The Cost of Freedom

The Cost of Freedom

Posted by Brian • October 19, 2016

Original Release Date: August 25, 2009

So the idea here is that Bob wants to keep Mike and Stu close to him and as miserable as possible because he is, in actuality, a soul-sucking interdimensional leech-monster who feeds on negative emotion. The only problem is that I didn't know that yet. The finalized plot details and the conclusion of volume 2 did not yet exist at this moment in time. They weren't far off, but were still in development. At the time, Bob was just being a jerk because he could. It's curious to think of how Volume 2 would have ended if Bob was just a mean human, and why I decided Bob should be a literal monster instead of a metaphorical one. The only possible reason I can think of off the top of my head is that maybe I was afraid it would be too much like Volume 1. Mike and Stu had already deposed a corrupt politician, and next they would depose a corrupt businessman? It's not the same, but there would be a lot of parallels.

Looking back, I have no idea how I operated this way. I have no idea how I was publishing a page every week without knowing what the ending of the story would be. I finally got my act together with Volume 3 and knew the ending before I wrote or drew anything. That's part of how Mike and the Ninja wasn't just a fun project, but an incredible learning experience.