Comics are becoming quite trendy. Marvel has been pumping out more and more superhero movies and the merchandise is everywhere. But I didn’t jump on the bandwagon recently. Ever since I knew what a comic was I had always dreamed of making one. And now it’s happening.

I had been afraid to start it for so long. I began accumulating influences and reading up on the subject just to buy myself more time. I looked to Gabriel Bá and Bryan Lee O’Malley as well as the great Jack Kirby. I bought Scott McCloud‘s books on comic theory and talked to my teachers as much as possible about this project that’s been a long time coming, but I still couldn’t bring myself to start it.

That is, until I took a screenwriting class and wrote the first book. And for another class I did my character designs. And then the legwork had already been done and the project wasn’t nearly as daunting. College had somehow forced me into actually working on the thing I was so scared to start. It just… happened. So instead of hiding behind my technical books and getting overly starstruck by the works of other great comic artists, I just dove right in.

So if you’re wondering what I’ve been working on, I’ve been brushing up on telling stories with pictures by actually telling stories with pictures. Having influences and trying to gain more technical knowledge is great, but it shouldn’t stop you from continuing with your own work. Even if you make mistakes, you will still benefit. You can’t learn from mistakes you haven’t made. And having made an okayyyy comic is better than making no comic at all.

Never fear! You can conquer your fear of failure!