The Speakeasy Dilemma

Thank's to Rich Johnston's newest installment of Lying In The Gutters, everyone is weighing in on the subject, and Mark Fossen and Jog are keeping wonderful track of it, with Mark offering up a very interesting take on how to solve this problem. Me, I'm still trying to figure out the last few issues of Seven Soldiers. That and come up with some witty jokes for DC's March Solicitations.

My first and foremost concern is Matt Maxwell's Strange Ways which I have had the very fortunate pleasure of reviewing(which should be up in the next few days as the book is due to hit stores on 12/21, per Matt's comments in the comment section of this post from his blog). Being able to read and enjoy the first issue before it hits the stands, I have the privileged chance of being little more invested in the book than any other. Even if it was just reading a preview issue, I have this weird sense of attachment to it. With the news of Speakeasy's policy regarding order numbers on books making the rounds, there's an even more luminous air of uncertainty surrounding Strangeways. Granted, putting out an independent comic is always a risky endeavor, its a shame when all that hard work faces the possibility of being co-opted into an online experience that's free of charge and expected to stay that way. You can always charge for it, but I believe if someone was going to pay for a comic, they would do it at the comic shop.

When I was faced with unemployment a few weeks back, The Girlfriend asked me what I really wanted to do. I told her that I wanted to get a job in a comic shop or record store and just say fuck all to everything else. She replied, no, what do you REALLY want to do?

"Become a Rock Star. That, or makes comics. Either way, I'm completely fucked by the business models that run both worlds, but at least I get to do something creative."