Life Goals

 

Ever since I turned 50 last year, I've been having dreams of what I could do if I didn't have to commit so much of my life working a 9 to 5 job in order to earn a living and make ends meet. 

There were many years that I dreamed about opening my own RPG/comic book shop. A place where people can not only come to purchase all things they need for their likes, but also provide a great place to be able to host games and community events. I'd love to be able to carry on the traditions of my former LCS Tony's Kingdom of Comics, but I've come to realize that I don't have the finances nor the business acumen to be able to start or run a business. Also, I've come to realize that opening a store like this would not be economically feasible or sustainable with so much product being made in digital formats now.

As of late, I've started dreaming of different endeavors that I could take on that may or may not actually turn out to be money-making but more of something I would enjoy doing and even be able to give something back to the community. Not nearly in the same way as Tony once did, but something nonetheless. 

For starters, I want to be able to actually commit myself to developing the various TTRPG ideas that I have had over the years like Salem By Night and Project Multiverse. I would also like to create a type of archive for homebrew TTRPG material. I have a ton of printed pages of old plot hooks, character sheets and other material I think other people would enjoy to read and possibly even use in their own adventures.

I recently thought it would be a great idea to open an account on World Anvil to begin the process of bringing these projects to light. I would like to also open it up for fellow creatives to help design the worlds I have trapped in my head.

There's also a part of me that would like to try and get back into the creative process of writing a comic book like I did when I was younger. Maybe even go so far as to actually write some of the crazy ideas I had for stories when I was in high school. I used to have a notebook I would write down ideas for stories. I still remember 1 or 2 of them that I think might actually be worth flushing-out into short stories. There was a time in my life that I thought I would become a published writer.

My biggest problems to accomplishing any of this are as follows:

• I feel like I don't have any time to devote to these projects because I have to spend so much of my time working. In other words, I've got bills to pay and need to make money in order to pay them.
• I have always been a procrastinator, and it has been very hard to overcome this problem. Even when I write for my blog, it is very sporadic and I typically write for only a few hours in the early mornings on the weekend because I'm awake, I don't have any serious disruptions and the mood strikes me.

At this point, I don't have enough money to be able to retire early, so I have occasionally taken to purchasing lottery tickets hoping that I'll win enough to be able to make this fantasy into a reality. I'm not investing into this theory as I only play $20 every few weeks. I know the odds are against me, but I only play the state lottery so at least my money is going to help local projects.

The reason for writing this is to get these feeling off my chest and out into the world. I feel that if you put something positive out into the world, there's a chance that it can actually become a reality. I would love it if by publishing this I could help to manifest a path towards achieving these dreams.

Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

ISBN: 9781684059430

Price: $12.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2023

Writer:  David M. Booher, Sam Maggs 

Artist: George Kambadais

Rating: 4/5

Five friends from our world have been transported to the land of the Forgotten Realms and, after fighting so many monsters and escaping many times from the Big Bad, Venger, they’re looking forward to possibly having a good night’s rest along with their pal Uni the Unicorn. But their sleep is interrupted when monsters attack their camp and a portal opens up. On the other side, find themselves in Waterdeep and trying to save a young girl cursed with Wild Magic that can surge at any time, a labyrinth with Beholders, and other monsters that test them to their limits!

The trade feels like it begins at the end of the last adventure from the TV show but without any sort of segue or introduction for brand new fans who haven’t watched the last episode which aired in 1985. Since the comic takes the same tone as the cartoon, there is a good chance it will be picked up by younger audiences, and it could have benefitted from some sort of introduction to bridge for new readers who are jumping in at this point. Aside from this, the story feels just like an episode of the cartoon, so fans of the original series will feel like they're on another adventure with the gang. Younger fans getting into playing Dungeons and Dragons might get a kick out of recognizing familiar game monsters and items included in the story.

The illustration team has beautifully captured the spirit of the original cartoon and brought the characters into a 2-D format. The coloring is especially beautiful when comparing the cartoon cels to the panels. The overall pacing and panel layout keeps the energy up throughout the story just like an episode.

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Caleb Widogast

Title: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Caleb Widogast 

ISBN: 9781506723747

Price: $17.99

Publisher/Year: Dark Horse, 2022

Writer: Jody Houser

Artist: Selina Espiritu

Rating: 4/5

Caleb Widogast is perhaps one of the saddest characters with one of the darkest backstories in Critical Role, or at least he was before Campaign 3. The Sad Wizard is a fan favorite among the denizens of “Critical Role Land” and perhaps one of Liam O’Brien’s most dramatically tragic characters. And for Liam, that’s saying something.

Being a comics fan and a Critical Role fan, these lovely character centered comic collections are one of my favorite things Critical Role is doing to enhance their brand’s world. What better way to do a lore drop than in the form of comics written by your friends? This particular book is written by Jody Houser who was a guest of Taliesin Jaffe’s Wednesday Club comic show on Geek and Sundry, one of the writers for Vox Machina Origins, the writer of the future Mollymauk comic, and a fantastic comic book writer of non CR books (seriously check her out, she’s awesome). With help from Liam himself and the DM Matthew Mercer, they’ve created a heart wrenching slice of Caleb’s beginnings.

I would call Caleb’s origins traumatic but I don’t think even that word is enough. However it is worth mentioning in that the content of this book is probably going to be triggering for some. Abuse, manipulation, murder, and violence are all par for the course here so beware if this kind of content might trigger you.

I loved Caleb’s book. I would love for CR to expand this prequel into a full YA novel like they did with KITH AND KIN and are doing with the release of NINE EYES OF LUCIEN come November. I love these little slice of life prequels that CR is doing, be it comic book form or YA novel.

I feel like the content here would be out of place for a new reader, having no basis for why this story is being told or its place in the larger story. Caleb’s story benefits from the foresight of what is to come for him and I wonder if it would seem odd to an outsider as to why we are bothering to tell this story. But the beautiful art and wonderful storytelling may be the hook someone needs to explore the larger universe. I’m just not sure this is a great starting point. But for an established fan this book is a must!