When I was eight years old my Dad told me about a guy that hung out at the local golf course. This guy was in the glory of his retirement. He would head to the golf course every day, play a round, then hole up at the bar and ticking time away. But, what was special about him, that little piece of information that my Dad told me, that thing that lit my eyes up to the size of stars…his name was Al Plastino and he used to draw Superman.
My Dad told him how much I loved Superman. Of course I did. I was a kid with glasses and full of hope. Superman was my guy.
A few days later my Dad had something for me. Al put pencil and ink to paper and drew me my own Superman vs. Lex Luthor battle. Holding it in my hands it was absolutely unreal. To love Superman was one thing. To have touched a fresh piece of art by a guy that actually drew Superman and he made this for me?
Shit.
There was nothing like it.
This was one of those life defining moments where I could see the attainable.
I spent a lot of time as a kid drawing my own comics. I wasn’t great at it but I do wish I kept it up.
What I did keep up was writing. In writing all the time I became a writer.
I wrote short stories, attempts at novels, screenplays. But, writing comics became useless without an artist to draw them.
In 2020 I set out to find artists that I could trust and work with. Men who I was able to write for with confidence and still be surprised with the results of their art.
Jorge Luis Gabotto and Rossano Piccioni were the keys to my success this past year. With them I was able to finally actualize the desire I had to create comics since I first held that Superman in my hands.
Comics for me started slow. Jorge and I spent the better part of the year piecing together what would become TALES FROM THE DEAD ASTRONAUT. Going through each short story I developed a greater confidence in my work. We released TALES in August. I sold a nice chunk of copies but I knew that there was more out there for us.
So, I submitted the comic to a few companies and forgot all about it.
Then, I saw pages of a crime comic by Rossano. I messaged him, asked him what he was up to, what he liked to do, and if he was available.
He was.
I tossed some ideas around until we landed on what would become BURN RESIDUE.
Willy Boyd walked into my life with his scars and oil stained jump suit and I knew something special was afoot.
Rossano and I hit the ground running. The idea was conceived in September and by October Issue #1 was nearly done. Later on that month we launched the Kickstarter to complete the whole three issue story. That Kickstarter is probably what brought most of you here to this newsletter.
It was my first time running one and with only a handful of “fans” from TALES jumping over I really had to hit the drum hard to get our project noticed. We ran right down to the wire and just eked past our goal. It was a really rewarding experience to see everyone get excited for this crazy book Rossano and I put together…and they only saw the first few pages. I’ve seen the whole thing.
Now, as of this writing, the printed copies of Issue #1 are on their way to me. TALES was picked up by Source Point Press for a 3 issue run and Jorge is hard at work bringing those pages to life.
All that time spent thinking about what I wanted to do with comics turned into a really passion driven year for me. I couldn’t be happier with the results.
With all my writing done now it’s time to turn to my next projects.
First up is a pitch proposal I’m working on with Rossano. It is a five issue murder/mystery/detective story that we will take out to publishers after BURN RESIDUE is all wrapped up. If we don’t get picked up we may run another Kickstarter with the same kind of monthly schedule that BURN RESIDUE will have.
Second, I have a crime one-shot inspired by Alfred Hitchcock, the eight panel page layouts of STRAY BULLETS, and tennis star John McEnroe. I can’t give out too much on this one other than that I am working with a new artist for the first time and I am looking forward to getting this dark little tale of sibling rivalry out to you all.
My impulse to make comics started all those years ago with that Superman. It took way too long but I am glad to finally be doing the work. Each project has its own excitement that energizes me to make the best project possible.
I want every comic I make to be my favorite comic.
Well, thanks for signing up for this newsletter. With each one I’ll try and explore the stuff that motivates me and deconstruct the way I see story.
Today is new comic book day. Get it on the right foot, go buy some comics.
Case File: 1
Very nice dude! This is a great 1st issue of the newsletter. Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve, happy 2021 and best of luck! 🙌🍻🔥