I'm still on the last set of my commissions from earlier
in the year. This was the first year I received a bulk amount of commission
orders. I learned a lot from both the success and failure of these commissions.
- I’ve had people waiting a long time for their orders. I’ve also had people
change their minds and cancel. And unfortunately I’ve had to refund money to
people as well.
I’m willing to admit, I’m not very good at this. But, I have been learning to improved and
have been getting better as I push my way through the learning experience that
2011 has been.
Some people would say “What’s the big deal? Why don’t you
stay on top of things, Greg.” And I really wish I could explain everything and anything
that caused all these problems. But there are too many to talk about. And not all of the issues are things I can
make public. A lot of it is personal.
And a lot of it has to do with other people’s business; which I don’t
feel is something I should be speak about publicly.
What I can tell people is that I am doing all this on top
of working a full time job, fixing debt from my failed marriage, finishing my
divorce and fighting depression. I don’t
say these things to excuse my actions. But
merely to provide some answers and understanding about what I am going through.
Future Commissions: I’m looking to start up a new round
of orders in December. However, I will be setting up more firm commissioning
rules. These are for protecting myself and the customer. This list will be available by December 1st
and posted in as many places as I can provide it.
WANT vs. CAN:
One of the problems I’ve been learning from is my “want”
vs. “can” situation. I want very much to
have a vast comic book Universe to entertain people with. But since I am only one person, with only so
much time, there is only so much that I “can” do.
The problem; I tell everyone what I want to do and I have
had a lot of people asking “Where is the book? You’ve been talking about creating
a comic for 15 years!” Well, like many
creators, I’ve had ideas on my brain since I was 6 years old. And MockTales is
an accumulation of all my years as a sentient being daydreaming about this and
that. I wrote the core of what you’ll
see in the first book of MockTales in 2003. I adapted to a new version in 2007
that gave it a little more edge. And then after my wife left in 2009 I wrote
what I feel is the final version that has more character and plot development,
and I am now going forward with now that I am single and have more free time again.
All these years I haven’t been ready, despite expressing
my want to have the book out. And
because of this, I feel I have let a lot of people get hyped or mislead that it
was going to happen. I wanted it to
happen. But I wasn’t ready. Want vs. Can.
So now that I’ve explained that tidbit, “where are you at
now”, you ask? As of this Blog this is
the following schedule for my art and comic activities:
MockTales: Project Molten – An 80-page concept design and art book
for the MockTales Universe. This book is being moved to release in December
2011. Delays are due to formatting issues with printers. Spending the next
30-45 days tweaking and making sure things are right before final print
production.
MockTales 2009 Ashcan reprint – Our 2009 Ashcan written by myself
and illustrated by Rob Hicks will be re-printed into a regular comic book format
and then re-lettered and colored. This will give everyone a look at Tim Garn before
the fateful day of the first issue. We
will be bringing this book out in February or March of 2012, prepping for the
first issue of the main book at Emerald City Comic Con late March.
MockTales: The Adventures of Tim Garn #1 – Coming out at Emerald
City Comic Con, March 30, 31st and April 1st, 2012,
Seattle Wa. This is the book that I have been telling everyone about. Most of
the book is done and a preview will be in the Project Molten Art book as well
as online in December. The current goal
is to put out 3-4 issues a year.
Conventions:
I will be looking to attend as many conventions during
2012 as I can. Initially I was going to
schedule 12 shows (12 in 2012). However, that is a lot of money and seeing as
how I’m trying to get out of debt, I will be attempting to make it to conventions
only if I can afford them and the time permits.
You can guarantee that I will be at the local shows in my area; Emerald
City Comic Con, Spokane Comic Con, Bellingham Comic Con and Jet City Comic
Show. (Other formatted local conventions are TBA. i.e. Crypticon or Norwescon,
ect)
My goal at conventions is to get as many people as
possible interested in MockTales. Advertise and spread the word on the Universe
I am creating. I’m not looking to make a
ton of money out of this whole venture. (Of course I won’t complain if I do
either). Drawing comics is what I love
in my spare time. I work a day job to
pay the bills. But if I can break even
at conventions, then I can schedule more and visit various areas of the States,
let alone eventually making it to shows in other Countries as well.
Make it or break it - I’ll rest in 2013!:
In all honestly, 2012 is my “make it or break it” year. If I’m not able to make this comic book work
in 2012 then that is pretty much it for me. I’ll pull back to doing occasional
commissions and maybe a few 1-shot books once in a while. But no more creating a comic book series and
Universe.
The reason behind this is because I am going to be giving
up a lot of my time to get this all going next year. And time is valuable to me. If it becomes a waste of my time and money,
then I would much rather work my day job and just stay out of the comic book business.
However, if I can make some success or maybe break even
with this venture, then I will keep going.
So either way, I’m looking to work hard in 2012. And part of knowing whether or not this is
working is getting feedback from everyone checking out my work. Email me. Send me a message on Facebook. Or buy art and books from me and show me your
support when you can.
Thanks again everyone.
This crazy train is about to leave the station!
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