R. K. Milholland
{{Short description|American webcomic writer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = R. K. Milholland
| image = Rkmilholland-ravencon2009.jpg
| alt = R. K. Milholland at RavenCon
| caption =
| birth_name = Randal Keith Milholland
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|11|25}}{{cite web | first = R. K. | last = Milholland | title = A Magical Birthday | url = http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp11252017.shtml | date = 2017-11-25 | access-date = 2017-11-27 | archive-date = 2017-11-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171128024055/http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp11252017.shtml | url-status = dead }}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Author and Artist
| years_active = 1999 - today
| known_for =
| notable_works = Something Positive
}}
Randal Keith Milholland (born November 25, 1975), better known as R. K. Milholland, is an American webcomic author. His works include Something Positive, New Gold Dreams, Midnight Macabre, Classically Positive and Super Stupor. In 2022, he took over as author of the Sunday edition of the Popeye syndicated comic strip.{{cite news
| last = Cavna
| first = Michael
| title = Popeye is getting a makeover at age 93
| newspaper = Washington Post
| date = 2022-06-03
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/comics/2022/06/03/popeye-strip-randy-milholland/
}}
History
Raised in Bedford, Texas, Milholland attended Harwood Junior High and Trinity High School in neighboring Euless, Texas.{{cite news |title=Online comic strip gives creator a new beginning |last=Morrisonc |first=Ellena |date=June 8, 2004 |work=Fort-Worth Star-Telegram}} During high school he won several awards for his editorial cartoons.{{cite web |url=https://precollege.sps.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/2023-12/1993-gold-circle-scholastic.pdf |title=1993 Awards for Student Work - Gold Circle Awards: Scholastic Recipients |year=1993 |publisher=Columbia Scholastic Press Association |page=3 |access-date=January 23, 2025}}{{cite web |url=https://www.uiltexas.org/historical-archives/academics/archives/92archiv/92ac_ilp.html |title=ILPC Awards 1992-93: Tops in Texas Individual Achievement Awards, Editorial Cartoon |publisher=University Interscholastic League |access-date=January 23, 2025}} He went on to enroll in the art department at the University of North Texas where he spent four years.
Milholland moved to Boston in 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 the Something Positive webcomic, in response to a criticism from his friend, voice actress Clarine 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.{{cite news
| last = Losowsky
| first = Andrew
| title = Charity begins on the net
| url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2004/sep/09/society.internet
| access-date = 2009-02-12
| newspaper = The Guardian
| date = 2004-09-09}}{{cite news
|last = Chen
|first = Jialu
|title = See you in the funny pages
|url = http://archive.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2011/08/02/the_new_webcomic_entrepreneurs/
|newspaper = The Boston Globe
|date = 2011-08-02
|access-date = 2011-12-19
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120729221744/http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-02/lifestyle/29843469_1_comic-strip-creators-webcomics-diesel-sweeties/2
|archive-date = 2012-07-29
|url-status = live
}} To his surprise, this amount was reached and surpassed in less than a month, making Milholland one of the successful pioneers of micropatronage. Since then, his webcomic has expanded into many realms of merchandising.[http://www.warehouse23.com/info/browse-sp.html Warehouse 23 - Something Positive Merchandise] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323192108/http://www.warehouse23.com/info/browse-sp.html |date=March 23, 2016 }}
{{cite news
| last = Coltrain
| first = Nick
| title = Artists exploit the Web's freedom in creating their own comics
| url = http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2009/02/03/artists-exploit-the-web's-freedom-in-creating-their-own-comics/
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120303195855/http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2009/02/03/artists-exploit-the-web%e2%80%99s-freedom-in-creating-their-own-comics/
| archive-date = 2012-03-03
| access-date = 2009-02-12
| work = The Nevada Sagebrush
| date = 2009-02-03}}
Milholland has relocated to Texas and travels the con circuit frequently. He also sometimes performs in community theater, especially children's theater. In 2017, he moved to Georgia.{{cite tweet|number=911022037052919809|user=choochoobear|title=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 |date=22 September 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240707005951/https://x.com/choochoobear/status/911022037052919809 |archive-date= 7 July 2024 }} In 2019, he moved back to Texas following the signing of Georgia House Bill 481, a so-called "fetal heartbeat bill", into law.{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2019 |title=Upcoming |url=https://somethingpositive.net/comic/upcoming/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211141945/https://somethingpositive.net/comic/upcoming/ |archive-date=Feb 11, 2023 |website=Something Positive |quote=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}}{{cite tweet|number=1148702973763215362|user=choochoobear|title=My wife got a new job - also no heartbeat bill in Texas.|date=9 July 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118070814/https://twitter.com/choochoobear/status/1148702973763215362 |archive-date= Nov 18, 2021 }}
Comics
=''Something Positive''=
Something Positive started its run on December 19, 2001. {{as of|2025|04|19|df=US}}, it is still being actively updated.
==''Something Positive 1937''==
Starting on September 7, 2007, Milholland launched a third spin-off from Something Positive, this one also taking place in the same continuity as the original but taking place many years earlier. Something Positive 1937 follows the relationship of Fred's father Vester Macintire and his cousin Davan (Davan of S*P{{'}}s namesake, first mentioned in the comic's May 8, 2007 strip.{{Cite web|url=https://somethingpositive.net/comic/namesake-pt-1/|title = Namesake pt 1 |website=Something Positive |date=May 8, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211143930/https://somethingpositive.net/comic/namesake-pt-1/ |archive-date= Feb 11, 2023 }}) 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{{cite web |url=http://classicallypositive.net/ |title=Something*Positive - 1938 - did this work |website=classicallypositive.net |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121101517/http://classicallypositive.net/ |archive-date=21 November 2010 |url-status=dead}} on September 24, 2007. The strip stopped updating in 2008.
==''Midnight Macabre''==
Midnight Macabre is another spin-off from Something Positive. It features Gaspar Baugh, the father of Something Positive secondary character Lisa Baugh, as he attempts to resurrect a horror TV show presenting Midnight movies.
=''New Gold Dreams''=
New Gold Dreams is a strip that spoofs the conventions of the heroic fantasy genre. It also ties in with Milholland's interest in role-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 in New Gold Dreams have the same appearance and personality as regular S*P characters. The comic started on April 2, 2004 but has been entirely on hiatus since the 20th issue in August 2005.
=''Super Stupor''=
Super Stupor is a superhero comic, which mocks the conventions of the genre. Four self-published volumes of the strip are currently available from the Rhymes With Witch store.
=''Popeye''=
Popeye is a newspaper comic strip from King Features Syndicate, starring an ornery sailor and a large cast of quirky characters. In 2022, Popeye
= ''Mousetrapped'' =
In January 2024, with Mickey Mouse's original version of Steamboat Willie becoming public domain, Milholland released the webcomic Mousetrapped.{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Matt |date=2024-01-03 |title=Popeye Artist Releases New Mickey Mouse Web Comic Based on Steamboat Willie |url=https://www.superherohype.com/comics/561991-popeye-artist-releases-new-mickey-mouse-web-comic-based-on-steamboat-willie |access-date=2024-01-05 |website=SuperHeroHype |language=en-US}} 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. The series ran through February 2024 before being discontinued by 2025 with the website going defunct. However, the series never formally ended.
References
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Category:American webcomic creators