I could say “I am a writer and publisher of comic books,” and let that lie there as the defining sentence of my existence; but it does not convey all that that enables me to do, or to be. It is merely the doorway I stepped through to live an amazing life!
I reflected upon this after a recent trip to New York state to attend the NY Faerie Festival, at the behest of Wendy Pini of ElfQuest fame; she and another dear friend, David Mizejewski and I cosplayed as Faeries and wandered through the woods singing, dancing and marvelling at the mystical.
It occurred to me that this was a sort of physical representation of what my life is like: magic and wonder created by everyday people with extraordinary imaginations—basically put, “My Tribe.”
The weekend was heavenly; a lovely mad trip through Faerie as well as flying cross-country, across borders, to see friends and touch base with them and imagine with them.
And then: the very next weekend, I was invited along with three other creators (Cam Hayden, Aaron Navrady and Jeff Martin) to be a guest at the Comix and Stories show in Vancouver.
Let me tell you what the heart and soul of Indie Comics is: It’s four guys travelling to share one hotel room, have a great meal together with their host (the inestimable Leonard Wong) to do a one-day show dedicated to independent comics creators, then travelling home immediately after!
Anyone who doesn’t understand the effort and work that Indie creators put into every aspect of getting their work into other people’s hands needs to be educated about it; 48 hours of go-go-go after months of creative, painstaking work is par for the course: exhausting, draining, yet somehow uplifting; this is the core of the Indie spirit.
I am privileged to be able to travel where and when I want, and to create worlds from the comfort of my home, and to share those worlds with others. In short, I get to live in fantasy, work in fantasy, and be rewarded by it. No other job, no way of life, could ever come close to providing the fulfillment and satisfaction I feel from this amazing existence.
Support the dreamers around you; support the creatives. They put their hearts and souls into everything they do, all in the hopes of sharing their dreams with you.
