For those of you who are regular readers, you know that I’m currently gearing up to write a new, non-Vögelein book. I’ve finally hit that inevitable phase where, even though I really like the script and think it’s the strongest thing I’ve ever written, I start to doubt every part of it, from the characters to the punchlines to the design to the planned audience. The fearful tape loop just runs over and over again in my head: Who’s gonna want to read this? Am I going to alienate my faithful Vögelein readers? Is my art ever going to improve?

So I had written this big angsty, nervous, self-deprecating blog post in my head, outlining my current time estimates before the Fraud Police show up to expose me, how intimidating the blank page is, and how scary the entire creative process can be.

But then yesterday, Grady Klein over at the First Second blog provided the world with this outstanding comic entitled “How To Survive Writing a Graphic Novel“. Not only did I come away feeling much better than if I had spent the evening writing a whiny blog post, but now I’m going to run out and buy Grady’s books, too.

That’s all it takes, sometimes, folks. Reach out to one another, allay the fears. Then go make comics.