What might have been... (Patreon)

Many moons ago I moved to Los Angeles with the dream of building a career in comics. I organized a road trip from where I was living in Virginia that took me through the north and then down across the midwest and southwest to California. At that time I was a member of a comic book community message board (this was before Twitter) and networked with other creators on there. A few offered to let me stay at their houses/apartments during my journey, helping save money on hotels. I did in-store signings and attended conventions to cover gas and food. It ended up being a three-week odyssey.

One of the stops along the way was Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Tony Fleecs (yes, of My Little Pony fame) hosted me there. We had a great time. Did the signing, ate burgers and talked comics and film. 

Right before heading out (during a massive rainstorm no-less) he handed me an ashcan for his book In My Lifetime. I was a publisher at the time, co-running Silent Devil with family members, so this wasn't unexpected. He was a bit shy about it and said to the effect "I hate being so forward, but here's my book. Can you look at it?"

I read the sample pages during my stay in Boulder, Colorado a few days later. I was a guest of Chuck Rozanski (yes, of Mile High Comics fame) and his family. It was a very relaxed setting, perhaps some of the most peaceful days I've ever known. Sitting there reading his comic, with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, I was instantly drawn to Tony's style and, just as importantly, his storytelling abilities! I had to work with him.

After settling in to life in Los Angeles I contacted Tony and offered him a publishing deal. We were able to produce one issue before he decided to seek work-for-hire assignments. The comic was popular enough, however, to earn a reprint.

But before Tony ultimately decided to take the well-deserved successful path he is now on, we discussed doing a 48-page comic for an idea I had called Unhappy White Girls. I wrote the script and handed it over to him. He produced a few designs and a promo piece.

We had a good time chatting about the book during our signing together at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. We were the first creators to hold an event there after they had a fire that gutted much of their backstock. Happy to say the store moved to a new location and is still thriving to this day.

But alas, Tony's talents led him away from our project and the rest is history. I later traveled to New York City and discovered the art team of Triska and Vivian Lee. They took on the book and completed 90% of the art. But that is a story for another time.

Unhappy White Girls is now known as Girl Story. I'm still working to get the last 10% completed and know that one day it will see the light of day. Will continue to share art from it and behind-the-scenes material here.

You can see Tony's work via his site and comic shops everywhere. I'm always pulling for his success and was happy to meet him when he was first starting out. He's a great guy and be sure to say hi to him if you ever see him at a convention. Talent like his doesn't come along every day.