Weird Brain Entertainment - The Weird Brain Thoughts - Volume Green

Hey Everyone--Weird and Non-Weird alike,

First up! Only a few more days left to back Hell of a Job #1 & #2! So, don’t miss out on some of the rare rewards only available during the campaign!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weirdbrain/hell-of-a-job-1-and-2

Now onto this posting. Apologies if this one gets annoying. Just some things I’m getting out of my weird brain and I figure this diary…er, substack is the best place for it. It’s almost been one full year of running my own comic company, and if one thought has crossed my mind the most, it would be–Comics are hard...

That’s not just something I’m saying and I’m not the first one to admit it, but I’m the only one writing it on this page(so hrmph!). And I’ll say it again, comics are hard and I’ll add to that thought–making them isn’t for everyone.

Now, I love comic books and every part in making them(some more than others–but that’s beside the point), and I want as many people making and reading comic books the universe can allow so I can keep creating them until I’m dead at my desk…and then taxidermied, sold to the highest bidder(or anyone sick enough to bid at all) and displayed at a booth at Comic Con.

But I learned a lot, this last, almost year. But more on that later.

Firstly, I wanted to dive into why I write comics.

I don’t know…

Eh, that’s a lie. Honestly there isn’t one reason. It’s more of a need and addiction to get these thoughts that grow like mold in my brain out onto paper and computer alike before they bury me from the inside. I essentially write to clean my brain out. Like Dumbledore when he tugs the silver goo out of his brain and puts it in a Pensieve(sorry non-harry Potter dorks), that’s how I feel sometimes with writing. Yanking those ideas out, throwing them in a bowl and making room for more in my head. But also scattering them on the floor like dumping a box of puzzle pieces and sitting until my legs go numb trying to put it together. It’s addictive, it’s fun and can be sometimes(most times!) annoying until you get the relief of reward, completing a story(or page or even a line of dialogue).

And I’m not any more special or worthy(or whatever pompous crap you want to call it) for writing than the next person(my ego isn’t that big, I promise), even though to write you need to lie to yourself, sometimes against your will, telling yourself you have this great idea and everyone is going to love it once you tell them. Basically, writers(and artists too!) are annoying kids who want to show you their fridge art. Luckily sometimes it’s not finger-painted feces on construction paper(sometimes it sadly, and grossly is). But I digress. I write because I love it. I love how I feel before, during and after it and I know I have to do it even if I couldn’t make money from it.

I meet and have met a lot of people over the years at many different places who always ask how to break in. How to get your stories told. How to make a living doing something you love. And honestly, after 16 years of doing this, I’m still figuring that out. I have small advice here and there for people but those are just my opinions and observations over the years and every person’s journey is different.

So, a little history of me in this glorious comic industry. Now, again, I’m no one special, I’m just a weird dude spending all my time(and money) trying to get other people to listen to me(kind of strange reading/writing that, but it’s basically the truth).

Now, I started out as a fan just like everyone else. Unless I’m wrong and there’s a freak-baby born writing comics from the womb, then kudos to you, freak-baby. I got what I think were my first comic books from a store in a 5-pack at Toys-R-Us, which was all Green Lantern comics(which I still have). I got hooked then and reread those books over and over God knows how many times. I know I had some Ninja Turtles ones too, at least one by Michael Dooney. Then I moved onto some of the comic books my uncle had which weren’t many(like Batman by Chuck Dixon) then I found a few more here and there. (I mention both of those creators, because it’s still crazy to me that many years later, at Zenescope, I got to work with both of them on comic books and ideas I came up with.)

Between the ages 6-8(I honestly can’t remember, it all blurs together, I could have been 20 for all I know…though, hopefully not) I wrote my first comics. It was just two short, maybe 6 pages each. One was a Batman/Catwoman story and the other was a Ninja Turtles one. I say I was 6 or 8 because I drew the stories but I had my Mommom(grandmom to you unfamiliar folks) write the dialogue for me. Both ended in the characters going into some rainbow portal door and that’s all I really remember from them. But then cut through the years and I kept my comics but never grew my collection or really dove in. I kind of just stopped reading comics.

Then in 2005, I got back into comics. A guy I was friends with in high-school let me borrow his Watchmen book which I burned through. Then I went with him to the Wizard World Philly Comic Con and got sucked into so many different books. So, now remembering this, i know who to blame for my life choices besides myself.

Years go by, I’m hooked into comics for real this time. Weekly piles going from 3 to 10+. Exchanging my coins and change at Coinstars to pay for my next fix. Going to Barnes and Noble and reading comics for 6 hours at a time when I had no money to get new ones. Let’s just say I have a problem. I know it, and I’m working on it…maybe.

