Birth of Venus

The familiar adage from Spiderman (one of Stan Lee’s greatest) states– “With great power comes great responsibility.” We all know it and we all use it here and there to the point that it’s impact is hardly felt these days. But it really got me thinking as I sat down to do up a blog about today’s page. (And there’s not much to blog about today folks, so forgive my embellishing.) But what I came away from today was that look of determination on Mara’s face. Yes, she is planning to go and get her some serious payback, but its a lot more than just that. This courageous character knows that she’s about to face certain death, yet she might perhaps be one of the only people who can put a stop to the mayhem caused by The Rebirth. In other words, its one thing to know you can do something but another entirely to be uncertain of an outcome and yet  give it your all regardless. To feel a true sense of responsibility with the power that you possess.

Perhaps that is what I love most about comics. I see these stories being put out there with raw talent and blind ambition from so many creators these days that it gets me even more excited to do it myself. And maybe that’s why so many love the Superhero genre in itself because at their core, most of these heroes have been given their powers by no choice of their own and they must use them to achieve the impossible. These two things are one and the same and whether we know it or not, we look up to these superheroes while we try to achieve our own impossible dreams. As a comic creator, being a superhero means doing comics as a profession instead of a hobby. Yes, this seems quite impossible right now, but by gum– I’m going to give it my all! Despite the stumbling blocks that can keep me from achieving these goals, I will keep at it until I just can’t do it any more. Up until a few months ago, I never would have attempted to color Birth of Venus on my own. I just didn’t think I would have the chops for it and I knew it would take me twice as long to get each page across the finish line. But you know what? Seeing pages turn out as good as these ones have, by my own hand no less, has proven to myself that I really CAN do it which has instilled me with an even greater sense of power than before! (Granted, I’ve had to refer to what our previous colorist Rory Walsh has done before me, but I’m getting the hang of it.)

My time is limited on this here planet Earth. I have a wife, two children and a mortgage and I do not willingly give up my free time for things that I feel are a waste of this, my most precious of resources. This dream is worth putting that time into. Whether or not Birth of Venus is as successful as I would like it to be, I take great comfort in knowing that I used my powers as responsibly as I could.

Let me close with this passage from the writer/artist of Vagabond, Takehiko Inoue:

“When I was in high school I was advised that it’s difficult to have an occupation doing something you like, and that it’s good to do something you somewhat like. I went against this advice, and now I’m glad that I did. If I only somewhat liked this work, I’m sure I would have quit by now. Doing what you like equals yourself, and you must not quit yourself.”

JLD