We are now on the final countdown for the 5,000 mark, with tonight’s work number 10. Bearing in mind that the count is based on strip appearances on the comics page, the posts page (that would be this one), and the Haut Times page, we’re going to hit this next week at the absolute latest.

I have to say, I’m a little giddy over realizing this milestone. When I started the online version, I really didnt think I’d stay with it for more than a couple of years. I just wanted to keep the strip alive and well for a bit longer. After all, it didnt take long to figure out that the audience for this was… select. The storylines here were usually anything but what one would find in a mainstream LGBTQ comic strip, and the longer things went on, the more Doc and Raider veered from that, if for no other reason than I wanted to chart my own course in this, wherever that might take me.

And look where it did: stories about alien abduction explaining the political madness of today, of the folks who babysit the oversized toddlers in Congress, of an oil pipeline built through a fifteenth story condo, of Broadway shows becoming terrorist targets, and of people finding love in the most unexpected of places. There’ve been over 400 such stories over the years, if anyone’s keeping score. And as such… five thousand entries later… I’m kinda adjusting that original plan a bit, and we’re sticking with this thing for a while longer. I have maybe a half dozen storyline concepts I want to follow, and follow them we shall.

I know I joke a lot about my twelve readers, but if anything it’s to let all of you know how very special you are to me and how appreciative I am that you’re here with my little guys. So… as we coast into that magic number, let me tell all twelve of you once more that you truly are special snowflakes in the Doc and Raider universe. And thank you for being that.