This year's update!

Hey gang! Made it before 2020 to give you an update about what we're thinking, where we're going and how that affects you! I meant to do a more frequent update this week but I got hammered with this cold that's going around. I missed Christmas Eve and spent Christmas day sick in my parents' house. It was rough. We didn't even really have much in the way of footage to edit so I couldn't even really keep busy. But today I'm finally back in my feet and I don't hurt when I swallow or think too hard, and really hit the channel with some ideas and plans. I actually hit them too hard because I went to the office and started moving stuff and building sets and realized I don't have a great plan yet.

So here's this week: there's Elseworlds and Back Issues. No Off the Rack, I'm not there yet physically. However, the show will return next week as will continue without fail! Elseworlds is pre-recorded, but it's at least double length and features myself, Ethan AND Ben! It's a huge episode. So huge, we're gonna make it a premiere and see if that makes things more fun. Back Issues as you've seen already is Ultimate Carnage. I really thought we did Hollywood already, but whatever. It doesn't hurt anything to do them out of order. That said, we will catch up with that previous volume in the near future.

I have two videos scripted and their images picked out already. They will directly connect with multimedia that's coming on the horizon. In fact, I have a year long plan that covers every significant movie or TV show that's coming in 2020, with a Back Issues episode planned at the very least, and tie-in info videos as well. So for Birds of Prey, we've made a list of every team Harley Quinn has been on, and I'm honestly kind of surprised by the amount of work it took and just how many teams she's officially been a member of! Along with that is a Top 10 Favorite Comics of 2019 Off the Rack special. It's not scripted, but it is ready to be filmed. Let's hope I can get that in the can and up by Wednesday!

My plan, such that it is, is to jump on stuff like this if and when I can at all times. I'm not going to burn myself out or chase every single trend, but we're going to be more aggressive this year. We're not going to passively reach 100k and total financial independence by letting things like this slip by us. So you'll be hopefully seeing us bumping elbows with the bigger guys, like we should be.

Based on the amazing amount of feedback from all of you, one thing is abundantly clear: no major changes. You want the same team, the same type of shows, and the same level of quality. One thing I saw a few times when it comes to changes is the desire to see us work smarter. Be better. Chase those trends and be proactive. The other, if I can extrapolate, is that you want more. More shows, more updates, more interaction, more innovation. We're happy to do that.

And we're going to do it in spite of the algorithms.

We know how certain videos are going to perform. And we know there's a certain benefit from doing those videos, even if they don't get high views. Genuine connections with creators with interviews as well as valid, frank information for you from those interactions. Renewed energy from ourselves as a result of doing more and trying new things. So I'm going to try stuff. And it won't always work, or succeed. And some of it might be so fun and so exciting, we won't care how it does. That's how this channel started, that's where the real audience came from, and that's where new members of the POPulation in 2020 are going to come from. Showing our real selves and having genuine fun with comics. And hopefully those movie tie-ins will help balance things out...

YouTube is uncertain, yeah. Creativity is uncertain. I spent five years making webcomics. Learning that industry, talking to creators, begging, scraping, spending and cursing my lousy fortune. I learned a lot, and I have something I can point to that represents those five years. And while I didn't become a pro, and I never made money, I learned a ton and it pushed me into the next phase of my life that led here. And this, from beginning to now, has been fun. Legendary fun. I'm happy, I'm thankful, and thanks to all of you I always will be.

See you next year,
Sal