I started drawing when I was a little kid, and was sketching and doodling my way through school. I don’t think anyone knew what to do with me. My parents were encouraging, but growing up in the middle of nowhere meant we were completely disconnected from any sort of arts community. I also had my one formal art class around this time, which was a disaster. Not only did I not want to put much “effort” into art, but my teacher was incredibly discouraging.

These factors combined with an overwhelmingly bleak feeling that dreams were unattainable, led me to study business and history in college. I did, however, start pumping out comics for the school paper. I began seriously teaching myself to draw comics, while producing mini comics to amuse myself and my friends. Putting that “effort” into it, at long last. I finished college with a business degree, no job prospects, no connections, no money, and certainly not enough talent/skill to be hired as a comic book artist.

I ended up in Saint Louis via Seattle, and managed to secure a day job. I still wrote and drew comics, but I was enjoying having an income and doing whatever I wanted. After a few years, I moved to San Diego, courtesy of my day job. It was here that I once again started putting “effort” into my art… making my self-published mini comics as portfolio-quality as I could. Until this point, my minis were produced on the fly, for the sake of amusement.

Showing my portfolio for the first time in years was painful! I was pretty much told I was unpublishable. Not believing what I heard, I decided to self-publish my own material on a serious level. I completed a few works-in-progress, started a few graphic novels, and produced a few one-shots, until I found a project that I felt would be financially viable.