Joining a Team - HALLOWEEN TEAM returns!

Last year, I was in a strange in-between place with HALLOWEEN TEAM. Along with our extraordinary artist, Matt Shults, I had accomplished the goal of digitally self-publishing the complete four-issue series, and then ultimately putting it out as a collected edition. In many ways, it was thrilling. I had - finally! - written a comic book, and it was out there for people to read. All in all, pretty cool.

However, I knew that I didn't want things to stop there. From a personal perspective, I didn't want this to be a one-and-done foray into the world of comic books - a world that I've long been extremely passionate about. I wanted the opportunity to write more, to contribute more, to make a real go of it. From a story perspective, I wanted to find a financially feasible way to make more Halloween Team, and to continue the story I'd started in our initial series. So I knew I needed to keep plugging away, to keep looking for a way to make that happen.

As I mulled that problem over, I scoured social media for any and all opportunities to do more comic book writing. I would often scan a Comic Book Anthology page on Facebook, as anthologies seemed like a great way to get new writing gigs. Eventually, I found one that sounded really cool, called It's A Horror Show: The Found Footage Anthology. I replied to their Facebook post seeking stories, asking if they could connect me, a writer, with an artist. Very quickly, an artist named Lorry Jamison replied, saying they'd love to collaborate. I wrote up a script, Lorry provided some truly incredible artwork, and we were off to the races. As we emailed back and forth about the project, Lorry mentioned working with an indie comics publisher called Comicker. Perhaps, Lorry suggested, I should contact them about potentially publishing Halloween Team. And so I did. And they were, indeed, interested. And suddenly, Halloween Team had a new home.

Here's where things really got interesting. Because aside from the excitement of finding this great indie publisher that was interested in my work, the other cool thing that happened was, for the first time in my life as a writer, I found myself part of a team. And when I say that, that's not to discount the rewarding collaborations I've had with artists like Lorry or Matt Shults working on comics, nor the amazingly supportive screenwriting community I've found here in LA and via social media. But when it comes to the day-to-day of writing, to the nuts and bolts of getting my work out there, I've pretty much been a solo act so far.

Now though, it's been a lot of fun to find myself as part of the team at Comicker. There are a number of super-talented writers and artists and creatives working on projects there, and everyone brings vastly different styles and aesthetics to the table. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very much in "hustle" mode when it comes to working to get Halloween Team out there to a bigger audience. At the same time though, there's something motivating and reassuring when you're part of a team - where everyone is working to help lift each other up. Oddly, it sort of reminds me of one of the central themes of HALLOWEEN TEAM.

There is a weird thing for writers, where because our writing is done mostly in isolation ... it's easy to feel like an outsider. It's easy to have Imposter Syndrome. It's easy to think "well, I've written a comic book ... but am I really a *comic book writer*-?!" Every time you meet someone who seems to have things just a little more figured out than you do, who seems to have their flag just a bit more firmly planted as a writer - it makes you wonder. I'm sure artists experience something similar. I'm sure this is true for just about anyone involved in creative work.

But at some point, I think you have to put that doubt aside and just be confident in your work. You have to have confidence in your voice as a writer. You have to be realistic and pragmatic about how best to push forward, but at some point you also have to have the ability to appreciate how far you've come.

All of this to say: I'm feeling very appreciative that HALLOWEEN TEAM has now been re-released, in a new graphic novel edition, from Comicker Press. I'm excited that I'm currently working on new Halloween Team scripts that I hope will soon become new Halloween Team comics. I'm happy to be part of this new team, and I hope you will join me in that excitement and sample some of the great books from Comicker. Lorry's got some new books from Comicker, for example, that have just released as well: Party Animals and Blush. Make sure to check those out, asap! And if you've not yet read Halloween Team, then hey, now's the perfect time.

HALLOWEEN TEAM Vol. 1 - from Comicker Press - is now available to get from Amazon/Kindle/Comixology, GlobalComix, Comix.One, and the Comicker website (and they've got T-shirts and pins there, too!).