To my dear and loyal readers: I can no longer afford to produce new comic strips of “The Meaning of Lila” and have to stop, effective today. While the strip has seen a measure of success–being published in many newspapers throughout the country–it was not able to generate nearly enough for me to start making money. As you know, I write “Lila” and then pay two wonderful and talented illustrators to draw it. The money I made on “Lila” was less than the money I paid the illustrators and had to finally call it quits. The small good new is that “Lila” will continue to be published as classics and I will be updating, refining, and changing copy as the former strips are being published, so if you’re interested in how it all began with “Lila,” you may enjoy still reading about her. One final note, I’m sorry to end the strip on a cliffhanger, but there still may be hope that “Lila” as a new, serial strip can come back and I wanted to at least leave that option open for the future. Thank you all for reading “Lila,” for your wonderful comments online, and for your kind e-mails. It’s been a fun nine years and it’s all because of you. –John
:^(
I am so sad to see it go! I have been following Lila for the past 4 years, and the story line keeps me coming back to read it every day. I read the comic in print until I moved and had to find an online source for the rest of the story. Good luck in all of your future endeavors, and I am sad to see Lila go.
Oh, come on, John…artists are a dime a dozen nowadays. There’s a glut on the market. My daughter graduated with an MFA from the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, and she’s picking up freelancing work where she can to keep the wolf from the door, yet she is far more competent than the artists you have now. Do you have to pay union rates or something?
I’m sorry for that. And artists are having enough trouble being under paid. I know. Considering we are in a Depression it is no wonder you are having trouble. some artist/writers who have their work only on the Internet sometimes have means of making money through donations. Ever read “Endtown” here on Gocomics? *Aaron Neatherly* has fans who are working to raise money by selling his art to gain things he needs to continue to produce his comic.
JWF, thanks for all the hard work and dedication that made us laugh and think at the same time. I’ll enjoy seeing the classics from the beginning, and hope that you’ll get to that cliffhanger wrap-up one day.
All of what you have been sending out have been coming to my address. Please see and correct. Randall
So sorry to see it go – maybe a Kickstarter drive to keep it running for a time? I do love this strip.
I’m disappointed that it’s stopped. I was quite enjoying the development of the characters and what seemed to me their natural and reasonable maturations.
I’m really sad to see that the art that seemed to have been fun enough for you to keep it up such a long time cannot give you a sufficient income. But I’m glad that you are not such a doofus that would just try to look for an other artist to starve with minimum pay on coloring. If a business plan works only by exploiting people that plan didn’t work out at all and needs to be changed (how about trying that kickstart-idea?).
Thanks for the entertainment up to now!
This is my favorite strip! How much do you need per month to continue? I would pay for this strip.
Oh my god, it took TWO artists to to create work that looked like it was copied and pasted every day? Get a copy of Photoshop (or Paint.net) and do your own copy and pasting and you won’t need to pay anyone, and no one will ever be able to tell the difference. Whatever you were paying the artists was clearly far, far too much.
Oh my god, it took TWO artists to to create work that looked like it was copied and pasted every day? Get a copy of Photoshop (or Paint.net) and do your own copy and pasting and you won’t need to pay anyone, and no one will ever be able to tell the difference. Whatever you were paying the artists was clearly far, far too much.
If I could draw I would illustrate your comic for free. But I can’t. I am very sad to see Lila go. I enjoyed reading it everyday. I especially related to Annie being a leukemia survivor myself. Good luck to you John and I hope to see Lila back some day.
Very sorry to see the end of Lila, Annie, Boyd and Co. This has been a great daily dose of morale for the last several years. Thank you, John, for bringing a lot of fun to our lives, and good luck for the future.
This is truly a sad day when an intelligent contemporary lifestyle strip can’t continue. I have read the strip daily for the last year and always enjoyed the humor & insights of life today that it has offered to us readers. I will hold out hope that it will return in the future.
I am so sorry. I’ve truly enjoyed meeeting Lila, Annie and all the rest of the cast. I hope thngs turn around and you will be able to continue regaling us with their stories.
There goes the humor out of my life, I wish the author would have asked for donations and i am sure many would have paid( including myself) , Because nothing comes for free. Even Wikipedia did ask for donation many time, but again i do understand that there is something called as self respect, Hat’s off to the author , i Will miss Lila, Atleast let us know if Anne was intended to survive or not and was lila destined to get married.
I so loved you comic, I’ve been following it for 3 years :_( I hope the future will bring an opportunity for you to continue it. Best wishes from France.
First Cul de sac and now Lila. I wonder sometimes how the successful money making comics get picked – or perhaps there actually is no such thing? Good luck with your endeavors – Lila was one of my reasons to visit GoComics – and if doesn’t start up again, may Annie be OK in the comic universe! I first saw Lila in the LA Times, and was sorry and surprised they didn’t take it.
I’d donate to a kickstart. Your comic made my life more entertaining – I’d be willing to give back to help keep the fun going.
I’m very sad to find out today that you are no longer creating strips for Lila…I discovered your comic through Comic.com and I will continue to read vintage strips that I’ve missed out on in the past. I have not doubt that you will be back in the future and will be watching for it. Maybe a book can be created and sold to make some money back on your sacrifice. Have a great life and hope there continues to be meaning for it too!
You need to check and see who you are sending them too because they are all coming to me not those other addresses. Night-Gaunt
I never thiught this day would come..I’ve been reading Lila religiously and it became a part of me..She made me laugh, smile, cry, worry… Your comic became a part of my daily dosage.. I hope we could do something to make Lila stay..
I’m so sorry to see this strip go. What I do find unfair is the cliffhanger. Loyal fans need a way to have a proper good bye. Just like the comic strip For Better or Worse did for their fans. If you want to continue the strip later it can always be added. but to leave Annie sick going the hospital is unfair
Can’t you do just one more where Annie is given an experimental drug and is cured?
I think my heart just broke :’(
Thank you for all your talented work, just know you have lots of truly diehard fans
I’m sorry to hear the news, but comforted that it is not quite extinct, just in hibernation.
As Number Six might say….. be seeing you.
It shocks me that you were not supporting yourself with “Lila” Especially as it got more and more compelling…I wrote a comic strip and paid someone to illustrate, and we got a book out, and it’s on my blog, but sadly…it didn’t make it (and wasn’t nearly as funny as Lila, anyway) What I can’t believe is, the comics that I really like, like “Big Nate” and “The Meaning of Lila” strangely never really make it into books or anything. You’re a good sport, John! Sorry things didn’t work out. Lila and Luann were the only reason I went to gocomics.
I sure hope we’ll see more of Lila, Annie, Boyd, Drew, Mr. Payne, Dr. Fine and Alan again!! This is totally wrong. You should be able to make a living out of this. It was a good comic strip. Thank you.
LOVE Lila, even in reprints. Even if you can’t do new strips, surely there must be enough Lila out there for a book or two! Anxious to buy it/them.
Thank you oldgrumpysteve. Haven’t had time at this point to think about a book and not sure a publisher would be interested in one, but you never know. Right now, I’m trying to think about how I can continue the strip…