John Byrne wrote: Is that a bidet in the Master Bedroom Bath? ***** Huh --- I thught it was a planter.

...better than a drinking fountain!

John Byrne wrote: Since my income, like the income of most people working in comics, has spent much of my career wobbling all over the ledger, it is sometimes tricky when I apply for a loan and have to explain that my "low" income in a given year is because I did less work than usual. In this case, however, since Stately Byrne Manor has a market value a fair bit higher than the house I am buying, the woman doing the mortgage negotiations for me assures me the Bank will look at the combined value of the houses and have no problem spotting a loan for less than half that much.

JB,

I hope this isn't a nosey question; I don't think it is: since the income of a comic book artist can vary based on the amount of work s/he has been offered/taken on in a given year, is it difficult to plan for retirement?  Do you have to have a "heightened awareness" of your income and your long-range plans?  Just curious. 

(I am very literally at the midway point in my teaching career, so I'm really starting to plan for my retirement in earnest.  I guess that's where my curiosity about this subject has its origins.) 

Key word is "plan". I hired a financial consultant, when the real money started to come in, and then spent three or four very, very lean years as almost every penny I made was channeled into retirement funds. Or my FC's house in Rio. I guess I will find out which when I turn 59!