Open letter to a comic fan

So it took a bar mitzvah present to David Machov of Minneapolis, Minnesota to get me to compose another entry. For that, I thank him and the gift giver, Jann Meyers. I know Jann via the Santa Monica Dog Park system: her dog, Haley, and mine, Chopper, are great friends. She asked me several weeks ago if I would sell one of my comics from my stock and autograph it (I also threw in a promo poster). Of course, I agreed. I am in the business of selling my comic books and related merchandise.
Jann also shared that David is quite the comics fanatic and is contemplating a career in the art form (Yes, it is an art form!). Via the ensuing conversation, I offerred to write a note to David beyond the short blast on the comic and poster and publish it on my blog so he can share with whoever he desires. If as a result I get a few more visitors to the wunderman comics web site (www.wunderman-comics.com), so much the better. So here goes the promised letter from a creator to a young fan.

David,
I am encouraged to hear that you desire to carry forward your passion for comics beyond just reading them. When I was younger, I also had that dream. It just took me quite a few years and some detours to be able to present the products of my imagination to the world. I do not exagerate when I write that it is quite a daunting task, even with the aid of computers (it was worse before). It requires a complex set of skills: story telling (written and graphic), management (people and things), and plain old fashioned perseverance (people you know and love will try to dissaude you at one point or another, especially once they discover comic books' daunting economics). To create, write, and publish a comic book is truly a labor of love. You have to love your creation and be determined to get it out there despite the obstacles. To add to the struggle is that until recently, the art of creating comics was a mostly hidden one. Until the reletively recent publication of some good how-to books (recommended reading will listed at the end of this blog entry), comics was very much a learn as you go enterprise. It should also be pointed out that even the good books can not possibly cover all the issues you will run into during the creation process. You will simply have feel your own way through them and resolve them via the painful process of trial and error. If after considering the aforementioned and unmentioned factors, you still want to create comic books, good for you. Remember this, despite all the travail, very little compares to seeing the fruits of your imagination on paper and available for the public to either ignore or pay attention to. It moves one from the innumberable ranks of the aspirant and wanne-be to the much smaller number of author with the satisfaction of never having to live with the words, "What if..."
Reading List for aspiring comic creators:
Eisner, Will Comics & Sequential Art
Eisner, Will Graphic Storytelling
McCloud, Scott Making Comics
Caputo, Tony How to Self Publish Your Own Comic Book