SebastianPiccione
Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 09:51 PM
What a long strange week it’s been.
Sometime just after the last installment of this fine editorial, I got word from The Grim Crew, that my 10 page script, “….with a whimper,” was accepted for their zombie collection, DEAD FUTURE. This will be my first comic script to be published by anyone other than myself. I was overjoyed to get the news.
Friday, one of my students, Sam Tinerella gets me her mock cover for MADDIE SCIENTIST, our SMALL PRESS IDOL entry. Friday ALSO happens to be the deadline to get the entry in, so I rush and get it scanned, and send it in to DIMESTORE PRODUCTIONS, along with my pitch blurb. I pay the $20 entry fee, and am informed I should be up on the sight sometime the next day.
David Paul sends me some logo designs. He will also be lettering MATTIE SCIENTIST.
At his point, I have a confirmed script publication with one company and I’m part of an actual team on a book I dreamed up for the contest.
Things are looking pretty cool.
Saturday, MADDIE gets her first vote from the judges. It’s YES!
I actually do a little dance.
The Grim Crew (http://www.grimcrew.com/) get back to me on my script. They have assigned it an artist. His name is Martinho Abreu. They send me some sample zombie pics he’s done. He’s good.
I am VERY happy.
Sunday morning, I’m still waiting for the other two judges to cast their votes on MADDIE.
I update my facebook, and myspace pages to reflect my endeavors.
Sunday, around 3:00 pm, I pop back in at dimestore to check on MADDIE. The second vote is in. It’s NO. I crash like a plane made of bricks. When I had first entered, I thought it would be neat to try. I’d see my creation on a website, people would comment on it. I’d get the word out, and when all was said and done, I would self publish and hope that some of the people who saw it in round 1 would pick it up. This NO was the first time I realized how badly I wanted this competition. It was eye opening.
I check on MADDIE incessantly.
Later that evening, the third vote is on. It’s a YES! We are moving on to round two!! To top it off, they inform me that Sam is the youngest contestant (she’s 15) to make it to round two in the competition’s 6 year history.
I am proud beyond words.
Monday, I share the news with all five of my classes. The kids are excited; Sam gets a hero’s welcome.
Tuesday, I get an email from Sam’s mom. She is proud of her daughter, and excited about the competition. She nurtures her daughter’s talents and abilities, and is glad she gets to work on this comic. I read the email, and think of Matt Grant’s column, COMICS ARE FOR PEOPLE, right here on PFB.
Tuesday night I set up a myspace account for MADDIE SCIENTIST.
As I write this, I am staring at some of the sketches Sam has done of Maddie and Bat. She has tweaked her style to something she is much more comfortable with, and the skill level has jumped markedly. She’s good, and she knows her strengths. I think, win or lose, we’ll have a strong showing in round 2. I also have to email David with a suggestion we came up with as to the logo design, which is also a part of round 2.
In the meantime, I write this column, my own column here on Project Fanboy, the same site that hooked me up with free comics to read and review. One of those reviews, being BOOM! Studios’ HIGH ROLLERS, the collected trade to which, is adorned with an excerpt from my review of issue #1, on its back cover. The same site that allowed me to do interviews, like my first ever, with THE SURROGATES creator, Robert Venditti. Venditti, whose life seemed to run parallel enough to my own to make me realize this was doable. The same site that allowed me to interview Erik Larsen, Oeming, Sterling gates, Jamal Igle, Todd Nauck, and Darick Robertson. The site that got me on the phone with Dan Jurgens to talk all things Booster for an hour and a half.
IN BOLTS & NUTS, Forby has stressed the importance of not just planning, but DOING. He has drilled he need to network and get your name and your ideas out there. Let me tell you, he’s right. I started WRITING, not talking about writing. I started reviewing and interviewing, and getting to know (and more importantly BE KNOWN) by people in the industry. At MEGACON, which I entered for free thanks to my PFB press passes, people had heard of PFB and they were familiar with my work here. Mark Waid recognized both the site, and my name. Artists Ethan Van Sciver, Billy Tucci, and Derec Donovan all remembered me from previous meetings and we spoke. Not just “I love your work,” or, “Yeah, kid..I remember you,” we had conversations.
In June, I will have been with PFB for one year. In that one year, I’ve done all the things listed in this article. In that one year, writing comics and being a part of the comics has industry has gone from my dream to something attainable. In fact, to some small extent, it’s been attained. I’m here. I do this for PFB. I go to cons and speak with the creators. I have a story being drawn up and published. I’ve moved to round two in small press idol. You are currently reading this article.
Am I there yet? Have I made it? Hells no! But I’m in the door. I’m at the party. Sure I’m stuck in the hallway, and haven’t made it to the big gala ballroom, but some people inside have seen me. I’ve gotten a few head nods as the bigwigs walk by. My name has been penciled in at the bottom of the list.
If it all falls through tomorrow, if nothing else happens, if Maddie gets voted out. I’m still happy for all this, right now. I still got further than many people ever will. And what’s the difference between myself and them? What makes me so special that I should be able to do any of this?
I tried.
Get out there people. Try. Trying is the first half of doing.
We are all fanboys. We all have our projects.
