Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

She Believes In A Beauty

Published Sat, 25 Jan 2014 11:00:49 -0600

Zam Map writes,

So there I was, in the Northern hall of the Javits center in a slightly uncomfortable pair of shoes and a robe that was a bit too big for me. I was standing atop a small pair of stairs that lead down to the exhibition space filled halfway with people, but still looking crowded and very loud. Some of my peers were already down below seated in plush blue chairs, chatting away and looking around excitedly.

This wasn't the artist alley of New York Comic Con though. This was the graduation ceremony for my college. I couldn't help pointing out the irony of the situation that the school that would be giving me a degree in illustration would rent out the same hall that many professional artists come every year to make a living. I was one step closer to becoming a real artist. And in a few more months I would be back in the same hall, trying to become one of them. A mere mortal looking upon gods.

My plan however was to put making art on hold and focus on working a normal retail job. Just for a short while as I saved up money before moving to my new place. I started my job search well in advance when I still had one class a week. Yet for some reason I wasn't able to get hired until months later. I was pulling at straws. After weeks of interviews and emails I was only able to land a minimum wage gig. "It's just temporary" I told myself, as I should be making enough to pay the bills and save up. The many hours and stress would all be worth it in the end, right?

Two months later I realized a lot had changed since I left the work force for college. After the cost of transport, taxes and bills I wasn't saving much of anything. My nerves were being pulled thin all just so I could have a place to rest between shifts. This wasn't the life I set myself for when I first applied and attended that specialized high school for art ten years ago.

I came back the Javits center for the comic convention and was dead set and making my time there more worthwhile then the time I spent in college. Here was a giant building filled with people who were doing it right. Here were many creators of varying type sharing their work. And there were the fans, ogling and praising the artist, elevating them to statuses liken to gods. This was what I was looking forward to each year. This was what I wanted my job to be.

So I quite the job and went to working freelance full time. While I was making just a little less than the minimum wage, it was far less stressful and I was proud of the work I was making.

But it wasn't MY work. I mean, yeah, I made it, or colored it, but it was something that someone else was telling me to make. I was helping make a stranger's dreams come to life, which is nice, but what about mine? Over the years I had written so many stories and short comics that never had the time to turn into full projects because I needed to devote my time to more financial duties.

However there was one. ONE comic I started during college on my only day off of the week, Venus as a Boy (yes I know, it's also a song title). It was a comedic fantasy adventure comic where the world of Roman gods clashed with our modern celebrity worshiping culture. Actors and artist are adored by fans with an unconditional love that rivals the all-powerful gods. Just as the Olympians looked down and entertained themselves with the trivial lives of humans so do we look at the screen to what some musician is having for lunch. On the surface the comic comes off as a silly story about fan girls but I take influence by the world around me.

It took months to squeeze in the time to finish the first issue, but it was done: my first complete professional looking comic. I had it sitting in my computer for months and was already half way through the 2nd issue. What was I waiting for?

I have nothing to lose really, just set up a fundraiser to cover the printing cost and I'm done. If it fails I just go back to doing freelance and move myself up slowly in the flied doing coloring or inking. Yet I have so much gain if it succeeds. Monetarily it wouldn't help much, as I set the goal price to cover mainly printing and shipping, but my career would be boosted significantly. Suddenly, I'll be a published artist. I'll be a professional. I'd be a real artist and Venus as a Boy would be a real comic.

Dressing me up in a square hat and giving me a piece of paper in the Javit center didn't make me a real artist. But if I ended up giving a booklet of paper to someone else in the same hall, I would.

Every day I see lots of great (and not so great) projects being funded on sites like kickstarter and Indiegogo, most of them getting just enough to make their dreams come true. You might be getting a book or keychain, but someone else is getting a chance, getting one step closer to becoming like gods.

Venus as a Boy can be found at Indiegogo where you can fund the 1st issue. Such success will snowball the funding for the other issues. And while you're there why not take a peek at some other projects? Indiegogo gets far less traffic then Kickstarter, you know…

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