I had to mention this.

"Gracefully" bowing out, from Yirmumah.

I do apologize for the lack of updates in the past month, but the crushing grip of reality has me wriggling in her ice-cold hands. I've got things in the real world which must be done, so my entire internet life has gone on hiatus. I still take the time to read my webcomics (I'd go insane if I didn't), but I don't have time to write about them, or make my own.

That being said, this warrants comment. D.J. Coffman has dropped from The Daily Grind. Why is this important? Because of out of any member of the Grind, past or current, D.J. Coffman was the most arrogant, jerkiest, and yet also biggest promoter of the event. Do you think the Grind would have gotten half the attention it's gotten if D.J. hadn't been constantly raising hell about it? I doubt it.

That being said, his attitude when dropping out was "It's not really important anymore, I've got better things to do with my time." And it's probably true. In many ways the Grind has become a contest of egos more than a contest of dedication to the craft. But I'm also of the opinion that this phase of the Grind will pass (you can only be sustained by ego for so long) and when we get down to the top ten, it will be the people who have been truly striving to create quality work, not those who are just "in it to win it", so to speak, that will remain. Then things will get interesting again.

The main reason that D.J. Coffman dropped, of course, is to focus more on his new project, Hero by Night, with Platinum Studios and DrunkDuck. Now, I have a lot to say about the whole Platinum Studios/DrunkDuck thing, but as I mentioned earlier, no time. So suffice to say for now that I'll be following Hero by Night with interest, and I'll have something comprehensive to say "soon".

As for The Daily Grind, I will continue to follow it as well. I'm actually a long-time lurker at the Daily Grind message board, so I'm pretty familiar with all the drama there. And my money's on the people who have raised themselves above the drama. If I had to bet, I'd say the winner's going to be either Ali Graham, Brad Guigar, Paul Gadzikowski, or R. Smith. These are people that proved to be rock solid 7 days per week updaters long before the Daily Grind even started. I'm pretty sure it would take a Chris Crosbyesque blizzard/blackout to knock them out. Outside odds to Brandon Lewis and Jennie Breeden, who have shown a commitment to keeping the quality of their comics high throughout the grind.