Broken Frontier

Every saga has a beginning ? and an ending. No last minute cliffhangers here, I am going to be straight up front with all my loyal readers (yes, you two down the back! I?m talking to you!) ? this is my last The Story Factory column. This is my 85th and last column for Broken Frontier.

One of the enduring themes of this column (and something I also touched on in Industrial Evolution) is the endless conflict between creating comics and living a life in the real world. In my case, the real world won out and bit me on the @$$! By the time this column is published, our very first child will have entered the world.

Over the last few years I have given a lot of thought to the type of comic book creator I want to be and to the type of stories I want to tell. Last week I wrote about wanting to tell my own stories with my own characters; this creative desire has always overwritten any inklings to work with other people?s creations (not to say I wouldn?t do this, I just prefer working on my own ideas).

At this stage in my life I have three concepts that I would like to see published; in 2008 one of those will be published through a very small USA-based studio. So, I feel that my creative path is headed in the right direction.

I have committed to writing a two-issue series and beyond that I just can?t seem to realistically look at writing anything else outside of my work-based writing commitments. For someone who sells words for a living, the reality is that raising a child means I will producing fewer words for public consumption.

Becoming a father has meant rearranging the priorities in my life. Comics now come last and truthfully, there is no longer room for Broken Frontier. I am sad to farewell this site. I have written for Broken Frontier for more than two years, my longest gig on an internet site. Over the last few years, Broken Frontier has become a regular part of my life; each and every Sunday I?ve sat down to write a column. This won?t be happening anymore. A very important part of my life, a treasured ritual, is coming to a close.

Frederik has known about this for quite a while; I didn?t want to leave a good friend hanging. I don?t know what his plans are in terms of replacing the column, but I am sure there are plenty of talented writers aching to get a slot on a site with the profile of Broken Frontier.

Make no mistakes folks, this is the best comic book and pop culture site on the ?net. The quality of writing and the insight offered in the columns, interviews, reviews and news stories posted here is unparalleled anywhere else. Our writers are #1 in my book and I am immensely proud to have contributed to this in my own small way over a number of years.

The absence of Broken Frontier will leave a hole in my life, one that I am sure our baby will do their best to quickly fill!

Thank you so much to Mike Bullock for inviting me to write for the site. Thank you to Frederik for accepting Mike?s recommendation and giving me the chance. Over the past two years Frederik has become a good friend and I will miss our regular email conversations.

Thanks to my role on Broken Frontier, I have made many connections in the comic book industry and built many friendships, something that would usually be denied to a fanboy and wannabe creator living over the edge in Australia.

Thanks to everyone who supported my columns over the years. I cannot thank you enough for giving my ramblings credence by lending your eyes to reading the random words I typed into Microsoft Word.

I am terrible at goodbyes? If you have ever thought, for even the briefest of moments, of creating, writing, drawing, coloring, inking or lettering your own comic, my advice is ?Just Do It?. Graphic story telling is the oldest method of telling fantastic tales known to man; there is rock art created by Australia?s Aboriginies that is more than 60 000 years old. You can be part of the oldest tradition in human history ? all you have to do is stand up, be counted and form your own Story Factory.

The End.