R. K. Milholland
R. K. Milholland | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Randal Keith Milholland November 25, 1975[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Author and Artist |
| Years active | 1999 - today |
| Notable work | Something Positive |
Randal Keith Milholland(born November 25, 1975[1]), better known asR. K. Milholland,is an Americanwebcomicauthor. His works includeSomething Positive,New Gold Dreams,Midnight Macabre,Classically PositiveandSuper Stupor.In 2022, he took over as author of theSunday edition of the Popeye syndicated comic strip.[2]
History
[edit]Raised inBedford, Texas,Milholland attended Harwood Junior High andTrinity High Schoolin neighboringEuless, Texas.[3]Duringhigh schoolhe won several awards for hiseditorial cartoons.[4][5]He went on to enroll in theartdepartment at theUniversity of North Texaswhere he spent four years.
Milholland moved toBostonin the spring of 1999. He worked odd jobs, including stints at a dot com startup, scientific non-profit, medical billing and medical research companies. During this time he started theSomething Positivewebcomic,in response to acriticismfrom his friend, voice actressClarine Harp,that he should "do something positive" with his life. The protagonist in this comic, Davan, is loosely based on Milholland and the stories are often inspired by real life experiences. Davan's best friend Aubrey Chorde is based on Harp.
In June 2004, faced with increasing complaints about his lateness in updating the comic, Milholland challenged his readership to donate enough money to pay for a year of his salary so that he could quit his job and become a full-time cartoonist.[3][6][7]To his surprise, this amount was reached and surpassed in less than a month, making Milholland one of the successful pioneers ofmicropatronage.Since then, his webcomic has expanded into many realms of merchandising.[8][9]
Milholland has relocated to Texas and travels theconcircuit frequently. He also sometimes performs incommunity theater,especially children's theater. In 2017, he moved to Georgia.[10]In 2019, he moved back to Texas following the signing ofGeorgia House Bill 481,a so-called "fetal heartbeat bill", into law.[11][12]
Comics
[edit]Something Positive
[edit]Something Positivestarted its run on December 19, 2001. As of December 21, 2023[update],it is still being actively updated.
Something Positive 1937
[edit]Starting on September 7, 2007, Milholland launched a third spin-off fromSomething Positive,this one also taking place in the same continuity as the original but taking place many years earlier.Something Positive 1937follows the relationship of Fred's father Vester Macintire and his cousin Davan (Davan ofS*P's namesake, first mentioned in the comic's May 8, 2007 strip.[13]) The comic is in black and white and for a time featured in a sidebar next to the original, with archives available on the same page as the original strip. Milholland said in news posts he expected the story to last for a few years, and provided it with its own website[14]on September 24, 2007. The strip stopped updating in 2008.
Midnight Macabre
[edit]Midnight Macabreis another spin-off fromSomething Positive.It features Gaspar Baugh, the father ofSomething Positivesecondary character Lisa Baugh, as he attempts to resurrect a horror TV show presentingMidnight movies.
New Gold Dreams
[edit]New Gold Dreamsis a strip that spoofs the conventions of theheroic fantasygenre. It also ties in with Milholland's interest inrole-playing games,as the comic is portrayed as a game run by Pee-Jee, one of the main strip's cast members; some of the characters inNew Gold Dreamshave the same appearance and personality as regularS*Pcharacters. The comic started on April 2, 2004 but has been entirely on hiatus since the 20th issue in August 2005.
Super Stupor
[edit]Super Stuporis asuperherocomic, which mocks the conventions of the genre. Four self-published volumes of the strip are currently available from the Rhymes With Witch store.
Popeye
[edit]Popeyeis a newspaper comic strip fromKing Features Syndicate,starring an ornery sailor and a large cast of quirky characters. In 2022,Popeye's 93rd year, Milholland took over the Sunday edition fromHy Eismanas the latter retired.[2]
Mousetrapped
[edit]In January 2024, withMickey Mouse's original version ofSteamboat Williebecoming public domain, Milholland released the webcomicMousetrapped.[15]Set after the events of the short, the story follows Mickey struggling to make ends meet after getting fired by Pete and features a cast of other public domain cartoon characters.
References
[edit]- ^abMilholland, R. K. (2017-11-25)."A Magical Birthday".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-11-28.Retrieved2017-11-27.
- ^abCavna, Michael (2022-06-03)."Popeye is getting a makeover at age 93".Washington Post.
- ^abMorrison, Ellena (2004-06-08). "Online comic strip gives creator a new beginning".The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram.
- ^"Columbia Scholastic Press Association presents 1993 Scholastic Gold Circle Awards"(Press release). Columbia Scholastic Press Association.Retrieved2007-08-18.
- ^"ILPC Awards 1992-93".University Interscholastic League.Archived fromthe originalon 2018-03-16.Retrieved2017-02-10.
- ^Losowsky, Andrew (2004-09-09)."Charity begins on the net".The Guardian.Retrieved2009-02-12.
- ^Chen, Jialu (2011-08-02)."See you in the funny pages".The Boston Globe.Archivedfrom the original on 2012-07-29.Retrieved2011-12-19.
- ^Warehouse 23 - Something Positive MerchandiseArchivedMarch 23, 2016, at theWayback Machine
- ^ Coltrain, Nick (2009-02-03)."Artists exploit the Web's freedom in creating their own comics".The Nevada Sagebrush.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-03.Retrieved2009-02-12.
- ^@choochoobear (22 September 2017)."Reader: Why did you move to Georgia? Me: My wife was offered a dream job here. R: If I were married I wouldn't do shit like that for my wife"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on 7 July 2024 – viaTwitter.
- ^"Upcoming".Something Positive.July 3, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on Feb 11, 2023.
Immediately after that, my wife and I will be packing up our stuff, cats, and probably our baby and moving from Savannah, Georgia to San Antonio, Texas
- ^@choochoobear (9 July 2019)."My wife got a new job - also no heartbeat bill in Texas"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on Nov 18, 2021 – viaTwitter.
- ^"Namesake pt 1".Something Positive.May 8, 2007.Archivedfrom the original on Feb 11, 2023.
- ^"Something*Positive - 1938 - did this work".classicallypositive.net.Archived fromthe originalon 21 November 2010.Retrieved12 January2022.
- ^Morrison, Matt (2024-01-03)."Popeye Artist Releases New Mickey Mouse Web Comic Based on Steamboat Willie".SuperHeroHype.Retrieved2024-01-05.