After 5 years of trying to sell a feature screenplay, I opted for writing short film scripts. It was quicker work, I could still submit to contests, and I was more likely to get them made, right?
Fast forward several years and … still no luck.
Then finally I had a short produced with bonafide Hollywood talent (Richard Schiff, Izabella Miko). Only the end result was about a 180-degree turn from my original tale. I took the co-writing credit and a measly $125 as well as my first IMDB credit. I show the video often (and usually have to explain the ending). It was kind of rewarding, but I wanted more.
In the meantime, one of my features had garnered the attention of a film producer who was interested in the project … for a comic book series?
Yup.
And that’s how a Baby Boomer baseball card collector got turned onto comic books WAAAAY past my geek years. (I mean, aren’t comics and graphic novels a Generation Y thing?)
In between some script re-writes, I decided to dust off my contest-winning short scripts that often got solicited but never got produced (sorta like “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” ... which today ain’t such a bad thing).
By this time, I knew a few people who were in the biz – artists, editors, pubishers … so I asked a few questions and dived right in.
(Comic publisher tip: comicspace.com is a great place to surf international comic art talent and solicit quality artists for relatively cheap.)
The result is a self-published horror comic called COLD BLOODED CHILLERS. And if I do say so myself, it’s pretty cool – in a creepy kind of way. Even worth selling off my baseball card collection for.
Of course, that’s just my opinion. I’m itching to hear what the rest of the world thinks. So stop by …
WWW.COLDBLOODEDCHILLERS.COM
... and check it out (which means “buy a copy – it’s only 3 bucks”).
Keep the lights on. I’ll be back.
Yours cruelly,
Robert M. Heske
