Doing your own thing

About a month ago, I read a weird conversation on Facebook concerning a couple of comic creators and their fans arguing back and forth about issues of censorship and lots of “keeping it real” talk. I’m not going to name drop, but I was somewhat inspired to write a little blog post of my own because it made me think. 

The one creator had sold his creation the the other creator, and the argument was centered around the new owner not “getting” the creation in question… of writing a watered down version to appeal to a broader audience and how that wasn’t “keeping it real”. 

Without simply rehashing the entire discussion, I’m just going to talk about what it made me think about concerning creator rights and ownership. Years ago, when I was fresh out of school, the only thing I wanted to do was draw Spider-Man. I was chomping at the proverbial bit to draw for Marvel or DC on one of the many characters I loved growing up. I was drawing page after page of samples trying to “break in” and it was going about the same as a bazillion other stories. Lots of rejection letters for a while and for a while more a few really encouraging letters pushing me forward.

Then an editor at Marvel sent me a sample script of a 6 page sequence from an existing Spidey script to test me out. I was making progress and getting further along and did my level best to knock it out of the park. I submitted my pages and got yet another “good but not good enough so keep at it” letters and was crushed. Then I made a mistake. I went out and bought the actual comic this script was from. It sucked. It was drawn by an established artist and it was a hot mess. The anatomy was terrible. The storytelling was all over the place. I couldn’t believe that my pages were nit picked and slammed and the actual pages that were published were terrible. And I’m not saying this simply out of ego but some degree of empirical knowledge of what does and doesn’t look good. And I was fairly fed up. I gave up trying to break into comics that day and haven’t turned back since.

I had already established myself as a graphic designer and illustrator professionally at that point and chose to continue in that field where I work to this day. Of course, I still draw comics. But since that day, I decided to draw my OWN comics. Was it partly out of depression and disillusionment with the system and the rules of “making it” in the industry? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Not one little bit.

See, I LOVE comics. I love reading them and love MAKING them. I love telling stories with art more today then I ever have. And that love is ultimately what I decided to protect.

As a graphic designer, I work for hire. I draw what I’m paid to draw and I do what I’m told. Even if I think my first drawing was perfect, I’ll re-draw it over and over to make my client happy. And usually, the final piece (in my opinion) never looks as good as the first piece I submitted, but as a graphic designer and illustrator, I’m being paid to do what my clients want, not to satisfy my own creative drives or artistic integrity. 

Which is why I create my OWN comics. Because I decided that I was starting to hate drawing samples. I was starting to hate second guessing every line. I was starting to hate changing panels, line weights and camera choices for arbitrary reasons I often disagreed with. And I realize that I’m not some kind of comics god, but I also don’t give a rat’s ass. I love comics. And I love MAKING comics and I’ll be damned if one of the biggest passions in my life ever becomes a painful chore because some editors or publishers or bosses want to give me shit or make me change what I want to do creatively in my own damn books. And that can’t happen because I do my own thing.

Maybe if I played by the rules and allowed myself to be broken, I could be drawing comics for a living and not have to split my time between graphic design and comics, but then I wouldn’t love comics as much anymore. It would become a real JOB. 

So I self-publish. Currently, The Wellkeeper sells enough at conventions to support itself and pay for the conventions and the printing and a little more. It’s not a job but it’s not just pizza money. Am i investing more in my TIME then it’s worth financially? Probably. But I really don’t care. I’d be drawing these comics even if I wasn’t self-publishing them. I’d be drawing them if only me and my fiancee were the only people reading them. And right now, nobody can tell me to change anything. No publisher can tell me that “Comics with fat girls as leads don’t sell. Make Zoe skinny.” No editor can tell me to draw less cartoony. No higher-up can make me change a line and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Getting it out there.

I'm of the opinion that if more folks KNEW about "The Wellkeeper", then more folks would be into it. But like an awful lot of self-publishers out there, I don't have the resources to buy lots of advertising and promotional stuff. As such, it's up to grass roots efforts, social media and word of mouth.

But there's more I need to do on my own end that I need to take more seriously. I need to start talking about the comic more. Not just with incessant Facebook posts, but in places new people will hear about it. I need to hit more podcasts. I need to hit more blogs, Forums, Groups, Etc.

I just wrapped up another Megacon and it was my best year to date. Lots of new folks picked up the new issue and it was a blast. I'll also be at HEROES CON In Charlotte, NC. in June. FLORIDA SUPERCON in Miami in July and PALMCON in September.

I'll be at FREE COMIC BOOK DAY at Heroes Landing in Clermont, Fl. this upcoming May too.

