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April 26, 2006
Whither The Pickytarian?
Whither indeed? It's been just over two months since I posted. In fact my last post (on February 7) begins with an apology for the lack of recent updates. Yikes!
So what happened? Well, there are a handful of logistical reasons, all centered around the new job that I started about a month ago. Handing in my notice at my previous job meant that I was suddenly plunged into weeks of training the people who would be taking over my responsibilities. This was a drastic change from my usually manageable workload, and as a result, there weren't enough hours in my work day for any in-depth looks at the coloring in Iron Man: The Inevitable. (A shame, really, because Frazier Irving is doing work in that book that's setting a new standard for digitally-assisted comic artwork.) Then I started my new job, and, lo and behold, they actually expect me to work 8 hours a day in exchange for my paycheck! Man, if anybody had told me that's how it was going to be...
You may be wondering why I couldn't just do my blogging during non-work hours like most - or at least some - bloggers out there. The reason for that I've been spending almost all waking hours of my non-work life penciling, lettering, inking, and co-writing a comic book. It's called Divison 18: The Union of Novelty Costumed Performers, and it's am epic tour de force about the class struggle in 18th century France. Well, OK, not really. It's actually about a small-time thug in a Snake costume and his witless gang of cronies. And it's about Street Haggis. And chimpanzee strippers. In fact, the first 7 pages are up for your perusal, enjoyment, and consternation right now!
My co-writer Matt and I spent the last couple weeks of February furiously trying to assemble those 7 pages into a promotional "ashcan" edition to hand out at the New York Comic-Con. Assemble it we did, and hand it out we did (after waiting in a two hour line just to get to the convention floor, but that's another story). Our labor soon bore fruit; we are currently negotiating a deal with a publisher. If that works out, you should be seeing Division 18 on your comic store racks in 2007. If that doesn't work out, we will probably go ahead with our previous plan, which was to "publish" it ourselves on the web site. I still kind of feel like that's a more cost-effective way to handle the distribution of an independent comic these days. But if somebody else is willing to take the financial risk of publishing it, I can't argue with the inner comic fan in me that would be thrilled to see an actual book of mine in the stores! Anyhow, I've probably already jinxed the deal by talking about it here, so I'll stop.
The more important matter for you, I'm sure, is the future of The Pickytarian. I'm afraid I don't have a definite answer. I could probably find a way to navigate around the logistical challenges. But there are (conceptual? moral? let's say esoteric) questions that I am having trouble answering. The main raison d'etre of this site has been a forum for my comic reviews. Now that I'm neck-deep in making my own comics, I have a deeper appreciation for how frickin' HARD it is to do! It's difficult for me to criticize creators for decisions that I know are still better than ones that I've made. It also ramps up the pressure that I put on myself to do a good job; one of my shortcomings is a little too much second-guessing and overworking. If I've spent the day dissing somebody's balance of blacks and whites on a page, I've just upped the stakes for myself to avoid the same mistake that night when I'm inking my own page.
There's also the more practical matter of biting a hand that may one day potentially feed me. I don't harbor any delusions of working full-time in comics, so my livelihood isn't at stake. All the same, if I have a stake in the success of a certain publisher, or if a certain creator has done me a professional favor or given me advice, I'm not going to go on the entrynet and talk about how bad their comics are - even if their comics are actually bad. But if I just do positive reviews, how would you, the reader, be able to trust my advice or opinions? For all you know, they could be motivated by my agenda with Division 18.
On the other hand, studying other people's work is the primary way that I've learned how to create comics. And I've always loved talking about comics, about how they work, how they're made, and whether they're effective or not. That hasn't changed in the last few months. If anything, it's become intensified. Except now I relate my reactions to comics back to my own work, and creative decisions that I make or shortcomings of my own style. Would it be tiresome for you to hear me go on about the process of making my own book? If anybody is still reading the blog, I would love to get some feedback about what I should do and what you'd like to see. Thanks for you patience and your help.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at 10:53 AM | Comments (8)