Blog: What a long, strange trip it’s been.

It is kind of a weird coincidence for me that a major film adaptation of The Odyssey releases around the time I experience the culmination of a journey. I am not comparing myself to Odysseus, of course. I’ve never broken Zeus’ Law to my knowledge. But the film’s message does hold a resonance for me in a time of personal struggle where everything feels like it has gone far off course. I guess we’ll get into it.

But I’ll get into that in a bit. For now, let’s talk about projects and some other thoughts.

Projects

As usual, I wanted to update readers about my project status. I’ve found the most efficient way to handle this is through a bulleted list. It also helps that it is a good format for SEO when it comes to posts. This is why you see lists so often in articles on the web.

Anyway, project updates…

• Regarding RGBots, I took an unintentional break this week. I have a couple of strip ideas down, which I’ll roll out next week. I have been dealing with a lot of “life stuff” piling up, and I just did not make the time to make any comics this week.
• This Sunday is chapter two of Cosmic Dash: The Swarm. I have to take a week to write it and a week to work on the art, since I am insisting on including illustrations even though I really don’t need to. I just like drawing the characters too much.
• The second HPKOMICS LIVE went well, and I am very excited to stream tonight. The ability to record the whole thing on my computer is, frankly, a marvel to me still.
• Regarding Supernatural Selection, I am still in my head about my Ouija board episode script. I need to finish it, but the summer class I am teaching is burning me out. I think I’ll have it done by mid-August. At least, I hope so.
• Next month, I intend to start actually creating Thorn By My Side comics. I feel confident enough in the concept and feel like the designs are locked in for the duo. My big question is whether I create a syndicate submission first, or just skip the middleman and post online.

And while I have you here, can we speak candidly?

Patronage

So, due to the things I explain later in this blog, I am down to about 1/3 of my regular income. I’ll be updating my resume, applying to places, of course, and generally doing what I can to survive a new financial reality. But I also offer commissions and the like. Those help, of course, but I also want to try to leverage my writing into something that pays. I am good at criticism and analysis and have a long track-record. Most importantly, people have enjoyed these things I’ve written.

So my thought is this: It has been a while since I wrote a proper review. It cuts into the time I can spend doing other work. But if there were some money in it, it would encourage me to write. My proposal is this: If I can get to $25 a month in donations on Ko-Fi, I will write reviews or analysis articles and work them into my rotation here on the website.

If you enjoyed Revenge of Graphic Content, Panel by Panel, or other things I have written, that is a way to get me to do more of that kind of work. I think we can pull it off this month, and I can get back into things like that. Right now, the monthly total of donations on my Ko-fi account is $10. If we can get fifteen of my readers to donate $1 a month, we can easily hit that $25 milestone.

I fully intend to write articles anyway, but when it comes to finding freelancing work or job hunting versus writing an article, the former wins out over the latter, and I don’t think anyone can blame me for that. I could also use this to let subscribers tell me what they want me to write about, which could be fun.

So, if you have enjoyed anything you have read here, or enjoy my art, please consider supporting me in the regular, reliable way by subscribing through Ko-fi.

The Odyssey: The Theft of Cheese

This is not going to be a review of The Odyssey, as I am going to be discussing it on The Distraction Hole when we record this Sunday. What I am going to do is look at an interesting detail from the film that I really appreciated. There was a lot to love about the movie, but I was very impressed with the emphasis on Zeus’ Law as it is woven throughout the entire film in fun ways.

Spoilers for an ancient myth, I suppose, but Odysseus’ plan involving the Trojan Horse is considered a violation of Zeus’ Law because it was offered as a gift (a lie) and leads to the sacking of Troy. The film revolves around this concept and explores it in a number of ways, portraying it as the destruction of civilization that it is.

A portion of the film that struck me, perhaps the most iconic chapter of Homer’s epic, was the encounter between the Ithacans and Polyphemus, the Cyclops, son of Poseidon. While the perils of The Odyssey itself are set in motion initially by Odysseus’ actions in Troy, it becomes so much worse in the cave of Polyphemus.

Allow me to divert a moment to praise the film for presenting Polyphemus as a sympathetic character while I am in this moment. Most often, he is rendered a monster (he is a giant cyclops who eats Ithacans after all), but the film does a great job rendering him as a person, down to pathetic, wounded prayers to Poseidon.

Usually, we see the concept of Zeus’ Law violated in this chapter by Polyphemus’ actions. However, the film does something very interesting by showing Odysseus violating xenia first. This doesn’t mean the Ithacans deserved to be eaten, but Odysseus casts the first stone. Within the cave, the Ithacans discover that whoever lives there raises sheep and creates cheese. But in this adaptation, as Odysseus orders his men to build a fire to welcome their potential host, Odysseus goes and eats the cheese made by Polyphemus. Odysseus enters a home and steals food from the homeowner. Thieving of a host absolutely is a violation of xenia.

Again, none of this justifies Polyphemus eating Odysseus’ men, but it is important to understand that this represents the heart of the film, the dissolution of the golden rule, and that Odysseus is repeating a disregard for the guest-host relationship that began back in Troy with the horse. The destruction of the thing that represents civilization as a concept: hospitality and etiquette.

I just think that’s neat to see in the movie.

Where To Now?

My own journey has come to a strange stop. If you have followed me on social media, I discussed the loss of the full-time teaching role I had worked hard for. It was an interim assignment, and I know it was only ever temporary, but I have been fighting for years for such an opportunity, and it just… ends. It is painful in many ways, and not even getting an interview to continue the duties was particularly hurtful, considering the success of the job I had done.

Well, when it rains, it pours. I was made aware this week, in confidence, that I will no longer serve as the Writing Center Coordinator because a full-time faculty member was interviewed for the position and got the job. Again, the circumstances of my year-long run were like the full-time teaching position: it was an interim assignment. Regardless, I worked very hard and accomplished a lot in terms of outreach and accessibility. But because I am classified (again) as an adjunct faculty member, I am out. This one really hurt, honestly.

I’ve wanted to be a Writing Center Coordinator for a long time, since I was a tutor. I also want to be a full-time teacher because of the financial security, naturally, but also because I love the job and could settle into this for decades. It feels like I got to experience these things for an academic year and have had them ripped from me. Effort and accomplishment didn’t matter.

Not to universalize my experience, but growing up, you are taught that if you work hard and accomplish things, you get a chance to go on to do better things. It’s all merit, right? Work hard for new opportunities, and you eventually get there. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t feel like things work that way, and that sucks. What has your experience been in that regard?

So for now, it is time to update my resume, hustle my way to cover bills, and hopefully make something out of all this writing and art. This is just an island on a long journey, and I’ll eventually set sail again for my Ithaca – a living wage and the opportunity to teach.

Anyway, here is “The Struggle.” This goes out to my homie, Odysseus. You’ll get there someday.

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