Archive for August, 2008

So, I’ve worked on comic books for the past 19 years. A lot of folks are somewhat shocked when I tell them that I don’t really read comic books. Heck, I’ve pretty much quit frequenting comic shops too. I don’t know… maybe it’s just because I’d rather read novels, or blogs, or listen to podcasts. Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten a “peek behind the curtain” in ComicbookPublishing OZ and possibly become jaded. Maybe it’s because I’ve been doing this soo long that it’s become “just a job” or quite possibly it’s because I’m chained to my desk and I just don’t have time anymore.

A small combination of all of those thing…? I dunno…

80% of my reading, is done while sitting on my throne. 15% while on my computer. The other 5% divided up between the precious few moments before sleep while i’m sitting up in bed, or while cramming food down my throat as fast as I can to make sure I get back to my desk and hitting my deadlines. I used to LOVE sitting around all day as a kid reading books. I was a voracious reader when I was younger. All kinds. Novels, magazines, comic books, etc…. I’d finish off novels in days. Nowadays, I tend to have 4-5 different novels going at any particular time stretched out over months/years. Plus, the occasional few magazines (hot rod, art, culture, etc…) thrown in for good measure as well.

But comic books… I dunno. I used to get comp boxes from various publishers I work with. I read a bunch whenever that box would come in. But those boxes have stopped due to paper or shipping costs or whatever. Now, I tend to only read the books I work on. And even then, usually just the scripts before I start working, just to get story notes, etc… I almost never read the finished product. The magic kind of seems gone.

This post was originally going to be about how I lose track of which books I work on and when they hit the stands. Since I work on soo many different books for soo many different publishers, I often lose track of when books come out.

See…? I even lost track of what this post was supposed to be about. Sheesh…

I went over to Jimmy Palmiotti’s house the other day so we could do lunch. It just felt good to get out of the house and feel normal again. It was cool to talk shop with a colleague. It was rejuvenating to see all the killer art and stuff up on his walls and in his studio. The magic kinda came back. If even for a little bit, for a few hours.

I have a family vacation coming up in a few weeks. I’m doing my best to try to not make it a working one as has been the case for the last decade or so. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE to work. I LOVE hitting deadlines. But this time, just for once, I want to go to the water / amusement parks, beaches, museums, (insert typical vacation-ish, tourist-y type stuff here) TOO. Instead of being the one watching my wife and kids jump in the van and head off to fun while I sit and shackle myself in for another round of “Chase the Deadline”.

Who knows…? I might even hit a comic shop or two.

Hot on the heels (pun intended) of the pinstripe skull art print, comes some kustom kicks featuring my art on them. Right now the sizes are for women only. So, go buy a few for your special lady friend or heck, if you dudes don’t care and just wanna wear some killer shoes on your feet, grab a set for yourself too.

Here’s a link to where you can buy the shoes and other killer kustom robschwager swag: Schwager-Swag