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I have enough ideas for SlumberTown alone to fuel probably like a 10 season tv series or lifelong novel series but I decided to make it a graphic novel for some silly reason. And? I’ve had to learn to be content with the fact that many of these ideas will never be fully realized.
Don’t get me wrong: I would never have it any other way! But you get to thinking about how long it takes to make comics and you need to learn how to have a looot of patience with yourself. And understand that there are limitations. One lifetime. Not enough for every idea.
8 chapters - my “realistic” goal - is still a lot of ST goodness. I’ve been able to pick out a lot of the important bits for the overall story and make sure I find a place for them in the chapters I’ve planned out.
I’m an ideal world, every character in ST would get their big time to shine in the spotlight. Every fun idea or concept would be explored. I’m pretty happy with the things I WILL be able to spend time developing and exploring but sacrifices must be made too.
I guess at my current pace - assuming I have a full-time job all/most of my life - I can complete my “goal” for this project in my mid-forties possibly. And if I can do that... I guess it’s always possible I can make room for more chapters or content too!
I know I fantasize a lot about the future of ST considering I’m still a beginner. I’ve only been doing this for a year! But now that I have both the balls & grit to bring my ideas and stories to life, it’s nice to know I will be able to bring many to fruition - in time!
I know the end-all be-all goal for many people who make comics or books is to get some kind of tv/movie adaption but let me tell you... I have more love for this medium than any other medium. It takes a lot of work and time to make graphic novels but... regret? I don’t know her.
There’s something extra magical for me about the concept of having a story in a book. Something you can hold in your hands and carry around. You can explore things at your own pace. Linger on a sentence... or with comics, a panel or composition. The reader drives it forward.
I’ve reached a point with the comic now where I’m getting to do scenes I couldn’t imagine I’d EVER get to do when I was working on the comic last year. But by the time we make another loop, at my current pace, we’ll be getting REALLY close to the end of this first book.
As long as I don’t die beforehand (fingers crossed!) SlumberTown will be the first thing I ever publish as a writer and that’s... a milestone I never thought I would attain. It still feels beyond my reach but I work hard every day to accomplish it.
I think this thread started out with me thinking about how a comic artist sometimes has to sacrifice ideas if they just get a steady stream of ‘em. Now we’re here, fantasizing about publishing comics into a book one day. My trains of thought are beyond my control, haha.
But, yes. Anyway. I’m really happy to finally be making comics. It’s so much work, and it still feels like I have a mountain of work ahead before the first volume will be ready for publishing but I truly love this medium. I can’t imagine a better way to tell these stories.
