Is That a Cat in a Space Helmet?
QUESTIONS
If you are following JUSTIN ZANE through these early installments, you should already have a fair number of questions. Most of them I'll gladly leave to be answered in good time as the story unfolds. A few of them I'll try to answer here. This should be a good trick, as I'll have to imagine what questions are on your mind. Your first question might be along the lines of - Where did the names Lunatick Press and Justin Zane come from, and do I discern a theme developing? Hey, that's a good question! You've picked up on the fact that both titles playfully refer to states of mental instability. Of course this is done in jest, but it is not meant to be a trivialization of the very real problems of mental illness. I've read that one in five Americans suffers from some type of mental illness, and I'm inclined to think that this is a low estimate. Perfectly average and respectable people suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or some other form of mental or emotional distress. As Doctor Glimmer Starborn says in episode #3, I am not here to judge. If we or someone we care about, suffers from a form of mental problem, it is certainly not a laughing matter. On the other hand, maybe it is the very fact that we are collectively living with a constant awareness of mental disorders that tempts us to laugh. Maybe it's our way of coping, to make a dark comedy of such serious matters. Maybe. Of course we refer to mental problems in some very casual ways. We say things like, I'm just crazy about bagels and cream cheese. We say, I may be crazy but I'm not stupid. You better not go outside, squirrels are looking for nuts like you! I've got bats in my belfry! I'd also be crazy if I didn't refer to all of those maddeningly hilarious Looney Tunes cartoons that we all grew up on. Ahem, well, anyway... It occured to me a long time ago that the traditional world of print publishing was becoming endangered. As an example, I remember reading that comic book sales had shrunk since the latter part of the eighties to four percent of their numbers. That is an astounding and disturbing fact. What other industry could survive that kind of reduction? In the eighties, I frequently worked for both of the major comic book companies, Marvel and DC Comics. Through the years I've continued to occasionally contribute art and story to the comic book industry, and I've seen many changes in management, creative fashion, and technology. Even as the art form is influencing popular culture more than ever, comic books companies have had to struggle to hold the attention of a shrinking readership. You would have to be crazy to start a comic book company in this economic climate. Ahem... Ladies and gentlemen, I give you - LUNATICK PRESS! The first Lunatick Press comic was printed in September of 2001. The title was "Peking Tom & Bobbi Sox," and among other things, it contained a preview of an upcoming comic to be called "Justin Zane." The preview contained the tag line, "I'm Justin Zane! What's your problem?" Well, we all remember how tragic events changed our lives and the economy, in September of 2001. Despite efforts to stir up interest in this new series, both online and in print, Justin Zane #1 has never had its first print publication. One of the reasons, perhaps the biggest, is that I had to take on other work. As the economy changed, I no longer had the luxury of time to work on Justin's story. But, and here's the truly crazy thing, Justin Zane wouldn't go away. Whether I was drawing other people's stories, or doing artwork for the advertising world, I still had Justin Zane and Glimmer Starborn on my mind. I still found myself thinking about the peoples, technologies and industries of their future time. So, why did I decide that it was time to at last share the story of Justin Zane right here and now, on the Internet? That's a very interesting question. You guys really are coming up with some good ones. But - I think I should save that one for another time and another blog entry. In the meantime, I encourage you to leave your comments in the section below. I'll be happy to answer your questions. In fact, you could save me the embarrassment of talking to myself. I mean, you know what they say about people who do that, right?
Miaau,
Steve Lightle
