Grant Alter - Struggling Comic Writer

The Year in Books - 2008

2009-01-01T20:58:00.000-08:00

Since this is my professional blog, I thought it might be interesting to see all the things I read over the course of this year. As a writer, everything I write is informed by the things I read and this list is sort of a roadmap to show you how I got from January 1 to December 31, 2008. In an effort to be honest, I should mention that I finished The Guards before I went to bed on New Year's Eve, though it WAS technically 2009. For instance, it may not surprise anyone who reads the new Hurricane Kids work that I have been reading early Dragonball. This is me. Most of it I read because I wanted to, but every so often, there were other motives. I'll not qualify though. Some were great, some were not so great. But I read them all.

The Year in Books - 2008

January

Novels

Peter and the Starcatchers – Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Survivor – Chuck Palahniuk
The Conqueror Worms – Brian Keene
13 Bullets – David Wellington

Graphic Novels

Criminal – Volume 1 – Coward – Ed Brubaker
Superman/Batman vs. Alien and Predator – Mark Schultz

February

Novels

Monster Nation – David Wellington
The Keeper – Sarah Langan
The Blonde – Duane Swierczynski
Con Ed – Matthew Klein

Graphic Novels

Manhunter – Book 1 – Street Justice – Marc Andreyko
Manhunter – Book 2 – Trial by Fire – Marc Andreyko
Manhunter – Book 3 – Origins – Marc Andreyko
Star Wars Omnibus – Tales of the Jedi – Vol 1 – edited by Randy Stradley
Batman Turning Points – Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, and Chuck Dixon
Light Brigade – Peter Tomasi
Empowered – vol 1 – Adam Warren
Aliens Omnibus – vol 1 – Mark Verheiden and John Arcudi
Scalped – vol 1 – Indian Country – Jason Aaron
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus – vol 2 – edited by Scott Allie

March

Novels

Money Shot – Christa Faust
Bangkok 8 – John Burdett
The Butcher’s Boy – Thomas Perry
Blackmailer – George Axelrod
Bust – Ken Bruen and Jason Starr

Graphic Novels

The Terminator Omnibus – vol 1 – edited by Chris Warner
Punisher: War Journal – Book 1 – Civil War – Matt Fraction
Fantastic Four: The End – Alan Davis
Batman: Terror – Doug Moench
The Quitter – Harvey Pekar
Cairo – G. Willow Wilson
Sentences: The Life of M.F. Grimm – Percy Carey
The Boys: vol 1 – The Name of the Game – Garth Ennis
The Immortal Iron Fist – vol 1 – The Last Iron Fist Story – Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
El Diablo – Brian Azzarello
Dynamo 5 – Jay Faerber
King City – Vol 1 – Brandon Graham
Sloth – Gilbert Hernandez
Y the Last Man – vol 2 – Cycles – Brian K. Vaughn
Y the Last Man – vol 3 – One Small Step – Brian K. Vaughn
American Virgin – vol 2 – Going Down – Steven Seagle
Y the Last Man – vol 4 – Safeword – Brian K. Vaughn

April

Novels

Slide – Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
Cop Hater – Ed McBain
Plunder of the Sun – David Dodge
Driving With Dead People – Monica Holloway

Graphic Novels

The Exterminators – vol 2 – Insurgency – Simon Oliver
Ultimate Spider-Man – The Clone Saga – Brian Michael Bendis
The Abandoned – Ross Campbell
Snow – vol 1 – Morgan Luthi
D. Gray Man – vol 1 - Katsura Hoshino
Zombiepowder – vol 1 – Tite Kubo
Bloody Mary – Garth Ennis
Repo – vol 1 – Rick Spears
Cable & Deadpool – vol 1 – If Looks Could Kill – Fabian Nicieza
Cable Classic – vol 1 – Louise Simonson and Fabian Nicieza
Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade – Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton
Batman: Gotham County Line – Steve Niles

May

Novels

Grifter’s Game – Lawrence Block

Graphic Novels

Claymore – vol 1 – Norihiro Yagi
Boy Vampire – vol 1 – Carlos Trillo
Indiana Jones Omnibus – vol 1 – edited by Jeremy Barlow
Grendel Archives – Matt Wagner
Gunsmith Cats – Revised Edition – vol 1 – Kenichi Sonoda
The Irredeemable Ant-Man – vol 1 – Low Life – Robert Kirkman
Zombies Calling – Faith Erin Hicks
Blank – vol 1 – Pop Mhan
Thor – vol 1 – J. Michael Straczynski
Judas – vol 1 – Suu Minazuki
Tank Girl – book 1 - Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett

