Straddle The Hourglass

(photo courtesy of barthatronic and DTS)

All I can say is "ugh". Finished writing out the "My GBV Experience" three part section of Pop Zeus this weekend and man, has it been a wrenching process. I've scribed many a comic book story and also spent many hours journaling my experiences, but never have I faced this much stress and despair while writing, for real. I was really wigging out and not sure why.

I talked to my brother Martin about it on Saturday and he really hit the nail on the head. He said there is something about the process of writing, beat by beat that helps you to remember things. Getting thoughts and memories physically down clears space in your brain for other thoughts and memories. And what I was remembering were terrible mistakes, dark and troubling times back in 1996 and 2004 specifically. And simultaneously letting images form in my mind, thinking of good images to capture for the comic, was really putting me right back in those painful days. It was rather like reliving some of the worst times in my life- not fun.

But, these stories need to be told. They will directly show how much Guided By Voices music has meant to me, through good times and bad, especially bad. Even though the process of getting these thoughts out will be painful, ultimately I think it will be worth it. And all storytellers, especially in the biographical form, need to be as honest as they can.

I won't spoil the stories for you here, you will have to read Pop Zeus for yourself and decide whether they were worth telling. As I've said before, I believe they will be the heart and soul of the comic.

Anyway, more updates as the week goes on. Cheers!