The End of the Year As We Know It...and I Feel GREAT

I'm not normally one for doing posts towards the end of the year unless I want to give my thoughts on the best/worst movies or comics of this year but this year...things are different.

This year-after years of just thinking about it-I actually got not one but three comics published. Some might make the argument, "Oh well those were just webcomics and not a real comic!"

Well, I think that argument is best left up a person's ass from where they pulled it. In January, June and December of this year, I published three different comics, each told in a different way and each time, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I've searched for negative comments (Not as a glutton for punishment but just to see if there's any constructive criticism to improve things) and have found only one but it was just nonsensical.

One of my favorite comic writers saw my first one, a tribute to Kevin Conroy titled "A Big Fan" and told me in a quick email, "LOVE the comic".

See, it would have been cool enough for him to write back that loved it but the fact that he emphasized it the way he did actually brought tears to my eyes.

The voice of Wonder Woman-Susan Eisenberg-saw it as well and remarked that it was "Extraordinary". Again, I would have been happy if she had declared, "This is pleasantly ordinary" but she described it as "Extraordinary". It's going to take a lot to top getting that kind of praise.

I also learned this year to enjoy my money in ways that were satisfying to me. I had always dreamed/talked about getting a commission from the great Red Letter Media guest-star & artist, Freddie Williams. He was closing his commission list for some time to focus on professional work so I decided to bite the bullet and get a drawing of one of my favorite characters, Robin (Tim Drake). Plus we got to correspond back and forth, going over small details, discussing our love of the character. How cool is that?

The amazing thing is this image is almost exactly how I envisioned it

I also got another commission from the great Tom Grummett (He too, drew the third Robin for me). My Dad came with me to Calgary Expo for the first time and just now booked his flight out for next year.

I also got to mee Batman/Daredevil writer Chip Zdarsky and he gave me some good advice on writing. He also signed a bunch of comics for me free of charge.

We'll start the bidding at...$5000 [per book]. I have $5000, do I hear $5500?

More importantly...I'm in a relationship that's made me the happiest I've been in a long time. I once said to someone that I'd want someone in my life who gives me confidence, self-belief and encouragement. That's happened in ways I didn't think were possible at this point in my life. I had honestly gotten used to the idea of being alone that now the idea of it seems pretty...dreary, to be blunt.

Right now we're going over to some a friend's place to ring in the New Year, so the question is: What's next?

Well, I'm going to look for a job related to writing. I've been told that it would be a foot in the door related to what I want to be doing. I've also got a meeting in a few weeks with the writer in residence at the University of Calgary; we'll be going over the first chapter of a novel that I'm currently working on.

There are two other scripts for fan comics that I sent Marcelo and I imagine he and Carl will be eager to help bring those to life. However I think if I were to do more fan comics, those might be the last.

Not that I don't like writing stories set in Gotham City but I'd like to start getting paid to write stories and I have an idea about how to do that.

But for right now, here's to a happy New Year...and survival.