June

Novels

Psychosomatic – Anthony Neil Smith
Stiff – Mary Roach

Graphic Novels

Justice League International – vol 1 – Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Batman and the Outsiders Showcase – vol 1 – Mike W. Barr
The Champions Classic – Vol 1 – Tony Isabella and Bill Mantlo
The Punisher – vol 1 – In the Beginning – Garth Ennis
Kimmie66 – Aaron Alexovich
Black Cherry – Doug Tennapel
Metal Men Showcase – vol 1 – Robert Kanigher
The Killer – vol 1 – Matz

July

Novels

Dark Hollow – Brian Keene
When You Are Engulfed in Flames – David Sedaris
Go-go Girls of the Apocalypse – Victor Gischler

Graphic Novels

Pounded – Brian Wood
Popgun – vol 1 – edited by Mark Andrew Smith and Joe Keatinge
Hellboy – Vol 1 – Seed of Destruction – Mike Mignola
Hellboy – Weird Tales – Vol 2 – edited by Scott Allie
The Question – Vol 1 – Zen and Violence – Dennis O’Neil
Hellboy – Vol 2 – Wake the Devil – Mike Mignola
Hellboy – Vol 3 – The Chained Coffin – Mike Mignola
Hellboy – Vol 4 – Right Hand of Doom – Mike Mignola
The Brave and the Bold Showcase – vol 1 – Bob Haney
Hellboy – Vol 5 – Conqueror Worm – Mike Mignola
The Umbrella Academy – vol 1 – The Apocalypse Suite - Gerard Way
Hellboy – Vol 6 – Strange Places – Mike Mignola

August

Novels

Somebody Owes Me Money – Donald Westlake
Bonk – The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex – Mary Roach
Dead Sea – Brian Keene
Snuff – Chuck Palahniuk
The Hunter – Richard Stark

Graphic Novels

Black Metal – vol 1 - Rick Spears
Mini-Marvels – Rock, Paper, Scissors – Chris Giarusso
Hellboy – Vol 7 – The Troll Witch and Others – Mike Mignola
The Mask Omnibus – vol 1 – edited by Mike Richardson
2 Guns – Steven Grant
Dark Horse Heroes Omnibus – vol 1 – Edited by Chris Warner
Burnout – Rebecca Donner
Hellboy – Weird Tales – vol 1 – edited by Scott Allie
Army@Love – vol 1 – The Hot Zone Club – Rick Veitch
Elephantmen – vol 1 - Wounded Animals – Richard Starkings

September

Novels

Bad Monkeys – Matt Ruff
No House Limit – Steve Fisher

Graphic Novels

Green Lantern – Vol 1 – No Fear – Geoff Johns
Hellboy – vol 8 – Darkness Calls – Mike Mignola
Gantz – vol 1 – Hiroya Oku
Hell Girl – vol 1 – Miyuki Eto
MPD – Psycho – vol 1 – Eiji Otsuka
Franklin Richards Son of a Genius – Collected Chaos – Mark Sumerak and Chris Eliopoulos
Invasion! – Pat Mills
Wormwood: Corpse Gentleman – vol 2 – It Only Hurts When I Pee
Marvel Adventures The Hulk – vol 1 – Paul Benjamin
Dragonball VIZBIG vol 1 – Akira Toriyama
Shin Megami Tensei (Kahn) – Kazuaki Yanagisawa
Spider-man j – vol 1 – Japanese Knights – Yamanaka Akira
The Vinyl Underground – vol 1 – Watching the Detectives – Si Spencer
Batman Black and White – vol 3
Sand Land – Akira Toriyama
Mouse Guard – Book 1 – Fall 1152 – David Petersen

October

Novels

The Man With the Getaway Face – Richard Stark
The Year of Living Biblically – A.J. Jacobs
The Blade Itself – Marcus Sakey

