So I haven’t mentioned this yet, I’m on another little inking gig right now. Can’t show you anything yet but I’m working with Steve Beaumont aka
flameboy from Leeds - the fellow responsible for the art chores on
God Speed - on a music bio book
about Eminem titled "My Skin". Lots of likenesses and crowd scenes. I’m one of a few inkers on the book.
So I’ve been plunking away at that. Though I find it a bit monotonous it’s one of the easier going jobs to do. Inking that is, in general.
This week was a bit difficult though, Steve’s just started picking up speed but I had a rough weekend which slowed me down, was feeling kind of loogy and sore in the kidney area and then I had what I think was very brief kidney stone attack. Not so much a surprise - I had a stone a little over a year ago and once you get one you’re at high risk for more. But still, lots of time wasted sitting around the hospital waiting for a doctor to give me a once over and shrug their shoulders.
And then early this week a.j.
had some problems, most likely an anxiety attack. Another long day of worrying and a few more colored by the fallout.
Started for me with her calling from work to tell me she was going in to have chest pains looked at> I met here there and spent 6 or 7 hours at emerg while she waited to be seen, but had to go home eventually and get some work done [she was still waiting when I left]. Went back on my bike to see how she was, like 3 hours later [have I mentioned how crappy and slow our health care has system has gotten in the last ten or so years?] and blew my front tire out on the sidewalk in front of the hospital when it dropped into a gap between the slabs of cement. Fucking ironic that, a man eating gap in front of the hospital that just about sent me over my bars and would easily take down someone on crutches.
A.j.’s ok for now. They ran a battery of tests on her and ruled out the worst [hart problems or anything putting her in immediate peril]. Needs to learn how to Zen better, something she's already aware of and has been working on for awhile. I think she’ll survive it and in so many ways she’s learned how to be much more self aware and take care of herself since I first met her.
But after all that, I feel like it’s been two weeks in half that. * sigh *
More orders for revolver have come in, been at the post office mailing them out every few days now.
It’s been really cool seeing
reviews too. Not that I love my own press, it’s just that you spend so long working on these things, it’s good to see definite evidence that some one is reading it!
Not to kevetch but it's also odd. I can see why some creators refuse to ever read thier own reviews. Even the complements seem to get under your bonet.
I’m still laughing about the drunk on my own inventiveness comment. And while I take the complement, the suggestion that I’ve somehow mastered anything...
I’ve accomplished a level of skill, sure. But from here I can see so much more that there is to learn. I tend to think mastery as a masturbatory myth. If I ever think I’ve mastered anything I’ll be so depressed – I’ll have to find something else to do!
Soemthing that kind of bugs me; I can’t help but notice how little credit the writers’ got. Guy skirted over them with this very dismissive line “Some are written by Douglas, others by his girlfriend, A.J. Duric, and one by new-media artist John O'Brien.” And he never identified who did what. John Martz's review, a peer/reader review rather than a journalist, doesn’t even mention them.
I’m glad either of them took the time to think about the book and give their considered opinion. But really, these storied would not be what they are, would not BE, without the writers. Good writing is one of the areas that we need to do the most work in as a medium, and I’ve made a point of looking for and developing relationships with good writers over the years. Who better to work with and learn from than? I collaborate with
a.j. not because she’s my girlfriend but because she’s one of the most insightful and elegant writers I know. I’d be a fool not to take advantage of that. With her I am able to help voice points of view and stories that I would have next to no chance of finding or articulating on my own.
Guy may not have thought he was being dismissive by accounting for her with only that reference, but that's kind of the implication – in the context of a review, simply calling someone ‘his girlfriend’ and then not mentioning them again is in a way assigning second fiddle status. She wrote two of the stories in the book, maybe indicate your thoughts on them as writer… it’s a book review after all.
I can’t help but be reminded of how
the recent NYT piece glossed over the roll of women in comics…
And when
John O'Brien approached me to do his story some years ago, I knew I had to do it because it spoke to me as a human being. For me it is about themes that have defined much of my life. He’s an author, composer, video artist, teacher and hail-fellow well met. He brings to this story, amongst other things, a sound track, insight into the American social fabric and general life experience. None of which I could even begin to match without faking – and it would show. His not just "One" of the stories, It’s the longest at 16 pages, and the first act in what will be a full length Graphic Novel [about 150 pages] when it's done.
But for praise or punishment neither he nor a.j. were given any direct feedback.
It may ostensibly be ‘my book’, but they both deserved more credit then they got here. I hope any future reviews help remedy that.
Got a nice little write up on John Martz's Blog here today.
