Welcome to my last blog of 2013 (and the before last post of the year). I thought I’d just reflect a little on the year if you don’t mind. For those of you who lived through the year with me, this may be old news.

I scaled back my work on the site this past year because the pace I was on was too demanding for what’s still just a hobby. I opted instead of working longer for working better and smarter. The mash-ups were so much better this year. I’m really happy that I chose not to stop doing them completely and just slowed down the pace so I could produce some prettier pictures. Not every mash-up is going to be a Steampunk Barnaby (10+ hours) but there should be no more Avengers Zoës either so that’s a plus.

I abandoned the plans for Kerfuffle Shuffle this year. About the only thing I really love about the game now is the name. I’ll have to use it for something else. The game didn’t pan out to the point I was confident enough to even playtest it. I’m disappointed because I did put in a fair amount of work into it. I’ve got a simpler game idea percolating in my brain. I’m hoping for better results and something to show at Montreal Comic Con in 2014.

I’ve realized that if I want the site to grow I’m going to have to put some thought into advertising in 2014. I’ve signed up for Ad-Project Wonderful which is something I’ve seen used on some of the comics I read online. I need to figure out how much to spend and then design some ads to post. APW (as I’m calling it) seems smartly scalable so it shouldn’t be too costly. I hope it leads to positive result.

I mentioned Montreal Comic Con earlier and that’s one of the goals I’ve fixed for myself for 2014: To get a table at the Con as part of my attempt to advertise the site. It’s scary and exciting at the same time. I have eight months to develop a thick skin so I don’t get crushed by despair if nobody stops at my table.

Okay, I need to wrap things up now. I took things a little easy over the weekend because a) I had a family supper on Saturday, b) I had a supper with friends on Sunday that I needed to prepare for, and c) I bought a Wii U on Friday that I really wanted to play with at SOME point over the weekend. I have a strip left to draw and a mash-up to shade. At some point this week of vacation I want to work on my new game idea so I can’t put off the drawing TOO much. I will therefore conclude by saying thank you for spending some time with Age of Animus in 2013. I hope to see you all back (along with new friends) in 2014! Happy New Year everybody!