Hey there, fellow comic enthusiasts and Japan lovers! Can you believe we’re wrapping up 2023 already? Time really does fly when you’re juggling a million things at once, and let me tell you, this year has been nothing short of a Rubenstein’s Revenge. So get ready for an epic juggle of Odyssean proportions, because here’s 2023 in review – Drawn to Japan style.
2023. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. (Oh that’s good, I should start a book with that or something). It’s been quite a year, and one to be proud of.
2023 - A Year of So Many Comics...
So many great things happened this year. Can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that a whopping 12 comics I illustrated hit the shelves this year? That’s right, a dozen! I’m talking about a grand total of 383 pages of pure comic goodness spread across five different series. The year kicked off with a bang as The Argus Issue #4 and Lost Souls: Haywire graced the world in January. Then in the summer and fall saw the release of Feeder #1-5. And as if that wasn’t enough, Simulation Theory issues 1-4 kept you on the edge of your seat during the fall and winter. Oh, and did I mention The Immortal Resurrected #1 dropped in December? Phew, I need a breather just thinking about it.
And hey, productivity was my middle name this year. I cranked out issues 2, 3 and 4 of Simulation Theory, whipped up two issues for a comic I hope to release in 2024 , and took on the Herculean task of redrawing 64 pages of The Immortal Resurrected #1. On top of that, I tried my hardest to get the attention of editors and publishers I wanted to work with. For the first 6 months I wrote to them monthly about all the comics I had coming out (not to mention writing to 800+ comic shops about each series release).
...And So Many Good Things
I also setup my little comic label, Dreamforge Comics and started writing this here blog. Oh and I taught my English at the Eikaiwa that I’ve been working at for 20 years. Whew! No time for raising my son (oh yeah, I did that too)!
Plus, I had the best news I had in years: I’m going to be a dad (again)! After some heart-wrenching years of trying, when we were just about to throw in the towel (considering my wife and I are both 40 now), we got the news we’ve been dreaming of. I truly didn’t think it was going to happen and still can’t quite fully believe it, but there’s no denying the immense joy and relief that comes with it.
And financially this year wasn’t bad. Thanks to the incredible Curt Pires, I landed my first professional comics gig with Simulation Theory, complete with an upfront page rate!
But despite all that good news and hard work, this year I had a nervous breakdown.
Disaster
I know what you’re thinking. “What? But you just listed all these amazing accomplishments!” Well, let me rewind a bit and peel back the layers.
2020, the year of the pandemic. I’m gearing up for the release of my very first big published comic, The Argus #1, with Action Lab in February. Excitement is through the roof, right? But guess what happened? Bam! The coronavirus swooped in like a stealthy ninja. The very same month!
Diamond, the exclusive distributor for comic books in North America at the time (a fact that has since changed due to, you guessed it, the pandemic), slammed the brakes on ALL distribution to comic shops. In the blink of an eye, the entire industry was left reeling. And my comic, with all my dreams and plans of starting a career in comics, exploded.
The Argus got the axe after just one issue. One! Orders for over 1500 copies, and Actions Lab didn’t delay the series or wait even for distribution to start again. They just canceled it. And on top of the pain of all the issues being finished after a grueling year of 9-to-6 days (I did the drawing AND coloring), I had churned out an extra 6 pages per issue because Action Lab wanted The Argus to fit into their new 30 page PRINTED release format. That’s 24 additional pages – a whole extra issue’s worth – and not a penny up front. And then The Argus didn’t even get fully printed.
Disappointment Kills
Now, I wasn’t delusional. I knew this was my first gig with a publisher, and I wasn’t expecting big bucks in residuals. It was about getting exposure, building a portfolio, and making a mark in the comic scene. But the cancellation hit me like a freight train. And the dark times only got worse when Action Lab, the supposed partner in this creative venture, kept all the money and conveniently ghosted both me and Mark. The betrayal was a sucker punch to the creative gut.
Luckily we got the rights back when a lot of people started to talk about their mistreatment by Action Lab on Twitter (something I’ll get into fully with my entry about The Argus). And in 2022, Mark and I finally found another publisher to finally put The Argus on shop shelves, Source Point Press!
So all’s well that ends well, right? Well, not exactly.
