Mar 23 2005
Flashback
I was asked at work “when I was a child, what did I want to be when I grew up?”… And I wasn’t sure what the answer was. I can honestly say I doubt it was ever computer-related. I kinda lucked out having a career in the IT industry, and it’s been a pretty cool adventure. The more I think about it, it was probably fate that led me to being a salesman at various retailers (working with different vendors), that in turn led me to be a contractor for Fujitsu PC (while working for said (vendors), that in turn returned me to retail (being a vendor gave me a ‘leg up’ and I was thrust into a management postiion), that in turn brought a friend into the store of the last retailer I worked for. Which brings me to my current ‘9-5 (okay, 1-9) office job’.
But getting back to the question I was asked: it really is hard for me to answer. Maybe because I moved around a lot, I was able to meet different adults with different jobs, thereby making each ‘this is what I want to do’ different than the last. Hell, my dad’s been a teacher, a car salesman, an appliance salesman, a coach, an umpire, a referee, a bartender, that each brought with them a slew of options… But, I guess as I got older, I wanted a career in comic books. It’s the first career I remember trying out for. After a feeble attempt at trying to be a penciller, I focused on inking. I felt that I was better suited to give depth to a pencilled page. Nevermind the fact that I didn’t think my layouts were strong enough. I made a few submission packets and heard back from just about everyone. Of course 99% of the rejections were form letters, but one publisher actually critiqued my work and offered suggestions.
Due to my finances (or lack of them), pursuing this wasn’t feasible for the long term. So I put the rapidographs down and left it to the pros. And this is probably a good thing, because I’ve found that I really enjoy writing. And I can get my ideas down a lot faster than I could sketch a page. Not that I’ve made any submissions, but it’s an idea…
Maybe I’ll ramble on about how comic books have been a big part of my life, why I still read them, and what’s changed about them. Including my tastes in titles and creators.
Thanks Lucy, and I hope this answers your question in some form or another.
Dude, why don’t you try writing a book. You have the gift of gab!!
Seriously, I mean this in a good way.
Just want to let you know that I like the changes made to your website. I remember the day Lucy asked that question, made me do a little soul searching myself.