The Spark

At Wondercon 2019 a new project had just been born by my talented wife where comic creators, publishers, shop managers, librarians and the public would sit down and get a chance to speak about the industry as a whole in small groups. Discussions about representation, influences on social dynamics, and inspiring other creators in their own creations.  An idea that was designed to give insight and hear each other's opinions in a face to face dialogue that would breed more ideas going forward and perhaps change the world for a greater good. 

The guest of honor was Scott Snyder who was generous to donate his time to an unproven project and from where I sit today I can vouch that the project itself worked. You see I had not one but two lightning bolts of inspiration strike me that day. Both of which I cherish and will carry with me always.

The first bolt was the one I was seeking. I have been writing on and off since I was a teen. I had dabbled in a bit of every type of writing but nothing ever felt like home per say. I had taken an extended reprieve from my writing for a few years. Mostly ideas would be jotted down but my devotion of time to my craft was supplanted by working the 9-5 and raising two daughters. An all too common story for the dreamers who set them aside for the real world. Thankfully I have the writer's disease where a story tends to latch itself into your brain and drives you absolutely mad until you get it down on paper. I began writing the same story over and over again. Always changing the tale a bit or playing in a different format. Maybe it would be a better movie, perhaps a TV series, or maybe this is finally my Tolkien moment and I will create an epic journey that will be revered for generations. Probably not but in my head I tried every approach except the one that I had been reading the most as of late. 

I had rediscovered my love of comics back in 2008 when I was able to introduce my wife into the genre as she never read them as a kid. For us it was a great way to bond over something new and fresh rather than a new TV series. Revisiting so many of my favorite characters from when I was a kid was just a special treat for me but in the trip down memory lane it also brought about an appreciation that I had never noticed when I was a kid. There were phenomenal stories abound. Ones that had slipped by my comprehension of being a younger reader at the time. Allegories and metaphors that slipped by my eyes in a blinding light of bright colors and massive explosions being thwarted by heroes with powers we dream of having. The level of literature that I had now reviewed was better than most books I had read through college. I would gladly argue that comic lit should be fundamental in an English course structure but I am clearly digressing. 

At Wondercon I had sat down at a table with Scott Snyder and he spoke simply and plainly about his writing process and what inspires and motivates him to get his projects done. It was in those short minutes that he looked me in the eye and told me that I just need to sit down and do it. Just write the damn thing. And while this is the same bit of advice that is shared over and over again in every writer's interview there is something different in it when the writer looks directly into your soul and tells you to do it. There’s a spark there. There’s a recognition that may only be on my side of the conversation but it’s one that clearly gripped me and tore off every bit of doubt that had shackled me on the inside. I came back to my hotel room that night and began writing my story again, this time in a comic format. By the end of the week I had written my first comic script. By the end of the month I had mapped out 12 issues. There was a fire burning inside me that I hadn’t felt in years. This is where the second bolt of lightning struck.

This feeling was fresh to me and it came from the idea that someone I truly respected in the field gave me the time to share words of encouragement directly to me. A fire can be lit and stoked by those around you but sometimes there needs to be something a little bit more that kicks you in the backside to move forward with a dream. It’s fantastic to hear the stories of different writers and artists talking about their processes but these are usually spoken in vague terms or shared through different mediums that dilute the message. There is something inherently different in sitting with someone who you admire and have them give you the words of encouragement. Your spirit wraps up in theirs for just a brief time and absorbs their energy, their fire, their spark of passion. It gives you an inspirational high that is unlike anything you can dream of. 

From that moment on I realized that there is an impact that I can make on the world. I may never be the writer I dream to be but I can be one who can escort others to their dreams. This is where part of the idea of Creators Assemble! derived from. The idea to give other creators that chance to enjoy and harness the same spark inside that I felt by getting them to be face to face and share that same moment could provide the world with a future generation of artists who could have simply been lost to the drone of the daily life that sweeps them away. 

Comics is a culture that can easily be forgotten by the youth growing and getting lost in life. A world where the introduction is cake for the younger among us but is many times shunned by the academic world and from there is left by the side of the road by many developing teens and young adults. A whole valley of imagination lost to those who don’t/can’t see these stories can provide. 

My promise to you is that I will inspire someone to be the artist they always thought they can be. It may only be one but if it is only one then I can say that I helped make this world a better place. I helped make art and comics a better place. I know that the artist I inspired will do so for others as well and will light their own sparks behind them. And a fire only needs a spark.