But I need to expand beyond the local shows. I need to expand beyond just the comic book market. The book has a broad fantasy appeal. I need to look into fantasy shows. Ren fairs. Art shows. Everything.

I really want to move this thing to another level this year and can use all the help I can get. Any ideas?

MEGACON 2013!

Hey there, folks! It's that time of year again! This weekend is the annual ORLANDO MEGACON! My favorite comic convention of the year and THE home show for "The Wellkeeper'! 

It's going to be an awesome weekend, featuring the PREMIER of "The Wellkeeper #7" on Friday, March 15th! Stop by my table in Artist's Alley (YELLOW 7) and be the first to get your hands on the exciting new issue!

Then, on Saturday March 16th at 2:50 it's "THE REVENGE OF ARTIST'S ALLEY!" Stop by room 221C for an exciting panel highlighting the brightest stars of Indy comics, featuring YOURS TRULY, brought to you courtesy of the fine folks at NERD NATION RADIO!!

Be there and say "HELLO"! 

Thoughts on Telling a Story

I've been telling my own stories through my comics now for over 20 years. For a couple of those years, one could argue that I possibly even did so WELL. As such, I've had time to put together a few specific thoughts on the approaches I often take to telling a story in the serialized format of comic books. I've found that It tends to come down, for me, to 3 basic approaches that I use one or all of at any given time.

The first, and probably most professional and "correct" approach involves making a defined, structured roadmap before the pencil ever touches a sheet of bristol board. This means forming your concept, characters, plot, issue-by-issue breakdown and page-by-page script before starting to draw. This is probably the most efficient and technically proper way to do ANYTHING, really. Of course, it's the approach I use the LEAST.

The second way to do it is the LEAST professional or "correct" approach and is best described as "making crap up as you go along". Also known as pulling it out of your posterior.

The third approach is a blend of the two thoughts. Plotting out your overall series (in the event of a finite story) or arc/s (in the case of an ongoing comic with running plot lines) in advance. Figuring out the basic beginning, middle and ending before you begin, while leaving the exact journey loosely defined and open to interpretation during the creation of each issue. THIS is what I prefer to do more often then not.

It's certainly how I'm approaching my current comic, "The Wellkeeper", and is an approach I discovered I liked the best while working on my online comic strip, "Dandy & Company".

About 10 plus years ago, give or take, I was working on a science fiction comic called "SCARRED WORLD: The Chronicle of Aegis". It was a full color, planned 6 issue adventure epic. To date, the first 4 issues were completed before the series was essentially put on indefinite hold while I shifted my focus to the "Dandy & Co."strip. Part of the reason that I ran out of steam on the project had to do with my decision to develop it with that first approach. The entire series was written out, roughed out and designed in advance of starting the first issue. I worked out all the details and had everything figured out before the proverbial first "shot". It was very efficient and very BORING.

I knew everything. I knew what was on the next page to be drawn and the ten after that until the final page of the series. I wrote it out, sketched it out and roughed it out. In my mind, it was done. And in the end, that had a big part to do with my loosing interest in the title. (I'm planning on re-printing the existing 4 issues to see if there's enough fan interest in rebooting the series this summer, but that's neither here nor there.)

On "Dandy & Co.", I had a set premise and defined characters, but no overreaching plot at first. It was a comic strip designed initially to simply stretch out forever. By design, making it up as you go along is almost a requirement unless you want to make a cookie cutter, formula strip. After a while, the bug for extended story lines bit me hard and the strip began telling multi-MONTH plots that ran day to day. I would always have the general idea laid out, but never anything more then a few strips written in advance and a general idea of where I wanted things to go. But because I was telling an ongoing strip, I could throw out my planned ending for a fun NEW idea literally at the last minute when inspiration struck. And, fyi, I often did just that. It was a lot of FUN working this way, but wouldn't work for something that is designed with a definitive ending.

That's where the balance that I'm using to work on "The Wellkeeper" has come in. I have the whole series very roughly plotted. I knew the beginning, middle and BASIC ending before I started. But the individual elements that happen issue-by-issue are left up to me to discover along the way as I'm working on each issue. As such, character relationships can grow and evolve in ways I wasn't planning on. Events that might have been planned for one issue might be moved to another because a more natural story flow was discovered. Basic characterization might change once I'm knee deep in the characters LIVES. It's much more chaotic and much less "professional", I suppose. But it's also one of the perks of self-publishing. I get to do things my own way and keep making comics FUN.

The Many Faces of Derrick Fish

 

Welcome to my brand spanking new online hub! From this one lil' website, you can keep up to date on all of my comics, art and assorted nonsense. Hope you enjoy!