Rich's Health

[ThatNickGuy]

I get the feeling this thread has a one-way ticket to Lockville. And believe me, I would fully understand. I've read through the forum rules and from I can tell, it's not considered an inappropriate topic. If it IS, I invite the mods to lock it at their discretion.

Something I've wondered for a number of years is Rich's health. I vaguely recall reading that he has some sort of ongoing issues. I don't mean the thumb injury. I mean even long before that. I think he said at one point that sometimes, he's unable to do any work for undisclosed health reasons. I don't visit the forum often, so my memory might be wrong and I'm thinking of someone else.

But has he ever said what, if anything, he has regarding health issues? As someone with a long history with mental health issues, including multiple hospital stays due to severe depression, my theory is some form of that. But I fully admit that that's me projecting.

I want to be crystal clear on some things:
1) I don't mention this because of comic's posting schedule or Kickstarter fulfillments. I'm a huge fan of the comic and honestly consider it as great a fantasy epic as the most known ones in pop culture. I'm in no rush for any content and don't feel Rich "owes" me anything. If anything, any update - whether it's a new comic or Kickstarter update - is a pleasant surprise that makes my day a little better. I have every book released so far and am happy and proud to have them on my shelf.

2) If Rich posted with something like, "I won't say. It's not anyone's business," I would understand. It isn't any of my business. Rich isn't forthcoming with personal details about himself or his life and he's well within his rights to do so. Like the comic itself, he doesn't owe us anything for an explanation.

This is just something I've been curious about. Again, I could be projecting this whole thing and he's just incredibly busy juggling the comic, the Kickstarter, and the business end of things. Along with whatever else could be going on in his life. If ANYTHING I said in this post is construed as rude, I apologize in advance. That's not my intention. And as I said at the start, if this is indeed getting a trip to Lockville, then consider me a pre-booked passenger.

[Jasdoif]

If Rich posted with something like, "I won't say. It's not anyone's business," I would understand. It isn't any of my business. Rich isn't forthcoming with personal details about himself or his life and he's well within his rights to do so. Like the comic itself, he doesn't owe us anything for an explanation.As it turns out:
As far as posting to let you know how I am, generally speaking, I prefer to keep the details of how I am feeling to myself. You shouldn't ever expect any "updates" on my health or how I'm doing unless it is going to negatively impact schedules or products. (If it is likely to ever positively impact schedules, I'll probably keep it secret and surprise everyone.) I believe that the details of my personal life are not for the public (even my fans) to discuss, and I ask that you respect my privacy and not try to speculate on them on this message board.

Anyway, the upshot of all this is that threads like this are not really going to have much point and will be locked in the future.

[ThatNickGuy]

Oh wow, that's almost ten years ago. Though as the Banana in charge of Rich quotes, I shouldn't be surprised you found that so quick.

Anyway, thank you. That pretty much puts the topic to rest.

[King of Nowhere]

he made an announcement on 7/7/2017 (EDIT: woops! it's 2007), still accessible from the news archive. I quote here the relevant part


Those of you who have been readers a long time know that I tend to go in cycles with the strip: a few weeks on time, followed by a few weeks where most of the comics are late (and some days are missed altogether). Oftentimes, I’ll make an announcement afterwards that I was sick. The thing is, I get sick a lot, and that’s not likely to change in the future. For more than two years, I’ve been experiencing a medical condition that often leaves me unable to work (or even sit at the computer) for 2-3 days at a time, and the symptoms tend to come and go in clumps. I’ll be fine for a few weeks, then have a few really bad weeks where I struggle to get any work done. This is part of the reason I never can manage to create a “buffer” of strips in advance: I spend all of my working time catching up on stuff I was supposed to finish while I was sick. (No, I’m not going to tell you exactly what is wrong with me; it’s nobody’s business. Suffice to say that it is nonfatal and my significant other takes good care of me.)

well, I figure I can't break the rules or be rude if I do nothing but pointing you to what rich himself wrote about the issue. the post went on about how he would curtail his public appearances as well. that's all we officially got about it, and that's all we are entitled to know. I am happy to know that it's nonfatal, and everythhing else is not our business.

[ThatNickGuy]

he made an announcement on 7/7/2017, still accessible from the news archive. I quote here the relevant part

well, I figure I can't break the rules or be rude if I do nothing but pointing you to what rich himself wrote about the issue. the post went on about how he would curtail his public appearances as well. that's all we officially got about it, and that's all we are entitled to know. I am happy to know that it's nonfatal, and everything else is not our business.

Thank you. I think that's the post I was originally referring to. And I believe Rich made similar statements in the past. But it's why I've never had an issue with the comic's schedule: I would prefer Rich healthy and relatively happy first. I say this as a fellow creative person that, regardless of how large your fanbase is, they should understand that taking care of yourself should always come first. Forcing yourself to keep up the same pace only hurts the creative output at the expense of your own health.

EDIT: Um, I just realized the date you site is...July of this year. Are you from the future!? :p

[Bad Hair Day]

Hi,

Thanks for starting this thread and posting the old quotes that are very good at answering and describing the situation.

I'd also like to say I am keeping Rick and his significant other in my prayers. I'm sorry to hear you have health challenges in life.

Maybe you could put this at the top with a sticky, especially if the moderators find they have to delete inappropriate threads that would be helped by this more than once a week or so.

Respectfully,

Bad Hair Day

[Lord Torath]

he made an announcement on 7/7/2017, still accessible from the news archive. I quote here the relevant partOooo! He's a future psychic! :smalltongue:

[King of Nowhere]

sorry, I meant 2007. i edit the original post now

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: Thread closed consistent with Rich's 2007 prediction/instruction.