Everyone, I have an announcement to make:

After the end of this week, “Dorm Dorks” will be going on a hiatus.This Friday (April 2nd) will be the last comic for a while.

I’m sorry to say it, but the time has come. I want to express the biggest “thank-you” ever to everyone who’s been reading the strip, everyone who took the time to email me, or talk to me at a convention, or pick up a book, or otherwise give me encouragement. I’ve had an incredible time making this strip, and every single reader out there has made it more than worth it.

I sketched out the first Dorm Dorks strip about five years ago, and since then have made over 500 strips, and I’ve grown leaps and bounds as an artist and writer. I’ve learned a lot from the strip, and it’s the readers that made it possible. So, seriously, thank you!

We still have two strips left, so be sure to come back Wednesday and Friday this week for the final installments!

Until then, I’ve prepared a list of Seldomly Asked Questions, so, by all means, take a look at the S.A.Q.:

What? You’re Quitting? Why?
I’m not hanging up the drawing pen just yet. I’ll be putting more time and energy into my Caricature business (www.24HourCaricatures.com). There are a number of things going on in my personal life, big directional changes, and maintaining the strip is simply no longer viable. For now, I need to pursue a more reliable revenue stream, so by all means, if you want to see more of my work, head on over to www.24HourCaricatures.com and support me that way. Building up that business will help me be able to start making a strip again, eventually, which would be great.

Does that mean you’ll be coming back to Dorm Dorks?
Possibly. I don’t want to put any promises out there, but I would like to return to the strip some day. Comics are my first love, and I’d love to make more. I’ve come to really love these characters, too, and I’d always like to see what they’re up to. On the other hand, I’ve got plans for other strips that I was never able to produce before, so maybe some of those would be able to see the light of day. I’ve got tons of characters and stories that I’m already in love with in my head, that no one else has seen yet. I’d love to have other people fall in love with them, too.

Are there going to be any more Dorm Dorks print collections?
I would love to make a book that collects everything that wasn’t in the first book, which would be about 400 strips or so, but honestly I don’t think there is enough of a market for it. Just crunching the numbers, it doesn’t seem likely that I could recoup the cost of printing them up. But, if there was enough of a swell of interest, maybe we could get that going.

Is the website going away?
Nope. All the strips will still be here for you to read through at any time. And do keep checking back every once in a while, or subscribe to the RSS feed. If and when I am able to return to comics, this is the place I would announce it! Also, you can watch for further announcements on my Twitter feed.

How can I protest this?
I can still be reached via this Contact Form, or just send me an email at: hankinstien (at) gmail.com. I still want to hear from you, so send me a message anytime!

Again, big thanks to everyone! And come back the rest of this week for the last few installments!