T Campbell's Blog

I launched One Simple Ad this morning, made a little noise, and got one sale and one promised sale by this afternoon. It's already starting to make the blogarounds. I heard back from Michelle, Krista, Rob Balder, Phil Kahn, Graham, Xaviar, Michael Spence, Will Frank, Franco, both Garys, Mary Bett, Mary Terrell, Doug, Lizzie, Jared, Gisele, Margie and Mom and Dad, some of whom hosted a lovely little party for me that evening. (I'd already spent the day before with Greg and Dave.) Yes, I know many of those names have no context here. I just enjoy being able to name-drop so many friends and family. :-)

As the One Simple Ad blog details, this hasn't been a good year for money matters, but today was a good day to remind me that there's more to life than money.

I note that Time Warner is still looking for an assistant editor for their "creative services" division. For reasons known only to themselves, they've described the position in terms as oblique as possible, just as they described the "Online Editor" position in the early days of their search.

If you live in New York and want to get started in the comics biz, this position could really work for you. DC believes in building rather than blitzkrieg-- Vertigo, CMX and DC/Wildstorm have all shown a tendency to work up an audience gradually rather than going for the quick buck. They know that going for the quick buck doesn't get you the next Preacher or Sandman. That kind of perspective is very rare in comics publishing and in webcomics, and even though we didn't work out this time, I'd love to work with them someday. In the meantime, maybe it's your turn.

You know, I think I said I wasn't going to congratulate people through the blog anymore-- yeah, that was kind of stupid.

Congrats to Ryan North on the release of Project Wonderful, a new kind of online advertising.

Condolences to Rich Stevens, who's had to pull three of his popular shirt designs due to legal pressure.

I am not DC Comics' new online editor.

It wasn't for lack of trying.

I am also not DC Comics' new online assistant editor. And I really went all-out for that one. Toward the end, I think I made them nervous.

I'm not Steve Wacker's replacement or his replacement's replacement or his replacement's replacement's replacement.

I'm not Tokyopop's online projects manager-- after interviewing me, they eliminated not only the position, but the whole department. I guess they realized what class of people they were going to attract.

And there was one other major publisher, whose name you might be able to guess, who wanted an online editor... but let's just say I doubt I have a future in their offices, and leave it at that.

Funny. When I left Clickwheel, all four of these companies were actively searching-- and since I have more experience in editing online comics than almost anyone else, I felt sure I'd get at least one solid offer.

I've looked into some other positions (United Media was hiring for a while there), but I have to come to grips with the fact that my plan for these last few months has thoroughly and completely failed.

Shame. I had a keen interest in what would happen when the world I grew up with, that of printed comics publishers, finally committed to a relationship with the whacked-out world of webcomics. I would have liked to help build that relationship. As it is, I'll be interested to observe, but in the meantime I'll have to figure out some other way to eat.

I have enough experience to get a basic job in journalism, or text publishing, or copywriting... but no. No, no. No more side trips, no more distractions. No more dead ends.

I have to get up to full self-sufficiency. I can't wait any longer on another person's phone call.

So, no. For the next couple of years, unless I get a really surprising offer...

I'm not the editor of anything.

Superman Peanut Butter
Wolverine Catsup
Catwoman Whipped Cream
Calvin and Hobbes' Mint Triple-Chocolate Brown Sugar Glaze Sprinkled Frosting
Flash's I Can't Believe It's Not Methamphetamines High-Energy Spread
Homer Simpson's Just Pour Beer On It

I wish I could tell you all what I've been thinking of lately. It's not like anything else I've done before. But I want to keep it under wraps till I've got it figured out a bit better.

Meanwhile, I'm headed off to The Small Press Expo this weekend. M-maybe I'll see you there?

Be sure your monitor window is big enough so that this looks like a solid rectangle.

