Urge

 Don't have the urge to publish anything of what I'm doing.

Never

 Never been closer to quitting teaching than today.

!

 Blasted pandemic! I have interviews to make and archives to visit! I want my 3rd shot!

If

 Going to finish the first page for my Sinking Ateneum book tomorrow. If I do and if I'm right and things go like I hope they will, I should be able to finish and half pages a week (well a page at least!). In this case book one of the series would be pretty much done December 22. Don't have a volunteer to publish it yet, though. Anyone?

Expectations

 Expectations are low, but I'm pretty sure they are not low enough.

Fish

 Ok so this book is like trying to catch a big fish. The moment you think it got away suddenly the line again thightens. Go figure.

Time

 Already thought that the book would get going. Now the pandemic is ruining all my schedules. Don't know if I can start before 2023. Time to start thinking of some other project?

Unlikely

B.E.M. 24: 7 vuotta tii petissä

B.EM. 25: Kekkonen²

B.EM. 26: Maaseudun tulevaisuus

B.E.M. 27: Nakupelle

B.E.M 28: B.E.M.böle 

All of the above will remain unpublished if I can help it.

Now working on B.E.M. 29, might want to publish, but unlikely

Fill

 Had my fill of remote teaching. Time to end the pandemic, ok?

That

That probably was that

Slow

 Everything is slow. I have 2 translations of Läskimooses in a stage of uncertain certainty. Meanwhile I guess I could push my back catalogue to some direction, Silvia Regina even has a professional English translation. I know I won't. Several Finnish books I don't want to publish waiting to be published. No room for new books. Läskimooses at least is over. Festival will be a fiasco. 

Goal

 My so called "next book" is coming together really slow. I have a clue of the plot and many of the central scenes. Lately I have been preoccupied with the main character Riittamaari Malva, mainly on what she looks like. Today I made the first actual sketches and I might be somewhat closer to the goal. Can't show you anything yet, unfortunately, it's complicated.

Feel

 I have the 6 or 7 books/booklets waiting there in cardboard boxes, but I really don't have the urge to publish them. Same goes for the 2 books I'm working on. I'm totally fine to keep things as they are. I've just lost the urge, the feel. And it's ok. Maybe tomorrow will be different.   

Invent

 I have to re-invent myself for the next book.

Teaching

 I teach a lot. Well I do some teaching. This semester I have 5 classes going. Thing is I actually enjoy it and maybe I have some talent. Hard to tell. Anyways, would I do it if it wasn't for the money? I guess I would drop some of the classes, but which one? Open university classes might be the most rewarding. The group can be really heterogenetic, ages from 19 to 70. There also it seems people get a lot of enjoyment from learning, and it shows. These classes are in the evenings but the students arrive brimming with energy. 

Then there are the Comics Centre classes, many people there that I know from way back. These people are often extremely dedicated and serious about their work and I'm happy if I can help. This class is more about group, not so much about my opinions, I'm there to encourage people to share their thoughts. 

Recently I was told that the works of my students can somehow be recognized. I'm not sure if this is a good thing. It is true that I value certain things in a story and emphatise things like structure and maybe this shows in the works of my students. But I trust they will outgrow it 

Doing

 Classes classes classes! Feels there's nothing but. 

But meanwhile: I have lettered 5 new Suomaa strips and upon doing so, reached a point in the story where it takes an abrupt turn. Basically this could be the end of book one, if I'd decide to do a book (there are alternative plans). But who'd publish? 

The week also had this truly magical moment when I was GIVEN a vision of the true nature of comics. This will become a 2 page story for another book. There are however unresolved issues with this one and that's why I can't start for real, not yet.

And then: got an idea for a 24 page book, haha 

So it goes

Use

 But what's the use?

Thing

 This is the thing. I concluded three books during the 8 months of 2021. Now I probably should start to work towards their publication. I have little or no interest. Instead I'm getting started with 2 new books. And this is really the THING. Both need adjusting and writing before I can dream of drawing anything.  And I would like to draw. So should I start a book that I can like... Draw. Or what? 

Book launch

 Today at 14 I will start signing in Helsinki, Porthaninkatu 9. Launch at 17.

Looky looky

 

In a week

 Book will launch September 11th. I'm setting up to start on 2 new projects. One that I need to study for and one that I can start drawing almost immediately. I got an order for 6 portraits and should be able to finish those in two days. After that I will clean up the studio, look up the scripts for the other project, cut some pieces of scraper board to the right size and get going.

Unable

 Unable to look at the book. Think it turned out good, as good as possible. But I struggle with the urge to redraw everything. Need to move on, unable to move on. Book launch in a week, then the feedback. Much to take in. Started it 2011 October, do the math. Ha, it's over.

