Dress for the job you want - Part One

I was listening to "Talksplode #18 - Breaking In to Comics with CB Cebulski, Ron Perazza and Stephen Christy" the other day, which makes that the 13th time I've listening to it. I've listened to is while sleeping, eating, drawing, having conversations with co-workers, spin class (not really), I've listened to it just about every time, I need to either feel energized, or in need of a bracing does of reality.

It's like a good book that is so easy to re-read, again and again, that it gets dog-eared and the pages become thin from too much turning. It's a great resource for anyone contemplating the world of comic book creation, and employment.

When I started down this path, to be a comic book professional, there were not as many resources as I thought there should be, and the search of genuinely informed sources, was Sisyphean in it's completion. There had to be deep rich veins of comic book profundity to be had, some diligent cadre of pedantic pulp purveyors, just aching to have their knowledge gobbled, up by like-minded mavens. And then came iFanboy.

Hours melted away as I sifted through their comic-con coverage, of every major con, and I have since watch them numerous times. My eyes were opened to aspects of the culture that even as a long time comic reader, I knew nothing about. They spoke with the artist, and I heard the passion, and love for this artform, that shockingly get little of the respect it's due. These men and women, from Greg "The Supa Mutha" Rucka, to Gail Simone (super-hotty), to Nicola Scott (hotty hot hotty) to Rick "The Effing Man" Remender, and Jamal "The Journyman" Igle. Seeing these artisans and writers, gave me the inspiration I needed to begin this trek, to a destination that it is my fanatical hope, will lead to being among their number.

Which brings me to the title of this entry, "Dress for the job you want"...which will have to wait until part two.

Disclaimer: The nicknames given to the amazing people, are totally of my own creation, and not ones given to them (as far as I know) by either friends, family, or the industry at large. And in no way meant in any other way other than adoration and admiration.

Minor Thought - The Tao of Galactus

If there is indeed a Tao of Galactus, I'm certain it must be a very long and often bumpy road. For one to obtain the moniker "Devourer of Worlds", an unfathomable amount of legwork is , I'm sure, a prerequisite.

I'm not looking to be THAT guy. That guy, who while still in high school, carried his "Scooby-Doo" lunchbox with him, everywhere. The one who believed that, only most of the creature in the "Dungeons & Dragons" source books were real, and living in uncharted regions of the world, like Pangea? Or that superpowers were possible, only the US Government would not allow scientists the proper funding, or that the antiquate code of of ethics, were squared opposed to "human testing". This one scared me more, than it raised my eyebrows.

Many years later, I think back on "that guy", I realize how much better off (apart from the human testing) thinking like he did. His imagination was unbridled, his belief in the fantastic unchecked, and clearly galloping across the landscape of his reality. He held on to the childlike belief, that anything is possible. Because I think the longer you hold on to that kind of wonder, the more fun you life winds up being. And now, many years later, I hold true to the less "harmful to humans" portion of his philosophy. I roll around in my imagination, like a forty foot Jack Russell terrier, in a field of grass, on a sunny day.

An unbridled imagination is a wondrous thing, it keeps your mind sharp, and those around you, on their toes, and in whatever profession you choose to devote yourself to, it makes it that much more fun. That's what I envision comic book writing will be for me, without the "human testing".