After having an extremely low number of
Soldier Legacy issues sell at Melbourne OCC, and looking over the numbers of
Soldier Legacy 6 from the conventions this year (Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne
Oz Comic-Con), it has re-affirmed my current thoughts that this issue will be
the penultimate chapter of this comic book, with the series ending with issue
7.
The last chapter will likely go straight to
trade paperback. I felt as though I put way too much of my enthusiasm, time and
sweat into this latest issue which I found has been akin to putting them into
bottles and floating them out to sea, never to see or hear about them again.
For my emotional wellbeing, it’s a drain. Sure, comics are not as hard as digging
a ditch, but then again, you don’t pour your heart and soul for months into
creating a hole. The writing, drawing and assembling of this issue solo was
very anti-climatic. I’m still finding most are going for the first few issues
in trade paperback form, meaning I need to re-evaluate the point of continuing.
The trades have been the constant best seller, by and far over the single issues.
I ran out of TPBs early this year and since the dissolving of Black House
Comics late last year (publisher of the series), I have been reluctant to chase
a further reprinting of this volume until the 2nd volume is
complete. I wish to thank everyone who has purchases the single issues and the
Volume 1 trade in the past.
I originally began this series as an aim to
experiment with the comics form, illustrating and writing methodology, for the
aim of achieving my doctorate. I was awarded my Doctorate in Visual Arts
recently, and though I will continue to work in comics (such as
lecturing/tutoring, my current projects for other Australian publishers,
freelance work, and pitching), it seems that perhaps my attempts for an action-
adventure hero in the same vein as The Spirit, Indiana Jones, Sg.t Fury or The
Phantom, with an Australian sensibility, have been a poor one. Or perhaps, the
Australian as a hero is not as relevant or inline with the current
sensibilities of a comic reading audience as I had hoped. Perhaps the idea of
an Australian comic character in a mask seems hokey to most. Perhaps the
relevance of the Anzac spirit only holds for most on two dates a year in April
and November. Perhaps the current wars in the Middle East hit too close to
home, or that the idea of being a proud Australian is tainted because of the
elected officials seemingly running our country. Perhaps you can’t fight
cultural cringe after all. Perhaps simply, my drawing style doesn’t resonate.
Either way, I can’t figure it out, and it’s time to move on.
My final paragraph of my doctoral thesis
touched on my personal thoughts:
“…What the
future holds for The Soldier Legacy after this current story arc is over is
uncertain. Whether continued interest in this Australian action hero continues
to grow or stagnates is unknown (much like the nature of the medium in
general), or whether it was even a blip on the Australian comic scene mindset
is unknown, as fickle and fractured as I discovered on my journey... It is not
the work I wish to ultimately define me; I wish to grow beyond it, and will
probably feel more proud and satisfied with it when I have finally reached the
conclusion of the last issue.
However, I am
thankful for the opportunities that have arisen from researching and creating
comics, and that I have been able to achieve what I set out to do from the
onset of this research…”
I am pleased with what I was able to do
with the character and comic series in a short few years: meet creators here
and overseas, gain meetings, feedback and contacts and friends with the biggest
comic publishers in the US such as DC and IDW, work in a professional capacity
in a field I always wanted to do since I was a kid, have the character and
books feature on TV via Youi insurance, attend many conventions nationally as a
guest, draw a crossover which featured in a Sherlock Holmes comic which sold
throughout Australian newsagents, and feature in past (and some upcoming)
publications for other publishers, and gain knowledge and ability which
ultimately lead me to becoming a Doctor in Visual Arts. This is thanks to not only the friends and
fellow creators who actively supported or assisted in the issues, and the
handful of comic stores that stock Australian independent books, but for the
folks who own a copy of the book, or who showed their appreciation for the
series or concept at the conventions around the country.
I still have a few boxes of back issues (#1
– 5, the recent #6 and the Strange Tales one-shot) which I will endeavour to
have with me at the conventions I will attend, and volume 2 is still going
ahead, self-published or otherwise, but for now, my lecturing commitments, and
current graphic novel will take precedence over something that now just seems
like an exercise in indulgence, rather than something that people actually care
about.
Perhaps one day down the track, when I’m
not so caught up with other projects, I will change my mind. With the right
story and demand, you never know. But for now, the current title of the story “And
now the end is near” is spot on.
Anyway, as I ended my thesis with this, I
will also end this thought stream with this. The words of one of my inspirations:
Jack Kirby:
“Comics are a universal product. They have
no boundaries. You can use them in a very serious manner or just for laughs.
Comics can be used to educate, to entertain or to provoke deep thought. A
well-read person will one day produce a classic epic in comics, one that
everybody will remember. I wanted to do that, but I think that's going to be
somebody else's job. I'm happy that I got the chance to accomplish what I did.”
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