

See you all next year or at another con!

~Bone

Anthrocon's coming up in two days and I'm really excited! I'm going to be there in the Dealer's Den everyday at table M14, I'll have big posters of these three images behind me so I shouldn't be hard to find: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13778259/ , http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13716357/ , http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10908659/ . I'll also have my new badge board at my table: https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....809152/photo/1 . As per my usual at cons I will be opening up ten slots for badges and sketchbooks. For the past two years these slots have filled up within the first three hours of the Dealer's Den opening so if you want something of that nature get in there quick! If you miss the cutoff but still want something handmade I will have hundreds of original drawings available; they range from quick little sketches to fully inked and rendered pieces so there's a lot of variety in what's on hand. I'll also have over 150 full color prints for sale. In terms of "False Start" stuff I have issues 1 and 2 available along with original pages from issues 1-3 available for purchase, I'll also have some penciled pages from issue 4 on display for those of you who want a sneak peek at the upcoming issue. As always I'll also be taking "take home" commissions however these come with the massive disclaimer of: "I'm still very sick, recovering from an intensely debilitating neurological disease. Your commission WILL get done and I'm going to enjoy the hell out of making it but it may take a while". So if you're the impatient type I'd recommend anything else from my table, lots for sale!

That being said, some news on my now over-a-year-long fight with Lyme disease: I managed to find a very good specialist who isn't a five hour drive away (just a 1 hour drive, easy!) and had some pretty intensive rounds of testing done. The good news is that he figured out pretty much everything that's wrong with me; the bad news is that it's a whole fucking lot. My body's been pretty ravaged by this disease and it's going to take quite a bit to repair it, luckily I'm on a pretty intense regimen (check out my "Daily Medication Tray": https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....742721/photo/1 ) and it's a little rough but I think it's going to help. I have to do two daily injections via hypodermic (not fun) but it could be worse. My arthritis has gotten pretty bad (as I noted in a previous journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5833984/ )so I now walk with a cane, so don't be surprised by that! I've gone to AC for five years cane-less so I figure it's worth noting the extra leg.

Overall: I'm hoping that a good showing at Anthrocon will turn this year around for me. It's been really rough and kind of stupid so far but if I can rock it at this con it will actually help with my recovery (happier people have stronger immune systems it turns out!). My ideal here is to do well at this con, come back and start regularly updating commissions and comic pages again. Just get back to normal you know?

See you all at Anthrocon!

~Bone

PS: if you don't know what I look like here is a picture of me with and Alucard dog and some lady: https://twitter.com/Boneitis/status.....572288/photo/1

Let's start with the wheelchair thing, that seems frightening enough. Friends and other people on the sidelines of my Journey through Lyme Disease have noticed that I get hilariously tired very easily, especially in social environments. It's part of Lyme, you get tired super easy, all the time, and resting doesn't do much to alleviate it. Anyhow, people notice that I get tired all the goddamn time and a couple of people have suggested that for Anthrocon and other such events that I nab myself a chair with wheels so I wouldn't have to be so dang tired. This sounds like a fine way to conserve energy but there are two problems:

1). I am still actually able to walk, it just wears me out quick.
2). If I don't spend the whole con being wheeled around and am "spotted" walking that's going to blow up in my face one way or another because people are stupid, jerks, and the internet exists. I'll let you create some fanciful scenarios in your head.

So, it was a nice suggestion and I don't think I'll be taking it, but if I'm in some way forced to well, here's some precedent!

Those of you following my strung out, exasperated, and altogether boring journals concerning the, seemingly never ending, quest to bump this disease probably read my last journal ( http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5809817/ ). I said I was going to Iowa and holy hell I did. I found myself in a teeny tiny clinic in a super podunk little town known as "Sumner". There I met my baziilionth doctor and am now on a completely new medication regimen. Here's what I know and am comfortable sharing with people:

-Doctor claims I WILL get better, says it could be months to years.
-Says I will likely NOT experience "herxing" (phew).
-I can do some of my checkups over Skype. This is good. Driving twelve hours to see a doctor is not fun.
-I'm still on track to go to Anthrocon though I'm still incredibly sick so I might be more of an "appearance" than anything. I'm certainly going to be selling comics and prints at my table. Hopefully I'll be in good enough condition to take sketchbooks and badges. As for take-home work (which is the majority of what I get at cons) it'll be on a "You HAVE to realize I am very sick, this will take a long ass time, asking for revisions is a TERRIBLE idea, etc..." Amazingly, even with those terms, I still get messages every week from people who want to commission me.

That's really cool.

~Bone