Popping The Cork

It's been a wild ride, people.

2010, I mean. This year has been the busiest, most stressful, most harrowing year I've ever had-- and also the most exhilarating and satisfying.

Professionally, it's been just about my best ever. I had the last half of my run on "The Question" in DETECTIVE with my pal, Greg Rucka. I got to see RED, my book with Warren Ellis, turned into a feature film-- and a successful one, at that-- and along the way, and got to spend several days on the set and met celebrities and film people aplenty. I got to do press junkets and red carpets alongside them, which is definitely not a common occurrence in this job.

And I was able to expand my repertoire and creatively stretch myself a bit by writing and drawing a 40-page one-shot (RED: EYES ONLY, which just came out a couple of days ago to some good reviews). Other opportunities have presented themselves, as well. Can't talk about them just yet, but 2011 looks to be another good year.

(I've at times felt a little uncomfortable talking about how good this year has been, mainly because with the economy and all, it's been so bad for so many others. But I find that a lot of people have just been happy to hear that somebody out there has had some good fortune, so...)

Personally, it's been good, though with some downs, as you might expect. I could definitely have done without the worry that the illness of a close family member brings. Also, the frenetic pace of my work and the movie stuff in 2010 has meant that it's been very difficult to have the personal time that we all need. But Alisa, patient and understanding love-of-my-life that she is, has stuck by me every step of the way, even with her own load of job stress and crazy schedules. Movies and all that are great, but none of it would matter much without her, would it?

On both the personal AND professional front, it's no small thing that we closed the doors of Gaijin Studios in 2010. That studio had been a home to me in more ways than just professionally since 1992, and the people in it have been my family almost as much as my real one. It was bitterweet to walk away from it, but it felt like the right thing for all of us, under the circumstances. Of that last lineup-- Brian, Doug, Karl, Laura, and myself-- we're all still good buddies, and to be honest, I wouldn't be at all surprised if some sort of office/studio situation with some combination of Gaijinners got started again. But an unbroken run of nineteen years of a comic book studio with the same core of people has got to be some kind of record. It'll always be a very special chunk of my life.

I had thought that I might post a list of year-end acknowledgments, a tip of the hat to people who made my 2010 what it was. But as I began to do that, it became evident that, while there were those who did directly made an impact, there were many more who affected things indirectly just by virtue of having supported me over the years. That made the list very long, increased the chance of forgetting someone by a lot, and just would have been unfair to too many people. So, let me just throw out a blanket of thanks to all of these folks. I think you all probably know who you are.

So, HAPPY NEW YEAR, my friends. Let's be good to each other in 2011.