After self publishing my first three comic books on a small local level I recently began working towards producing and distributing my work on a much larger scale. As I began this exciting task I started to remember the hardships I endured throughout my life when I began working towards becoming a cartoonist. These hardships came in the form of cruelty from other people whom I had interacted with. Cruelty that I nearly succumbed to.
Being a fan of comic books and animated cartoons (among other things) made me something of an outcast and when I announced that I wanted to be a cartoonist I became even more of a pariah. Several male members of both my immediate and extended families viewed the arts (of any form) as very unmanly and thus vocally condemned my desire to be an artist. In their eyes men were to pursue activities that demonstrated their physical strength and endurance (like organized sports) and creative activities were for "wimps". One male relative in particular was against my creative desires because he believed that cartooning would make me unpopular at junior high and high school (which it did) and he feared such a negative label of me would make him look bad in the eyes of other kids in school. Other relatives loathed my passions simply because it was unusual and they believed that anything out of the ordinary was a bad thing.
Although I had friends at school who shared my passion for comics and cartoons, most of the kids I interacted with verbally assaulted me for being a fan of that "nerd" stuff. When a teenager is labeled a loser at junior high and high school (for any reason) he or she tend to become the target of painful attacks (both verbal and physical). I was a target for most of my school days.
Adulthood seemed to be a lot less painful. I was free of the "school" environment and I encountered less harsh treatment from people. I even experienced the joy of seeing some individuals from my past who were once against my creative pursuits eventually become fans of my comic book work. Yet adulthood has not been without it's share of pain. I had been dating a girl who shared both my artistic passions and my faith in Jesus Christ. Though we eventually broke up we still remain friends to this day. It was shortly after we broke up that I made a startling discovery. Certain members of her family (both immediate and extended) were very much opposed to her dating me. Why was that so? Because I'm a cartoonist (there were other equally ridiculous reasons as well) and they thought that was really wierd. Once again the strange and unusual was defined as evil.
I've dealt with these trials and tribulations and have become a much stronger individual. I've also learned to forgive those that condemned me. Yes, my life goes on in a positive direction. Still, I'm curious, has anyone else out there suffered such ridicule and agression simply because they wanted to write and/or draw comic books/comic strips?
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Some great words on the comic struggle(and a fantastic webcomic) can be found by comic pro Steve Ogden at http://steveogden.com/magnifico/so-what-have-i-learned/ He in turn references several other essays from Webcomic Alliance on marketing web comics that are worth checking out!
I can relate to your story. Thankfully, my family was more supportive, but wish there was more they could have done for me since we were farmers. It's strange now that "nerdism" is much more accepted and 'cool.' Boy, were we born too late. :) But it's great that you shared your story, and God bless you on your journey.
I was bullied in Junior High for many reasons, not just for being into comics. The list is varied: didn't want to dress in the current styles, was skinny and not athletic, when I went to the Mall I preferred to hang out at the bookstores instead of the "fasion" stores or the music stores, I didn't do drugs, etc. Nevertheless, I have no regrets about being myself instead of "following the in crowd".
Hailey Summer Galloway said:
...nowadays, most people think it's cool that I want to create graphic novels, because it's a fun and non boring career. In middle school I was briefly teased over superheroes, but for the most part I come off to people as cool, fun, and artistic. ^_^
(Don't get me wrong though, I was bullied most of my life...just for other reasons. =/)
Thanks for sharing. I remember fighting back WITH comics. It was fun to make fun of bullies by exposing them through funny caricatures that highlighted their insecurities and leveled the playing field. BTW. I don't think this is what Jesus had in mind, but how many times can you turn your cheek? :) It is interesting how adding the human element makes you want to read/see their work more. Like you writing this makes me want to see your stuff and see you have a ton of success.
People who make fun of others are simply insecure and unhappy with themselves. In the long run, if you can spend your life doing what you love and faithfully serving the LORD...you won't care what others say. When it comes to achieving acceptance...you have an audience of ONE!
A short list of cartoonists who everyone in the knows (whether they realize it or not): Charles Schultz, Walt Disney, Mort Walker, Gary Larson, Bill Watterson, Phil Vischer, John Romita Jr., Jim Steranko, Steve Dillon, etc...so you are in good company.
Well thank you, I'm certainly glad you did chime in. I've heard of kickstarter but never knew what it was about. Now that I know I'll certainly check that and the other site you mentioned out. Many thanks.
Monica Bruenjes said:
I thought I'd chime in on this even though the question wasn't directed at me since I also recently self published a book. Mine was a collection of sketches featuring a comic. I funded the printing myself and did a small print run with a local printer. I was able to have 100 copies printed for a few hundred dollars. It worked for me because I didn't have to have too many copies printed at once- my purpose was just to have enough to take with me to the art shows I get booths at, so I didn't need a large print run. I think the first step is to determine what's your purpose for self publishing and that will help you know how many copies to have printed. If you're looking to have over 1k copies printed then you might want to look into having it done overseas. I would also suggest budgeting for marketing expenses if you're going to have that many printed because that's a lot of copies to sell! I'm finding that even selling my 100 copies takes diligence and a lot of promotion (which I admit I've been a bit lax on). Once you determine how much printing will cost, then you can find funding. A lot of people have found success on sites like kickstarter.com and fundanything.com. You just need a good project proposal and then to promote the campaign.
Michael Glenn said:
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