Yesterday, April encouraged me to organize the boxes where I keep my comics, the comics I sell at conventions and store signings. While "encouraged" may sound like a euphemism for "she told me to do it," April has good reason. Until then, I kept these boxes under my desk and scattered throughout the office -- with another box in the living room closet. Not a great system. Now, everything is conveniently stored in one location, and I was able to compile it as efficiently as possible. I have an entire box devoted to extras (copies of DEAD@17 ROUGH CUT VOL. 1-2, WESTERN TALES OF TERROR #2, SILENT FOREST TELEVISION PARODY SPECIAL, the two VIPER FREE COMIC BOOK DAY issues, and copious amounts of KARMA INCORPORATED #2-#3).
It was fun looking through these comics, stuff I haven't read in quite awhile.
It's encouraging to see what I've done since 2004, when I first printed SOME OTHER DAY. At the same time, I'll admit I have a few frustrations.
Staying as vague as possible, due to events beyond our control, there are some books that should be here that never made it to print. There were some proposals that never got picked up. More than putting another comic in print, I hate the missed opportunity to collaborate with those artists. (Is that vague enough?) Also, while I've enjoyed writing short stories, I wish I had more full-length comics, more graphic novels. Lastly, I haven't been able to work with nearly as many publishers as I would like.
I don't want to give the impression that I'm pessimistic. I'm more hopeful than anything, and just ready. I can't keep doing what I've done. I need to challenge myself, move forward, take the next step, the leap, the plunge, and all those other cliches. However, yesterday, I took some time to enjoy where I've been, and clear out some space under my desk in the process.
