Steven D. Forbes

Heh.  I like that title.

Anyway, I was going through some things, when I finally said “screw it.”

A couple of years ago (it’s been that long already?!), I contracted an artist to do some work for me.  It was to be a few pages of a book that was meant to be a pitching project.  At Lenora’s insistence, I paid him in full for the work.  This was not too long after I started my job for the City of Tucson, and I’ve been there just over two years.

Anyway, we had a couple of conversations, and then he just kinda disappeared.  I wasn’t too worried.  I found out that he broke his hand, and it takes time for things like that to heal.  Then, I promptly forgot about it.  Oh, I thought about it a year later, and then again some time after that, but I was really, deeply busy with the things I’ve been doing over the past year to six-month: working on Bolts & Nuts, working on The Proving Grounds, learning to letter, putting up pages of Group, pitching things to Lee…basically, trying to heap a TON of things on my plate in order to keep busy.

Well, things have slowed down somewhat, and I’m able to come up for air.  I’m getting back to doing some writing, and have a great idea for a story.  A set of stories, actually.

I’m playing with the nine-panel grid, with nine-page stories, and I wrote the first one a couple of months ago.  I have LOTS more to write, but things are happening in such a way as to enable me to get to those soon.  More about that in a little bit.

Anyway, with this first installment written and gone over, I figured, why the hell not? I got in contact with the artist to see if he’d be interested in it, and he first apologized for the huge delay, and said that he doesn’t like having unfinished business like that.  He’d do what he could for these nine pages.

So, I’m hoping to get some quality work out of this, and will definitely hire him again for the other installments for this character if it all works out.  I think it will.

I’ve also gotten around to resizing and lettering the inked pages of Bullet Time that I got from Jeff Coney, the inker.  And really, I have to say, I don’t know why the hell I just didn’t do it in b/w in the first place. Well, that’s not true. I do know why. I’m American, and in love with color. My love for b/w is relatively new, as far as comics go, because being poor and not able to afford color is something that forces you to look at projects in a different light. So, b/w it is for the time being.

I’ll be looking to work with a few artists pretty damned soon.  Before the end of the year, if I have my druthers. The installments of the nine-page stories have to get done, I have to rewrite Keys and find an artist for that, and I have to work on another horror story–as well as finish writing Group, so that can be done and I can just give the script to Sara and be done with it.  A lot of work to be done, and if the books I want to do with Lee get the green light, there’s even MORE work to be done.

Then, there’s the Bolts & Nuts book I want to do. I have to find an artist or two for that, in order to bring that project to fruition.  I’m looking forward to that. I’m still learning InDesign, and the book I’m using is invaluable to me for that.

I’m a little scattered today.  Please, bear with me.

I’ve been writing Bolts & Nuts for exactly ONE YEAR.  Well, that’s a small lie.  It’s a little over one year, but still, I’m proud of this fact.  I’ve not only written the column for a year, I’ve also managed to do it while packing in a lot of information, while at the same time, doing very little self-promotion.  My columns don’t read like one long infomercial about myself.  That’s not the goal of the column at all, although some other columnists forget that.  And, none of my columns follow the Seinfeld route of being about nothing.  I may have a hard time coming up with some topics to write about, but I make sure that everything I write about has a use to a writer, and isn’t just fluff.   I’ve seen a lot of that, too.

So, among my peers (those who write columns on writing), I personally think I have most of them beaten by virtue of the amount of credible, quality information I’ve given over the past year, as well as doing it on time for over a year.

Let’s take a simple look over at Dirk Manning’s Write or Wrong, which gets put up at Newsarama.  He’s been doing the column since 2006, and still has yet (!) to get in a full year’s worth of material.  That, to me, is shameful, and not worthy of a column.  Then, there’s also the fact that a lot of his columns aren’t really geared toward making a better writer or even helping a creator, but more geared toward self-promotion and telling how he “did it.”

Yes, that irks me.

But I have a plan in place. And, I’m even still within my timeframe for putting the plan forward. The plan is already in motion, to be honest; I just have to make sure I hit all my deadlines.

I may also be working with a couple of artists here in the near future. One of the artists, Jackson Reese, I met at SDCC a few weeks ago. He sent me an e-mail, and we’ll try to get something cooking after he gets over to university (that’s college in Europe, for those that don’t know).  He’s got some nice fundamentals, and should make for a strong artist when all is said and done.

I’m also trying to hook up with an artist in Hungary. I don’t know what project she’d get as yet, but if things work out, we could be working together on something by the end of the month.  That’ll be cool.

And the Fallen Justice machine is rolling along.  Just google Fallen Justice, and you’ll be treated to a cornucopia of reviews and such.  We were just reviewed by CBG’s Tony Isabella (creator of Black Lightning, blacklisted by DC, and honestly, an all around nice guy), and in his review of 1-3, gave us three Tonys!  Pretty stoked about that.  Pretty respectable grade from a respected creator.  Cary and I worked pretty well together on that, methinks.  We both did a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to the series.

