01.22.08
Assumed familiarity.
I read quite a bit… in fact the majority of my life is spent reading one thing or another. I spend my working time in front of a screen, I read technology magazines and white-papers etc. In my downtime I read books, motorcycle magazines and papers and webcomics.
The webcomics I read are over there on the side bar and on the whole I read them for fun and as a mild form of escapism. However - and this brings me to the topic of my post today - I do form some sort of bond with the people behind the comics. I’ve emailed them (I have actually got replies too which is nice), I follow their blog posts and listen with great interest to the podcasts they make too. Scott Kurtz over at PVP has a sharp mind and keen eye and hear for the comic moment, his wife Angela is one of the most supportive people I’ve heard of and obviously deeply cares for Scott and what he does. Mike and Jerry (Gabe and Tycho) at Penny Arcade are simply the best professional partnership I’ve come across, the combination of Mike’s artistic talents and Jerry’s razor sharp whit and blinding intellect make for not only a truly awesome comic, but also some of the best laugh-out-loud entertainment I’ve ever heard via their during-creation podcasts. But the prompt for this missive is Mr Kris Straub, the man behind Starslip Crisis.
Kris took a risk and suffered a knockback and when I read his post explaining what had been going on I felt a genuine empathy, so much so that I made a decision to lend some support, I ordered a Jinxlet. This made me think… I don’t know Kris, he’s never heard of me (and is unlikely too, let’s be honest) yet I feel this level of familiarity with him. This is nothing more than an assumption on my part due to nothing more than my reading of his strip, listening to his podcasts and reading his posts… part of me says I should back away from this, and part of me says that any support is good and that’s where I am. (There is also another part of me which asks ‘do others see me in this way?’ but that’s just my ego! 
)
So… Kris, keep up the work - it’s good stuff! Keep making big plans, a percentage of them will always land. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be here too and finally… you have a strong set of colleagues who have become friends, cherish that and remember no-one judges your worthiness except you.. so stop it!
- J.