Graphic Novels

Crecy – Warren Ellis
Peace Maker – vol 1 – Nanae Chrono
Kamikaze – vol 1 - Satoshi Shiki
Iron Man – Enter the Mandarin – Joe Casey
PX! – vol 1 – a girl and her panda – Eric Anderson
The Un-Men – vol 1 – Get Your Freak On! – John Whalen
Wisdom – Rudiments of Wisdom – Paul Cornell
Black Jack – vol 1 – Osamu Tezuka
Emiko Superstar – Mariko Tamaki
Northlanders – vol 1 – Sven the Returned – Brian Wood

November

Novels

Tarzan of the Apes – Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Cleaner – Brett Battles

Graphic Novels

Astro Boy – Books 1 & 2 – Osamu Tezuka
Ballad of Halo Jones – Alan Moore
Ex-Machina – deluxe – vol 1 – Brian K. Vaughn
Ghostbusters manga – vol 1 – Ghost Busted – Nathan Johnson and Matt Yamashita
The Alcoholic – Jonathan Ames
Tokyo Tribes – vol 1 – Santa Inoue
Thirteen – Mike Carey
The Embalmer – vol 1 – Mitsukazu Mihara
Bullet Points – J. Michael Straczynski
War Angels – vol 1 – Jae-Hwan Kim
Swamp Thing – Book 1 – Saga of the Swamp Thing – Alan Moore
The Incal – book 1 – Alexandro Jodorowsky

December

Novels

Quantum of Solace – Ian Fleming
Gun Work – David Schow
Killing Castro – Lawrence Block
The Guards – Ken Bruen

Graphic Novels

Dead Space – Antony Johnston
Shaman Warrior – vol 1 – Park Joong Ki
Banya the Explosive Deliveryman – vol 1 – Kim Young-Oh
Mail – vol 1 – Housui Yamazaki
Batman: Death Mask – Yoshinori Natsume
The Drifting Classroom – vol 1 – Kazuo Umezu
Freakangels – vol 1 – Warren Ellis
Kamiyadori – vol 1 – Kei Sanbe
The Complete Ace Trucking Co. – Vol 1 – Alan Grant
Planet Blood – vol 1 – Kim Tae-Hyung

Totals:

Novels: 39
Graphic Novels: 130

New and improved!!!!

2008-07-19T12:23:00.001-07:00

Until it gets printed, it's a work in progress. Here's the new and improved version.
Thanks to Lawrence for all the learnin'. For the record, the reason the other post looks so oversaturated is entirely my fault. I had the color setting wrong. This is the "director's cut" version with colors as Lawrence intended.

EDIT: And thanks to Charlie Clark for pointing me to the awesome movie poster font. Without it, it just don't look the same.
I am lucky to be surrounded by super talented folks.

It's good to work with talented people...

2008-07-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

UPDATE

2007-12-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

2007 sucked.
2008 is the year.
Here's what I'm working on.

Project 1 - Secret Superhero Project - with Seth Damoose. I ain't tellin'.
Project 2 - Dinosaur book - with DJ Keawekane. Fun actiony blockbuster.
Project 3 - Hurricane Kids - with Ryan Cody. Back as a reimagined webcomic?
Project 4 - Freaks - with Matt Schuler. This one's a mystery.
Project 5 - Stolen - with Craig Henderson. This one's gonna find its legs in 2008.
Project 6 - Tales From the Front - with Mike Boldt. A webcomic. Look for it bi-weekly starting in April.
Project 7 - Triad - with Zack Finfrock. This is my first attempt at manga.

Also on deck is a short in volume 2 of Villains, drawn by Charles Clark.
And my story, The Wager, should be debuting in volume 2 of Popgun.
So as you can see, I'm quite busy.
And I have a couple more irons I want to put in the fire.
Look out.

Stolen pages

2007-08-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover for my book, Stolen. All art is by Craig Henderson and it's some of the best art I have ever been involved with.

I'll come back and post the pages once I switch computers.

sneak peek

2007-08-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

Can't tell you too much about this book just yet, but this is a great piece by artist Seth Frail.
I love the work and the guy. He's a great dude and he lives right down the street.

News

2007-07-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, time for some comic news.

1. Stolen is still on. Craig Henderson is working on our cover and a color page as we speak for some submissions we're working on. So that should be ready soon.

2. I have a new book I'm working on with a local artist named Seth Frail. It's set in a prison. Other than that, I'm keeping this one on the down low. We're gonna be looking for a publisher in Chicago. But we're working on that one as we speak.

