Steven D. Forbes

The contracts from Markosia have come in. I reviewed them to make sure nothing else creeped in there–not that I thought there would, but it is ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry–and didn’t find anything, like I was expecting. What did I do then? I signed and sent them out to the rest of the creative team. I also sent extra postage for them to just sign and mail it to the next person, and then to send it back to Markosia (which is in England, for those that don’t know).

Yes, I paid for their postage. Nice of me? I don’t think so. I look at it as my responsibility as the one who has the idea and brought them all together to work on the project. Well, that’s not completely accurate. I didn’t find Jeff, the inker. The previous publisher did. He wanted to stay, and I was very happy with his inks, so he stayed. I’m very happy to have found Robert Keough, though.

I’m going to be lettering Bullet Time myself. That’s going to be interesting. Cheaper, too. It means less I have to carve up on the back end, it means less that could possibly go wrong, because there aren’t as many fingers in the pie.

In all, I think it’s good.

I’m also starting to think more about digital distribution. The reason? I finally got the iPhone. The 3Gs, 32gig version for those that care. A bit of a pain setting it up from one phone to the other, but it was all good. It was mainly the pictures that had some problems transferring, but after thinking it through, I finally got them.

Anyway, I started downloading comics on it from ComiXology and iVerse. I’ll be reading those while I’m at work, but I’m liking the ComiXology app. It helps the reading experience. For the aware creator, it also gives you more control over how your stories are experienced. Definitely something to be aware of.

I have a story idea that I’m going to work on, with an eye toward digital distribution. ComiXology, to be specific. That, and with an eye toward print (because print is always the goal). But I’m thinking of sets of stories to do with this idea, as well as opening it up to other creators to tell stories about it. I think it could work. I just need to get Bullet Time up and running first. After that, give this a shot. In color. Because on the web, color is free. On digital readers, color is free. Even if you were to do it on the Kindle, it would still be free, and you don’t have to change it to b/w for grayscaling. It would be done automatically. The equivalent of watching a color program on a b/w television. It only becomes expensive when you go to print, and I would like to do that while only having to pay as little as possible from my personal finances for a limited color print run.

It’ll be interesting.  I have to figure a way to do a free, readable preview, while still telling a whole story, and making that interesting enough to get someone to want to pay for the rest of the graphic novel.

I have to figure out my budget first, which means I have to have the story, which means I have work ahead of me.

Which brings me to my laptop. It’s down, it’s been down, but I hope to have it back up late next week, which improves my productivity immensely. That’ll be good. I’ve been bored at work. Reading is fun, but not when you KNOW you have work piling up at home…work you usually do while at work. Not my idea of a good time.

And that’s it for comics for now.

Home life has been good. Quiet. My stepdaughter is in San Diego for a bit. She went there to support her brother, who’s in jail.

I’m not looking forward to the phone bill. He calls collect, because he has to. I get that. But that phone bill is going to be astronomical.

Anyway, the boy’s father says he’s going to be there for him, and that he’s going to do this and that to help him get out of there as soon as possible. And then he doesn’t show up on the boy’s court date. Typical.

The court appointed lawyer advised the boy to take a deal: six months to a year on a felony. The boy took it. The charge? Burglary. And no one could prove he was in the house and burgled it. No one saw him in the house. He was seen outside of it, but not inside it.

And the people who burgled the house? Don’t know what happened to them. The house belongs to his friend’s girlfriend, who told his friend when her parents weren’t going to be home so he could burgle it. Some friends, right?

So, he has six months to a year in jail, and will have a felony conviction. He’s just made it infinitely harder on himself to find a decent paying job. The gun charge? No idea. But he’s finally going to learn something about the consequences for his actions and choices. I hope it sticks.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to setting up my office. It’s been a while since I was able to be in my own space and do what I do. About three years. I just have to get a new chair. This one is fucked up. No, it wasn’t my doing. People don’t know how to treat anything. Yes, the chair is about six or seven years old, but still. I know how to take care of my stuff. Three years of people flopping in it isn’t what I call taking care of something. Actually, call it a year and a half. Yeah. I’m not happy, because no one wants to take responsibility for the destruction of shit, and then they don’t have money to replace it. Having Lenora replace it is the same as me replacing it, because it’s our money.

When my plans come together, there may be some hurt feelings, but I’d much rather have the hurt feelings than ungrateful people destroying my stuff. Especially people who still need to learn to make their own way.