There’s probably more comic stuff, but it’s not coming to mind right now.  Like I said, I’m somewhat scattered today.  On to real life stuff!

We’re moving again.  This time, back to an apartment.

The house experiment was nice while it lasted, but it was a mistake.  We should have moved from the other apartment into a different apartment when the lease was up, instead of moving into the house we did.  That was my fault.  All I could see was HOUSE.  Grass, pool, three car garage, pool table, master bedroom suite with walk-in closet, fireplace, and more.  Basically, a lot of space.  We were renting the place, and when it was foreclosed (basically, the owners took our money and ran), we moved from one house to another.  Quiet neighborhood, largish lot, and decently spaced.  Not as large as the first house, but large enough.  The sad part?  Its too expensive.

So, we’re moving again.  The apartment hunt is done, the apartment found, and really, all that’s left is the boxing and moving.  Not looking forward to either of those, but the money saved over the long haul will definitely be worth it.  That’s the part I’m looking forward to.

And this move will also eventually allow me to hire artists again.  I’m looking forward to that, as well.  When it comes to webcomics, I’ll letter those myself, and hire someone to create the logos for me.  I doubt I’ll do many submissions.  Possibly Image, and that’s it.  It’ll be easier getting through them and at least breaking even than doing it on my own.  One will hopefully feed into the other.  Do some limited series, because I don’t know if I can handle writing and lettering an ongoing series myself.  Not while holding a full time job.  (Doesn’t mean I won’t give it a try if the opportunity arises, though.)

The move begins on Sep 5.  We plan to do the bulk of it that day.  I’ll get off work that morning, and then just go right into move-mode.  Get the bulk of it done that day, and then just move whatever else is left on Sunday.  Rest up on Monday, and then on Saturday, go back to the house to begin cleaning it.  At least, that’s all part of the plan.  I’d like to get as much of the deposit back as we can.  So, there’s that.

There’s some other stuff going on, but I’m not in the mood to talk about that yet.  Maybe next time.  Still kinda pissed about it.

Go listen to The Commodores.  You’ll thank me later.

Things have been interesting as of late, let me tell you. The things going on are exciting, and I’m happy to share them. Some of them are sad, as well, but in the end, it’s life, and we have to live it.

Everyone knows I’ve been to the San Diego convention and back. While there, I made the acquaintance of several people: three artists, Steven T. Seagle, Andy Schmidt, and a martial arts grand master, as well as a few Digital Webbing alumni. I was also supposed to meet with one of the writers I edit, but we missed each other. This is all old news.

Mr. Schmidt wrote a book, The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels. I told him I’d just bought his book, and he asked me to send him an e-mail telling my thoughts. I did that, and he recieved it well, even agreeing with me for a lot of it. He also said that he’d take a look at B&N and possibly direct his students there. So, that may be a great thing.

Two of the three artists got back to me. One may be doing a cover for Group, because his style meshes well with Sara’s art. The other, I’m going to try to get into Zuda with. I have a decent idea that should do well, and I think he’ll have the chops for it. I gave him a preliminary script as well as some character write ups so he could start working on the designs. Now, to come up with a script that will tell a great intro to the story in eight pages. I have time, though.

It’s Grand Master O’Neal that I was worried about.

At the convention, we had a decent conversation, as he tried to sell me his wares. Instead of the $20 graphic novel he was touting, I bought a $2 introductory pamphlet. I also gave him my card, introducing myself as a writer and editor. He said he had need of an editor, and he would see about getting back with me.

Well, I finally got around to reading the pamphlet, and I have to admit, as a reader, I was severely unimpressed. However, I also saw and believed in what he was trying to do, and so wrote up an e-mail, re-introducing myself and telling him what I thought, but aslo offering my services. I have to say, anyone who knows me and The Proving Grounds, that I basically tore the pamphlet apart. I did it politely, but there wasn’t much there that was good. The pamphlet was a set of powers and skills for the superhero characters he created. Think of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, or DC’s Who’s Who. It was in that vein, but it wasn’t done nearly as well.

He wrote me an e-mail after a few days, saying he wanted to talk to me and explore the possibility of editing the graphic novels he wrote.

When I finally got the chance to talk to him, we had a 45 min conversation. Think of it as an interview, testing my knowledge of comic characters, how they were put together, their powers and usage. Then after speaking somewhat about my upbringing, he decided to bring me on as the editor, and told me that the e-mail I sent him caused an uproar in his circle. People wanted to know who the hell I thought I was, so on and so forth. I didn’t make many friends with the e-mail. However, Grand Master O’Neal said that if I had beat around the bush, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to what I said.

The man’s a warrior. Seven time world karate champion, and won three gold medals for the US at the Goodwill Games. He took what I said without any rancor, thought it through, had the conversation with me, liked what he saw, and brought me onboard.

So he then sent me the graphic novel he tried to sell me at SDCC. He wanted my thoughts on it, what could have been done better, so on and so forth.

