The story of my first convention as a vendor is the story of sudden reversals. Things I expected to go very poorly…well…didn't!
Roller coaster rides of emotion that took me from the depths of despair, to the heights of success and back…and up again.
I suppose I could say that this last weekend (of Nov. 22nd, 2014) was the launch of my universe, in some official capacity. When I wrote my article Letting Go: The Threshold of the Creative Journey, I touch on how I have had to release a number of very dear things in my life personally, as well as creatively. One of the things I've had to let go of, was the idea that everything up to the launch of my universe was going to be chronicled as I went.
I meant to do that for all of you, but as time wore thin, I found that I had to cut out everything except what was absolutely necessary to get things done in time to get to the printers—to get product to the convention in time.
However, there is so much that happened that I think is worth chronicling and sharing that I want to take some time to look back on the road that brought me there.
I meant to do that for all of you, but as time wore thin, I found that I had to cut out everything except what was absolutely necessary to get things done in time to get to the printers—to get product to the convention in time.
However, there is so much that happened that I think is worth chronicling and sharing that I want to take some time to look back on the road that brought me there.
A number of things turned around quickly—and I wanted to comment on the drama of the story… I don't know if the details will be meaningful to you, or not, but I hope that hearing the story of another deliberate creator will be encouraging.
Reversal #1: Getting the comic book to the print shop on time
I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to get the comic done, but I'm proud to say how quickly I was able to create it once I got started. (I will say, however, that this project comes at a time in my life of intense personal grief, and it was supremely difficult to get moving again—but I had to, and I did in the end, nonetheless.)
After getting me extension after extension, my business partner and investor (also the music composer for the Animus webseries) finally got to a point where we could not push things back a single hour. I had to create lettering and finish color work in a matter of hours, without a script. It got done, but it was insane how many corners we cut on the comic book (which is probably a can of worms to save for another blog post).
I got to the last stage, down to the wire—which, as a professional, one should never be, and I missed my deadline by—not miles, but inches. It was minutes, not hours or days later that I delivered my files. (The massive inner resistance I was facing—which has been huge—left me dangling, getting files done, but not with enough time to export and send—which is of course, no good.)
There was a hard moment I had to face when I realized I was on the verge of losing my investor—who had always been one of my best friends through the hardest times in my life. I called him, left messages. Begged him to work something out—he could have all the income from that con. Just give me another chance!
I was literally crying. This was the end. I was ready to burn it all—take all my Animus work, and all the pain it had caused me and those around me, and burn it all. Maybe go to work in real estate. Some place where I could actually make money.
But, then, I got a phone call. Somehow, my investor pulled it out—made it work! Somehow he had negotiated to get the comic printed. It was then that I knew once and for all that I'd made the right choice to partner with him.
After getting me extension after extension, my business partner and investor (also the music composer for the Animus webseries) finally got to a point where we could not push things back a single hour. I had to create lettering and finish color work in a matter of hours, without a script. It got done, but it was insane how many corners we cut on the comic book (which is probably a can of worms to save for another blog post).
I got to the last stage, down to the wire—which, as a professional, one should never be, and I missed my deadline by—not miles, but inches. It was minutes, not hours or days later that I delivered my files. (The massive inner resistance I was facing—which has been huge—left me dangling, getting files done, but not with enough time to export and send—which is of course, no good.)
There was a hard moment I had to face when I realized I was on the verge of losing my investor—who had always been one of my best friends through the hardest times in my life. I called him, left messages. Begged him to work something out—he could have all the income from that con. Just give me another chance!
I was literally crying. This was the end. I was ready to burn it all—take all my Animus work, and all the pain it had caused me and those around me, and burn it all. Maybe go to work in real estate. Some place where I could actually make money.
But, then, I got a phone call. Somehow, my investor pulled it out—made it work! Somehow he had negotiated to get the comic printed. It was then that I knew once and for all that I'd made the right choice to partner with him.
reversal #2: opening the boxes and seeing the comic for the first time
I tried hard not to think about what the finished product would look like when it finally arrived. Mere hours before the convention started—we were driving madly to pick up 3000 copies of the comic book from the Holland Litho press in the aftermath of the worst November blizzard in Michigan's history—hoping to get everything in time before the convention closed its doors for vendors on opening night.
We arrived, and waited to be served. My investor shared some jokes about how we'd use the money when we were rich from the endeavor, and talked about our love lives. Finally, our 11 boxes of comic books began to be transferred to the loading dock, and we had to wait some more—so, hospitably, our corporate host took us on a tour of Holland Litho's enormous facilities, including the multimillion dollar press machine that had actually run the print of our comic books.
It was all very exciting, but once we had the boxes loaded and were back on the road to our next stop, I almost had a heartstopping moment. "Open the boxes!" said my partner. "Let's see one!"
We arrived, and waited to be served. My investor shared some jokes about how we'd use the money when we were rich from the endeavor, and talked about our love lives. Finally, our 11 boxes of comic books began to be transferred to the loading dock, and we had to wait some more—so, hospitably, our corporate host took us on a tour of Holland Litho's enormous facilities, including the multimillion dollar press machine that had actually run the print of our comic books.
It was all very exciting, but once we had the boxes loaded and were back on the road to our next stop, I almost had a heartstopping moment. "Open the boxes!" said my partner. "Let's see one!"
"Oh no," I said to myself, "There's no way that this is going to turn out well." With all the steps I'd skipped, I was sure my comic would look horrible—just beyond the pale of amateur into the dash-in-the-trash-and-run category.
He insisted, and I gritted my teeth—forced my way through the fear—and faced opening a box.
He insisted, and I gritted my teeth—forced my way through the fear—and faced opening a box.
What I saw inside amazed me—surpassed my wildest dreams of what this could be. The colors popped off the page in a visceral, real and tangible way—probably in only the way that seeing your first (color) comic book in print can make it happen.
I was suddenly in awe. I think I remember cheering out loud—really, loudly.
I was suddenly in awe. I think I remember cheering out loud—really, loudly.
| Yup. Those are some of things that happened. Absolutely white-knuckle. And then also—brilliant. Of course, that's only the beginning of the 4 major reversals that happened while creating this comic. So, stay tuned. More to come! | |
Have you had any hair-raising experiences creating your own artwork, stories or worlds If so, how did they turn out? Leave your answers in the comments below.
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