I keep getting e-mails from people telling me they’ve only just discovered Happysad. Some of them add that they’ve taken about 4 or 5 hours going through all 1050 episodes at once (freaks! ). Some asked me why I don’t draw more updates. Because not everyone was here from the very beginning over three years ago, I’d like to answer these questions now.

The fact is that in the past I used to publish one cartoon every day, with the occasional break inbetween, which hardly ever lasted more than a week. Somehow I managed to keep up this pace until Happysad #1000, but by then I was really exhausted. Up to the point where I was seriously considering ending the series.

But after more than three years, the cartoon had somehow become a part of myself, so I couldn’t just throw it away. Moreover, I keep getting so many lovely reactions from people all over the world, I’d hate to dissapoint anyone. So I followed the advice many people gave me and now I only publish new stuff whenever I feel like it, inspiration strikes and/or I have the time for it.

Two things have changed since the beginning. First of all, I’m moving on with my life, so I don’t always feel tormented enough to get really inspired :-). Secondly, I also take cartoon assignments on a commercial basis, and this side job is taking up ever more of my (ample) free time. This is why it sometimes takes a while before I get to publishing new Happysads.

Patience is a virtue. I should know.

In ending, I can’t thank you guys enough for all the great comments and e-mails I get. It really means a lot for me

Jeroen

Sorry guys (and girls) for the lack of updates lately. Frankly it’s been way too hot these days to come up with new ideas – and I don’t mean hot in any sexy kind of way. Also, I really need a holiday to reset my muddled brain, and what do you know… I’ve got one coming up! Yes, as of the end of this week, I’ll be gone for three weeks, off to a faraway place where they have, among others, a pretty huge canyon and lots of casinos…

I’ll be back in August, who knows with plenty of new inspiration! Until then, take care

Jeroen

Believe it or not, but some crazy people have managed to get so addicted to Happysad, that they viewed ALL the cartoons in one go after they discovered them. Because this blog format is not the easiest way to do so, I created the Happysad archives on www.happysad.be, which offers slightly less crappy navigation. Now there’s yet another option. You can download all Happysad cartoons in one large zip-file (35 Mb!), right here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4797490/Happysad_archive.zip

What you will get: 990 gif files, in chronological order. Yes this means about ten cartoons are missing, and I have no idea which ones. Sorry.

What you’ll be missing: the titles of the cartoons, which many times do add to the content of the joke. And, of course, all of the comments.

Let me know if anything isn’t working, it’s the first time I’m using Dropbox.

So two of my dearest friends had babies last week. The girl who made a few Happysad appearances as “the nice ex-GF” had twin boys, and a few days later another couple of friends had a boy too. Visiting them both in the hospital left me, well, a bit confused. You see, I actually don’t like kids. Whenever I hear someone talking about their kids (as parents incessantly do, for lack of a social life), I feel relieved I don’t have to put up with all the crying and the whining and with all the sleepless nights and the endless cleaning up of snot, shit, puke, and randomly spewed around foodstuffs. When you’re finally discharged from diaper duty, they turn into these noisy little brats with ADHD, already preparing to become sulky teenagers who will antagonize you in any way they can. And you’re stuck with them 24/7 – it’s not like you can put them back. Moreover, whenever I look at the state of the world today, I’m becoming more and more convinced that the end is nigh, so putting new souls on this doomed planet just feels like it borders on child abuse.

But then again…

I can’t help but think about my goal in life. What’s my purpose of being here? And what will be my legacy? Sure, I have my job, I have produced a few moderately succesful cartoons, I have a house and lots of stuff… But all this seems trivial in the light of eternity. I’m just muddling on from one day to another, aimlessly, without an overarching ambition. There is nothing that transcends myself, that is greater than just me. So that’s why I am starting to understand why people are inclined to put up with the piss and the puke and the snot that come with having children. Maybe kids are the big missing piece in the puzzle. Despite everything.

So does that mean I suddenly want to have kids ASAP? Hell no. But the case is moot anyway, since I’m not going to make any children all by myself, now am I? In stead, here’s an illustration I had the honour to make for the birth announcement card of one of these new kids on the block:

Anyone going to the International Comics Festival in Angoulême, France, at the end of this month? I am. For the full four days, and for free – it’s the top prize of the cartoon contest I won some time ago. Because all the hotels in Angoulême were already booked, I’ll be staying in the (almost) nearby city of Cognac. Since hanging out at a comics festival for four days seems like a bit of overkill, I think I’ll do some siteseeing in the region too. But if you would happen to go there as well and would like to meet up, drop me a line at kartoen (at) gmail (dot) com!