Not a joke: over the past year or so, I’ve had a few dreams where I was doing Shine again. I would wake up and think “all right, time to draw the next part of this storyline” before realizing the storyline didn’t exist and I couldn’t remember any of the details it supposedly had.

…And then this idea came along, and suddenly I had an absolute deadline for when to get the website and the Ultimate Collection in presentable shape. April 1 or bust!

Alucard: These borders look familiar.

Integra: It’s been such a long time . . . is this really . . . ?

Seras: Look! It’s the old logo!

[And Shine Heaven Now: Resurrected]

Integra: What are we doing here, Erin? You’re not seriously going to start up Shine again.

Erin: And why not?

I did this strip six days a week, for almost nine years! Never skipped an update — even during weeks when I literally didn’t have a computer. And in all the years since, I’ve never stopped loving Hellsing and its characters. Plus: I can still draw Seras’ uniform perfectly from memory down to the last button. What makes you think I’m not perfectly ready to jump back in?

Integra: Today is April 1.

Erin: . . . okay, fine.

I just . . . I wanna qualify for the TVTropes Webcomic Long-Runners list!! I’ve been making webcomics continuously for the past fifteen years, but no individual comic has made it! The minimum is 10 years — well, Shine ran for 8 years and 10 months! If I post a new strip in 2018 and tell the TVT admins it was on a really long hiatus, maybe that’ll count!

Integra: You’re asking the admins to accept one hell of a technicality.

Alucard: I can . . . encourage them to see things our way. Give me an order.

Seras: Master! We talked about this. You be nice to the Internet. [pat pat]