Commentary from March 28, 2022
Wow. I made it.
I didn’t think I would make it to 30. But here I am at 500 more than eleven years later.
The thing is I don’t think I have much more to say. I feel like I’ve finished this race by crawling over the finish line, not by running across it. I feel emotionally and mentally drained by this comic. I want to go on, but not be thinking about depression for comic ideas.
This was a hard comic to do. I couldn’t focus on characters and plot lines so much, I had to focus on mental health issues and form characters around these themes. Each strip had to be able to stand up on its own without knowledge of any other strip in the series and be sufficiently generalized so that the characters, despite not having much depth, would be familiar.
500 seems like a good number. Thank you for making it here with me.
Congratulations on 500 strips. That is a huge accomplishment. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication you put into Depression Comix. Your work has helped a lot of people, myself included. Hope to see you make it to 1,000.
Thank you, but I can’t do this for another 11 years to be honest.
Understandable, Clay. Thank you for giving us these 500 strips, and while I’d love another 500, your own well-being comes first 🙂
I suggest this comic series to all my “normal” friends for a peek inside the world I live in.
This is a milestone, congratulations and thank you very, very much.
Thank you Clay. For writing. For sharing. For understanding.
I understand I should want to get to DC-01’s level one day.
I gotta say, this comic hit me pretty hard, and certainly not in a bad way. I’ve been struggling with recovering from an insane amount of trauma during my childhood and early teens. The depression I fell into was so bad that I just stopped pretty much everything but just surviving to the next day. No going out to do stuff, no relationships, no hanging out with friends, no socializing, nothing but going to work or being shut in my room by myself. For 17 years. (For context, I’m 33.) I wanted to end my life more times than I care to admit, because I just did not have the support I needed. My family tried. Well, some of them tried, and the rest cut off contact with me. I felt “hopelessness” on a terrifying scale.
Then, just when I was at my lowest, someone I hadn’t talked to in a decade showed back up in my life and gave me more support than I could have ever dreamed of. Because of her support, I’m coming to life again. It is scary to actually see how much damage my depression has caused to my life, my body, and my general well-being, not to mention having to play catchup on the whole dating thing, but it is worth it to live again. To actually live, and maybe for the first time in my life… I really am glad I survived.
Errr, sorry, got a bit carried away there. I guess my point is that while I love every single comic here, I enjoy this one in particular because being given support at a critical point in my life has literally changed my entire life for the better.
Congrats on making 500! I look forward to 1000!
Thank you, but I think I’m not up to another 11 years drawing this.
You are heard Clay. Same here in my own shoes, and I’m going to hate reflecting this on myself but…
Did you imagine you’d be here, posting #500? Or that you’d have done it for 11 years? (or others for 20+?)
Also, for me (and I suspect this is true for the others) if it is this or something else you’re willing to share, I’ll be following wherever you take us next.
You know what? I’m not the least bit disappointed. There’s already so many excellent comics to read, I think you have done plenty if you don’t feel like going on another 11 years, or even another day.
Thank you for all of this.
We love and appreciate your work, but when its time to let it go, drop it and move on. Your health is more important! Please leave the archive up as long as you can though. Its good to read through it now and again.
Depression Comix has been a huge help to so many people, including myself. It’s also very useful for explaining things to those who don’t have depression, to give them a glimpse into our world. Thank you so very much for your hard work.
I understand not wanting to continue. You’ve already got several other good comics going, and I look forward to your future endeavors.
Thanks again, Clay, for everything,
Thank you for the 500 depression comix.
They’ve helped both me and people I know.
I;m looking forward to following your other work.
Hey Clay, after you hit 500 and then had your burst of output elsewhere you’ve gone quiet. THAT’S OK.
This is just a random nobody, but, if it’s not just a time out for yourself, please know that the email you have for me is valid, and if you need someone to talk to, I’m here to listen. I sink into myself and darkness a lot after pretty much _any_ milestone, and … just felt the need to reach out in case you’re feeling alone.
Again, thank you for all that you have shared with us, and for all that you do. You are treasured and loved not just for what you do, but for who you are.
Also, if I’m just reading to much into this or missing some of your other work and updates, please, I apologize for being presumptuous.
I’m always busy at work on new comics. Unfortunately I like drawing them more than the deskwork of putting them on the web so updates tend to be in bunches nowadays.
Just found this and read from 1 to 500 in a week and never felt more understood. This needs to be preserved to help all those who need it. Thank you so much Clay
I hate to ask a nosy question, but is this a break or the end? If its a break, rest up and come back! If its done and you are moving onto your next thing more power to you, but let us know. That way we don’t keep coming back hoping for an update.
I’m not sure what the future is for this, I’m always working on the next comic whatever it may be. Updates for my work usually appear on http://www.claycomix.com. There is another comic already started about Robin that looks at depression from another angle, and although pages are already on the Patreon starting this month I haven’t figured out where to present them when it’s worth presenting.
Hi, Clay,
I’ve read every one of your comix, and they really hit home. I came out of a severe depression almost 40 years ago, and I still struggle from time to time. You understand. Best to you, and congratulations on 500 unique, insightful strips. I’ll read whatever you publish. Thank you.
Thank you, that’s very kind. I hope things are better now!
This is a comment about the comic in general, not this strip in particular. But I felt that this strip was the best place to say this:
Thank you for showing me that I am not alone.