Hiatus Update +Patreon Revamp

Hey guys!  I just finished updating my Patreon page, and I wanted you guys to be the first to know what's going on and what my future plans are.

Comic pages will resume on Monday 10/23.  I owe all of you a HUGE thank you for sticking with me while I took this very necessary time to recover from burnout and figure out how to both work on DOTU and cover my basic needs.  Six patrons did leave after I announced my hiatus, but 11 joined and even more increased their pledges.  You guys are amazing, and I'm lucky to have you. <3

I've decided not to decrease or remove any Patreon rewards.  This is in large part because of how amazingly supportive you guys have been.  I enjoy creating the things I post here, and this community is too important to me, and I just don't want to take anything away.  And if I decreased anything, there would be less of a reason for new patrons to join.  Now that I know I won't change any rewards, I've reopened the $2 tier to an unlimited number of patrons, and I've also opened one additional $20 slot.

I reverted milestone goals for Merritt's Story back to their original place, meaning the entire story is unlocked again (still no ebook plans for now).

My Patreon front page has been revamped.  Check it out: it's pretty, and I profess my love for all of you. ^_^ patreon.com/bob_artist

Instead of decreasing Patreon rewards, I'm decreasing my comic page output to 2x monthly.  Something had to give, and pages made the most sense.  Using the tracking info I posted previously, I calculated the amount I needed to make in order to reach a self-employed minimum wage for every update schedule without reducing Patreon rewards. (That's $8.25 for Illinois, plus a standard 25% for FICA taxes and expenses, for a total of $10.31.)

We're *only slightly* above the 2x monthly minimum wage goal.  We actually weren't above it at the time I announced my hiatus, but we are now thanks to the aforementioned new and increased pledges.  If we fall below that level, comic output will drop to 1-2 patron-only pages instead of 2 public pages.  But I'm hoping support won't fall.

My milestone goals are set up as follows: currently, we're at 2x monthly updates at minimum wage.  But my ultimate goal is for a living wage rather than a minimum wage because, well, we all know that minimum wage doesn't actually cover real life expenses.  Here's the relevant data for where I live (again, 25% needs to be added to cover self-employment taxes and expenses) :

http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/17031

So, my upcoming goals are as follows:

-An occasional 3rd monthly page (at minimum wage)

-3 consistent monthly pages (at a living wage)

-An occasional 4th monthly page (at minimum wage)

-4 consistent monthly pages (at a living wage)

During the upcoming weeks, I'll be working on DOTU merch.  More details coming soon.

Let me know any thoughts or questions you have.  I'm back to actually being able to reply to people. ^_^