Out now

 

Filling in

 Filling in the gaps.

The year has been pretty much about finishing some unfinished stuff. Läskimooses for one ofcourse, but not only. After concluding the "final" additions to the big book, I moved along to a collection of short stories (7 vuotta tii petissä), after that one I finished a short story left out of Läskimooses (Avaruusvelho #1), after that a very short thing  started in 2004 (Kekkonen²), after that moved along to the thing I pushed aside when starting Läskimooses (Maaseudun tulevaisuus). And that's where I am at the moment. Maaseudun tulevaisuus wasn't missing anything else than some texts and those I have been doing. Should be done by tomorrow. As for B.E.M. series, this is how it looks like:

( if everything goes, you know, as planned, haha)

#23, Avaruusvelho #1

#24, 7 vuotta tii petissä

#25, Kekkonen²

#26, Maaseudun tulevaisuus

#27, B.E.M.böle

#28, Nakupelle

#29, Näkymätön

#30, Suomaan kansan muinaisusko

Stick around and you'll find out. #23 is already in production, #24 will be out in French at least, #25 I will publish myself, rest of these, who knows.

Excelsior!

Waitingwaitingwaiting

 Says it all. On wednesday chances are I might finally see the whole book. Today is not wednesday.

Unfortunate bloody mistakes

 Soon I'll have a new one in my hands. Disgusted.

Soon

 

BD

 The so called "next book" is most likely not going to be a single book but a series of 48 pg albums (4 or 5) in the manner of franco-belgian BD.  At this stage it's a lot more fragmented than Läskimooses. No way to tell how it'll turn out in the end. 

Supposedly

 Läskimooses has supposedly been printed. And how did it turn out? I'll know in 2 weeks. 

In the beginning of September two specials coming out: Marsin mesimailla (a6 16 pages) and Avaruusvelho (a6 24 pages).

End of September I will finally start with an entirely new book. I think I found an excellent mcguffin for this one, but then again too soon to say. Planning to change my drawing style somewhat 

Life after Läskimooses

 Some months now since I concluded the story. The last 50 pgs coming out in the book edition. Not sure though how "finished" it really is. If everything goes as planned there's going to be a 24 pg A6 small booklet Space Wizard #1 by September, maybe later, we'll see, that is going to bring some new info to the story. But for now I'm enjoying life after Läskimooses. 

Been working on a small collection of short stories that'll come out in French sometime next year probably. Getting ready to start my next "bigger" book in the Fall, finally having the chance to do the interviews I was planning for last spring. At the same time I have three smaller books I would like to conclude and put out, but we'll see. The thing that really bothers me is Suomaan kansan muinaisusko that I started few years back and finished 45 pages altogether. There are maybe 100 more planned. In perfect world I would like to conclude that story. It was meant to be part of the Läskimooses main book, but since it was dropped from the newspaper that was serializing it that didn't happen. Now I have a rather cool plan for a COMIC BOOK, but how, when... Guess I will have to wait how things turn out. How they turn out for Läskimooses and how they turn out for all those other projects. Then I'll know. 

Läskimooses book will come out 26th of August. French and English editions are in the works.

Things things things

 There are a multitude of things undecided in the book/s, the covers for one. Although I think everything will work out in the end, there is a lot of stress in the air at this particular moment. But I've read the book and I think there are some real nice spots here and there. 

Looks

 Looks like the collection of short stories will be close to 200 pages. Depends a bit on how many of the I have stories I will actually use. It's a small book, something like A6. Totally new there will be 3 or 4. Plan is to get it done by the end of August, but we will see. 

Book version

 https://www.asemakustannus.com/kauppa/tuote/tohtori-matti-hagelberg-laskimooses/

These

 I have these 4 or 5 projects I'd like to do & no funding so haha

Have and have not

 So, Läskimooses book edition is proceeding. Should be out in September.

Meanwhile: the NEXT big book about to start. I have collected literature and resources. I have a plot, big parts of it at least. I have characters, some with more detail some with less. I have the setting, at least the outlines of it. I have the name and I think I have the format. I don't have any idea of how many pages, but am hoping below 500. 

Turns

 Turns out the things I thought needed correction didn't need it. I've now gone through 46 issues and tomorrow I will have finished the work. Yes, finished finished. Läskimooses is. 

But for the book version there are a few(mostly) typographical things I have to do. But I will not be able to do every single one of those things since the lay out hasn't started yet,  I can do most of them, though. Seems like next week there's NOTHING. I'm tempted to add some little bit of a story somewhere. I do have couple of scripts...