I don’t normally go out of my way to make “Holiday” comics. If a holiday falls directly on a regular post day I will usually do one, but if I can’t think of anything (or if the story doesn’t support it) I will just make a regular comic. On the American day of Thanksgiving, I usually do something to reflect that holiday, since it is always on a Thursday.

This year, Halloween falls on a Thursday and I have the ghost of Saddam Hussein in Hell, and that has some Halloween-ish factors to it, even if it doesn’t really fit directly with the actual holiday. So enjoy this mention of ghosts and devils for the day.

I’ll also be taking a bit of a break, again. Readers, both recent and long-time, probably remember that just three months ago I lost my dog, Sadie. I have now also lost my mom. She had a pulmonary fibrosis that developed slowly over years, but took a sudden turn for the worse. We were expecting a long stay in an assisted-care facility but this was not in the cards. This happened about 36 hours ago and this comic was pretty much done, so I went ahead and posted it but I will be going dormant again for a bit. I’ll make a “formal announcement” on Monday, my normal posting day.

When loss surprises me, I tend to “keep busy” for a couple of days. It takes me a day or two to catch up to what’s happened. I’ll take a few days off and think about many things, but one thing is for sure– 2019 for me has really been a pain in the rear and I am eager for a better 2020.

Stay tuned for updates.