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As I prepare to draw Episode 4 of my webcomic, (called Oliver Pitt, for the uninitiated,) my brain is still on Christmas vacation. Specifically, I’m remembering with fondness how much I enjoyed the Y: The Last Man hardcover collection my sister gave me. And now, as the visions of sugarplums fade from my dreams, and remember the chapters from Marvel: The Untold Story I used to endure the 3 hour commute home, earlier today. The contrast between Brian K. Vaughn’s dystopian fantasy and the reality of Marvel Comics’s rocky history is startling.

I realize one is just entertainment, while the other is, well, “that’s life”. But, since 2002 (when Spider-man came out,) and I first learned the story of Stan Lee joining Marvel at 15, and revolutionizing comics as we know it, I pictured a glamorous ending of “and Marvel lives happily ever after”. It wouldn’t be long until I learned how many artists resented Stan: for not respecting their creative rights, for not giving them due credit, and for towing the company line; (Marvel was, after all, owned by Stan’s uncle, Martin Goodman.)

But why should this haunt me, a humble web cartoonist? Don’t I have control over my destiny?

Well, no, I don’t. No one does. Even in a world of Kickstarter success stories and accessible web marketing tools, I walk in the shadow of the comic legends before me: like Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and, as the comic below commemorates, Brian K. Vaughn. The writer of great comics, like Saga, Pride of Baghdad, and Y: The Last Man, also seems to taunt me. Like Ebenezer’s last ghost, he points at his resume in stony silence, like its my gravestone.

So I’ll never be Brian K. Vaughn. And, you know what? That’s okay! It’s time to embrace my inner child, lull him into a false sense of security, and gently snap his neck. My comics don’t need to reference the halcyon days of Marvel’s golden age, nor do they need to deconstruct race, gender, and politics in every panel. These aren’t ghosts to fear, because the more I consume, the more I learn what works and how to take things to the next level. Kinda like Pacman.

Speaking of cute little circular characters, I hope you can check out my talking olive comic, in its current home at Webtoons.com. Its currently in a webcomics contest, and, if enough of you rate my comic a “10”, I could win $30,000 and get the comic featured as a bi-weekly series on their site. For an amateur such as myself, that would be quite a blessing.

And, as a bonus, it wouldn’t be the last time you see “Y: The Last Yam”!