I think others here read on GoComics, so likely are aware that they did some work on their site. I’m an almost-daily reader there, but I have no account; I just go there and read the ones I want to read.
One of those is “Fur Babies.” Nancy Beiman has not only created a genius little toon about a girl and pets, she’s also mentioned other ‘toonists and their work, and I read those now, most of the time, as well.
Since I don’t have an account, I’m not aware of the issues Ms. Beiman mentions here in her substack. I do see, in comments when I bother reading those, that people have trouble getting in, getting around, and seeing what they go to GoComics to see. So, all of that is the background for this, from Nancy Beiman. Maybe none of you read her comic, and don’t mind what she or any other artist does. But, maybe some of you do, so please read this and give her your thoughts, all right? You’ll need to click through to Substack to do so. And thanks!
A Question and a Poll by Nancy Beiman
Two year anniversary…then what? Read on Substack
FurBabies will have its second GoComics publication anniversary on June 5, 2025.
I was told that I should allow two years for the strip to get off the runway. The time is nearly up, it’s still on the runway, and I need to know if the flight should be cancelled.
Drawing a daily strip is a lot of work for very little reward, and I’m not talking about money. I got rewarded well at first. A core group of readers posted daily on the GoComics page. They enjoyed the strip, there were very few trolls, and the number of followers was going steadily up. Then they changed the site and everything changed for FurBabies.
The strip now gets 50% of the likes and comments that it formerly received. I have no way of seeing if the followers are increasing or decreasing. Some commenters have disappeared (most were able to return, although not without difficulty) No one can see the number of followers change any more. The system now only changes when 100 people add or leave the page. This is of little consequence to strips with thousands of followers, but it is devastating to ones with fewer than two thousand (I am not the only one in this predicament). If the smaller strips aren’t publicized, they never will become better known. I’ve done everything I could to get the word out, but am completely discouraged by the recent developments.
I’m running a poll here and on Instagram: Should I keep drawing the FurBabies?
They were intended to bring a little fun and innocent humor into the comics. The zeitgeist tends toward ‘dark’, snarky, or autobiographical strips lacking in humor. I’m out of touch and I know it. Frankly I don’t want to be ‘in touch’ with these times.
If I do continue FurBabies, I will most likely go to alternate days and drop daily updates.
Thank you for reading this and I look forward to hearing from you.
Nancy
(snip-go answer the poll-it’s a simple couple of clicks. I don’t mind how you vote, but she’d appreciate the information.)
Scottie's Playtime 
Hi Ali. I go to GoComics every morning. I went to the political cartoons section and saved which ones I like that fits reality instead of maga think. Then in the morning I click on that folder to open all 36 pages. The thing is to like a cartoon I have to like a cartoon you have to have an account. I don’t want another account that tries to cookie my computer to follow me around gathering my data. I am sorry she is having a crisis and feel that if she wants to draw the cartoon she should do it, but if it is too much she should do what the political ones do, they don’t do one every day, just when the mood hits them. Oh back when I was only posting a daily cartoon page, I had about three hundred comic pages I had to check every morning. The post got to taking 8 hours and was divided into sections based on if the comic was right wing and crazy out of reality. I got tired of doing it. But some of them were grand. Hugs
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Well, she put out an update yesterday; she will post a new FurBabies on odd days. On the other days will be random repeats. I didn’t figure enough people here read that to post an update, but there it is.
I posted the original because a few people mentioned it earlier in life when I’d post one of her substacks. No worries. And I still don’t have an account; I just read what I want, and sometimes post a few shiny gems. 🙂
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Hi Ali. I read a few comments the day I commented. She had said then she was going to continue. I guess she thought about it some more and decided to do the odd days. We all need to do what we enjoy and avoid adding more stress to our lives. Hugs
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