Early Morning Musings on New Year's Day

There's no question that the last five years or so have been the roughest of my life, particularly in the realms of health and finances. That these two problem areas have also adversely affected my professional endeavors is also undeniable. Much of the last few years, it's felt like I was mired in quicksand, with my head just above the surface - not quite drowning, but not able to move much, either.

Progress was made on all fronts - health, finance and work - but it was agonizingly slow, with lots of prolonged periods of unintentional and unbearably frustrating inactivity... especially in this last year.

It's also true that my professional reputation has taken some hits over the last half-decade. But I'm working hard to try and repair some of that damage. I am cautiously optimistic that this coming year will see some substantial improvement in my productivity and the quality of my work... and I'm creatively excited about the projects on my plate for 2011.

I hope to continue with Kolchak for Moonstone, and find a way to produce more Captain Midnight adventures for the company, beginning with the long-anticipated (and years-in-the-making) one-shot special.  The new Gravedigger graphic novel/collection is getting close to completion, and I'm hopeful that the Femme Noir webcomics collection will finally come together soon. Joe Staton and I also intend to get to work on an all-new Femme Noir comic book this year... and maybe - just - maybe, I can get Perils on Planet X going again. I just need to find a way (and the time) to resuscitate it.

I have several creator-owned projects cooking, too, that I hope will come to fruition - or at least move forward - in '11.

Sinbad and The Coils of the Serpent with Eduardo Barreto, Skorpion - a 60's international spy/crime caper - with Rick Burchett, a "top secret" super-hero one-shot AND a supernatural Western that I'm putting together with my old pal/writing partner James Chambers (and the ubertalented Rick B. again), and, hopefully, an offbeat project I've wanted to do for years, called Felons In Love.

That's a lot. And when you add in the DVD Late Show site and my goofy blogs, it seems like a ridiculous amount of work. But I'm trying hard to have confidence in myself - trying to live up to the potential that my wife, my closest friends and my collaborators have told me that they believe I possess. I don't like letting those people down, and I'm going to try like hell not to.

So, here's to 2011. Here's hoping it's a great - or, at least, better - year for everyone.