The latest good news arrived, and though I know it for a while already, it's so good to finally be able to officially confirm that Mr Gaspar Saladino will be the one to do lettering for our comic. Happiness! Thrill! Maniac laughter!
And since I haven't been blogging since ages, I probably have to explain some things first. The comic is written by two awesome guys, Magnus Aspli and Michael DeShane, who I was lucky to meet and is a true pleasure to work with. They found me and asked for collaboration, and the thing that was most deciding for me was the amount of work and care that I saw in their work. Also the fact that they seemed to know what they were talking about. And it's more rare phenomenon then it might seem, believe me. So after many months, we have the submission package ready to be presented to the publishers and we're most optimistic about it. Especially because the latest turn of events showed me how possibilities can open easily. We've got to Mr Saladino (who is the ultimate legend of comic lettering) through recommendation of Clem Robins (another one of the most awesome letterers today, and most kind guy also). Here I must say that if you miss the importance of these facts you should not worry, I myself would be quite lost without my Italian man, who puts hard work to fill the voids* of my comic culture, rudiment as it is from living in Serbia.
The thing I actually wanted to speak about is how some people can be great. I never saw anything but kindness from those proven successful artists. They never lack the words of praise for my artwork and are ready to help in the ways I could only imagine. So the initial phrase of my writer Magnus "we'll submit to Vertigo", that seemed like a goal too high for me personally, now doesn't sound like a tale anymore. Which brings me to the main idea of this blog - why does it sounds impossible to me and not to other people?
Living and growing in Serbia as an artist (a shameful thing to write, shameful! One should not be considered an artist here. On should work as a saleswoman in the bakery-store - if one is lucky enough. I'm an unemployed psychologist, btw - doesn't make a difference, believe me. One should really work in the bakery store. If lucky.), makes things seem so unreachable. People from the comic area here are holding together tight and close, they usually know everything best, their taste is perfect, they set their standard high (or don't set it at all, depends of the community, if you're going alternative-comic way, it's enough to pretend you're a four year old when you draw and then write "fuck" and "cock" twice in the comic). I remember once going to see the comic workshop with Vlada Vesovic, and I died of fear - I was frozen, literally - there were so many things not to do, or other things right to do, which I simply didn't get. I also have to say that it's only my point of view, when I look back, maybe things have changed or other people have different experiences and are widely supported by our comic communities here. To be more clear, maybe I suck. And many years after I still draw as I feel like, and I find it thrilling to some people whose names I could only read on the cover of the comic till now.
Maybe the right thing to do was to connect with great letterers, they are like natural partners to us, maybe all other comic authors are alike. Or maybe simply big people see big picture and small town ones (like me) are tangled in a net of self-remorse and false elitism. Maybe some things will change? We'll see...
*"puts hard" and "fill the void" is not to be considered sexually... I should probably tape-record me speaking...
