Third and (Sort Of) Last
In 1978 I had more than half of the pages I needed to fill what I now knew would be the final issue of Barefootz Funnies. But the collapse of "Speaking of Ozymandias" left me blocked. I had no trouble drawing a story featuring Headrack; as a frustrated artist, Headrack had evolved into a far truer reflection of my own reality than Barefootz was. But a Barefootz comic book needed a lead story starring the title character, and I just couldn't wrap my brain around the Barefootz mindset anymore.

Finally inspiration hit. Why not make my ambivalence about Barefootz the subject of the comic's lead feature?

That broke the logjam. A rush of pent up feelings poured onto the six pages I called "Barefootz Variations"—feelings about my character's strengths and weaknesses, about the strip's themes, about cartooning itself, and about the complaints so many had about how my characters were designed.

Drawing "Barefootz Variations" was cathartic. It let me lay a lot of free-floating issues on the table so that I could walk away from Barefootz having said my piece, speaking as the 34-year-old cartoonist I had become while saying a fond, unapologetic farewell to the 25-year-old cartoonist for whom Barefootz had once seemed a perfect vehicle for expressing insights about life.

Once complated, "Barefootz Variations" enabled the third issue of Barefootz Funnies to see print in 1979.