One of my greatest weaknesses is probably seeing the best in people, when when they’ve let me down. It’s probably the main reason I had made poor choices in the past with business deals I made, or failures in friendships or my marriage. Surely this nice man who tells me how great I am and how much he loves my work and how he’s glad to find a friend like me wouldn’t stab me in the back or send me down the river? Surely when someone says they are sorry and won’t do that thing they did to you again, you should trust them right? But then they do it again. Sometimes like clockwork.

And even when colleagues warn you not to trust so-n-so, don’t sign a bad deals, you end up doing it because you trusted someone. These are probably lessons you have to learn through experience and not word or mouth. It’ll either break you, or make you stronger.

“Insanity; Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

That doesn’t mean we should give up. On your dreams or your family or friends. It means if you want a different result you need to change your actions first. I’m doing that now in my career and my personal life, and I’m already yielding great results. Thanks to the mistakes and stumbles I have made, I won’t make those bad choices again.

“Don’t do comics. Comics will break your heart.” – Jack Kirby

But when you are heartbroken, if you love comics, comics won’t let you down. Looking way back I think I turned to comics and cartoons as a form of escapism from a dysfunctional family and not the greatest childhood.

When I didn’t have comics and sequential art in my life, I self medicated with alcohol when things were bad. It seemed a drink or two were enough to calm me down and “take the edge off” There was also something sickly romantic about the idea that, hey! I can become a hard drinking comic book artist like some of my heroes from the old days on comics. I could never smoke cigars or cigarettes though, so I was only half way there. What I know now is that the act of creation is them best self medication ever.

I think if you’re an artist/writer and you’re not actively creating your own ideas, you’re slowly killing yourself. You will end up seeking some sort of escape from the madness in your mind. They ideas that won’t stop. The characters and dialogue that has nowhere to go.

“We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better…stronger…faster.” – Oscar Goldman

And here I am again. With a head full of big ideas. Plans. Hope. I am not the same man I was a year ago, two years ago, six years ago. I let go of ego and the “angry young man” syndrome. I have been humbled by all the old friends and colleagues, some I had even fought with before, who have reached out with encouraging messages or who are interested in what I have cooking and can’t wait to see it. It feels so relieving to know that old hatchets are buried along with the bad feelings. And it’s wonderful to discover that… Not only will comics not let you down, but neither will this community. It’s a small world, and we take care of our own.

As far as what I’m working on, Wish I could spill all the beans right now…. But very soon. Have to wait until some ducks are in a row. I can say that we have decided to launch the comic online first (webcomic) and there will be cool ways to support us and be a part of what we are doing.

These are the days of high adventure.