Update 2/9/26: How It Goes (Patreon)

Usually the updates are fun to write, because they help me consolidate my thoughts on the future. Alos, they're usually positive, upcoming releases and appearances, new work, projects that are developing. But sometimes the dice don't go your way and I like to share that information as well to give readers a better picture of how this comic book freelancing thing goes. Well, I don't "like" like it, but you know what I mean. I'd rather have thumbs up, every time out.

I've made references to some potential projects that I was spending time on last year, well, one got rejected, one hit a wall and one I've been ghosted on. And a short comics gig didn't work out. None of it is a huge deal, these were always "maybe" things. I'd be more bummed out if it was something like a comic pitch was turned down. But they still eat up work time, and nobody likes to have a run of disappointments, especially when they're fairly close together.

I had approached Dark Horse about possibly doing some Eltingville merch. Unfortunately it was too late in the game to schedule because it wouldn't happen until long after Nerd Inferno shipped. I get that. Even if it was polite speak for "no", it makes sense. You can always release Hellboy or Zelda merchandise, things thatare perennials. With someone on my level, you need to strike when the iron's hot, or lukewarm. But not cold. Hopefully I can stumble into a situation where we can make some basic Eltingville stuff, one where I don't have to be involved with. The nice thing about working with Dark Horse in the past on M&C and Eltingville stuff was that they could handle everything and I ddidn't need to do anything more than design, draw and approve. I've had some interest from small and start-up folks and I'm just not in a position to deal with someone learning their business. Unfortunately, most of the enthusiasm comes from folks looking to get into the game. Which is nice, but not practical for me.

Next was a tie-in project that I had my fingers crossed hard for but unfortunately I got word yesterday that it hit a wall. I don't think it's going to be able to climb up and over. I did some sketch work for it, nothing huge. Had a meeting, some e-mail back and forth. I've been down this road before on a similar project, but this one looked like it had a better chance.

I was in talks with an outfit to do an art collab, designing a sofubi-type figure based on one of the properties that had licenses for. We got as far as my being sent a list of characters/properties they thought I might be a good fit on. I wrote back and that's all she wrote. Ghosted.

I was approached by folks at DC to contribute to the MAD comic they recently announced. I was interested but I didn't think I had anything to pitch for a one-pager. Also, I think my DC superhero joke battery might have been exhausted twenty years ago between World's Funnest and the two Bizarro books. I feel less attached to that world and those characters these days, sometimes I like to draw them but I never think about jokes or stories. They needed something fairly quickly, so I opted out and offered to draw a page if they were interested. Then the whole rotten thing happened with Gretchen Felker-Martin's series getting axed because of comments made about Charlie Kirk's death and I was not exactly chomping to work with DC. Apparently the pitch schedule was extended because I got another e-mail about pitching, and later on an offer to draw a script. It didn't look like anything I'd have fun working on even if I was chomping at the bit. So I passed. I like a lot of the folks involved with the project and I love the idea of a MAD comic, but I'm not crazy about the approach (lots of one-pagers, apparently) and I'm not crazy about DC these days. So, that went from an initial ! to a ? to a ... and finally an X.

And that's how it goes. Most things don't work out as hoped, some opportunities fade, and sometimes you get ghosted. You spend time talking and thinking and sometimes do some preliminary work but nothing comes of it. You spend time on these things but you don't earn a dime in the end. The people you deal with are usually getting paid to approach you and take meetings -- editors, publishers, project managers -- it's part of their job. But the freelancers basically fishing on their own time.

That doesn't change forty years into your career. Even the big shots get shot down. I know that all sounds obvious but I think people tend to forget about this part of the game. Especially young writers and artists.

Art above by Dave Gibbons, from World's Funnest (DC Comics)