Baggage
on August 27, 2015
I started this comic amidst one of my down moments. A lot of these thoughts have popped up from time to time as I’ve been working on comics over the years. This time I decided to face these depressing thoughts head on and be productive about it. Making room in life for your passions isn’t the easiest thing in the world to begin with and comics are a time sucking beast. It’s even harder to follow your dreams sometimes, it’s a pathway that can be filled with doubts.
I’ve always known I was a lifer when it came to comics. It’s like breathing to me. And I’m pleased to say that over the course of making this comic I’ve been able to answer some of the questions it posed.
darynkimbrough from /r/funnyandsad says:
“No idea if the author of the comic will ever see this but this is the best thing I’ve ever read.”
Thank you! Wow, that made my day. I don’t know what to say beyond, I’m really happy it connected with you:)
This comic hit me terribly hard. It’s wonderfully accurate, and horribly accurate. I feel the pain and confusion. It is my own. I
‘m a writer and film director, and I knew, knew, from my single digits, that I was made to tell stories in film. I’ve had a lot of luck in the past, made some projects I think are quite good, worked with a few Academy Award winners, but in the last 2 years, 4 of my projects went explosively tits up, I got locked in an expensive legal battle with my former producer who claimed rights to work I had created, I was audited by the government, and I’ve had innumerable doors slammed in my face as I try to begin new projects.
Worse than all the bad luck is the wall, the absolute fortress of apathy you face in the industry now, as the business model for independent production crumbles, and the industry seems to only have a taste for big budget adaptation. Worse than the bad luck is the distinct feeling I have that my career is over, because no one is interested anymore in seeing, or producing, or paying for the stories I’m passionate about. Worse than the bad luck is my conviction that, while I still love telling stories, I’m beginning to loathe the industry I’ve chosen. Worse than the bad luck is my terror at feeling I’ll have to start again, my terror that I no longer understand the industry anymore in order to do so. Worse than all of that is that I’m not sure why I continue.
Am I too stupid to do anything else? Too unskilled to find a profession that isn’t dying of slow rot? In my dark moments, hell, I feel like a battered spouse. He’ll change. We always had something special. I know he loves me.
You said that you’ve found some answers in the course of making your comic. Be sure to make a comic with those answers. Some of us could use the help.
Thanks for sharing you story. I’m glad the comic spoke to you. I don’t know that there’s really any catch all answers. At the end of the day, for me, it came down to me honestly thinking about what I wanted out of my medium of chose and what drew me to it in the first place. It’s so easy to forget why you’re doing something once you’ve been doing it for so long and once that happens those bad thoughts and horrible doubts come in to play and can really wreak havoc on you if you’re not careful.
Well, I’m definitely gon’ give this one a tweet. Do you mind terribly if I take a screencap (With source) and post it as a link-back through my instagram? More people pay attention to me there, and it’ll make sure to push them your way.
Perfectly fine. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the support:)
Remember Disney and the little gray mouse running across his desk. Canini has his druken cat. Did you see the video of the cat swimming in the flood waters in Dallas? Serious anger and attitude on that feline’s face. Keep cartooning!
Thanks, Kay! I really appreciate the words of encouragement. I’ll do just that:)