I answered this question in talkaboutcomics.com, and I thought I would share it those who have asked before.
Why do you make comic strips?
I make comics because I love to create. Anything that involves making something out of nothing inspires and motivates me. My favorite outlets for creation are writing and drawing. I have been dreaming of being able to support my family with a creative effort ever since I can remember.
There are a couple reasons why a chose comics over other forms.
1) It’s relatively easier.
I wrote a novel. Yes, I actually reached those two glorious words: “The End” on a fantasy novel called “Keeper’s Apprentice”. Writing it took me over a year, and even after all that time, it is not polished enough to be submitted to a publisher yet. It will still take some time before I finish the revisions. Making my comic strip has been a breeze compared to that mammoth effort.
2) It provides almost instant gratification.
Over the years, whenever I have felt the need to release stress by using humor, I have been able to make a quick doodle and write a caption on it. The process only took a minute and there are still people who remember doodles (because they cannot be called any other way) that I made years ago. Some of them are drawn on napkins or paper towels. Compared to the year it has taken me to work on my novel, and the lack of a final product to show for it, comics are instant winners.
3) It combines both of my creative favorites.
As mentioned before my favorite creative efforts are writing and drawing. I write and draw my comic strip, so there’s satisfaction to both sides of my creative self there. True, the writing side really wants to make a major work, hence the work on a novel, and the drawing side would love to be able to paint full-size landscapes in oil, like Thomas Kinkade, but both are being partially satisfied by the comic strip. This makes me want to emphasize point number 1.
4) I love comics.
I grew up reading them. I actually forced my mother to read and reread comic books to me day after day until she grew so tired of it that she decided that the effort of teaching me to read by myself would be less than the burden of having me tag along with a bunch of comic books for her to read. I read her journal recently and was astounded to discover that she taught me to read when I was just three years old! I knew I was reading before I went to school, but never thought I learned that early.
5) Comic strips serve as a relief from my daily stress.
I have a day job. Surprised? I know I am, because never before I have been able to keep a day job for as long as I have held to this one. My day job is stressful and demanding, for I am a Training Supervisor and have to deal with demands from above, demands from below and general incompetence all around (with the exception of whoever manages to see this comments, of course). The stress of my job was so great that it was taking a toll in my health. My doctor diagnosed my multiple symptoms as a form of anxiety. I remembered reading in one of Scott Adam’s books that he started Dilbert while he worked for a big telecom company and decided that it was time to stop dreaming and start my strip. I begun the www.Midtoon.com comic strip in January 2009, and my symptoms have basically disappeared.
Thanks for bringing this dialogue up. It has been enlightening to see the reasons others have to do what they love, and it gave me the opportunity to think about the reasons I do comic strips myself. As a matter of fact, I think I am going to post this reply on my own blog, because I have never addressed the question of why I make comic strips other than with a quick variation of “because I like to” or “because I can”.
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