Squashed Vampire.

Just thought I’d share this photo I quickly snapped on my phone the other day. It an old Halloween vampire mask squashed in a pile of comics, magazines and other bits-and-pieces that sit on my desk.

There’s a big part of me that would love to get back into photography. I kind of got into it at college, and do very much enjoy it. Right now, though, the web-comic seems to take up any rare free second of time I might get, but maybe one day. I did buy myself a funky new camera a few years ago, and I still haven’t really tried it out yet.

Global Readership.

The eerie ‘quiet before the storm’ continues over on Babayka-lives this weekend. Has Blake’s luck finally run out, and he doesn’t even know it yet? And just where is everybody, anyway? You ever get the feeling something sinister is brewing?

I always try and avoid talking numbers and figures of readers on this blog. Partly because I think a web-comic should be judge on artwork and content alone, not whether it’s in style that week online or not. And partly because I imagine it wouldn’t really be a very interesting subject for anyone reading this blog. Plus as we all know, just because something’s popular, doesn’t actually mean it’s any good. But that said, I did think today I’d share this screen grab below of Babayka-Lives audience stat showing readership from around the world. I am very lucky in that the comic does seem to attract readers from near-and-far, and for anyone wondering, here’s what Babayka-Lives worldwide readership looks like. By far, the biggest audience of readers can be found in the Untied States. I guess that’s probably no surprise, as they are the biggest English-languages speaking country in the world. They’re also a country big on both horror and comics. I’m guessing America are probably most web-comic’s biggest readership audience. Second and third place seems to be an ongoing battle right now between the Untied Kingdom (my home country, if you were wondering) and the Philippines (who are apparently big into web-comics at the moment.) Right now it’s the UK holding second position, but up until recently, it’s been the Philippines. It’s almost neck-and-neck at the moment. Honourable mentions should also go to readers from Canada, Russia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Australia and many others. It’s very flattering to know people are tuning in from around the world to follow this web-series. With so many, many web-comics out there right now competing for reader’s attentions, it is nice to know people are following this web-series and wanting to know where this series is going (not to mention I probably lose a vast amount of readers on account of I don’t draw a web-comic that’s either Manga-y or Cartoon-y, like 99% of all modern web-comics currently. Like with Superhero comics dominating floppy comic-books in the last century, you do feel a bit left out right now in web-comics if you’re not a drawing a series that’s heavily Anime inspired, bright colours, and wacky with everyone having big cartoon eyes… Not that I’m against any of those things, you understand, but it’s pretty clear that’s not really where my artwork’s coming from.) So it’s nice to know it turns out there is an audience for what I do. Not being a colourful manga\cartoon inspired web-comic, it can also mean it’s hard to get any love from media\web-comic websites (plus being a horror web-comic can bring out the skittish in some reviewers, sadly.) So a big thank you to those readers that recommend Babayka-Lives to other people, either online, or in person. It truly is a massive help when readers (from wherever you are across the globe) show this web-comic some love. Just recommending Babayka-Lives to a friend, or saying a few kind words about it and posting a link on Blogs\Facebook\Twitter\Forums is such a massive help.

It’s only recently I’ve really began to see where this web-series can start to go over the next couple of years. While Brides Of Babayka will be coming to an end very soon, I do have plenty of plans for these characters, have no fear. I guess it will come down to whether readers are interested in seeing future adventures of The Brides Of Babayka, and Babayka himself (when he finally bloody turns up) when Book one is finished or not. I hope people will.

Hit That Button.

Tune in tomorrow over on Babayka-Lives to see the fate of Ronald Blake, as he continues his misadventures trapped deep in Babayka’s lair. What will become of poor, old, lone Blake? How long will he remain the last Bachelor standing?

Also, if you have either a Tumblr or Tapastic account, why not subscribe to Babayka-Lives? Never miss an update by simply hitting that subscribe button. It also gives me a chance to get to know some of my readers, to boot, and helps support the web-comic. A massive thank you to those who have already subscribe via Tumblr\Tapastic. It’s always awesome when readers show some love and hits that subscribe button. It’s the highlight of my day when I get an Email informing me the comic’s got a new follower, so a big thank you to those that do.

Blogger Quest.

Decided this week to spice things up a bit, so I turned my blog into a interactive, live-action, roleplaying game. To play, simply pick up and roll a six-sided dice now and follow the instructions below.

Roll a 6 or a 5: You must travel to the part of the internet where the dreaded Babayka-Lives and witness the fate of poor, lone Blake, as he finds himself last man standing (or not, as it were) after last week’s horrific events.  

Roll a 4 or a 3: Quest you must over to Tapastic, where you will find pages 45 to 48 freshly uploaded and waiting to be discovered. What riddles do they hide, brave traveller?

Roll a 2: Your path is unclear. Player must roll again.

Roll a 1: You are eaten by a smelly Orc. Game over. No Babayka action for you this week, unlucky knight. You must return in seven moons time and try again with your quest.