Let’s go get ‘em.
Sometime just after the last installment of this fine editorial, I got word from The Grim Crew, that my 10 page script, “….with a whimper,” was accepted for their zombie collection, DEAD FUTURE. This will be my first comic script to be published by anyone other than myself. I was overjoyed to get the news.
Friday, one of my students, Sam Tinerella gets me her mock cover for MADDIE SCIENTIST, our SMALL PRESS IDOL entry. Friday ALSO happens to be the deadline to get the entry in, so I rush and get it scanned, and send it in to DIMESTORE PRODUCTIONS, along with my pitch blurb. I pay the $20 entry fee, and am informed I should be up on the sight sometime the next day.
David Paul sends me some logo designs. He will also be lettering MATTIE SCIENTIST.
At his point, I have a confirmed script publication with one company and I’m part of an actual team on a book I dreamed up for the contest.
Things are looking pretty cool.
Saturday, MADDIE gets her first vote from the judges. It’s YES!
I actually do a little dance.
The Grim Crew (http://www.grimcrew.com/) get back to me on my script. They have assigned it an artist. His name is Martinho Abreu. They send me some sample zombie pics he’s done. He’s good.
I am VERY happy.
Sunday morning, I’m still waiting for the other two judges to cast their votes on MADDIE.
I update my facebook, and myspace pages to reflect my endeavors.
Sunday, around 3:00 pm, I pop back in at dimestore to check on MADDIE. The second vote is in. It’s NO. I crash like a plane made of bricks. When I had first entered, I thought it would be neat to try. I’d see my creation on a website, people would comment on it. I’d get the word out, and when all was said and done, I would self publish and hope that some of the people who saw it in round 1 would pick it up. This NO was the first time I realized how badly I wanted this competition. It was eye opening.
I check on MADDIE incessantly.
Later that evening, the third vote is on. It’s a YES! We are moving on to round two!! To top it off, they inform me that Sam is the youngest contestant (she’s 15) to make it to round two in the competition’s 6 year history.
I am proud beyond words.
Monday, I share the news with all five of my classes. The kids are excited; Sam gets a hero’s welcome.
Tuesday, I get an email from Sam’s mom. She is proud of her daughter, and excited about the competition. She nurtures her daughter’s talents and abilities, and is glad she gets to work on this comic. I read the email, and think of Matt Grant’s column, COMICS ARE FOR PEOPLE, right here on PFB.
Tuesday night I set up a myspace account for MADDIE SCIENTIST.
As I write this, I am staring at some of the sketches Sam has done of Maddie and Bat. She has tweaked her style to something she is much more comfortable with, and the skill level has jumped markedly. She’s good, and she knows her strengths. I think, win or lose, we’ll have a strong showing in round 2. I also have to email David with a suggestion we came up with as to the logo design, which is also a part of round 2.
In the meantime, I write this column, my own column here on Project Fanboy, the same site that hooked me up with free comics to read and review. One of those reviews, being BOOM! Studios’ HIGH ROLLERS, the collected trade to which, is adorned with an excerpt from my review of issue #1, on its back cover. The same site that allowed me to do interviews, like my first ever, with THE SURROGATES creator, Robert Venditti. Venditti, whose life seemed to run parallel enough to my own to make me realize this was doable. The same site that allowed me to interview Erik Larsen, Oeming, Sterling gates, Jamal Igle, Todd Nauck, and Darick Robertson. The site that got me on the phone with Dan Jurgens to talk all things Booster for an hour and a half.
IN BOLTS & NUTS, Forby has stressed the importance of not just planning, but DOING. He has drilled he need to network and get your name and your ideas out there. Let me tell you, he’s right. I started WRITING, not talking about writing. I started reviewing and interviewing, and getting to know (and more importantly BE KNOWN) by people in the industry. At MEGACON, which I entered for free thanks to my PFB press passes, people had heard of PFB and they were familiar with my work here. Mark Waid recognized both the site, and my name. Artists Ethan Van Sciver, Billy Tucci, and Derec Donovan all remembered me from previous meetings and we spoke. Not just “I love your work,” or, “Yeah, kid..I remember you,” we had conversations.
In June, I will have been with PFB for one year. In that one year, I’ve done all the things listed in this article. In that one year, writing comics and being a part of the comics has industry has gone from my dream to something attainable. In fact, to some small extent, it’s been attained. I’m here. I do this for PFB. I go to cons and speak with the creators. I have a story being drawn up and published. I’ve moved to round two in small press idol. You are currently reading this article.
Am I there yet? Have I made it? Hells no! But I’m in the door. I’m at the party. Sure I’m stuck in the hallway, and haven’t made it to the big gala ballroom, but some people inside have seen me. I’ve gotten a few head nods as the bigwigs walk by. My name has been penciled in at the bottom of the list.
If it all falls through tomorrow, if nothing else happens, if Maddie gets voted out. I’m still happy for all this, right now. I still got further than many people ever will. And what’s the difference between myself and them? What makes me so special that I should be able to do any of this?
I tried.
Get out there people. Try. Trying is the first half of doing.
We are all fanboys. We all have our projects.
Let’s go get ‘em.