3. "Freakus" is a book I'm working on with Matt Schuler. We're sort of in a holding pattern. No news really.

4. The anthology is still moving along. Derek and I spoke earlier in the week and we really want to get that moving. So if we're waiting on a script from you, please try to get it to us as soon as possible.

5. A novel. I am currently reading the novel, Monster Island, which was originally published online sort of like a webcomic, in chapters. Upon completion, it was published in print form. I am inspired by this, so I am going to start working on a book to be published in the same manner. Keep your eyes open here and I will be posting the link at which I will be publishing said book.

6. Chicago - as I said, I will be attending. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. And the big push of the day is to find publishers for my two books.

More news as it breaks.

Wizard World LA 2007

2007-03-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

Well, Grant Alter will be making his first convention appearance of the year at 2007's Wizard World LA.
I had not intended to, but Derek Ruiz can be very persuasive when he wants to be.
I will be bringing some pages from Stolen and some information about a few series I would like to get going.
I will be looking for artists to work with.
If you happen upon this and you happen to be a good artist and you happen to be going to the con, then hey, look me up.
If I am not around the Dabel Brothers' booth, Derek Ruiz should have a good idea of how to find me.

I'm excited and nervous, but looking to have fun with friends I don't often get to see.

Wow...

2007-01-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

So the guy I called marginally retarded in the last post is actually retarded.
Unfortunately, every so often, a joke is derailed by reality and this is one of those times.
So apparently, THIS guy on the left actually is retarded and has competed in the Special Olympics.

So this guy has an excuse. What is everyone else's?

Talent

2007-01-18T11:32:00.000-08:00

Like most of America, I watch American Idol.
And with each season, it gets a little harder to watch.
It seems the judges get more impatient and generally, meaner, while the talent pool continues its continual spiral down the toilet water of humanity.
I'm not sure what concerns me more: the fact that we derive entertainment from the humiliation of the, in some cases, marginally retarded; or that the well of delusion from which these people drink seems to never reach empty.
Look at these pictures.

Not a single one of these people can sing. Yet there they go on my television, warbling, moaning, and making unintelligible noises. Sometimes I laugh, but I always feel upset and empty as a result. The fact is that it just feels cheap to laugh at these peoples expense.
But do I intend to no longer watch? No. Why is that? I suspect it is because the only thing sadder than making fun of these people is the mere fact that every single one of them honestly believes that America would rush to the store to buy their record.
Now I used to live in LA, so I know how deep that well of delusion runs. I've seen it at its worst. But at least they're out there, every day in the trenches of insanity they refer to as their "career".
They're gonna be famous despite an obvious and complete lack of talent and ability. But with it beamed right into my home, I see that it's no longer just a small little group of insane, large titted freaks in a remote section of the country. It's the whole bloody land. We're all fucking nuts.
Now, I write comics and people write about what it takes to make it in this job all the time. But writing is different than say art or singing or whatever. If you're tone deaf, you will NEVER be a good singer. If you don't have the artist's eye, it will be an extremely tough road for you.
But as a writer, we all tend to have elements of what it takes innately.
Most of us are storytellers. If you've ever recounted an experience to someone who wasn't there, you've told a story. Whether it was a good story is irrelevant. The instinct is there. In order to be good, it just takes work. Tell more stories, study the art of storytelling. It's very difficult for someone to read some of a writer's work and instantly decide whether or not they have what it takes. You can tell in three seconds if someone can sing. And none of the people in the pictures I have shown you will ever be able to sing well enough that the listener doesn't want to gouge out their own eardrums.
Now I am by no means, the greatest writer in comics. But I'm not that fat guy up there either. I know this. But why doesn't HE know this? Shouldn't he be able to hear himself and realize how truly awfully he sings? Shouldn't his parents have given him the heads up so that some asshole British guys don't make a mint off the suffering of their mentally handicapped, morbidly obese son?
Now I had relatives tell me I don't have what it takes to make it in comics. But in fairness, they...
A. Have absolutely no idea what it takes to write comics cause they haven't read one in decades and,
B. Never bothered to actually read a script or even listen to a synopsis before deciding I'd fail.
That was unfair. That was just a spiteful attempt to ensure that I don't acheive my goals, but rather the ones they consider to be more acceptable.
Now I sing too. And people have told me for years that I am good at it. But I would never go on American Idol. The reasoning is that, frankly, I am skeptical. These are people who love me and care about me. But are they being honest? I don't know. Am I the worst singer ever? No. That would be one of the above pictured sadsacks. But am I ever going to pay my bills with singing? I doubt it. I don't suck, but I probably wouldn't blow you away either.
With writing, that's less absolute. I have written stuff that I consider to be actually quite good and stuff that to be honest, wasn't all that hot.
I guess at the end of the day, I think there's a great deal of honor and respect in saving someone from allowing themselves to become a laughing stock. If you love someone, don't let the world have fun at their expense.
Learn how to nurture a dream without being completely delusional.
I'm not a singer or an actor for a reason. I am a better writer. Use your skills and figure out your talents.
And for god's sake, don't sing on television if you can't hold a tune.

