Experience

I am not going to write why but it is fair to say that I am extremely pissed off.  That will have to be the mystery you live with and I simmer over.

Karma always turns up eventually.

If you search my LinkedIn page you will see the amount of first hand, hands on, knowledge and experience I have in comics and publishing in general.  Editor, writer, artist, creators agent blah blah blah. I have been told several times that all that experience must guarantee me a job in publishing.

Doesn't work like that.  Age and experience does not matter.  If you are young and cannot write or draw then you have the advantage over me.  You are a "Graphic novelist" or "Graphic author".  Why do you think comics are a mess -there are plenty of old pros out there who have to tidy up the art by "young hot talent" to make it publishable -greats like Sal Buscema wiping the snot off some less talented artists nose.

But I've been told several times over that I "need to get to the States" but even if I did (and at the moment I am just about eating each day so a trip to the US of A ain't happening) -what? Go from one publisher to another begging for work?  It would be the same thing: old guy with experience over youngster no experience....publishers seriously still think, like people in the record industry, that youngsters are keeping things alive when the opposite is true.

Europe might have been a better bet but after Brexit and the lies coming from a lot of European media about racist British hating Europe ....again, its not happening. I hear very rarely from Europe now whereas before Brexit it was all smiles and hugs. I am very pro Europe for obvious reasons BUT I am in the UK "therefore" I am anti-Europe.

Can't win.

And there seem to be a lot of people out there who think you want desperately to work with them for free.  Or who want you to draw their 150 pages graphic novel that is going to blow people away....draw it for nothing and then see if -IF- it can be sold to a publisher. These are people wo are NOT serious. What they want is some sap to draw their book and that's it.  They can say "Yes, I wrote a graphic novel" they just want to collect the pages and if their artist dies -sell off the pages!

Someone wants to employ and pay me then fair enough. You work in comics/publishing you adapt all the time. But people who offer the work, get you into discussion about projects and will not discuss payment until you say "talk payment now or your emails get marked as spam!" and THEN they say "well, there is no money up front but...."

Screw you.