Yeah, I have plans in comics that impact real life. Just waiting on other people to do their part so I can continue my march.

Just about 1100 words. I’m done.

Go watch Superman II- The Donner Cut. That’s what I’m about to do. We can talk about it next time. See you then.

Just had part of a conversation with Grand Master O’Neal today. I say part because he had to take another call, and will call me back. I’m just waiting for that callback. But, the good part of the conversation is that I’ll be going to this year’s San Diego Comic Con International.

I’ll be behind the booth.

Let’s put some perspective on this.

The first time I went to the show was around 2000. I was in the military at the time, stationed at Miramar (which is in San Diego, for those that don’t know), I was married to my first wife, and I had decided I wanted to be in comics around then. My cousin and I. And when I went to the show–it was unlike anything I’d ever seen. LOTS of things to do when it came to panels, LOTS of things to look at and buy, and it was crowded and noisy and it was great. Marvel had a booth, and I took a picture with Spidey.

I felt extremely small. Being in comics seemed to be so big and daunting. Did I really want this many people knowing my name?

I didn’t go back for five years. Money issues. I was no longer in the military, and was living in Virginia Beach with my then-girlfriend (now wife) before I was able to make it back. And it felt something like coming home. I was still working hard at my craft, and while I didn’t have many prospects, it was the show I wanted to go to. So we went. Well, I went. Lenora went too, but spent maybe a total of three hours at the convention itself. Yeah. She doesn’t like crowds.

I continued to hone my craft, and had gotten into editing. There were things I needed to do, and getting to the other side of the booth was one of them. Last year was my first time I went with the air of a professional. I had t-shirts to promote myself, I had business cards to hand out, as well as a sample of my writing. I made some contacts.

One of those contacts turned out to be Grand Master Eric O’Neal, and his Lionman project. I introduced myself as an editor, gave him my card, bought a book. I then sent a direct e-mail from that book, and now, I’m about to be working behind the booth at SDCCI for the first time. I’m going to meet a living legend in the form of Grand Master Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones, Enter The Dragon), I’m going to meet some martial arts hall of famers, I’m going to meet with Disney execs–all in conjunction with Lionman.

You know that Disney bought Marvel, right? Just thought I’d mention that. Sometimes, people miss that.

I’m on the way to my dreams coming true. I have confidence in my abilities to bring Lionman to a new level. I have my full time job, I have my side job of editing (just got another gig just a bit ago). I have my friends and colleagues in The Five, and a super-secret plan to bring to fruition.

I was watching a biography on Boys II Men a few weeks ago, and they told the story of how they got their shot. They went to a performing arts high school, and was able to make their way backstage in order to sing for some then-prominent singers. They then got some contact info from BBD (formerly of New Edition), and Nate was on their trail for a year before contracts were signed and they became huge.

Now, I’m no singer. I don’t write music or songs. What I do is write and edit comics books. I’ve been doing work and pursuing Lionman for almost a year, because I know what it can do for me. Because Grand Master O’Neal is a public figure dealing with children, he has to be a man of integrity. He has to be above board. He’s done a LOT of things. Go look him up. I’m patient. Grand Master Eric O’Neal, Sr.

Back? See what I mean? And with a booth already paid for at SDCCI, it’s really easy to see why I’ve hitched my wagon to this train. If he gets half of what he wants up off the ground, I’ll be able to do the things that I want to do, as well. I put a two-year window on the things I want to do, knowing they are Lionman dependent. Just to keep better track of it, I can say that the clock started in January. And when it happens…boom.

Everything I ever wanted, within my grasp. Things that I want to do, try, see…as well as working harder than I’ve ever worked before in my life.

I recently wrote on Comic Related the difference between dreams and goals. I also wrote about it on Bolts & Nuts. I had a dream. I’ve turned that dream into a goal. I’ve set out a plan, and am implementing it. I’ve worked hard to prepare myself for the opportunities coming my way. I’ll have to work harder to stay sharp and not just keep up, but to stay ahead. Because it’s going to pay off. Big. I just have to be patient while I work it. Which is the hard part.