Another step...

2006-12-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Well with The Hurricane Kids more or less falling apart, Ryan and I plan to create something new and different. But we have to wait for our schedules to come together. It's nice that he and I are on the same page creatively, but now it's down to the things that we can't control.
I'm still working on my werewolf book. Craig is pretty hard on his art, which has made things super slow, but he's such a talented dude, as soon as he can stop kicking his own ass, we can start kicking everyone elses. I know that we've got something magic and our goal is to submit it around in early january.
This guy named Matt and I are working on this crazy little book about a freakshow in depression era America. That's at a very early stage, but it's coming along nicely.
And lastly, we come down to something that may or may not happen and that I can't give details about.
But suffice to say, if it happens, it will be completely awesome, involve money, and also have me being published by a far better and bigger publisher than I could normally work with. It'll be challenging and hard, but totally worth it and it will advance my career a ton.
I guess we'll really see.
This career path is so tricky and so much falls apart before it even gets off the ground.
But I'm holding my ground and doing the absolute best I can.
What else can I do, right?

Private Made Public

2006-09-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Since the point of this blog is to share what being a "struggling comic writer" is all about, I thought I would do this task publicly. I will, of course, be careful with the details I divulge, but if nothing else, it should give you an idea of what I am working on right now.

To regroup and clear my head, I figured I would make a listing of my projects in process and write down status and who I am working with and all that where I can. That way, I know what I need to work on.

The Hurricane Kids - "All Ages Hero" - With Ryan Cody - Currently working on plotting, but waiting on details from publisher.

Fractured - With Tommy Smith - Currently on hold. Indefinite hiatus.

Stolen - "Werewolf/horror project" - With Craig Henderson - First script written, the remaining 4 plotted - Waiting on art to complete submission.

The Sword - "anthology with Derek Ruiz" - Currently collecting scripts and searching for artist contributors. If you're an artist and would like to draw an 11 page short, let me know in the comments how to see some of your art and how to contact you.

Untitled Zombie Splitbook - With Derek Ruiz and as yet secret artist - Concept developed. Working on plotting and character creation.

Max Kane - "classic sci-fi pulp" - with Shaun Polakow and Matthew Schuler - waiting for the stars to align.

Movie screenplay - sci-fi action film - retooling rough outline and character creation.

Prison project - Currently looking for an artist and working on characters and plotting. Again, if you're interested, let me know and we can talk. I see this book being pretty dark and violent.

Superhero project - need to develop concept and find artist for fun superhero style.

