Author: Uncle Mortemius

Hooray, it’s finally here! Issue #3 is 44 pages long and collects chapters 7-9, AND has an exclusive short story starring Claire and Lavinia that’s only available in the print comic and to my Patreon supporters.

The short story gives you a peek at what Claire and Vinnie get up to as grown-ups. I had so much fun writing it, I ended up feeling like their adventures might require a spin-off comic someday 🙂

Check out my Etsy shop to order!

And by the way, if you don’t want to order a comic but would still like to read the short story, you can kick $1 my way on Patreon — that gives you access to all the bonus short stories from every print issue, as well as sneak previews of new projects and advance access to upcoming pages of both Crooked Mile AND Ninecrow! 🙂

I’m sorry, folks — this week has been crazy at work, and between the overtime and the stress, I didn’t manage to finish today’s page.

And yes, that reveals my shameful secret: I STILL haven’t managed to build up a buffer! I’m madly drawing each week’s page right up until about two minutes before it posts. Yikers! I know, I know– I took time off this summer and I said it was so I could build up a buffer! Sigh. The best laid plans…

But I DID work like mad in the break — it’s just I put most of the time into preparing Crooked Mile Issue #3 for print! And guess what? It’s almost here! The first proof has been ordered, and as soon as I check that it all looks good in person, it’ll be available to order!

Here’s a peek at the cover…

The most exciting part is that there’s a brand-new four-page short included, and best of all? It’s all about Claire and Lavinia! I’m pretty happy with how it came out–can’t wait to share it with you all!

Thanks for your patience, gang, and I’ll be posting the next page this weekend! Take care and stay safe 🙂

Hey folks! I’ve got some exciting news: You can now own your very own copy of Issue #1 of The Curse of Crooked Mile!

Yep, it’s a real live hold-in-your-hands comic book! I’ve been preparing the pages for MONTHS, and it’s finally done! I just got the proofs yesterday and they look fantastic.

Order yourself a copy and you’ll receive a 40-page book collecting the first three chapters as posted here on the site, plus an ALL-NEW 4-page short story starring the Uncles and Gunther! You can ONLY read this short in the comic, or by becoming a supporter on Patreon! If you’ve been wondering what’s behind that mysterious door in the laboratory…this story is your chance to find out!

And all this can be yours for just $6 (plus shipping)! You can use the contact form to let me know you’d like a copy and we can arrange payment via PayPal; order via Etsy; or become a supporter on Patreon to get a copy along with other rewards!

Hey folks! Just wanted to let you know I’ve finally figured out how to use the chapter settings in my website template a little more effectively, so you can jump around in the story more easily. In the “Chapters” dropdown on the right, I’ve broken down each chapter into chunks of a few pages each, so if you want to go back to read part again, this should make it a lot easier to find! I don’t know why it took me so long to do this 🙂 Thanks for bearing with me as I slowly figure out how to make a readable comic, all you lovely people!

Today’s comic (7/28/18) was the first one that’s been late since I launched (or re-launched if you want to get fiddly with the details, as Claire would say), last October. Not too bad!

The problem is, it was late because I’ve run out of buffer comics. Due to all kinds of personal life drama and exhausting circumstances which I won’t bore anyone with, I burned through my stockpile of pages done in advance, and the past month or two I’ve been struggling to get each week done in time. I keep hoping to get ahead again somehow, but realistically I can only do that if I take a brief break to work ahead. I hate to do that, but I don’t want to keep up this ridiculous pace, burn myself out, and become yet another abandoned webcomic…

So I have a plan: we’re going to take the month of August off to build up at least a little buffer again. The story is already written, so it’s not that I don’t know what’s going to happen every week — it’s just a matter of getting the drawing done. Since the pages are already planned, I will be able to keep posting in-progress comics on my Patreon page every week. So you can always head over there to see what’s going on with Owen and the gang if you miss them!

Have a wonderful August, and I’ll meet you back here Friday, September 7th!

If you’re enjoying The Curse of Crooked Mile, I’ve also written a spooky/funny illustrated novel called The Haunted Serpent, published by Sterling Children’s Books!

Sharp-eyed readers just might catch some links between the book and the comic! The town of Crooked Mile is not far away from the equally creepy small town named Thedgeroot where Haunted Serpent takes place. Both towns are in Kuksu County, a place where strange things have been known to happen since time immemorial, long before even the Uncles were around.

Take a close look at the map in Haunted Serpent — you just might see a familiar house hidden away in the trees…

If you enjoy these illustrations, check out the book! There are lots more where those came from (75+!! eek!)… ^_^

See my website for more info!

I know, I know: The suspense for next week’s installment is just KILLING you!

Well, guess what? You can read next week’s page right now, this minute! *gasp* Yes, I understand, it’s a dream come true. I’ll give you a minute to calm down.

Just go to my Patreon page and become a supporter for any amount (okay, any amount other than, like, one penny, because it won’t let you do less than a buck). Ta-da! You immediately have access to next week’s page. You’ll continue to get advance pages of Crooked Mile every week, along with sneak peeks at other works in progress. You can also get fun stuff like desktop wallpaper and prints! And you’ll be helping me achieve goals like paying for advertising. Cool, right? Owen and the Uncles appreciate your support! (I always like to blame them when I’m doing awkward promotional stuff.)

Here’s a sneak peek at a new character coming up in Chapter Three! I’m so excited about him that I just have to give a little preview…

Ooh, such suspense!! Who is he? What does he want?? We’ll find out in a few weeks!

(SIGH. Yes, that sounds like a long time to me, too. I wish I could update more than once a week! I need a clone, or a robot-me, so I can crank out pages faster.)

Make sure you subscribe, so you don’t forget to check back in and find out what happens next!

Just a heads-up to anyone who prefers to read comics on platforms like Comic Rocket, Line Webtoon, or Tapas: You can find The Curse of Crooked Mile on all three!

And if you’re a comic fan but you haven’t checked any of those sites out, give ’em a try! They’re great ways to find new comics by genre. They’re also handy for bookmarking your place as you read, and for notifying you when new pages get posted. (FYI, I’d recommend Comic Rocket as my top pick, because the way their platform is set up, creators still get clicks for their site for every page you view. It’s nice to get that boost to your stats!)