But I’ll be working a booth at SDCCI in July. I had a goal last year of having my own booth at SDCCI in two years, but you know what? I’ll take this, and look at it the same way. It’s mine. The firsthand knowledge and experience of working a big show and mingling with people is going to be phenomenal. (I wonder if we can get some polo shirts or t-shirts made up…)

I just made some money. I need to hold onto it in order to cover some expenses while in San Diego. If Lionman covers transporation, lodging, and food, then that’s less money I have to spend right there. But if it’s something I have to invoice…then I need to hold on to what I make from my editing for a bit. July’s right around the corner, and I have to make the money, hold it, and see how things play out before I start doing things I want to do like hiring artists or getting John Truby lectures.

Real life? Things are steady, for once. I went to the movies to see Alice in Wonderland, and I didn’t have to think about holding on to the money for needed things. It’s not totally relaxed around here, but I’ll be able to start getting what I want instead of just getting what I need.

Like iPhone apps. I finally got the iPhone, and I LOVE it. I’ve only noticed a small slowdown in my texting speed, but I’d say that would be natural with a touchscreen. The battery life isn’t good, but I’m carrying a computer in my pocket. I can live with that.  This thing is amazing. I’m looking forward to having Bullet Time on it. But some of the apps I’ll be able to buy would be nice.

That’s really about it for me for now. I have a script to edit, and some food to eat. Guess which gets done first?

Go watch the original Wolf Man before seeing it in theaters. Then, be happy that Benecio del Toro isn’t a whiney bitch!

-Steven

Things have been interesting lately. Not all of them in a good way.

We had to put our cat to sleep last week. His name was Bear, which I had picked out. He had feline leukemia. We had raised him from a kitten, as part of a litter from another cat we had that we subsequently got rid of because she started attacking our other cat. He had been sick for a while, sneezing, not eating well, having trouble eating, sleeping a LOT, and seemingly unable to get warm. We took him to the vet on Wednesday, and unfortunately, we didn’t leave with him.

Yes, I was pretty sad about it. He was a good cat. But he was my wife’s cat (she doesn’t like being alone, and I’m generally not here at night because of my job), and she was totally broken up. She said we weren’t going to be getting another cat for a while. I gave her two months. She said it would be longer than that.

I came home from work on Saturday, and she asked me if I wanted to go with her to a cat faire. I said sure. We went to a couple of places, the first being PetSmart, where we almost got a black cat named Sugarbear. (Bear was black, as well, and Lenora said she didn’t want another black cat.) Sugarbear was almost 2 years old, and was kinda fat. Not Garfield fat, but she needed some exercise. Lenora looked at her and played with her for a good while–about 15 minutes or so–and kept asking me my opinion. I’m not much for cats that shed, and while Sugarbear had short hair, she was also shedding up a storm. So we left PetSmart, and on the way to PetCo, Lenora decided that Sugarbear wasn’t for us. She said the cat didn’t call out to her.

At PetCo, there were no cats. Just fish. We paid a bill, and went and got some comic books instead.

We went back home and I went to sleep because I had to go to work that night. I was pretty tired, and the sleep was big and deep and dark. It was gorgeous.

And when I woke up, Lenora came in the room holding a cat. Our  new cat. Cream and tannish in color, with short hair that doesn’t shed. 18 months old. Female. Her name was Thelma, but that took me to Louise, which took me to Lois. (No, I didn’t like Thelma as a name.) She’s very affectionate and pretty social. Lenora said that she went to Heritage House, which is a cat shelter near here, and as soon as she walked in, the cat came up to her and started following her around the place. She just chose her, even knocking some other, bigger cats out of the way. She had been adopted twice, and each time had ended up back there.

Well, now she has a permanent home. We renamed her Storme (yes, with a silent ‘e’), because she she purrs her happiness, she purrs up a storm. So we have a cat, and my wife is happy. If my wife is happy, I’m happy. All told, life is good.

I have my office back, and I’m pretty happy about that. In Virginia Beach, we had a three room townhouse, one room of which was my office. When we moved to Tucson, we had a two bedroom apartment at first, where I had an office. Then one of the stepdaughters moved in, and I lost my office. We moved into a big house that we couldn’t afford (I’ve already ranted about that episode) and I had a computer space, but no real office. The second house we moved into had some office space, but it was taken over by the kids. We moved into this two bedroom apartment specifically to get rid of kids and to give me office space. It took me about seven months to get it, though. Seven months out of a year-long lease… Yeah.