Themes

2006-08-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sure it's pretty common, but it still seems odd to me.
It seems that at different points in my life, a bulk of my stories tend to be easily groupable into a common theme.
For instance, when I first started writing comics, I wrote two books, The Core (which was a run-of-the-mill FBI book) and what would later be called Fractured. Both of these stories were, in essence, morality tales. I was very concerned with codes of ethics and the violation of said codes.
The Core, I was told, had no real hook and so it would likely go nowhere, but I played that particular story to its end just to do it. 3 issues later, I had my first comic script and I knew I could do it.
Fractured was actually my first real story idea, but I was toying with writing it as a novella (the original story may actually work better as a novella or film or whatnot), but it soon turned into a comic project. That particular story was really a morality tale. It was basically me asking what happens when someone kills for the good of society loses the justification that allows them to do their job.
Maybe it was interesting and maybe it wasn't. But one thing became clear and that was that in terms of a monthly book, it just wouldn't work. It was too slow and moody and, to be frank, you just didn't understand enough by the end of issue 1 to make you want to come back for more. The book ultimately evolved into a sci-fi action spectacular that held very little in common with the original idea, but was a lot more fun to read and draw. That book is sort of on an indefinite hiatus as of now, but that's beside the point.
Right now, my thing is survival. Stolen, a horror book I am working on, is essentially all about survival. There are morality themes and ones involving family as well, but what really fascinates me about it is the survival aspect.
And as I sat in a darkened theater watching The Descent (which was just okay), I decided to write a screenplay. I can't divulge any details other than it really ends up boiling down to survival as well. Right now, it seems that I am interested in stories where ordinary people do extraordinary things.
Does that make me unique amongst writers? Probably not. I imagine that most stories could be described that way, but that's where I am right now.
Next month, I could be interested in just about anything.
The best I can hope for is that I can manage to grab ahold of any idea worth pursuing and force myself to stick through to the end, no matter where my mind tries to run off and take me.
P.S. I've been working on the outline for the upcoming Hurricane Kids mini-series that may or may not be dropping sometime early next year, potentially from an up-and-coming publisher that just may have several really interesting projects set to drop before years end, and I am busting my butt to offer the most exciting, most fun, most jaw-droppingly awesome superhero comics this side of Lee and Kirby's Fantastic Four. Will I acheive my goals?
Tune in. I'm as interested to see as you are.

Back from WWC

2006-08-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I got back from Chicago sort of late last night and I thought I would post some of my thoughts.
Very soon we'll have some very official publisher news. But here's the notes.

- Markosia (who pseudo-officially is the home of a certain project) is full of coolness. Chuck Satterlee is a great guy. I spent a lot of my time at the con talking to him at the booth and he seems like a really honest and trustworthy guy. I'm glad to know him. I also met some new friends, Sal Cipriano, Chris Dibari, and Ryan Stegman. They all have Markosia books (The Hill, The Hunger, and Midnight Kiss respectively) and they're all great guys. I'm glad to know them as well and they all privately told me good things about Markosia.

- Brandon Terrell and Brett Schoonover are great dudes too. They have a book with Ape called Horrorwood and it's tops. At the same time, I met Ben Lichius of the Black Coat, which when I first heard the concept sounded like something I wasn't interested in, but blew me away when I actually read it. Apparently, everyone else likes it too cause he had to go buy copies of number 1 from retailers so he'd have some to sell. That's cause it sold out.

- In the past, a lot of friends met over the internet have been disappointments in person. Derek Ruiz is not one of those people. He is exactly how he seems on the boards and AIM. He's genuine, nice, and just a lot of fun and I look forward to a long lasting friendship with him. He introduced me to the crew at the Dabel Brothers booth as well and I met Ernst and Les Dabel who are about as friendly, genuine, and modest as people can be. They truly deserve all the success they're having. Sean Jordan and his lovely wife Stacie were also super cool and fun to be around and then you have Matt Hansen. Look out. He's a one man party. Lock up your daughters too. I mean, really. Lock them up.

- Kristen Simon is great as well. She's funny, smart, and really nice. I was supposed to meet her at Knuckles (or Fisters, as it has been called) and I was terrified. Once I met her though, I felt stupid for having been so nervous. I look forward to working with her more. I didn't really have much interaction with Jim Valentino, but he seemed cool as well. And then you have Scott Wherle, who I ran into at the show and immediately got along with. Great guy. Saw him several more times and enjoyed talking to him every time.

- I really hope I haven't forgotten anyone, but those are my new friends.

- And then there are the old friends who it was lovely to see again. Greg Thompson and his wonderful wife Jennifer (drummer magnet), Kara Fairfield and Tony Moore, who I didn't see as much as I would have liked to, but were cool just the same. B. Clay Moore, Jeremy Haun, and Jason Latour, Mark Sable, Andy freaking Macdonald...the list goes on.

- Len Kody, I didn't find you, but I looked and looked. We'll have to hook up sometime in the future.

It was an exhausting trip, but overall, I think it was a good one. Thanks to Brad Wilders (who is my permanent best man) for everything. I hope that your little foray into the world of indie comics didn't suck TOO much.

