In the memorable words of General Kenobi. Hello there.
Welcome back to the Midnite Gazette, the only newsletter banned from participating in the Le Mans 24h race. I hope you are all doing well and looking after yourselves, which is ironically the topic for this issue. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really have a newsletter planned, but I recently bought an iPad to use alongside my typewriter bluetooth keyboard and I needed to give it a test drive, so here we are. I didn’t have time to secure a sponsor for this issue, but I am in talks with the spare wheel on your car about a possible future sponsorship. Let’s jump into it.
Updates:
I’ve already mentioned the iPad so I’ve kind of buried the lead on my biggest update (is that the right usage of that term? Who cares? This is my dojo and I make the rules). I love my typewriter keyboard even if it is really loud when typing, but typing on a smartphone screen wasn’t great so I knew I needed a tablet. I justified it as a work expense as I can write on it and I can also read comics and books on it and watch movies and play some mahjong. All very important. As for actual writing, I haven’t done a lot recently. I’ve begun planning out my next comic series (not Dogeyes as that is already written, just need rewrites) on this lovely notepad my girlfriend Pam got me.
I’ve also started planning out some chapters for the Project Tentacle novel I’m writing. The initial plan was to have two main characters, but one of these characters didn’t feel as interesting to me as the other, so I’ve changed direction. Chapters will now be split between the main character and then short story chapters following different characters (including the original second main character). These chapters will be bottle-chapters that have no link to each other but help to build the world of the book. I recently started reading James Joyce’s Dubliners and felt inspired to make this change.
As for Osaka S.P.D. updates, there are no updates. I’ve taken a wee break from issue five while Hugo has began sketching out issue five. I’ve had a busy week in my day job and tried to just be lazy and maybe play some PlayStation. Sometimes you have to take a break. We all create because we love creating, but it’s not healthy to always be creating. Which leads to the short topic of this week.
Comics Broke Me:
Cartoonist Ian McGinty sadly passed away this week. I didn’t know Ian and was unaware of his work until the news of his passing, but the outpouring of sadness over his death and the tributes posted about it made it pretty clear how great of a person he was. I took the chance this week to check out his work, and he was a truly talented artist with an eye-catching style. Rest in Peace, Ian.
Ian’s death sparked many tributes, but it also sparked discussions about the comic book industry at large and how it treats its creators. How creators are overworked and underpaid and how publishers know how much of a dream creating comics is for so many people and preys on that dream to exploit the creators. It’s nothing new. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman but would live their lives in poverty. It’s not new, but that doesn’t make it right. This discussion then grew into the hashtag #ComicsBrokeMe on Twitter. I’d recommend you search it on Twitter and have a read. It’s a sad and anger-inducing read, but it’s important. BleedingCool also did an article on it which you can read HERE.
It shows just how many people have been and continue to be exploited by creative industries. I recently watched Nope and absolutely loved it for a myriad of reasons, but the main one was the underlying subtext and commentary on Hollywood and the entertainment industry. How it has always preyed on creatives and chewed them up since the beginning, leaving a trail of broken bodies with broken dreams in its wake. Comics have done the same and will continue to do the same unless people support each other and stick together. I’m new to the industry, so I thankfully have no horror stories (yet), I have maybe one or two strange or annoying things happen to me, but nothing that can match anything you’ll find on that hashtag.
I’m also privileged in the sense that I don’t rely on comics to pay my bills, I have a full-time job and I write in my spare time; I write when I want to and a slow release schedule will only hurt me in the sense of publicity and becoming a known name. It won’t hurt me financially as it will so many others. So many creators have no other options than to create. They rely on commissions and freelance work to keep the lights on. Publishers know this and will use it to their advantage to offer lower rates. Most, if not all, creators will know they aren’t being paid what they deserve, but they have no choice. They need the money. It’s why I can’t really advice on this, I’m in a situation that others aren’t. I have the privilege of taking a break from writing and recharging, while others may not (though I’m pretty bad at it but that’s something I need to work on). If you are a creative and you can get a part-time or full-time job to pay your bills then you should consider it if you think it would be a benefit to you but if it would just eat into your creating and only cause you to work even more than you already do, then maybe it isn’t the right idea. It’s tough to say what will work, advice is so specific to certain people and no advice will work for everyone. Only you know your situation and what would help it.
What would really help is if companies stepped up and protected their freelancers. Hopefully, if enough creators band together, this could become a reality. Comic books need a union, and I’d be in full support of any union that is set up.
This was a little more serious than the usual newsletter issues, but it was a topic I wanted to discuss. Whoever you are and whatever you do, whether it’s writing, art, building or accounting, please make sure to look after yourself. Be kind to your mind and body and allow yourself time to rest. It can be difficult, but try to identify when something is having a negative effect on you and walk away from it if needs be. I don’t have any creative horror stories, but I have job horror stories. I have had jobs that paid my bills but took my mental health from me in return. Jobs that would leave me with my head in my hands and tears in my eyes every time I finished for the day. Jobs that stole my sleep as I panicked about having to go in the next day. Thankfully, I was freed from those jobs, but I struggled to walk away even when I knew I had to. It’s not easy but nothing worth doing ever is. I doubt companies will ever care about people, but I hope #ComicsBrokeMe is the match that sparks genuine change in the industry. Thanks to all who posted about it..
Alright, let’s leave it there. Look after yourselves, go for a stroll, stay hydrated and keep it sexy x
- Andy