Matt Zimmer

Backgrounds, objects, and vehicles.

Making a connection. If someone understands me even a LITTLE bit better after reading Gilda And Meek, that's a good day.

Aside from me loving cartoons, it was the best medium for my story. Especially important to that is I found a way to do everything myself. I very much need this to be a one-man operation and the comic was the best format for that.

Wasn't that what they called it? I have an affinity for crappy artwork because my own is such.

There is nothing wrong with poor or crappy artwork. That's my view.

Edit: I see they referred to it as "low-quality". I could have sworn they said crappy. My mistake. 

Edit 2: In case it isn't clear I apologize for my remark. I read the first post wrong. I am sorry. 

Also, it's a quick read if anyone else wants to give it a look. It won't hurt your schedule none.

I have some thought bubbles. And if they sound different than anybody else, it's not because I think their opinions are wrong. I just tend to have weird opinions. Mea Culpa.

First of all, about the best thing I can say is to stop comparing your skills and your work to other people. And if you do feel the need to do that, the best way to do it is as a response to what you believe comics and even fiction are lacking.

I hear you about the need to make your comic better than anything else. I don't have a similar drive precisely, but if the comic I wrote was not my favorite story of all time (even though I wrote it) I wouldn't bother writing it. I wouldn't need to. I'd be content with fiction as it is. While I think pop-culture is so fucked up, I'm gonna do things my way.

But...But... I don't think the opinion that your story is your favorite needs to be universal. As a matter of fact, I think it might be harmful, not just to you as a creator. But possibly to readers of comics everywhere.

I might be contradicting myself here but despite me digging my story more than anything else, where it comes to TV, movies, and comics, I am not a snob. My standards in fiction are shockingly low. It says something about how bad current fiction is that I find so much to complain about while TV, comics, and movies need to fill SO few bare minimum requirements to keep me happy. I think people have become a little TOO discerning in fiction to be honest. Streaming and The Golden Age Of Television has raised a generation of spoiled viewers who want their drama and mystery answers now now now and are looking at the destination instead of the journey. I think being unable to appreciate a work of fiction week in and week out, with no larger expectations has been bad for popular culture. And it's been terrible for fandom too. Nobody is willing to take a chance on a project deliberately growing in scope as it goes along. If the first fifteen minutes aren't better than the last episode of Breaking Bad, why bother? The Slow Burn is a nearly extinct pop culture animal. And I mentioned viewers are spoiled. But I would also argue that all of the nonstop heartwrenching and frankly unearned melodrama current fiction has overloaded their projects with, has masked the fact that often the only reason a project actually kills off a bunch of characters in a single go for shock value is because their writers aren't smart of clever enough to come up with a bigger, cleverer or more rewarding twist. Their premise is not solid enough to lead itself to that. It's a sign of storytelling weakness, not strength. I would in fact argue that for a LOT of work in the modern era, things are NOT actually better than they ever were and in fact things are worse than ever, masked by flashy art or directing. But I recognize the soullessness of a project deciding to repeatedly punish the viewer because they cannot legit challenge them, much less satisfy them.

What I am suggesting is that every person who creates a work of fiction be it comic, novel, movie, cartoon, or TV show has their own process and their own issues. You stubbornly refusing to let go of your big idea is something that reminds me a little of myself. I created Gilda in the first grade, which if I have my chronology right would make her birth either 1982 or 1983. I did a bunch of shitty drawings and grade school stories and as a teenager starting making Gilda and Meek comics. I stopped because they were so shitty and I was embarrassed of them. I abandoned my work for a good 20 years.

As pop-culture was beginning to truly wear on me, I wished somebody would create a kick butt heroine would wasn't ultimately going to be defined by which man she would settle down with. Where the adventures themselves were rewarding enough that she never wanted or needed to get nice and domesticated. Her happy ending is fighting the good fight, not giving it up for the right man.

And I realized I already did that, said to myself "Holy shit!" and looked over my (VERY) shitty outline and was delighted to see every extremely shitty thing about it was a super easy fix and the bones of the story were strong. And here I am. I put the first issue of the final reboot of Gilda And Meek And The Un-Iverse to paper in 2016, started posting my work online in 2017, and now have 67 issues so far (out of a planned) 90 and over 3000 pages at my site.

What I'm suggesting is it's okay to let things percolate. Wait until you have enough time or wisdom to see around the corners of the problems you believe your story has. Don't put yourself on a timetable to please other people. If you have to step back for 20 years to get it right, do that. And yeah, it would be good if your story is your favorite story in the world. But don't for one second think you need everyone ELSE to think that about it. That's a sucker's game and why current fiction sucks. Look for the few fans who will groove to your unique point of view instead of the masses who every piece of fictional tripe masquerading as deep and tragic.

I'm not saying my view is the correct one. However it's important to get many different perspectives about things like this.

No buffer for my BlogSpot site. Also I don't have a schedule. I go where the muse takes me. You get it when you get it.

Making a connection with people. If someone understands me a little better after they read an issue of The Un-Iverse, that's all I need.

Thanks, Jason! In case anyone was wondering OmniLegend Tales (comprising Lil' Hero Artists and Sneakers U-Force) are some quality comics themselves!

https://globalcomix.com/c/lil-hero-artists

https://globalcomix.com/c/sneakers-u-force-?lang=en

I also highly recommend Lady Jess' Promised Memories:

https://globalcomix.com/c/promised-memories

Apologies if the post seems like a hit and run. It IS the first and only thing I posted on the forums.

I just don't do well on forums. I have a hard time reaching out and relating to other people. It's not that I don't value the community here. I just don't want to say the wrong thing.

I will be mirroring all 67 issues of Gilda And Meek And The Un-Iverse (and counting) from my BlogSpot site: 

Welcome To Gilda And Meek And The Un-Iverse! 

This is new and scary for me. I hope people check things out. 

Link to Global Comix: 

Gilda And Meek And The Un-Iverse on Global Comix

What is Gilda And Meek about? It's about several things at once. It's a story of a Lucky Universe in a Multiverse teeming with Unlucky Ones and how our hero navigates that to her own advantage. It's a funny animal book that bit by bit reveals a huge fantasy and science fiction underpinning, much like Bone. It starts off as an erstwhile comedy until you realize it's actually been a drama the entire time. It's a story that after you read all 90 issues, you'll want to reread them again, as the best reading of The Un-Iverse isn't the first, it's the second. It's a bunch of random and seemingly unrelated characters and stories building and crossing over until they collide in an epic 19-part finale. It's about the antagonistic and loving relationship between the hero Gilda and the kid who looks up to her, Bernadette, and how their feelings for each other prove there is no wrong way to love a person. It's a political satire parodying the ridiculousness of the age we live in made more ridiculous by the fact that real life is crazier than my story's outlandish examples. It's about the fact that evil is uncool and mundane, and it's neat to have heroes to like and root for, and where the heroes are more interesting than the villains. It's about a strong female hero whose gender is irrelevant to the story at hand and is merely a strong hero who happens to be a female. It's about all of these things and none of them at the same time. Mostly, it's a way for me to work through my psychological crap. Which is what I think most writing boils down to for people. Check it out.