When I started writing Dolorem, the excitement of sharing the story sustained my writing. It was a way to come to grips with what I was going through. As the writing and planning out future plots and sub-plots evolved, I saw the story’s potential beyond just a guy in a lot of pain. It wasn’t just going to be a story about a hero in agony, but there was a whole world to explore around Neit and his struggles. The excitement led to the infrastructure I’m building around this comic–The website, the social media, merchandise, the set up of a business, gathering a team to collaborate with and build this into a proper long-term project.
With the Kickstarter met we will have the funding to continue, but seeking out a publisher is the next step. I really want to take this beyond the small scale, independent project it is now and scale up with a publisher. Those steps are happening now with submissions being made, but I want to assure supporters and readers that regardless of what happens, these stories will be released. There are many avenues today for sharing comics, and I’m putting a lot of time seeking out the right partnerships to do that. I learn so much every day from my collaborators and those willing to share their expertise online. There’s a lot to consider when it comes to finding the right partnership.
The idea of sharing pain is important to me. It’s how all of us make it through hard times, and I don’t want to forget about those who experience it on the periphery, those who see their loved ones struggle with impossible agony. I believe that everyone will be able to find something in these issues in which they can see their own reflection, and I’m excited about that. I may have made a mistake early on of trying to market this story as something too closely tied to chronic conditions, though I still want to build a community around this book and those struggles, and being able to share more and more pages from the project will help a wider audience see that it isn’t only about that, it’s about all of us and the roles we play in our environments and the outside forces that might have other ideas about who we are and what we should be doing. Trying to find the right message to get people to connect with is a challenge today since our attention is pulled in so many directions and often for not very long before we find ourselves being taken by the next thing that requires our attention.
I’m hoping to have more to share soon on when and where future issues will be available, but for now, know that the digital version of Issue #1 is on track, and we will be making it available to our supporters this summer with future issues to follow!