Anyway, the kids are gone, and I have my office. The apartment complex has a yearly inspection, and we did some deep cleaning and rearranging because we had to bring the apartment back up to snuff. (It was during this time that we had to put Bear to sleep.) Hell, we even cleaned the carpet, which was filthy. (Lots of people walking back and forth, dropping and spilling things and not picking up after themselves… Yep, I wasn’t happy.) But I’m now fully installed in my office. Just have to replace my chair, and things should be golden there.

I think I mentioned I got the iPhone? I’m still loving it.

I also a couple of stories I want to do with a couple of different artists. We’ll see how that goes.

I’ll be hitting Lee up shortly about a couple of things I sent him about a month ago.

I have a script to edit today. I’ll be getting to that pretty soon.

Still waiting to hear back from one of the guys I edited about some submissions he sent in. Well, he’s still waiting to hear back, as well, and I imagine I’ll find out not too long after he does. He put a lot of work into it, and it would be nice to see that hard work rewarded.

I think that’s about it for now. Need to put the music on random and start editing, as soon as I go through my Reader stuff.

Go watch some porn. Personally, I’m in lust with Jeanna Fine, as well as Ashlyn Gere and Sara Jay.

I hate not being busy. Know what I hate even more than not being busy? Not being paid for not being busy.

But I’m getting busy. And I like it. Let me tell you about it.

Smaller projects first. Or, seemingly smaller. You never know with icebergs…

Over on DW, I got a resounding endorsement from Lee Nordling, whom I consider a mentor. One of the guys there was talking about whether or not it was good to have an editor, and I threw my hat in the ring with my thoughts. Lee then came in and espoused some on the need for a good editor…like me. Yes, he said, “A good editor, like Steven…” That made me feel great.

Because of those discussions, and another couple of them in different threads, I opened myself up to inquiries from a good three to four people. (I’m losing count because of the names. I’m working with at least three John/Jon’s, and have a couple of Mikes who are thinking about it.) These three to four want to get their ducks in a row before wanting to hire me, and I can definitely understand that. As a matter of fact, I’m literally waiting right now for something to appear in my inbox, and I’m also waiting to hear back from a few people as to whether or not they want to hire me, or if they’re just feeling out the waters.

It’s work, though, and work is good. It’s going to help pay for a few things down the line–most notably, a plane ticket from San Diego to Oregon and from Orgeon back to Tucson. More about that later.

Lionman is also gearing up. It’s just a few months down the road to San Diego, but Grand Master O’Neal is finally pulling the trigger and letting me do what I do. Few people are going to be happy while going through it, though. He wants to do another version of the book, and without the original, high resolution files to work on, there’s no use in it. So he’s trying to hunt down the artist who did the work and put us in contact with one another. It’s going to be interesting to say the least.

We did come to a conclusion about the money, though. We’ll call it an agreement. A down payment now to get the work done, for a huge benefit later. I told him part of my goals to happen within the next couple of years, and he totally understood it. And if things happen even partly the way he dreams…yeah. My dreams will also happen. Then I’ll surprise a decent amount of people. I’m thinking about four of them right now…

In addition to that, I also put my hat in the ring for another editing gig, as well as a writing gig. The editing gig would be to edit some webcomics and such, and the writing gig is for a guy I did some writing for earlier this year (or late last year, however you want to look at it).

I don’t believe in counting my chickens before they’re hatched, but IF I were to get these jobs, which are all paid gigs, mind you, then this would be my personal best year of work. And I believe it is because of the work I did the previous year with Bolts & Nuts and The Proving Grounds. I’m still very surprised when someone comes to me in e-mail or on a board and says that they enjoyed and learned a lot from B&N. I’m very, very happy to have been helpful to someone, and if that also means they want to work with me, even better, I say. Why? Because we’re all still trying to make a name for ourselves.

I’m no different.

I’m still learning, I’m still growing, and when my ship comes in, I’ll be in a position to do a LOT of things I want to do. I like to think I’ve carefully prepared my bags, have planned my way to get to the dock, and just barely make out the ship on the horizon. I do have a 2 year plan that depends largely on Lionman, and I am well prepared to hunker down and do the work to get there.

What I need, though, is my laptop.

Yes, it’s still down. And that’s pissing me off to no end. I thought it was working last week, but when I got it in my hot little hands, it wasn’t. Grrr! So, it went back to my friend, who has one more trick up his sleeve. If it doesn’t work then, I’m screwed for a while. No, it’s not something I’m happy about. No, I can’t use the money from the writing gigs for it, either. That money is already earmarked, remember? I have a convention to go to, and while there, I have to eat. I also have to fly to Oregon, and back home, and while there, I have to eat, as well.

