Stupid Cancer gets my support!

Nuff Said! www.stupidcancer.com

Today is the best day of your life.

To the people out there who know me, they know one thing. I like to talk. A lot. I like to meet new people and I like to ask questions. Sometimes I ask questions that I shouldn't, sometimes I don’t even have to ask. Last year. I was walking into the Bagel shop in town behind an older woman. She turned around and I think I scared her. She was expecting to see her nurse, who was standing behind me.  Anyway, I let the nurse in front of me and apologized. She laughed and asked if she scared ME. I told her I thought she was the one who was scared.  

So, we both order our stuff and wait. She grabbed a seat and I remained standing. After about 5 minutes she asked me again if she scared me. I laughed and told her no. She then told me that her husband was home from an operation in which they took off his legs. The operation was directly linked to Agent Orange, a chemical used as a weapon in the Viet Nam war. I asked her how he was and she said since the operation he is much better. He is learning to walk with 2 prosthetic legs and is pain-free for the first time in years. I said it was messed up that the government doesn’t take the Agent Orange thing seriously but she said that they do now. This lady was so positive and really made an impact on me. 

This reminded me of my own trial and tribulations. I am slowly but surely going blind due to a botched lasik eye surgery. I had cancer twice in three years. Cancer showed up once in my right kidney and once in my left.  I had surgery in October 2004 for one and they removed a rib and one in February 2007. No rib removal on the last one but I wound up with a hernia with pain that I still deal with on a daily basis. I also had a knee operation in September 2007 to repair and remove some of my meniscus which is the padding that cushions your knee. I am in pain pretty much every day to some extent or another.

My family. Dad, Daughter, Mom, Me, Son, Girlfriend(Son in the oven?)

I don't want sympathy and I won't take it. Don’t feel sorry for me. I am okay. I have other, more personal complications and repercussions to this deadly disease. I got divorced. I lost self-respect. I was living a sedentary lifestyle. I worked, ate, watched TV and gained weight. I have always been heavy. But I had blown up to 351 pounds at my heaviest. I am now seeing a chiropractor, I am walking at least twice a week and exercising with my good friend Brian. I am down to 325 pounds, not much, but it is a start. If my back would stop hurting I would love to get back into it. I can say with no embarassment that great now. My kids are my life. I met a great girl. I am expecting my third kid 11 years after my son was born. I am working towards living my life and being happy. I have family and friends who I love. They support me and sometimes scold me, but they have my best interests at heart. I almost never tell them, but without them I would be dead.

I don’t really know where I am going with this. All I can say is that life is hard. It hands you shit all the time. But, the thing is, we need to keep moving forward. This is whatever that means to you. Life is short but it is also long. Can you conceive of something longer? You are not invincible and neither am I. You will not get hit by a bus and a meteor will not fall out of the sky. You are most likely going to live a long life with many sicknesses and much sadness. Most likely, you will die many years from now, with more than a few regrets. You don’t have to!!! Live your life the way you want to. Always follow your dreams when you are young and healthy. And if you are not healthy, and you can help it, GET UP! Go walk in the park, play with your kids, get a dog. Today is the best day of your life. And it can only get better from here.

But only if you want it to.

* * *

I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that I write, draw and publish comic books. My newest project takes my cancer (And other) experiences and wraps them in a Superhero shell. Please feel free to click the link below and like the Facebook fan page. Also, please keep your eyes open for the Kickstarter campaign(www.kickstarter.com).

Thanks!

Joe

http://www.themightytitan.com

"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?" - Maximus Decimus Meridius from the movie Gladiator(2000)

Why do I do what I do and why I am nice when I do it

I get this question a lot...

Why do you create comics?

The answer isn't as easy to answer as you would think. I've been creating comics in one way or another since before I can remember. I love to create, I love to write, I love to draw. I love the idea of leaving something that I created after I am gone. A legacy.

Sadly, I have little time for it.

I work a full time job doing IT. I love what I do. It is challenging and I am always learning new things. I work with great people and we have a great culture of mutual respect. But, it isn't my dream. It isn't what I planned for myself when I was young. The 10 year old me wanted to draw for a living. He wanted to create and share and be a comic book artist. But, alas, kids have to eat. Rent needs to be paid and my passion for creating has to take a second seat. Since, no joke, I still to this day haven't made any real money doing comics.

In my "real" life, I have a great family. I have 2 kids, a girlfriend named Jasmin, a new bundle on the way. People would call them responsibilities.

Scream - By Joe Martino and Rusty Gilligan

I call them life. They are also my legacy. They are the reason I wake up every day.

Now, I am not a comic book professional, nor do I claim to be. I am just a guy who loves creating comics so much that I decided to make some of my own. I wrote that 17 years ago for the letters page of my first Shadowflame self-published comic. I've met a lot of great people through the years. I've also met a lot of assholes. Fortunately, they all know who they are so I don't need to list them here. I have been told I suck so bad that I should quit. And in the same week, been told by a fan that I was one of their favorite writers.

Life is about bringing new things to the world, even if they are a bit derivative. Life is about helping others to do things for themselves. That is why Twitter and Facebook and Google+ are so good for people like me. We can share our knowledge, learn new things, help people grow and promote their work and in return you hope they will do the same. At no time would I EVER tell someone that they were so bad that they should quit. Never quit! Never give up what you love because someone else can't appreciate what you do.

A change is coming. The clique is eroding and you can't even see it. Remember, the buggy whip maker had no idea his career was over when Ford started mass producing Model T's. The guy you blow off now may just well be the ass you need to kiss later. Be nice. Be respectful.

Watch the heads that you step on when you rise up, they will be attached to the asses that you need to kiss on the way down.

Today, try and help one of your fellow creators. Share or retweet their work, buy his digital comic, help fund or share her Kickstarter campaign, help out a struggling Indy band. But, do it because you want to do good for your fellow creators. Not because they did it for you. We are all in this together, even if we are doing it alone.

Thanks for reading this rant. I know I went off the reservation a bit but it all ties together if you really read what I am saying.

Stay strong and always follow your dreams, even if people can't understand them.

Thanks!

Joe

If you have the time and the want to support some good people, check out the following links. And yes... some of them point to stuff I've worked on some of them are people I've met that do great work.

http://www.comixtribe.com
http://www.macandtrouble.com/
http://www.ripfaceinvasion.com
http://jgmcomics.ecrater.com
http://www.themightytitan.com

And join this group on Facebook if you are looking for a really supportive group of guys and gals who are working on a RESURGENCE!!!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/236968296395429/