One of the problems I run into when offering advice is that, in comics, there are no absolutes, and no conclusions to be drawn from anything that happens in the industry or in the marketplace, which itself is an impossible thing to quantify. There is no conclusive way to measure sales, and no way to determine, from the outside, how much money a book is generating for creators.

I once had lunch with two DC editors, and they wanted to know the truth behind some sales figures that had been tossed out by a friend of mine, regarding an Image book he had written. They had heard the numbers he had mentioned, but they could not figure out how those numbers were possible. They had used all of the sales tools at DC’s disposal to do the math, including Diamond sales and Bookscan numbers, and couldn't come up with anything close to the numbers.

All I could tell them was that the numbers were correct. Because they were. Had anyone asked those two veterans of the industry if the numbers quoted were possible, they would have said they were not. And yet they were.

In comics, too many people are too quick to offer their conclusive assessments of things that cannot be accurately assessed.

What I try to do is offer my experiences and impressions based on over twenty years in the industry, hopefully giving people some insight into one way of thinking, from which they can then form their own impressions, or use as inspiration or a springboard to launch their own careers.

What I'm saying is that anyone who tells you How Things Are in Comics is wrong. Anyone who tells you what you should or shouldn't do based on sales or what publishers want to see or what retailers or readers respond to is wrong.

Do not listen to anyone whose advice is based on conclusive assessments of the industry or the market. Because they are wrong. There is no way to accurately assess what works and what doesn't.

Comics is unlike any other industry or business, and your best bet is to follow your heart and allow your creative impulses to flourish without concern for anything other than forging your own path.

Embrace optimism and faith in your abilities, and stop trying to calculate some magical equation for success.

Because there is no One Path to success, and the more you try to locate that path, the further you get from where you want to go.