Why are comics so important to me?

Good afternoon, brethren of Steemit. I’m at @caffetto, finally. This entire week, there has been an earlier than usual heatwave passing over Minneapolis. Our beloved coffee shop, @caffetto, has virtually no air conditioning and as much as I miss playing Magic: The Gathering with friends and working during the day, I’m not going to out myself through the misery. At last, @vermillionfox and I are enjoying an overcast, 70º day in an empty coffee shop while @guthrie hangs out with his bro’s.

Yesterday, @vermillionfox and I went to see Deadpool 2. It was a long overdue date, a great movie and additional forward momentum towards my hopes of finally transition to comics full time this year. So many jokes during the film that were nods to the actual comic book fans that’ve been reading these characters long before they were multimillion dollar franchises. I’ve been thinking about comics a lot lately and what it is that has always inherently drawn me to them.

Mulling my attraction to comics in my head, I realized part of it is tribalism. It’s the same with punk. If you’re standing in line at a coffee shop and see someone with a mohawk, it’s a statement [more or less]. If you come across someone with a Millions of Dead Cops or D.R.I. pin, there’s an unspoken conversation in simply knowing and understanding. That we are both part of this “thing”. It speaks volumes about your taste, your respective walks of life, and where you both stand as parts of society. It’s the “them and us” thing.

In my thinkings on comics, it’s much the same. During the early days of Steemit, I immediately bonded with @cryplectibles and @bryan-imhoff, on the basis of our love for comics, sure, but obscure comics! The deep cuts only die hard enthusiasts would seek out. I’ve realized that these are my people and the comics themselves are markers for how I form friendships. Just like punk, someone’s taste in a memorable artist/writer run speaks volumes to me without a conversation.

I’ve also been thinking about my personal draw to creating comics. When I was a kid, my brother, @customnature, had a friend who’s uncle was an artist for either DC or Marvel. Somehow, fate would have it that a sketch book from that family member made it’s way to our house. I remember turning through the pages of endless pencil drawings, anatomy, perspective and form. I know at only 5 years old or so, I’d decided I wanted to be a comic book artist. Not just that I “wanted” to. I knew I would be…one day.

I think there was a part of me that just wanted to have a place in the culture of comics. I remember going to sad comic conventions long before they were the massive events with 100,000 attendees. I mean VFW sized buildings in Metcalf, MO. A few dozen tables, mouth breathers and neck beards […in my opinion, what a good comic convention “should” be. That’s right. Fuck you Grant Morrision and your perfect jawline…and hot Scottish accent]. 

Now, though, I’m realizing that I want to tell stories more than anything. Over the last four years or so, I’ve been trying to sharpen my ability to write and develop the countless stories that’ve begun to sprout in my head. As most of you know, I have almost 20 years of experience as a photographer and over 10 shooting video. I used to think I wanted to tell these stories through film, but recently, I’ve decided that comic books are the medium best served for each of them. As time goes on, I’m focusing less on making things look “cool” and channeling my energy in to clearly conveying and idea and fleshing out meaningful stories.

Lastly, and if I’m being honest, probably the biggest reasons I want to do comics is because it is […in my opinion], the absolutely hardest medium of art that exists on the planet. I have always, and will always be drawn to the most difficult thing. It’s a competitiveness I hold with myself. Years ago, I was a professional wrestler and I obsessed about doing the move and spots that were so complicated, or so painful, I think just to prove to myself I had it in me. It’s part of my DNA that teeters on the edge of self destructiveness and the highest rewards. That part of what makes me the person I am has always been there.

Without a doubt, art was my path and when I think of what is the hardest, most challenging medium I truly feel that it’s comics. I remember collection Spawn around the time Todd McFarlane and the boys formed Image, reading that those first dozen or so issues, Todd did the story, pencils and inks. EACH ISSUE! EVERY MONTH! I think around that time, something clicked in my brain that I wanted to do that. I never thought “…I want to draw like Todd”, but I did want to be a one man show that could take an idea in my head and produce an unforgettable comic like Spawn month after month.

I’m still in love with comics, and at almost 40 doing my own is still my life’s ambition. Thanks to Steemit and cryptocurrency I’m on the brink of doing just that. If you made it through this post without any pinups in lingerie, thank you. You’re the real heroes. For more comics, art, photography and thoughts on life, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!