The aftermath of the Action Lab debacle left me in the throes of self-doubt. I mean, who wouldn’t question everything after being burned by a publisher who ghosted me faster than you can say “why aren’t you honoring our contract”? Maybe I was foolish, maybe I was naive, but I believed in my ability and thought it’d work out if I just worked hard at it. But the incident with Action Lab woke me up to something I had never considered – there was a possibility that a publisher didn’t care about a release at all. I wondered if this was A) the result of my own foolishness for getting duped by some shady people or B) the way the comic industry worked? It turns out it was a little of both.
Bad Experiences
Over the past few years, I can’t say that I’ve been happy with some of the experiences I’ve had with small publishers. I learned many harsh realities of the industry from some and others I got the feeling that they really didn’t care about some of the comics they were releasing. I wanted desperately to move on from them and collaborate with the giants – Marvel, IDW, Boom, – but remember those letters I wrote to the editors? Not one wrote me back. Things just seemed to be on a road to dead ends and brick walls.
I really began to doubt if I could ever make a living at this. Despite all my drive and hard work, was anything ever going to happen? I had a family to take care of. So all those doubts and problems began to swirl and build. But I pushed forward. I’m not the kind of person who gives up easily.
Then came the news. The bombshell that shattered the fragile balance I’d managed to maintain. It was the result of all 12 of those comics that came out this year. I found out I wasn’t going to make any money from them.
While I might make $700 or so from The Argus, by how it sounds from the publishers, I don’t think I should expect to get any money from ANY of the other releases. “Not expect any money?” I thought. “Years and years of work for all 12 releases and I’m only going to be making $700? How am I ever going to support my family?” I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t handle it. I broke down.
Time for a Break
After the breakdown, I found myself in dire need of a breather. A hiatus from the world of comics, a chance to recharge the creative batteries that had been running on overdrive since 2016 (I’d been working 6 day weeks since then). You know, sometimes even superheroes need a break.
During this downtime, I’ve been doing some serious soul-searching. This blog started as a therapeutic outlet, a way for me to process the craziness of life and, who knows, maybe help a fellow artist navigate this labyrinth without tripping on the same banana peels I did.
Onward!
But the past is behind us, just like 2023. The excitement of the future lies ahead. And on one hand, 2024 is looking pretty stellar. There’s another issue of Simulation Theory on the drawing board, and the trade paperback is set to hit the shelves with Dark Horse – a major publisher, and one from my wishlist, no less! I’m also gearing up to unveil my latest creation – a four-issue cosmic horror mystery that’s, dare I say, my magnum opus. And, of course, The Immortal Resurrected #1 is finally getting its print debut, with issue 2 likely following suit later in the year.
But on the flip side, I find myself standing at a crossroads. I don’t have ANY collaborations set up for next year. But the biggest cloud looming over my head is the question – should I continue this wild ride with comics? I need to support my family and the whole point of doing this was to start a career to do just that. But so far making comics has been only a mental obstacle course. I’ve made money from it, but not by the route that seems like the logical course (ie, working with publishers). Not only do I need to make money for my growing family (another thing I’m super happy about), I need to be mentally stable to support them emotionally. And this current struggle with comics is undermining that. So I’m not really sure if it’s a good thing to continue.
The one thing I do know is that I can’t stop creating. It’s in my bones, my DNA, my very essence. I’ve been crafting worlds since I was a kid building Lego masterpieces. It’s an addiction, a way of life, my lens to understand the chaos around me. Even this blog – a creation on my break – screams that I can’t resist the urge to make something.
The breakdown, painful as it was, made me take a step back. It forced me to reassess, to put things in perspective. Maybe, just maybe, that seemingly bad thing was a blessing in disguise. Perhaps 2023, in its twisted way, was all positive. A series of events steering me toward where I’m meant to be. We’ll find out in 2024, won’t we?
So here’s to your 2023 adventures, and I’m genuinely curious – spill the beans in the comments. And may your 2024 be a page-turner, filled ONLY with the ‘best of times.’ Until then, keep doodling, keep dreaming, and let’s make 2024 a year to remember! Cheers!
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*I don’t use AI for my artwork. These filler images are just for fun and aren’t meant to represent my art so they have been labeled “AI GENERATED.” I want my blog to be enjoyable for you but I don’t have 2-6 hours to draw each image (this blog is done in my free time). If you’re against AI in art, please direct your criticism elsewhere (maybe someone trying to pass off AI generated images as their art). I am not doing that.
