Wednesday 15th July marks both kellysue's birthday & the final issue of mattfractionblog's Hawkeye. That feels like a suitable time for me to thank them both for the impact they've had on my life. That might seem odd, considering I've only met them once, for roughly 15 minutes each, but it's true. Itās a long one, so click the ākeep readingā thing if youāre interested.
Almost 2 years ago, I lost my job. I'd been at the same place for 7 years, and I was left feeling a little lost. Regardless, I had some money saved, and I resolved to take the opportunity to do things I wouldn't have otherwise done.
With this in mind, I bought a ticket for my first comics convention. Matt & Kelly Sue were two of my favourite writers, and they were both coming to the UK for a con called Thought Bubble.
I met Matt first, and told him how he'd influenced me, not just with his comics work, but with Poplife, his column on CBR. This was way back in 2002, and he often mentioned his work at MK12, the design & filmmaking company he'd co-founded. It was my first exposure to motion graphics, and I distinctly remember watching one of their videosĀ and realising that still photos could be given life in a way Iād never considered.
He asked me if I did animation, and I stumbled and said I was more on the editing side of things. That exchange stuck with me afterwards. In a way I did do animation, but it was mostly basic stuff with photos & text. I realised I'd had After Effects as part of the Adobe software package but never really dived in.
He was really encouraging, and talked to me about his own career changes. I can't emphasise enough how galvanising it is when you meet someone you admire and they take an interest beyond the usual signing and small talk. And there was more of that to come.
I almost didn't get to meet Kelly Sue. Every time I checked her line, they were at capacity & not letting anyone else on. But eventually, despite the line being closed for the day, a kind volunteer, Fiona, took pity on me and added me to the queue.
Kelly Sue was exactly as you'd expect. Kind, funny, inquisitive, she put me completely at ease. I told her I loved how there were no bit-part characters in her books - they all felt like they had a life beyond the story. She thanked me, and asked if I was a writer. I talked about the sitcom competition I'd entered with my friend, and how not qualifying had set us back. She encouraged me to keep at it, and while the sitcom dream is still just that, it was the boost I needed to keep pursuing a creative career.
It wasn't immediate, but I got stuck into After Effects, with the idea of trying to animate some of Kelly Sue's Captain Marvel. I was a little too ambitious, and unfortunately I never finished it. However, it served as excellent practice for my future projects, including my favourite piece of work, the trailer I did earlier this month for The Wicked & The Divine. That was a dream project and would never have happened if I hadnāt gone to Thought Bubble back in 2013.
Anyway, I'm not sure if this is of interest to anyone but me, but I'm grateful for where I am today, and felt like I needed to get it out there. I'm currently making something in my spare time as a thank you to both of them.
In the meantime, I'll end with a nice bit of synchronicity that I only noticed after the fact. When signing my books, Kelly Sue & Matt wrote lovely messages, but something in particular stood out. They'd both made reference to my creative efforts, in a way that lined up so perfectly I still think about it.
Kelly Sue, at the end of her message to me in Captain Marvel Vol 1, wrote "START NOW". Matt had written, in the corner of my Casanova trade, "NEVER STOP".
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