Originally posted 20 March 2008. Edited 21 July 2008.

Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break is officially ending on March 25th, 2008, with strip #500.

During the coming months, I will concentrate on completing the past comics which are written but I have been unable to draw, until the full archive of five hundred comics have been posted. Effectively, this means that new comics will continue to be posted for another one-and-a-half to two years. I will finish and make available all five Lunch Break trade paperback books, and will continue to offer original comic art and other popular merchandise. There will likely be one major, last website redesign, and I will continue to offer the free archives as long as I maintain a public web presence.

Crap I Drew on My Lunch Break started on a whim in the summer of 2003, with no planning, goals, or forethought. It has served as a sounding board for things I find amusing, interesting, and frustrating, as well as a place for me to experiment with different art styles in a casual way. But as time has worn on, I have felt myself boxed in and constricted by characterizations in the earliest strips, with less and less of a personal connection to the comic. I have continually had to answer for things which I would say differently now, or have since changed opinion on, or issues and incidents which I had to remove all subtlety from to condense them into a comic format.

Over the past two years, in particular, I have been dealt blow after blow while trying to regain my footing. I have struggled with the most crippling depression I have ever experienced in my life, without any access to professional help. There have been many days where I accomplished little more than lamely blinking at a wall and drooling on myself. I have grappled with the full consequences and implications of my atheism. I have agonized, obsessed, and finally come to terms with my own mortality, including the serious health issues that loom over my horizon moving into the next decade. While this has resulted in what I believe is profound personal growth, it has left me looking back upon much of my work as if it were created by another person entirely.

Rather than force Lunch Break into becoming something that it was never meant to be, I have reached the decision to end it, complete it, and move on to other things. People change, and while the Internet is a harsh mistress that never forgets, I hope future readers will take Lunch Break in the context of the time in my life it once occupied, and not the person I have become.

There are several ideas I am currently formulating for potential new comics once Lunch Break is eventually wrapped up: concepts more in tune with my current worldview, and that I would find more artistically satisfying. However, I can’t share any details or say with certainty what will happen at this time. Whether or not I continue making comics will ultimately depend on if I am able to rebuild my business and my life in a manner that allows it. This process will not be easy. It also depends upon you, my readers.

Thank you to everyone who has made purchases, donated, or sent gifts over the last five years, and those who will continue to do so as I fill in the holes and close this chapter of my life. Your support has enabled me to take care of myself, continue with my work, and give a loving home and medical care to many animals who may not have had as much otherwise. We are grateful for the generosity you have shown us, and hope you will continue following along until the end. I will do my best.

Added on 21 July 2008.

As of July 21st, the Lunch Break website has been converted from its previous scripting to ComicPress 2.5 in conjunction with WordPress. I apologize if you have come to this site through a missing URL or broken link. The entire archive has been cleaned up and reformatted one comic at a time, and many new features are available that allow you to browse the archive in multiple ways. The layout and graphics were also updated.

I do have tentative plans to begin a new journal comic when Lunch Break is completed if circumstances allow it; one that is more in line with my age, changing outlook on life, and which uses a less physically demanding art style that I can more reliably produce. However, it is still untitled and I cannot share any further details at this time.