So, I completed my comic book script
I brain-spilled a post a few months back that detailed my renewed interest in that great American art form known as the comic book.
In the time between then and now, my renewed interest morphed into renewed loved thanks in no small part to covering the digital comics beat for PCMag, and some good friends who are comic book die hards. Another thing happened in that time frame: I completed the first comic book script that I’m proud to share with others.
Note the qualifier. I penned a jumbled mess of a script not too long ago, but the recently completed script is a story that I was meant to tell. I reread the script last night and I think it’s a damn good sci-fi/action piece, but I’m not going to self-high-five myself into false contentment. I’ve shared the pages with select friends, ones who I know will give me the real deal, and eagerly await their opinions.
In the meantime, I’ve been combing over comic book publishers’ submissions guidelines and reaching out to artists who can give visual representation to what’s in my head. This is the part that I fear the most. Not the potential rejection letters, but the Xenogears-like grind. It seems like each publisher has its own specific submissions requirements, and you have to follow them to the letter or get your package skyhooked into the nearest trash bin. Hunting down artists is a stressful, too. But, ‘evs. I’m feeling good, despite some jitters.
I’m not one to believe in divine intervention or the power of star alignment. Not. At. All. Still, a lot of good things have happened recently that’s driving me to get the script published. I turned 40 and gained a fresh perspective on what I want to accomplish in the second half of my life. Two New York Comic Cons were announced for 2014. I interviewed one of my comic book idols. Plus, I’ve come to learn the importance of having Black writers in the comic book industry after mixing and mingling with attendees at New York Comic Con 2013. Part of this is for me, part of this is for the community.
It’ll be an interesting ride; a ride that I’ll appreciate should I succeed or fail.
Image courtesy of Greg Pak.