I got to see the live blog on Marvel’s ‘Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way’ from Comic-con. It is always great to hear stories from how people actually turn their dreams and desires into reality. And how best to hear that than from the guys actually working for a great company like Marvel. It all boiled down to the basics which help you do whatever you want to in life in general —“Love what you do, be persistent and be patient.” (paraphrasing C.B.Cebulski)
“Michael Horwitz’s story is very much about seizing the opportunity when you get it and working hard.”
“Mike Pasciullo, the SVP of marketing, started at Marvel by answering a help wanted ad.”
“Matt Fraction started pitching things to Axel Alonso and Warren Simons for three years before he saw his first Marvel comic published.”
“Skottie Young was a waiter at Ed Dubevic’s. He always wanted to draw comics, but there wasn’t a map for how to get there. Young would draw pictures and illustrations for bands and the like, and one day he went to Wizard World Chicago when he was living there. CB stopped by where Skottie was sitting and dropped off his card–this was before CB was even at Marvel–and they became friends. For Skottie Young, the real trick is staying in, not breaking in. You break in, but then things sometimes fall through and there are a bunch of false starts, so you have to be persistent.”
“James Sokolowski always worked on the business/sales end, so even if you can’t write or draw there’s a place for you at a company like Marvel.”
“Humberto Ramos begins his story with the caveat that he’s Mexican. He says it’s hard to break into an industry that isn’t even in his country. Humberto came to Comic-Con and sat in lines waiting for editors to see his work. First editor he talked to was Tom Brevoort, who told him he wasn’t ready, but he had the talent, so go back home and keep working. Humberto came back to San Diego the next year, and asked then-Superman artist Jon Bogdanove to look at his work and he spent a decent time looking over his work. Afterwards, Bogdanove took Ramos and his friend down to the Milestone booth where Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan looked over his work and hired him on the spot.”
The bottom line to succeed in what you want to do: love what you do, do what you love, keep doing it.
There is no “map” to success because each person’s path to success is different. In fact, each person’s vision of success is different. This is not a “cookie cutter” world, and you are not a “cookie cutter” person. You are unique, your path will be unique too.
Remember. Success is only a perceived idea. If there is a top artist in a major company, making tens of thousands of dollars an issue, but really wants to be a shrimp fisherman and was only thrust into comics by happenstance just to pay the bills… is this person any measure of success than someone who wants to be an artist and works daily on developing drawing skills because he/she loves to draw?
I can guarantee you, it is not a success for our shrimp fisherman wannabe. It may be to others vying to cross the fence, but not to him.
Building off THE WAITING post from yesterday…
The path to success is the journey itself. A lot of times we think that in the end we will get to the “treasure” at the end of the rainbow–The Goal–The End. When all along, we never realize that the we are traveling on a RAINBOW for crying out loud.
Success is in each step. Success is in the friends we make along the way. Success is seeing who we can help out along the way. Success is the small everyday actions. Success is made or lost every single day.
Let’s end this post to say a little about “LUCK.”
Some may think luck has a good deal to do with finally achieving their dream. I don’t really believe in “luck”, I like to think of it as “wonderful opportunistic availabilities”. It is good to make your own luck by being ready when opportunity presents itself, but your skills can only ever take you so far. If you rely only on yourself to get you where you want to go, you won’t get very far. In fact, you won’t get anywhere. The “SUCCESS SPARK” to really take your small-step successes to BIG-STEP successes are at the moment when two people can really connect. Each bringing something to the table that will further both people. Then, not only are you enjoying your success, but you are enjoying a new friend and watching him enjoy his success as well. WOW! What a great thought!