Cut to 2009, I’m at PSU Abington, I need an internship to graduate. I get one at Zenescope Entertainment, by accident really(I can expand on that another time, unimportant to this post). Then I spend the next few years(16) deciding my computer science degree is not something I wanted(just something I expensively paid for) and I work my way up in Zenescope from intern, to Sales Rep, to Editor, Writer and eventually Publisher. (Again, all stories for another time)

Cut again, this time to February 2025. Starting my own comic company. Now at this point I’ve done everything in a comic book company from shipping, sales, marketing, writing, editing, sourcing printers–basically everything minus a few things here and there like running Kickstarters etc. Things I knew I would and could figure out.

It’s time. I’m ready. I’m excited. I’m also an idiot.

Now, making comics–writing them, editing them, getting them built–It’s hard, but doing it for many years, it becomes 2nd nature, not easy, never easy, but doable without too much grief. I have artists I trust, I know how to work with them and pick new emerging artists that fit the stories and ideas I have. I can write my own stories(are they good? I hope–if not I apologize to you all). I have people who I’m lucky will still work with me and help me grow Weird Brain into something I believe it can be. And I appreciate each and every one of them, and honestly each and every one of you all who actually read this far down(and also you all that didn’t because I’m wordy and annoying, but still support me and buy my comics!)

But one thing I wasn’t prepared for was the cost(monetary and of my soul). Now I wasn’t naive, I knew they cost money and I knew that money was a lot of money, and AND I knew I would have to work hard to get that money, I just couldn’t understand what levels of stress it is to run everything yourself. (And I’m not a victim. This is a choice and I can stop whenever I want(sure!)) How could I? I’ve spent a decade spending other people’s money to bring stories to life. In the last 10 months I’ve spent more money than I’ve made in three years of working a full time job. So please, if you like what I have written or even have an inkling of being interested, please back and support the Kickstarters.

February was my eye-opener. I have a new level of respect for people who have done this before me and who are doing it now and crushing it, like many of my friends in the comic industry.

And I don’t say this for pity or for admiration(Haha I’m dumb and addicted, not a martyr) but I say this because maybe one of you is reading this and wants to do this with your life. I chose a long time ago to always be as honest as I could, so if this is your dream and you want to do something, and run something that is yours and will give you satisfaction for a living…don’t.

Well, don’t do it without knowing what you are diving into. I wake up with dread every morning. Pressure that sits on my chest like a fat constipated Garfield filled with 4 days of lasagna holding me in bed that I have to shove off just to get up and get in my morning pee. There is a constant stress of making sure every one who works for me gets the money they are promised and owed. Another level of stress of not getting a paycheck guaranteed after doing multiple jobs. You essentially become a volunteer for yourself, and also your own worst boss and employee. It’s insane. It’s painful. And I probably quit once every few hours. I’m sure anyone who has started a business before can relate at least somewhat to this stuff, so I hang onto a hope of not being alone in the battle and pray that gets me through the next day.

So why did I write this whole thing? Am I giving up? Hell no. I mostly wrote this to just get these thoughts out, like a story I need to tell to people that aren’t sure if they needed to hear it. Also, to silence the woodpeckers that eat my brain and chomp at my thoughts. Maybe even just more of an explanation if you see me at a convention or store and my eyes say soulless but my mouth, with a smile on my face, says “do you like weird comics?”. Just know, I’m actually happy.

And yes, I know, after this brick of a manifesto, how the hell can I say I’m happy, but I am.

I get to create stories for a living, work with amazing artists, meet amazing fans and human beings, build fun and exciting worlds and most importantly I get to brutally honestly be me.

In the end, at least of this rant–Comics are hard. And that’s okay.

Because I love what I do. I love the people I get to meet. I love all the fans I get to harass with my stories and I’m thankful for all of you. I appreciate the support, and the time and life of yours you give me with every story you buy, every message you read, all that time you spend letting me pollute your mind with my thoughts at conventions. I love it all and I’m going to fight myself every day to keep doing this.

Honestly, there’s probably a million reasons I wrote all this. And maybe one day I’ll truly figure it out. But for now, I’m still figuring things out each minute I’m awake. And will keep doing that until I’m stuffed at a convention booth, or in some old lady’s attic.

Thank you all again for letting me exist in your lives(and sorry for the ones who now wish they hadn’t).

What’s next? Frosted Up #1 - The story of a woman who brings a snowman named Nicholas to life to rescue her kidnapped daughter. It’s like the movie Taken with Liam Neeson, mixed with Frosty the Snowman(totally normal stuff here)--early January(still working to nail down the date - aiming for January 7) is the goal right now and you can follow that project here - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weirdbrain/frosted-up-1

Thanks for reading this. But more importantly, thank you for supporting my dream(s) and helping me make these weird ideas a weird reality.

ALSO, if you want to catch up this month on previous Weird Brain books and collectibles you can get some free shipping on the Weird Brain shop until midnight on December 31.

U.S. Orders over $65 get FREE SHIPPING with this code = WEIRDSHIP25

INTERNATIONAL Orders over $150 get FREE SHIPPING with this code = WEIRDINTSHIP25

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Stay weird, ponyboys(and girls)!

Dave Franchini

Weird Brain Entertainment