Got paid pretty well to draw comics consistently for 8 months of it, so I'll chalk this one up as a "win" in the freelance corner of my career. A few projects that I was really looking forward to fell through and probably won't happen (at least not with me). But that is a minor point along what was a generally pretty smooth year, career-wise.
Not sure how 2011 will play out. I'm a terrible prognosticator. I had no intentions or fore-knowledge of doing the any work I ended up doing in 2010, and 2011 is looking about the same. No clue what's around the corner (aside from personal and creator-owned projects), just trying to keep an open mind.
If all goes to plan, all of the work that I've been doing for the last 3 years that hardly anyone has seen (aside from desk shots here) will drop in 2011 (not including any new work I generate between now and the end of 2011).
- LOVESTRUCK - w/ Dennis Hopeless. (DONE) This bastard's 3 + years in the making, and it's really our sophomore album, after Gearhead. As with all sophomore outings, it's a crapshoot as to whether or not what little audience you garnered with your first effort will follow you into unfamiliar and new territory. We'd like to think that the majority of the people that enjoyed Gearhead will accept this (admittedly) left turn sort of work, but even if they don't, it's a 180 pg giant that represents a deeply significant part of Dennis Hopeless and I's growth, both as creators and people.
- BOMBHEAD - w/ B. Clay Moore. (DONE) An unexpected, but welcome, foray for me. I went into the book wanting to accomplish a few things, and while I didn't hit on all of them, I'm pretty proud of what I was able to do with the book, especially considering the constraints put upon the last half of it (along with several other mitigating circumstances). I'm looking forward to people seeing it, because it's not something I think is expected from me, taking into account my printed work thus far.
- SUICIDE SISTERS - All Me. (ALMOST DONE) This one's been my red-headed stepchild for the last 2 years, (I'll ignore the year -2008- I spent dreaming it up and writing most of it). I'm ambivalent and excited to get it out. It's the first long form work that I've written by myself that will see print. So, naturally, I'm a bit shaky about putting out something so--- personal isn't quite the right word, but that's about all I can come up with. I have crafted a pretty epic tale for these girls, so I'm hoping the first volume, "Shoot The Devil", is not as much akin to uncalloused fingers fumbling to find the right notes and frets, as it is the first raw electric stab of power chords that lays the appropriate groundwork for the beat of future volumes.
I hope you all had a great year. Overall, I did. On some fronts I was able to clear away some garbage in order to have a chance to start anew, but there were quite a few personal and professional sacrifices and even more personal missteps that marred parts of my 2010. I'm hoping, in 2011 (and beyond), to allow for a bit of a change and put forth more effort on my part to maintain my personal life and relationships in a better manner. The work too often tends to be the trees I can't see the forest (my personal life/relationships) for. I don't foresee getting any less busy, just... you know, hopefully more aware of the cost of being so busy and making sure that debt isn't coming at the expense of my friends and those I care about.
Just for reading all of that, here's something to look at:
(I don't have much that I didn't already post on this blog this year, but here's a "The Kill" drawing I did that I'm pretty sure I never dropped on your optic nerves. Done in Manga Studio).
(I managed to do a fair bit of writing on various projects in 2010, "The Kill" being among them. Hopefully the new ground I broke on it will lead to my actually making it a reality over the next few years).
\m/