Balance

2006-06-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well it appears that some good things are about to happen in regards to my comic career.
I am excited beyond words.
I'm not sure if I can elaborate, but I can say that The Hurricane Kids has found a publisher.
I can also say that it seems Borrowed Time (which will soon undergo a name change) has finally found an artist. And he's good. His name is Rich Woodall and he's one of the creators of Johnny Raygun. BT is nothing like Raygun, though Raygun is indeed good. But a talented artist can do a variety of things and Rich is definitely that.
I'm excited.
Also, it appears that the anthology is coming together nicely as well.
And, on top of it all, Fractured may soon find a home.
So it is all looking up. And in addition to this, my psychology class is going well and I find myself more and more interested the more I learn. But with all of this stuff going well, I will have to learn how to better juggle my time.
I will be responsible for 4 issues of HK plus an internet story, 4 additional issues of Fractured, and 4 additional issues of Borrowed Time. That, plus a part-time job, plus upcoming classes add up to a busy man. Busy is good. But busy can go bad in the flash of an eye. Proper planning and just keeping at it should save the day. But I've never been the best at time allocation.
I am determined though. I want nothing more in the world than to be a comic book writer and a psychologist. Being both of those things and getting paid to do both is a dream.
I am not as independent as I would like to be and I hope to be able to change that soon.
I am as determined to make this work as anyone you will ever run into. I love comics as a medium and I see it as a club I would like to join.
I promise you one thing. If you pick up any of these books, you will be getting the absolute best I have to offer. I will put every ounce of myself into every one of those books because I care about comics, I care about the characters, and I care about the stories.
I have been told that the only way to go after it is to write the comics that you would want to read and I am doing just that.
Writing comics is the single best thing I have ever done and every issue is a chance to get further along that road.
Most of you reading this blog also make comics and I know that each of you feel the same way. Comics are special and just like any medium, there's great, good, and crap. It runs the entire gamut.
Here's to us making the great comics.

Secrets and Confidences

2006-04-28T01:09:00.000-07:00

One of the difficult things about this job and is probably true about most creative jobs is that you can't always tell everyone what you're doing. Some things you can talk about.

I can tell you that I am working on a book called "The Hurricane Kids" with Ryan Cody. I can tell you that it's all-ages superhero and that I have had a lot of fun playing with the characters. I can even tell you their names, personalities and so on.

But there are some things I can't talk about. Maybe I don't want to ruin the story for you. Maybe it's not yet time to let certain information out. There are tons of things at any given time that aren't yet for public knowledge. It's tricky though.

You see, I suffer from verbal diarrhea. I am awful at keeping secrets and, when one really must be kept, it eats away at me inside. In my personal life, I have very few secrets and off-limits subjects. I tend to be an open book and, to be honest, I am really not build for secrecy.

I imagine this is good for my marriage. If I were cheating, I am virtually certain I could not keep my mouth shut about it (because of guilt among other reasons).

It's hard to withhold things from friends and aquaintances. Especially when the news is good or the problem is heavy.
But you have to do it. If your book is just a concept, you have to fight the urge to talk about it in public or around people you can't trust implicitly. The rub is that when you come up with something really cool and you're really excited about it, you want nothing more than to talk about it. But to protect yourself, you can't.

Most occupations are largely secret free. Naturally, there are certain confidential aspects of your business that not everyone should know. But those aren't often the type of thing that anyone would want to know anyway.

A writer must keep an inordinant number of secrets and often, the price you pay for slipping could be high. That's why you have to fight that inclination to shout it from the rooftops and instead, leave cryptic, odd posts on your blog.

Secrecy, it's not just for spies anymore.

This is it

2006-04-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

Well here it is.

I know what you're thinking.
Another blog? What's wrong with this guy?

Well my other blog, www.grantalter.blogspot.com is my personal blog. That's where you can see about my life. Stuff I like, my family, the whole nine.

This blog has a very specific purpose though. This blog is to chronicle the life of a struggling comic writer.
Naturally, this blog won't be uncensored as it is public, but I will try to be as honest as possible.

Not sure if this will be interesting, but a particularly blunt friend of mine suggested that I do this, so I will give it a shot.

This post is your introduction.

This blog will have highs and lows and even slow times.
But hopefully, it will also provide an interesting insight into a career that most people never think twice about, but is astonishingly hard to break into.

Have fun.