My whole life I have wanted to make comics. The graphic images and gripping stories in Spiderman, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Aquaman sucked me into a world better than anything I could imagine. Unfortunately, I learned I have absolutely no ability to write imaginative, compelling fiction.
My next desire would be to make a Comic Strip. Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side were my all time favorites. So many times they would have me burst into laughter at their absurdity, unexpected twists, and skewed perspectives. It’s too bad that I’m not funny.
My third choice is to make political cartoons. I learned more about politics, history and human behavior from political cartoons than I did from reading books. But whenever I try to think of something to say, I can’t come up with a clever way to say it in a political cartoon.
Still, in the past 4 years I’ve learned to do things that were previously impossible. I finally dialed in my diet and fitness to get ripped. I taught myself how to refinish furniture and cabinets. I learned how to paint and draw. I’ve gotten much more adept at home repair and maintenance. I even dabbled in learning French.
So lately I’ve been thinking of creating a comic once again. I’m thinking of a single panel comic. I’d like it to make people laugh. But, I’m going to need to learn how to be funny.
I’ve started drafting some ideas. I’m doing some reading on how to be funny – it’s not the least bit funny. On the contrary, most of the examples and jokes are quite corny. I think I’ll study some of the comics and comedians who crack up and see if I can figure out what makes me laugh and try to develop that.
There’s a good chance I will not succeed in being funny.
But that’s OK too. As long as I take a shot, I’ll learn something along the way.
And what’s the worst that could happen? I’m already not funny.