I'm back, folks! With a fairly long post, no less. Since we last spoke (or you last read...or I last wrote...it's confusing), the COVID-19 crisis has impacted like a smallish asteroid, not a dinosaur-killer but definitely big enough to fuck some shit up. The US now has the highest number of infected people; Italy is in panic mode; hospitals are overflowing, people are dying, and all over the world, human beings exist in a state of low-level dread. Shopowners and distributors are staring out their windows, past the empty shelves to the deserted streets outside, wondering if and when it will all go back to normal, and if their livelihood will survive.
Out here in Michigan, the governor ordered a 3-week shutdown starting March 23rd. My shop makes auto parts, so I guess we're "semi-essential workers", but since our distributors are shutting down we took a 2-week furlough (my fiancée is an "essential" gas attendant, bless her heart, so she gets to sit behind a counter all night twiddling her thumbs). I'm starting week two. On Monday the brass is supposed to call us and let us know if we should come back to work on April 7th, or stay home another week. We're doing all right: enough food, enough entertainment, and our finances are in good shape for the nonce. We're a little afraid because my sister-in-law works at a rest home, and one of her patients died of COVID; God willing she won't have contracted it, and our little town will escape the ravages of the bug until a cure is discovered.
As far as Blind Alley Comics goes, we're actually in pretty good shape because, well, we aren't really a business, per sé...we don't rely on our sales to continue our work. Not being a "real company" has its silver lining, nicht war? I've been using this time to work on my comics, including a short comic for OH, Comics! anthology put out by Back Porch Comics, the folks behind the Small Press and Alternative Comix Expo in Columbus, OH. The theme this issue was "Chaos". I think I did a pretty good job; right now it's in the editorial purgatory as I wait for my good friends Joe and Kurt to take a look at it and tell me how badly I whiffed...TBD. I'll put it up here for y'all once I get the go-ahead. I'm honestly not sure if BPC will include it in the anthology, since it's quite a bit different artistically than most of their previous submissions, but with any luck I can get it in there and have a nice bit of marketing for BAC. You know, to see if BAC can convince BPC to put them in OHC. ACRONYMS.
So that's due April 1st. Meantime, I also have a Kickstarter to work on. I know, I know...bad timing all around; we at BAC are known for our absurdly bad luck in that regard. Still, allons-y! Half our battle is just finishing things, which is sort of the equivalent to tying our shoes, but honestly I'll feel a huge deal of accomplishment if we can just get the Kickstarter submitted. At any rate, the Kickstarter is for the collection of Die Kätze: all three acts in one package, with extras like a little promo comic and covers. Our goal is to print 1,000 copies, then start sending out feelers to comic book stores all across America. Ultimately we'd like to get the Die Kätze Collection in all 50 states! Sustainable? Hell nah. Gimmicky? Definitely. But we'd still like to do it, just for the bragging rights.
Assuming there will still be comic book stores after this is all over...
As you can tell, I'm quasi-optimistic; I keep it realistic, but tend to think that things will work out somehow. Why else would I keep busting my balls for these comics (complete psychosis aside)? It's really just in my nature to keep bulldozing forward no matter what God or nature might throw at us. And at the risk of seeming ghoulish or opportunistic, there's a part of me that thinks Blind Alley Comics will come out the better for this experience.
Do I know how that will happen, that everything will work out okay in the long run? No. I just believe. And it's that unshakable belief, in the face of everything that's happening, that keeps me moving forward.
So that's what's happening with me and Blind Alley Comics! Stay safe out there, Gentle Readers. We'll get through this together (though at a safe distance).
Rick Out.
Out here in Michigan, the governor ordered a 3-week shutdown starting March 23rd. My shop makes auto parts, so I guess we're "semi-essential workers", but since our distributors are shutting down we took a 2-week furlough (my fiancée is an "essential" gas attendant, bless her heart, so she gets to sit behind a counter all night twiddling her thumbs). I'm starting week two. On Monday the brass is supposed to call us and let us know if we should come back to work on April 7th, or stay home another week. We're doing all right: enough food, enough entertainment, and our finances are in good shape for the nonce. We're a little afraid because my sister-in-law works at a rest home, and one of her patients died of COVID; God willing she won't have contracted it, and our little town will escape the ravages of the bug until a cure is discovered.
As far as Blind Alley Comics goes, we're actually in pretty good shape because, well, we aren't really a business, per sé...we don't rely on our sales to continue our work. Not being a "real company" has its silver lining, nicht war? I've been using this time to work on my comics, including a short comic for OH, Comics! anthology put out by Back Porch Comics, the folks behind the Small Press and Alternative Comix Expo in Columbus, OH. The theme this issue was "Chaos". I think I did a pretty good job; right now it's in the editorial purgatory as I wait for my good friends Joe and Kurt to take a look at it and tell me how badly I whiffed...TBD. I'll put it up here for y'all once I get the go-ahead. I'm honestly not sure if BPC will include it in the anthology, since it's quite a bit different artistically than most of their previous submissions, but with any luck I can get it in there and have a nice bit of marketing for BAC. You know, to see if BAC can convince BPC to put them in OHC. ACRONYMS.
So that's due April 1st. Meantime, I also have a Kickstarter to work on. I know, I know...bad timing all around; we at BAC are known for our absurdly bad luck in that regard. Still, allons-y! Half our battle is just finishing things, which is sort of the equivalent to tying our shoes, but honestly I'll feel a huge deal of accomplishment if we can just get the Kickstarter submitted. At any rate, the Kickstarter is for the collection of Die Kätze: all three acts in one package, with extras like a little promo comic and covers. Our goal is to print 1,000 copies, then start sending out feelers to comic book stores all across America. Ultimately we'd like to get the Die Kätze Collection in all 50 states! Sustainable? Hell nah. Gimmicky? Definitely. But we'd still like to do it, just for the bragging rights.
Assuming there will still be comic book stores after this is all over...
As you can tell, I'm quasi-optimistic; I keep it realistic, but tend to think that things will work out somehow. Why else would I keep busting my balls for these comics (complete psychosis aside)? It's really just in my nature to keep bulldozing forward no matter what God or nature might throw at us. And at the risk of seeming ghoulish or opportunistic, there's a part of me that thinks Blind Alley Comics will come out the better for this experience.
Do I know how that will happen, that everything will work out okay in the long run? No. I just believe. And it's that unshakable belief, in the face of everything that's happening, that keeps me moving forward.
So that's what's happening with me and Blind Alley Comics! Stay safe out there, Gentle Readers. We'll get through this together (though at a safe distance).
Rick Out.
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