State of the Comic; Long Overdue AggieCon Post

So okay, wow. It’s been a long, LONG time since I’ve posted anything on this blog. A lot of this is because I don’t have much to write about. Most of my writing talents go towards the comic itself, and I’m just not opinionated about enough things to sustain a blog. I also tend to second-guess everything I say and do. This has been good for me survival-wise, but it does make blogging kind of difficult. When I’m done writing, a lot of the time when I read over it I actually find myself disagreeing with what I wrote. Combine that with the fact that I’m no longer in a school that makes me write things (just one that makes me draw and paint things, which is a much nicer deal), and I just don’t write that much these days aside from scripting and planning Moron County. Hopefully, that’s going to change now.

Anyway, on to the state of the comic.

As some of you know, Moron County turned six years old a couple of weeks ago. I also attended my first convention as a panelist last month, in the form of AggieCon 2010. I had intended to do a blog reporting it immediately afterwards, but real life kind of made me concentrate on other things for a while. At any rate, I should at least acknowledge some of the fine folks I ran into.

First of all is A. Lee Martinez. I was on several panels with him, mostly about comics, comic book movies, and drawing comics. He has numerous books out, and if the one I’ve read, Monster, is any indication, they’re quite good, so definitely check them out.

Second is Mel White, who was awesome, and did more than any other panelist to make me feel welcome. So a special thanks to her, and also check out her comic Coyote. It’s excellent.

Next is Martin Whitmore. He’s an awesome artist who does a comic called Tasty Flesh, about strippers trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. Now, you could probably tell from my description that it’s not exactly safe for work, but if you’re somewhere you can get away with reading it, definitely check it out.

Finally, a special thank you to my good friend and loyal reader Veronica. She was on staff at AggieCon this year, and it was in part thanks to her that I was invited as a panelist. She also hung out with me for a bit, went to one of my panels, and talked up Moron County like she was getting paid. Thanks again, Vern.

Back to the comic itself… wow. Six years. And if you combine the old comic with the reboot, which I’m doing because it’s more impressive that way, there are over six hundred comics online, which in the web comic world is something of an accomplishment. It shouldn’t be, but it is.

Now, obviously, just because the comic’s still kicking doesn’t mean it’s where I want it to be. If I want to do it for a living, I realize I need to start treating it like a business. The fact that I had to beg for feedback to get comics after two weeks of silence isn’t good, and I’m aware the fault lies with me, not my readers.

Obviously, Moron County needs a more active community around it, and the first step is to get more readers. I’m going to make it a point to set a new goal each month for myself to make this happen, and this month, it’s to start advertising again. Also, I’m going to update this blog more often, once a week if I can manage it. I have several ideas already. There are chapters I haven’t given commentary on yet, and I also have some interesting ideas for short stories and a review series that may be a great idea, or a horrible one. I’ll keep you guys posted here in the coming weeks!