This is probably because I recently turned another year older, but I was thinking how much time keeps changing. In particular, I thought to how my parents recently moved to a new house just a couple years ago. I’m so used to it being their home now that I feel less connected to the home where we lived for over 20 years.

I still dream of the old house and can go on a mental tour of each room. How we had the living room decorated and what it looked like bathed in the warm light late in the evenings. Taking the dark green carpeted stairs two at a time and turning abruptly into my old room, where I spent most of my time. I can even picture the different ways I organized my furniture in the small space. My favorite being when I had my desk under the window where I could watch the sky change as I wrote my comics. I wrote so many comics there that I had engraved some images of Blue into the wood. Probably was pressing too hard…

Anyway, all of that is gone. With every year, we build new memories and keep moving forward. Our past shapes us, but I enjoy how the future always holds new adventures and experiences.

With that, I hope you have a great week, and maybe take a mental tour of an old memory for me. It can be pretty fun and brings some warm and fuzzy feelings (tip: pick a happy place, just saying).

When I studied abroad in London, I started a tradition for my birthday where I buy myself chocolate. In London, I went to Harrod’s, now I usually go to Godiva because they have delicious truffles. This way, no matter what happens on my birthday or who I’m able to see, I do something for it.

Other than that though, I have amazing family and friends who truly do make my birthday special and I appreciate them every day. I’ve leveled up another year and I’m excited to see what it’ll bring!

Hello May!

The disguises are a reference to the original comics. Back when Blue and the gang first broke into the factory, they used these disguises, so I wanted to still honor this little plan. Also I still think it’s funny.

Get ready friends, Blue’s plans are going to start moving forward! I’m pretty happy I’ve been able to find an interesting way to keep a bit of the same story, just a bit clearer and better. Really funny what fourteen years will do to you. It’s like you mature and learn to write and stuff. Weird.

I recently started a new job which involves doing the social media for the company. This has had an interesting effect on the rest of my social media presence, including for Yum Poison! Overall, I’ve lost the energy to post often, which I already see affecting my numbers and getting people to the site.

So, I’ll fix it and all that and you’ll be hearing more from me. I’m still settling into my new position and it has really been a lot of fun already. I get to be much more creative, constantly writing and problem-solving, not to mention I talk about art all day. Seriously, ALL. FREAKIN’. DAY. It’s my job. I feel much more connected to the art community and especially the Cleveland area, which just makes me love this city more.

Since I originally wanted to go into publishing, it doesn’t entirely surprise me I like this field. Being able to market and support artists (writers or visual artists) is very important to me. The difference being I’ve never seen myself as being able to be a full time artist, but still hope to one day be a full time writer. Currently, I’m just aiming for part time because that’s how goals work and all.

Anyway, I never really cared much for marketing, but with my empathy and ability to consider different perspectives, I’m turning out to be pretty decent at it. Being the most tech savvy person in the company helps too.

I actually wrote this comic pretty early on when writing drafts, but also wanted to cover some of the story line before I got to it. I know a lot of comics talk about depression and they really do a wonderful job. Yum Poison is not entirely focused on mental illness though, so even though I created this comic as my own add to the conversation, I do feel I have other things to say. Besides, I do think the other comics are doing a fantastic job talking about depression and other health issues, so you should definitely look into it. By illustrating what certain symptoms can feel like, I really do think they create a great explanation to the hardships and struggles of illness while also touching upon how hard it can be to get help.

I’m no expert and certainly know very little about mental illness, but I do understand it’s a disease and sometimes the best thing you can do is give support to those who are suffering and give yourself a break if it’s you. I drew this comic on a tough day because I needed to hear what Blue says just as much as Black. Sometimes it’s just nice to know you’re not alone, even if the rain cloud is still there. I too must remind myself sometimes: it’s okay to be sad.

Oh man, I’m so glad I’ve been able to introduce Pink to you guys. So in the original comics, she was definitely my least favorite character. Her job was a television talk show host. I first introduced her by having Blue go on her show and she interviews him. It… doesn’t end well. I mean, Blue kidnaps her, which is a bit frowned upon and all, so there’s that. This is also how Clear finds out about Blue, but I’m changing that as well.

Pink was annoying and her character was really flat back then. By giving her more power, I’ve been able to flesh her out more and give her more to do in the story overall, which is exciting. I feel much better about her and I would have to say we’re friends now. Proof that 14 years makes a difference to a story.

Happy Easter and Happy April Fools Day! I hope you have a great day either celebrating with family or playing some fun, safe, pranks (or… why not both?).

I’m a little late to the game with this meme, but I love it too much not to add.

This site has gone premium! That just means you’ll see ads (which you probably already have), but now I’ll be making some profit. Not a lot, and all you have to do is visit and read the comics, so no work for you, I promise. I’m excited about this update though, and thank you for reading.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I hope you have a fun-filled adventure planned! Mine involves a parade, the biggest one in Cleveland!

So this image was shared on Reddit today, which was originally created by an ER nurse and her coworkers who decided gummy bears needed to be renamed. Here is my response:

Don’t worry, Black and Blue are fine, if not a little miffed they were tricked into going to the doctor over nothing…