A snippet of my traditional end of the year art. Fitting for the occasion.
2022 is wrapped up! I'm disrespectfully tossing it into the trash because oh boy the year was Not Good. Don’t get me wrong there were a lot of good things that happened this year but the bad?? The bad was bad.
But I'm not here to wallow in that stuff! I'm here to ramble about all the good stuff that happened and all the great stuff that will happen! So here's some highlights:
Wrote a book! A whole novella out here. I really jump started my writing era here. I'm happy with it, especially with it to being my first officially self-published book: It Ends with Z
In tandem, my comic writing era was also hitting the gas. Started my anthology project, Interview with Death! Part 1 & 2 (of 15!) are out for reading. And I have the 3rd artist already.
Lot of comic writing getting accomplished: Comic drawn by Taj and got into Hairology with ONeill Jones as the artist (more info on that later).
Went to 4 different comic conventions, even though that doesn't feel like it was this year. The biggest one was Heroes Con and I'm hoping to go back again.
Freelance Editing has been great too. A lot of the projects I've done were pitch production but they've all been happy with the result which is all I need. One of the projects I helped bring to life that is out and available was Climb On! by ZombieDogz (RJ).
There's some other personal things I accomplished as well, but that's for me and not whoever decides to read this. Just know that it happened despite it all and that I'm still here. And of course, there was WildStar Press things, but the publisher has its own blog so look at it there! All I will say is that, I’m proud of how far the press has gotten and I can’t wait for its development and growth. We’re only going up from here -- especially with the new Western anthology coming out in July. It’s going to be exciting.
2022 may not have been good to me, but I’m alive and that’s what’s important because I’m making 2023 good and that IS a threat.
But that brings me to the 🌟2023 Goals🌟!
Figure out this blog's purpose -- Social Media is a hellscape. I've been more and more peaceful dialing back my usage. This blog could be used a lot more in its place. (And I'm not really looking to start a newsletter. Though I definitely am subscribing to a lot that my fave artists/creatives are creating). It'll more than likely continue to be for updates and reviews, but who knows, maybe I'll flex my storytelling and post more short stories. In the mean time, if there's a book or comic you want me to read and review, let me know!
2023 will 100% be my comic/writing era: I have 3 scripts left to finish Interview with Death and in turn 13 more scripts to get drawn. The ambitious part is hiring the artists because Comics Cost Money (especially when I don't want to draw them). So if you want to see that project get completed sooner than later, or you just support and like what I do, by all means feel free to donate to my Ko-fi.
Especially because I have other fan scripts that are sitting around that need an artist. Including, but not limited to: Godzilla, Scooby-Doo, and the Bat Family. (If you're an artist that wants to draw any of these IPs, hit me up!)
And to continue on this writing train I have another book I'm writing! It's Cursed Flowers, an old comic I started, but switched up because I wanted the freedom of illustrated prose. I don't expect to get it done in 2023, but just know that it's in the works and it's going to be fun because who says you can't just slap a comic page or illustration in prose? Mixed media babeey.
And then of course there's the practical goals: Freelance Editing Gigs, Comic Writing Gigs, growing WildStar Press' audience
All obtainable goals (alongside some personal ones) and I can't wait to knock them out of the park in 2023. I'm getting my W's this year and I'm bringing you all with me.
Now to round this out, because I don't know how blogs work and this really is just a list of things, I'll give you some personal updates:
📺Watching📺
Rewatching Samurai Champloo after far too long. That and Cowboy Bebop are without a doubt my top two fave anime and for extensive reasons that I could write essays about. But... I’ve only watched them once. (I tend to watch a lot of things Once but I want to start going back and enjoying things that I genuinely like.) The soundtrack and the story line still has a choke hold on me.
📚Reading📚
Just finished Nightwing Vol 1: Leaping into the Light by Tom Taylor. It's now one of my favorite Batman/Bat Family stories. I think I'll do a review on it but just know it's very good. Right now I'm reading Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 by Ryan Parrott. Love the art style, the story is very fun and I can't wait for Vol 2 so I can own both of them (I need to get my own copy of Vol 1 first...)
🎶Listening To🎶
Ooh, the last song(s) of the year. This is tough because I'm always music hopping. Hmmm....
My recommendation is John Legend's album Legend. I think it's pretty good.
And that's about it! Take care in these last few hours of 2022 and join me in forcing 2023 to be a good year. 🌟
"If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward you are always in the same place."