Intro: Finding the Cure

“Because I Care” is a creative outlet for sharing my own personal thoughts and ideas, as well as updates on progress from the publishing side. This column was originally only accessible through Myspace.com, and for about month I consistently tried to provide weekly updates. Unfortunately, between the busy summer and the sad fact that on average only three people read what I was writing the column unfortunately fell by the wayside. I once again want to thank my good friend, Sarah Mentele for helping me coin the title “Because I Care”. Her actual suggestion was “Jonah Talks About Shit No One Cares About”, I felt the title would flow better if shortened.

By Utilizing this site, I will be able to provide links to this blog from both Myspace and facebook, as well as various message boards and forums I belong to such as www.comicbookresources.com, www.newsarama.com, www.pulpsecret.com, and my new favorite www.standardattrition.com. I will hopefully have a link to this blog available through our own site, http://www.antidotecomics.com/ as well. The idea is to increase traffic, which would in turn increase awareness. This column will be a key tool in marketing and promoting our own products, which will be vital when our first book is available for mass distribution in the very near future...At least this is its intention. I also encourage anyone reading this to leave any questions or comments they may have as well.

For the first of many installments, I decided to open with an excerpt from a personal project of mine in the works, which chronicles behind the scenes details of our venture into self-publishing. Though subject to change, my working title for this series of recollections is Antidote Comics: Finding the Cure.

Enjoy…

“You want to write a comic book?” Chris Pruisner, my brother in-law and best friend asked me, grinning as if he already knew my answer.
Immediately intrigued, I asked about the terms of his proposal. Chris informed me that Anthony Lucia, a friend of his from college, whom I had met a few times before, was seriously interested in delving into the world of self publishing and that Chris was going to help him do it. Anthony was already busy at work on his title, Bloods Own, and had completed a rough outline of the first issue using thumbnail sketches. Chris assisted Anthony by providing photo references from which to draw from, as well as layouts. Everything was going according to plan for the dynamic duo until they attempted to incorporate words with the pictures. I am fairly certain that, to this day, Anthony Lucia has never actually “read” a comic book before. Sure he has a large collection of comic books sitting in his basement, but unlike myself, he buys them strictly for the pictures without regards to the actual story…not that there is anything wrong with that; to each his own I guess. It is something I constantly give Anthony flak about and has become a running joke to this day that I insist that Anthony can’t actually read. However, we’ll save that topic for an another installment.
Upon realizing that adding the text was not going to be a simple task, they decided to enlist the aid of a professional. Unfortunately for them, they had to settle for me instead. As I pondered Chris’s question dozens of ideas for my own stories flooded my head, and I knew this might be my only opportunity to share those stories with the world…and by “world”, I am referring to those few people that actually pick up and read a copy of the book. I countered Chris’ offer with one of my own: Knowing they had no capital or ability to pay my posh page rate, I offered my services to them for free as a partner. I knew that Chris would not be able to accept my proposal without first concurring with Anthony, and in the meantime all I could do was wait. While I waited I dug through old folders and notebooks reacquainting myself with some old characters, and ideas that I had created as far back as junior high school.
I eagerly anticipated the response from Chris, and luckily didn’t have to wait long. Within a few days I received an answer indicating that Anthony was okay with offering me a position as a partner in this new endeavor, and needless to say, I didn’t hesitate to accept the terms.
I immediately started brewing ideas for a company name in my head. I admit that I underestimated Anthony in Chris in their preparedness. They informed me that they had already decided on a name, and that name was Antidote Comics. Antidote Comics? At first I was not to keen on the name, but that may have just been because I hadn’t thought of it first.
“What about Anecdote comics?” I proposed.
“What’s an anecdote?”
“It’s kind of like a story…you know, like a story you tell.” I explained, educating my new partners.
“Ohhh…No, we like Antidote,” they insisted.
“Well, what’s it mean?” I asked waiting for a vacant look, or an impulsive excuse.
“Antidote is like a cure. See?” clearly, it was my turn to be educated. “Antidote Comics: Finding the Cure.”
It took a moment to wrap my feeble brain around such a bold claim. It is certainly audacious to believe that three men with no experience creating comic books let alone have any experience in the field of publishing could possibly put out a product to rival those of the infamous “Big Two”. As the meaning behind our company name began to penetrate my thick skull, a number of questions arose: What are we trying to cure? Does anything need cured? Are we the cure for fans of small press books looking for the highest in production quality, art and storytelling? Are we the cure for disenfranchised fans of the “Big Two” seeking a new universe not convoluted down by half a century of continuity? And more importantly, is it pompous of us to assume that we even are that cure? The answer is that there are no answers to these questions (except maybe the last one), and that the cure Antidote Comics can provide will be different for everyone involved.
I can’t speak for my esteemed colleagues, but I found a cure in Antidote Comics: As work progressed (albeit slowly) on our first title I began to truly realize why the name Antidote Comics was so appropriate, and why our unofficial tagline was so clever. All my life I have wanted to tell stories, and Antidote Comics has cured me of that life long passion. I felt that cure holding that first copy of the first issue of Bloods Own in my woman-like hands. So finding “the cure” do I have to stop working for it? Absolutely false! I found it in Bloods Own, and again in Black Jack. The simple fact is that it has become an unquenchable thirst.