Barkeater Lake by Corey Pandolph for September 21, 2009

YEA!

Glory be! Is it….can it…could it…..? YES, YES, YES…LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN. The Bills won, the Cowboys lost, and there is a Barkeater Lake cartoon on the screen.

not sure i like the idea of “the end of barkeater lake”

I don’t either, but what can we do? We aren’t in charge of that decision…

bmonk said, 4 minutes ago I don’t either, but what can we do? We aren’t in charge of that decision…

Agreed, and in some ways (fianancial and the changing paper/electronic comic environment) neither was Corey. If you produce a product expecting it to pay for it’s own production and it doesn’t, then the market has made that decision for you.

I’m glad to hear some enthusiasm in Corey’s comments about BL’s going out with a bang! Sounds like he’s come to grips with it ending, and is intending to have fun with it; as should we. I look at it like jumping off a building: I don’t look forward to quick stop at the end, but will certainly enjoy the view along the way!

Your strips don’t always come up on my page and then have to go looking for them…

so bummed ! am I the only one having problems ?

Strangely enough, This is how I was going to storm your house if you hadn’t posted a new comic strip today.

WHOO HOO! A new strip! Life is good (Until October 31).

Saltmine64 - you’re welcome! (Nothing like beating the dreaded Cowboys on the opening day of their new stadium!)

Just as long as he doesn’t snap and murder everybody.

Corey I just ordered 3 books. When did you say Return to Barkeater Lake will be available?

Cory…

will ” Welcome To Barkeater Lake ” be re-printed ?

I want to put an order in and I would like this book too..

I just ordered all 3… hope I can find the first one somewhere too !

I liked Barkeater Lake so thanks for the chance to read it…

Hey, Corey, Today would be the “W” in M-W-F…just to give you the heads up, I know you’re busy.

I look forward to the wednesday comic tomorrow morning.

It’s Thursday and I’m still looking forward to the Wednesday comic.

Man o man, I wonder why he even bothers saying he will post - never a surprise when he doesn’t follow through.

Banks, where are you?

We’ve been getting empty promises since December. Why be surprised now?

this waiting is verrrrry boring

I think M-W-F may stand for: Maybe Whenever Forget-about-it

Y’know, just stop making promises. Nobody believes them any more anyway…just another day of yeah-I-promised-you-guys-something-but-something-more-important-came-up.

No promises, no disappointment.

I think some people have the idea that writing a daily (or even three times a week) comic strip is easy. To try to do 3 or 4 and still have some kind of life is near impossible. The ability to “create” humor is very rare. Try coming up with a new funny story line, a new joke, or even a new twist to an old joke every day while doing whatever it is you normally do, going to work, raising your kids, running the country. OK, forget the last one, he comes up with some funny sh.t every day. Cut Corey some slack. Would you go to work every day if you didn’t get paid. Instead of griping about not getting B.L. or Greene with envy, or whatever strip is your favorite, help the guy out. He has some cool stuff for sale. I own three original Sunday strips and a few other items. People go out and spend mad money to support their football or baseball team, do the same for your favorite comic strip. B.L. is my favorite, Greene w/ Envy is great, I hope to see more of them.

Nuqjatlh: I don’t think writing a strip is easy, but I’m expected at my job every day whether I like it or not. Corey’s job is producing comic strips. If I promise to be at work certain days, I better be. I realize he doesn’t get paid in the conventional way, but it is still his job.

Corey, I don’t mind the occasional lapses; it’s the missed promises. I know my favorite strip since Calvin and Hobbes is ending in just over a month. I want as many strips as I can get between now and then.

To be fair, Corey has, I believe, contractual obligations on other strips, while his only obligation WRT BL is to us demanders of free ice cream.

Actually the problem is our. We misinterpreted the schedule when Corey said he would do it MTF. We thought he meant three days a week as in Monday 21 Wednesday 23 and Friday 25. What he really meant was Monday 21, Wednesday 30, and Friday 9.

I believe BL has already ended.

With a whimper, not a bang.

We, your over 19,000 loyal fans have waited for news, for promises to be fulfilled, we have checked back religiously, we have forgiven the delays, cheered your wife’s success and subsequent move to the “big city”. We are now facing another “delay” while you renovate your house and move. There is nothing worse than making a promise and breaking it. Sorry Corey, this is just one more let down and I can’t keep wasting my time waiting for you to make good. It’s not me, its you.

Kinda ironic that the last posted strip has a character who has figured out how to tend to his personal life and still get his comics out at the same time, don’t ya think? And here we all thought the anthropomorphic dog was the far-fetched one.

As long as Corey delivers on the final strips, I’ll be satisfied. I won’t judge him, I’m not walking in his shoes.The only mistake Corey has made is promising us certain dates. If he finishes the job and I get my 3 books sooner than later, I’ll be happy.

Don’ t count on either, Drystyha. To make it without the papers you have to sell merchandise. The strips are the advertising for the merchandise. The fan base erodes after long absences, as they find other strips to enjoy. And jerking the fans around on promised schedules doesn’t help. Apparently Pandolph is satisfied with the sums he gets from doing Elderberries and has written the rest off, more or less.

I just check back now once per week or so to see how soon he breaks promises - not because I expect any more strips.

Pandolph may just surprise us and actually have a full month of October strips with a big bang ending around Halloween - but I kinda doubt it. So I expect the worst and am delighted with anything other than that. Pity, as I’ve been reading the strip from the beginning, have the books and some merchandise. Even managed to keep up on it through a tour in Afghanistan. If I could manage to be bothered to read the strip in the middle of a hot war with battles and IED’s going off, using some of my precious Internet allotment time to do so, you’d think at least he could write it a couple times per week during a move from Maine to NYC.

It’s a great strip, and I’m sorry that it’s ending. I don’t mind waiting for new ones to be published. But, I agree with the others - stop making promises you can’t keep. Learn to be vague and we’ll have less to complain about :-)

So this is how it ends. Doris hiding out in her living room. Trying to avoid her potential boyfriend after an argument.