A quick history lesson: In the early 1990’s a group of the hottest talent decided that their work was underappreciated and underpaid. They left their employers and founded a new comic company where they could have power over their own creations. The company was called Image Comics. When the news was announced, there was a shake-up in the industry that put a little fear into the “Big Two.” One of these illustrators was Rob Liefeld. Although he was one of the most popular creators on an uber-popular comic book title that he helped to create for Marvel, which established just how much his talent was worth, Liefeld fought for something more. He was banking on his talents worth. His first creation: Youngblood. For those who weren’t around to witness it, this period of time was filled with much anticipation for what was about to happen. To have these creators put together a new universe filled with brand new characters…it brought with it endless possibilities that was galvanizing to say the least. I was looking forward to every single upcoming title that the company was releasing including Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood. Then the day came when I picked up my fresh copy. I was convinced that it had to be gold in my hands. Things changed when I finished the last page. I wasn’t excited about the outcome. I didn’t really like it so much. The entire concept seemed to be a rip-off of the X-Men made with a bad mixture of realism and spandex overload. Of all of the inspiration that I had had over the years with various issues of various comics, this was my first big taste of disappointment. I discovered that just because an illustrator was a hot commodity it didn’t mean that everything they touched was the gold that I thought it was before. I found out that you couldn’t create something for fans that’s just a rehash of something else just to make money because you know fans want what you have to offer. When I began my process at writing The Stone Legacy I required of myself that I keep a certain level of sincerity within the comic. Just because a certain formula works time and time again doesn’t mean that I want to use it to create a copy of something else. That’s unfair to myself and to my fans and I wouldn’t want to cheat them the way I felt cheated with Youngblood. That being said, the very idea that a creator could create something that wasn’t part of Marvel or DC gave me a sense of hope that I never felt before. That itself was an inspiration that I still attribute to Rob Liefeld. Being a Rob Liefeld fan was a learning path that helped me become the creator that I am today. I still enjoy his earlier work with Marvel and read them every once in a while. For writers, I will impart that you’ll find stories and writers that you enjoy and others that you don’t. This spectrum will help you build your own style based on your likes and dislikes. Every novel, short story or comic you read take with it something that will make you the writer that you want to be whether it be a positive or negative experience.
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