What’s going on in Oregon? Well, I might have mentioned this, but a friend of mine from my Marine Corps days is getting married the weekend after SDCC, and has asked me to be in the wedding. So, of course I’m going to be there. It’s a good thing that it wasn’t on the weekend of SDCC, though. Someone would have been disappointed, and it would have been my friend. I know, it sounds cold, but it’s like this: I’ve spent a LOT of years getting to where I’m at right now, and there are few things that I am going to let stand in my way of getting where I want to be. Going to SDCC is a part of that, because it cuts down on the amount of time I’m on the outside looking in. He’s going to be married forever. Friendship will be there. With comics, you HAVE to strike while the iron is hot, or else you’re too late. I don’t want to be too late. It’s not just my own future, but the future of my children, as well as a plan my friend has that I could help him with down the road a piece. Maybe that’s all a rationalization, but that’s my reasoning, and I’m sticking with it. I’m just glad I don’t have to make that choice.

The bad part is that I need one more day off of work to pull this all off. I have to go to the Superintendent of my job soon to talk about it. It should be fine.

That’s really about it. The cat, Storme, is working out fine. She sleeps on the bed with us, something Bear couldn’t do because he was too rambunctious at night. She either sleeps at the foot of the bed or on my side, around my shins (because Lenora generally has the fan on at night, and I don’t like being cold, so I cuddle up underneath her). She also just likes being around us. Right now, she’s sitting in the chair with me. Actually, she’s behind me, lying down, taking a cat nap.

And now, I’ve got phone calls to make. Gotta get the Lionman website up to snuff.

While I’m doing that, YOU go listen to some Madonna. You’ll thank me later.

-Steven

Getting more work is always a good thing. Especially when that work is paid.

One of the guys that sent an inquiry to me a few days ago came through last night with the script. I worked on it, but had to wait for the payment. Once I got the first half, I sent him the script. He took nine pages to tell a five page story. Yeah. Not good.

I’m waiting on one of the other guys to send me something as well. Well, two of them. One of them I’m going to e-mail again right after I finish writing this.

I was also able to secure another writing gig. The guy I did some writing for at the beginning of the year has more stories he wants to tell. I wrote him, saying I was interested and available, and he was happy to hear it and is saving me a spot. Can’t really argue with that. I did the work, he was happy with it, and he paid on time for the work that was delivered. I haven’t even gotten back any sort of editorial notes or changes, although I’d be happy to make any that were necessary. I do think the script was straightforward enough and easy enough to understand, though. And if he’s willing to pay the amount he said he was for another 22 page script, then I’m all over it. I’m not counting on that money, but it sure makes things easier when I go to SDCC this year.

And there’s another guy I’ll e-mail next week, to see if he wants me to edit his webcomic.

I also spoke to Grand Master O’Neal today. He had a tragedy in the family yesterday, but is back on it today. I sent him over a couple of sketches for a redesigned Lionman. I really like them both, and am torn. Each has their merits, each has their demerits. Really, it could go either way. Just waiting to see what he says. I’ll get with him tonight about it.

I also spoke to the original artist. We’re on the same page when it comes to the book that was put out. He’s going to send me over the files he has, and we’re going to hash it out between us. He didn’t see the finished book that was put out, and his thoughts about it were the same as mine: not good. But we’re going to get it done right. It’ll be fine.

I also priced some plane tickets from San Diego to Oregon, and from Oregon to Tucson. $300 was the price. Pretty cheap, I say. I’d be paying that or a little more for a rental car and gas. It also frees up some time for me. Sure, I’d have like to have driven up the coast to Oregon, but there will be other times.

Today is also the day we take Storme to the vet. She’s new to us, and the vet just wants to make sure she didn’t pick anything up from the other cats. We’re also going to get her claws capped. Her claws are a lot sharper than Bear’s were. We’re also going to hit Hollywood Video. The local one is going out of business, and they’re selling movies for about 2 or 3 bucks, not including the new releases. We’ll see what we can find. I like old, bad horror movies, anyway, and if I can pick some up pretty cheap, I’m all over it.

That’s really about it. Have some e-mails to send out, and then it’s time to get the show on the road!

Go get on the good foot and listen to James Brown. You’ll be happy you did.

-Steven