The bottom line is this, I'm not slacking off. I could probably draw a little more than I do, but having to hold down 1 or more "regular" jobs, unfortunately cuts into my "free" time. And when I do get some extra time, I'm usually so exhausted it's difficult finding the energy to draw.
I'm probably sounding like I'm whining at this point, and that's definitely not the intent - it's more just me, trying to work through this problem, publicly. I recently had an email from someone asking me if I wanted to work with them and my reply was:
I am too totally swamped and thus have procrastinated in getting back to you. I've been trying to maintain a strictly paid work scheme and I just don't have it in my heart (or my bank account ) to put something out there that will be ravaged both financially and critically. I know this may sound jaded and cynical, and certainly don't take it as a reflection of your work - I've been working in this market long enough to know the odds of two unknowns producing independent non-superhero work making any kind of money - although I suppose Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Phonogram might be an exception that proves the rule (I still don't know if they made enough to eat, though).
From what I read of you, you seem to work where I have my heart as well - in off-kilter horror and twilight zone-esque environments. I don't mind hard boiled detective fare, fantasy historical fiction or even war, humour or romance, either. In fact I don't even have a problem with super-hero stories, as long as they're original and fun. That said, we all know the best place to make a living at comics is working for Marvel or DC. SO, that is probably the only genre I'd be able to work on for free.
Of course, if you'd be interested in penning such a tale (it could even be an archetype that isn't a mainstream hero - I could change the costume for the submission), I'd love to see it - it'd probably still have that same quirky humour and slanted perspective that I find most interesting about your work, and of course, I'd make sure I noted credit and contact information in the samples.
...and I realized that was probably my philosophy at the moment in comics. I need to be paid to draw, at this point. Now, there may be some debate as to whether my chops are up to it or not, but I feel that I'm drawing, at this moment, better than I ever have, and that my ability is still on an upward trajectory. Hopefully. But there is is - of course, there's the previously mentioned deadline impairment, but that is the reason I need to get paid. To have the time to work.
But I have gotten behind on things, and I'm desperately trying to dig my way out of the hole I've gotten myself in. I'm done school for the semester, and I've got the summer to catch up - if I don't have to work at the day jobs too much. i'm gonna try though. If September, say, finds me caught up on the main commitments, that would be excellent. I want to make sure I get that done before I get involved with anything else.
So if you've been wondering what I've been up to, or what I've got coming out in the near future, well there are a few things working at being launched, or re-launched, or re-invented, and I'll talk about them more, as we get to a stage where we know what's happening with everything. But for now, it's just trying to draw comics everyday, and get caught up...