E V I T I S O P G N I H T E M O S N Q R R X A U K N L A B B T T X Q K I L M C A
Y V L W T T A P D F V P X R S H Q T A V F L N C Y D E X P L O D I N G D O G K T
L W M B Q B W H W A A A Q Z N E A V L M I H O B F E O M I I R C Y F B D U E Z H
W O T S E N S ' A E K E H T S C C T U E Y P M D M X E F F W A S N U S D G C H R
R X H F P B B Y P R L G A G Z B S R N N W L T H P E E W J T R N J E C J X S O L
P Q R V L W J O G C Z W N Y D J B L E E O O I R R R L U C J C F I N I F P C Z A
I V P Y E C A T A N D G I R L L O X S T T R Y M I W C H E O R J X D M A K I B E
H V G U D C B M B B N S N G N V R T P T F N E K A S K P S E P T J K O W Y P F R
S T K U + L Y F H Y K J J Q E O L O O V N R O S T F R W B B C P C E C Z B M N E
W N T X T Y F W X Y R O I S Y W I X W O T E I C T M L P X Q L C E D A Q R Y F C
O U C L L I H Y L G U A P O D B Z T U R B S T E E F X W L G L X B R J Y E L K T
L W O E A E E M L R R R N R Y G U L C C E N S N N L O L Z J I K K M N Q A O W S
L D M V + Z W R C E E X J E E H Y W I N H T A C O D B R I I J J Z X I V L L H A
E I I N L J N F Y D W T Q R C U W D M H U N F T I C S A T A S X L B N E L A D F
F M X E R C F E A X E A A E O R V K E A T J F O A M L O N H U F P B E A I I A K
E L P V T Y U T X E V U P D G W E W C Z H T N K S L O A C O E N I M T J F C E A
L J E B C V O N D Z Q N R C N B X M T N W V P O T A I C M I I W L D I K E E H E
B K D H K R S E H S Z M S Z L P Y A K U Q P W X I O S E R F E T I C H F P P Y R
I E I W S D L Y I A C E T H F Q I W R C T S U H G T Q D D U O T S C W H W S M B
B G A K C T Y S E N D E N R A E L S I N O S S E L A C N A E A E Y E K I Y M N G
Y N B V T K P T I B N Z D F U C V X S M V L T E L L A N X O E S L P U E C A I N
R I N I O A T N A C B S M U L T I P L E X N H W F G B Q U F G Y O B H Q D E S I
R T L O W K J F D D L G G L G U Q T W F G O A C D S Y T L F T H D N A K L T E N
E A G S N A N K I G B L Z E G J A E R I Y S T R S Z M P D I L D E D I T E B R R
P S C E K Q N T K X I K T W Y C B D R U X L E K P Q Z X L B L A Y J A D O Q U O
A N M I M W F C N B R R A Z H C S L N I Z P S V G G H I W K R M M P L A J E T M
M E S T J P C J M S D R D E O Q G K O U A P O A H O T F Q S W E P T S J W X A Y
P P G E S Z R S A B M X W M M E W T E T O U N F B S A J S X J Q U A C L V W E A
I M Z E U I B D D J K O I J N O T H C E X R G R O W P T G R Q P S C I K Y L R D
S O X W U B G H U G O C X I X P J H M K G L O H Z W M Y S S J A D C K F J R C R
R C P S Y R N H O D S W U I W G E D M C D E Y G V X M S Y Z Z U F D N A M A S U
O R M L M Y N V Y E B S V Q D S F V T M S L L V Y O I T T Y F K U A Q G J G A T
V E C E P I D T X B J W X H H G N K T J D Q Y P R R D F D O Q L P S J M D Z Y A
W V C S G W C A M Z W E Y X P Q M N K N A A G X P Z A N G I U M D E L E D J F S
G O Q E Z U M Q D N S O W K J F D X E D O M Z B U A M C V U G J N U M B Q M F R
Y O S I S I R C P I L S R A T S W I I N R O D A B V M D S V Z G V T U M X L C R
D W C D N I V S H E L D O N L P R W K P E N N Y A R C A D E V Y E D A Z L G J L
X K C E K O Z S A Z Z B L Y I F L U U Q E D B U N N Y P M K E M Y R K A X W Q T
L S R H C H O P P I N G B L O C K D U O L C C M T T O C S T N Q A P O M V H G R
D R E Y J E H T F S D D I B K F U B Y X O B E C I D Y Z F C N K Z I D D E T W S



Answer key is at Fleen.

Just doodling.





Tips here.

This essay series is in utter, smoldering ruin.

Here's what happened: the course of writing "Reflections Part 5a," I ended up reviving Zill, a passion project which promptly sucked away all the spare cycles I'd been reserving for "Reflections."

I vaguely remember I had some things to say in 5b about the historiography of webcomics or something, but you know what? I'm as sick of hearing about that as any of you are. Yes, even you. I’m putting the project on ice for at least a year. It’ll continue in some form after that, but I’ll decide about that then.

5c was going to be about the use of technology to aid the creative process, but I'd rather walk the walk than talk the talk on that one. I still have more to learn by doing before I will feel full enough to decant. And that should take... at least a year.

Meanwhile, that "new phase" I alluded to for "Part 6" earlier keeps shifting, doggonit.

I expected to be hella further along in that phase by now. There is really nothing I hate more than sitting on my hands...

Okay, there's Neo-Nazism.

There are few things I hate more than sitting on my hands, and I've done an awful lot of hand-sitting this year, waiting for people to make up their mind about whether they want to dance with me or not. I much prefer getting an honest rejection to frittering away weeks, months, trying to parse some ambiguous hurry-up-and-wait. Deal or no deal, you know? Stop stringing me along.

Sorry that means I've strung you guys along by proxy. I've got a new writing gig or two in the offing now, but I'm just gonna clam up about that until the signatures are signed.

And yes, I'm aware that if I didn't have all this ambiguous waiting-room time, I wouldn't be able to spend it on Zill, and the "Reflections" series would be as shamefully incomplete as it has been up to now. Heck, maybe I'd have given up and focused all my efforts on getting a real job.

Nahhhh.