In a previous blog post I alluded to the fact that Peace of Mind was originally a Future Shock submission to the Oxford based publisher 2000AD (best known for the Authoritarian Heart Throb™, Judge Dredd). I still have their rejection letter in my drawer.
I'm was never entirely certain as to what prompted my desire to write Peace of Mind, however, looking back it certainly was A Time. I was working a very anti-social job back then in ol' 2016. Up at 4am for the commute, back home around 5:30pm, bed by 9pm if I didn't want to go to Rugby Training on a Tuesday and Thursday, let alone the Saturday match.
Regardless, as you can guess, I was underpaid and over worked and, looking back on it, very thoroughly depressed, like most of those who work in the Rat Race. However, I enjoyed the company of those I worked with, so... silver linings? Sometime, most likely on the bus or a weekend, I can't remember, I decided to write a story, as all rational people do. Eventually I got a new job, which in hindsight is a better coping mechanism than writing a comic.
By the time the Future Shock submission was rejected, I was already quite deep into the dreaded Comic Twitter-sphere. Eventually, I met Emiliano Correa and we brought the first five pages to life with letterer Rob Jones. I reached out to a couple of other publishers, to see if we could be included in an anthology of some kind, however the seeds of the story were beginning to germinate in my mind. Thinking on it, I do think my experiences during 2016 really influenced my life going forward, including my political outlook and the stories I write.
Amazingly, the Future Shock script is largely untouched. You can basically read what I had written and submitted to 2000AD in 2016 by reading the first five pages of Issue #1. I decided to self publish and establish Grym Comics (pronounced like the Brothers Grimm, but it's the Welsh word for Force/Strength) and now, after a few Kickstarter campaigns, the Trade Paperback is out for the world to read.
Exciting.
Until next time. Put your email address in the subscribe form below so you can get emails when these wee blogs go live.
Hwyl fawr/goodbye,
-C