I didn’t always want to be a freelance writer, but I’ve always had an interest in the written word. Growing up, I also enjoyed doodling and sketching things, even if I wasn’t very good at it. Based on this fascination with artistic expression and unique designs, I thought that I wanted to be an architect, but that never came to pass.
As I started to think more about what I wanted to do with my life, I thought about how I could combine my interests in drawing and writing into a viable career… and then it dawned on me. I could be in the funnies.
You have to remember that the Internet didn’t really exist (or at least it wasn’t nearly as widespread) back then, so I couldn’t even fathom what I would be doing today. There was no possibility for me to consider writing reviews and blog posts for the Internet, because that just wasn’t a possible reality for me at the time. There was no such thing as unplugging from the matrix. Instead, I thought that I could parlay my interest in comics and writing into a viable career in the comic strip. It seemed like a natural fit, based on my interests.
I thought that I could make an attempt to join the ranks of Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), Gary Larson (The Far Side), and Jim Davis (Garfield). In this way, you could almost say that I was always interested in a freelance writing career, because these artists really do work for themselves. It’s their concept, their characters, and their contracts. They negotiate distribution rights with newspapers, but they are not working for the man in the traditional sense.
Heading to the public library almost every weekend, I’d park myself at the table and start reading through Non Sequitur, For Better or For Worse, and more. In fact, I think I thumbed through every published book featuring Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes, partly out of entertainment, but also in hopes that I could be one of these comic strip guys one day. Some day.
And then it never happened. It didn’t take very long, but I quickly discovered that fiction writing, as is the case with comic books and comic strips, is not really my cup of tea. I’m not good at it. Maybe I just have too much common sense to be creative enough to write a fictional tale. As such, my career is 100% in non-fiction, discussing the real world and reviewing real products. That said, I think I would have had a great time as a comic strip author and artist.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll embark on that path at some point in the future. I think I can do it.
i love comic too. i didn’t know you love thing like this
Interesting Michael, you like to write non-fiction, but you love gaming and movies which are fiction, creative and use of imagination. I have to believe that that interest actually sparks your intelligent thinking in the non-fiction world.
It’s like doing the crossword puzzle helps stimulate your mental processes, keeping your memory sharp and fighting off old age diseases.
Just because you like something doesn’t mean that you’re any good at it. One of the things that they teach you in career prep programs in school is that you need to find a career that finds that delicate middle ground between your interests and your abilities/skills. I think I’ve been able to do that with my chosen career path. As much as I would love to be an author/artist of a comic strip, I currently do not have the adequate skill set to do that. Perhaps some day in the future… I’ve thought about going back to school to take a course or two on the subject of fiction writing to see how I’d do, since I’ve never had any formal training on the matter.
Am I wrong in saying that Calvin and Hobbes is the pinnacle of comic strips? Watterson’s writing was always genius…and even the strips with no dialogue spoke louder than the vast majority of comics.
Calvin and Hobbes is definitely up there. I can also respect how he never “sold out” to merchandising. All of those Calvin peeing on something stickers are unauthorized.
I’d have to put Gary Larson and The Far Side near the top too. Always clever. One of my favorites was the fat geeky kid at the School for the Gifted. The door has a big sign that says pull and you see the boy pushing hard on the door.
While both of those are good, I prefer Dilbert.
I liked The Far Side too. I remember the same one you mentioned!
Dilbert always reminds me of Drew Carey. 😉
I tried to get into cartooning many moons ago. I think I may have a rejection letter from The New Yorker but I’m not sure. Maybe it was somewhere else. Or maybe I never submitted any anywhere. It’s been so long that I don’t really remember.
Bottom line is that it didn’t pan out. 😉