Capes-n-Babes

Today is my wife’s birthday. The next day will be Capes & Babes’ “official” birthday (even though a strip won’t appear until Friday).

Last week, I mentioned this story on a couple of podcasts that I either co-host or were a guest of but in case you haven’t yet subscribed to Lightbox – Illuminating Webcomics (mine), TGT web comics or The Villain’s Corner, I will tell the story again.

For many years, I was a long time convention attendee to SPX and the Baltimore Comic Con. Every fall when both conventions neared, I would always get very excited about attending each con and possibly meeting or discovering new artists. Both conventions always seemed to spark a big creative boost in myself as well. And at the end of each con, my wife would comment how enthusuatic I seemed to be.

But around 2005 and 2006, something started to change. And my wife was the first to notice.

Instead of coming home excited and re-energized by meeting so many fantastic artists, I started coming home more upset with myself that I wasn’t doing what THEY were doing. At some point, I quit being a “fan” and realized what I really wanted to do was to be BEHIND a convention table instead of in front of one. Maybe it was the fact that my high school baseball coaching career had come to an end and I finally realized I had the time it took to dedicate to my art. I’m not sure, but the Baltimore Con of 2007 changed everything.

It was at that con that I finally got over my “star gazing” and started asking some really tough questions (at least for me) at people behind various tables in artist alley. Although I was a pretty accomplished artists already – and I even had a long running weekly web comic strip at Community MX, I knew something was missing and I needed to find out what that was. I didn’t want to come home from THIS con pissed off and angry at myself for letting more time lapse and wasting whatever “talent” I thought I had. In sports terms, it was time for me to get off the bench and see if I could really play in this game called webcomics.

Two people who were extremely instrumental during that con was Brad Guigar and an artist I had never really heard of before – which was amazing since I had been to every Baltimore Comic Con from the very beginning and yet, I never remembered seeing her. Or her large, green cactus.

I don’t know why I chose to approach Danielle Corsetto and ask her the questions I did but I just happened to catch her on a slow period the last day of the Con and she was EXTREMELY gracious at answering all of my questions of how she started, where she started and how could I do the same. She probably gets tired of hearing me re-tell this story but that day really meant a lot to me in ways I can’t fully communicate. There was a lot of “transitional” stuff going on with me professionally and artistically at that time and receiving her and Brad’s advice really encouraged me to FINALLY get off the bench and go play! So both of them have a very special place in my heart for really kicking me in the butt and telling me to get my ass in gear!

So, later that night, as I came home from the best Baltimore Con I had ever been to as a fan, I sat down and created Roy the werewolf. Soon after that, I suddenly had 12 Capes & Babes strips fully completed. A few weeks later, I was ready to launch the strip.

In honor of all of the super support my wife gave me, I wanted to launch Capes & Babes on her birthday. But I also knew I wanted to at least try a Monday, Wednesday & Friday schedule and her birthday fell on a Sunday. So, I launched the next day – making the “official” Capes & Babes birthday November 12th.

As much as I have said Brad and Danielle had a large supporting role in encouraging me to start Capes & Babes, no one had more influence, encouragement, patience (and you need a lot when it comes to dealing with me), advice and just plane flat out support than my wife did. She’s Joey for a reason, after all!

So, for your birthday, babe, thank you so much for Capes & Babes.

I love you so much.

Happy birthday.

-Chris