That was something like a three-page e-mail. I sent the e-mail so he would have something tangible, basically, notes for him to go back to, because things get lost or forgotten when you talk on the phone. I plan on giving him a call tomorrow, to talk about it. We’ll see how that goes. Let’s just say that, from cover to cover, it was not put together well. More than likely, I caused another uproar in his circle. That’s okay. I can take it.

I’m also moving forward with a couple of writers I’m working with. One of them hasn’t sent me anything in a while, so I got with him to see what was up. I got a reason, and he’s getting back on the stick. The other writer, the one I missed meeting up with at SDCC, he’s got a plan in place, and is actively looking for an artist.

Well, let’s say that he was looking for an artist, for he’s found one, with my help. It was fun, looking through a lot of artwork, adding to the rolodex, seeing who was capable of what and at what price. No, I didn’t do the hunt myself. I had the writer do it, so he could see firsthand what happens. I think of it as excellent training, because in the indies, you have to do a lot of things yourself. But so far, this writer is a dream to work with. He takes direction well, he listens and learns, and he’s quick on the uptake. A dream.

There was one artist who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. This artist didn’t make the initial cut, and really wanted the gig. I had to send him a letter myself. He hasn’t said anything since. No, I wasn’t a jerk. I just gave an honest assessment of what I saw. If it stung, so be it.

I was contacted by one of the guys at Project Fanboy about doing a foreward to his trade paperback. I was honored! I’m highly opinionated about a lot of things, and am doing a set of articles over at Bolts & Nuts talking about genre, breaking them down. I was working on the horror sections when he asked me. And, I had five pages to waste–I mean, fill!  I was really honored by it. Of course I did it. He wanted just a couple of changes made, but other than that, it was good. That has hit a small delay, but it should be hitting the stands sometime next year. Looking forward to it.

I’ve also been getting a lot of contacts recently about my rates for editing. It looks like more writers are becoming serioius about getting better, and are working toward that goal. Some people come out of the woodwork, saying they’ve been readers of Bolts & Nuts and lurking around The Proving Grounds, taking notes and trying to work it out for themselves. Sometimes, they submit a script for TPG, and sometimes they just want to know my rates. It works for me either way. I’m getting scripts for TPG, which has lasted more than double than I thought it would (the column lives and dies by reader participation, and although each script gets a lot of looks, I’m only seeing a basic core of people who submit), and sometimes people just want to hire a no-nonsense editor. I’m still waiting for the inquirists to pull the trigger on it, though. Soon, I hope.

Sara can’t work on Group anymore, and I’m saddened by that. We at least have the single chapter done, and I’m going to have to find a different artist to do the second. That might be a going theme: find a different artist per chapter. I don’t know. Something to think about. I’m hoping that things look up for her soon. There may be something, but it depends on other things. We’ll see how that plays out.

The artist I have for My Life is also behind, but I really can’t complain. It’s almost pro-bono work, and everyone has to pay bills. Looking to see what he comes up with, though.

The other artist, the one who broke his hand before? I have to send him an e-mail, seeing what’s up with the script. If things go the way I want them to, I’m going to be VERY busy writing a LOT of stuff in order to get it put out. I have a lot of plans, but like I said, they depend on other things.

In real life, things are reaching critical mass at home, in respect to moving. We plan on moving on 9/5, and we’re slowly but surely getting things out of the house: some things to storage, others will be sold, some will be given away. What I want to happen is for us to be totally out of the house by 9/5, and to come back on 9/6 to start the cleaning of the house. We can do that either Sunday or Monday. I’m pretty easy, either way. I can even go back and do it piece by piece when I get off work. It’ll be inspection ready by 9/15, which is all I care about.

I also got a call a few days ago from my sister. One of my aunts passed away. My aunt Wanda. It’s pretty sad to think my grandfather is outliving his children. This will be the fourth. First, my uncle Steve, then my aunt Tee, then my aunt Bridget, and now my aunt Wanda. Four, out of eleven. I still have my uncle George, and my aunts Marion, Rosalyn, Marcia, Cynthia, and Brenda. That doesn’t include my mother.

Saddened by her passing? Sure. However, she wasn’t in my life in a daily way, and we weren’t close. My closest aunt is Marcia. We both know it. Most of my memories of Wanda are of her being drunk and kissing on me while I tried to go to sleep. Annoying. I have a few younger recollections. I remember one of her boyfriends having a horse that I rode. That’s a snippet of memory. I also remember someone having a motorcycle, but that could have been Cynthia’s boyfriend. I don’t rightly recall. (This was, of course, before everyone had a motorcycle or a tattoo, and stores were generally closed on Sunday.) She’s family, and she’s gone, but it doesn’t really affect me. From what I understand from my mother, Wanda was a good, smart woman who got lost in a bottle. That’s not really something I can mourn. Whatever her physical demons, she’s no longer bound by them. I can rejoice in that, instead of mourning a loss.

That may be cold, but that’s how I feel.  I have other, more immediate things to take care of. My own household, for starters, my kids, stuff like that.

I hope you rest in peace, Aunt Wanda. You don’t have to run anymore.

-Steven