MICHAEL DAVIS: The Real World

Michael Davis

Master Of The Universe, Lord Of All Media, Most Interesting Black Man In the World, Sexiest Man on Earth, Mentor, Writer, Artist, Producer & Uppity.

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11 Responses

  1. Steph' says:

    Deadlines are there for a reason, people. If you can't take the heat, don't work in the kitchen. As most of you know, I had a ceiling fall in on me last year. Except for the kitchen and bathroom, the entire drywall fell in on me. I was in my bed at the time (having worked till 6 AM on my comic). As we later found out, the drywall was installed back in the 70's, so there was no building code for the drywall ceiling to screwed in as opposed to it being simply nailed in, as it was. We had to salvage and clean everything we owned. My husband had to drop a lucrative freelance gig, in hopes of just getting his editorial duties at his regular comics job. I hurriedly completed the last few pages and the pre-press for my comic book on our computer at the temporary "corporate suite" at the apartment complex (which the management provided for, thank goodness). We ended up hand delivering the comics, still tacky from the same day at the printers to the post office with minutes to spare before official cancellation from Diamond. The books shipped way later than we'd planned, but they made it.Actually, the tightest deadline was a book this year. The day before the book was set to be printed, there was a editorial problem with four pages. This was around 8-9PM or so. Those four pages had to be filled before 9am the next day in time for the book to be printed and shipped on-time to Diamond. I emailed our freelancers in hopes of finding some material. Our Italian freelancers emailed me a short story to finish out the issue around 1-2 AM, which I lettered and edited dialogue (our books are printed in a language which isn't their native lingo) in the wee small hours, so my husband could get it to print on-time.

  2. Rick Taylor says:

    Michael – If it means anything just about EVERYONE has a terrible work ethic these days.

    • Linda Gold says:

      Really? Everyone I know works long hours and many weekends but they are mostly self-employed or freelancers. Like Micheal, I too have made it a matter of pride never to miss a deadline and can honestly say I have only missed 2 or 3 in 30 years and can only recall one time when I was actually my own fault. I would agree that this seems to be a problem in the service industries where actual service is a joke-at least on the coasts. I find service in the mid-west still exists.

  3. Adriane Nash says:

    tee-hee "sex million"

  4. Rick Taylor says:

    Sad but true. The last couple of corporate environments I've worked in people are all about pushing as much of their work off on other folks, taking credit for as much of the good stuff as possible and blaming any missed deadlines on the rest of the 'team' as possible. It's all about getting ahead the easy way. So much for 'team work'.Most managers have never done the jobs they oversee. This is especially true in the 'creative' areas of businesses (spefically print and web). Few people actually understand the job their doing. It's all about trying to move onto the next position in the company without perfecting where you're at. I agree about the midwest, I think an old-school work ethic still exists there.

  5. Steve Atkins says:

    Being a creator myself and a "freelancer," things are kind of touch and go for me since I am a one-man crew. On the one side, I don't have to worry about someone else messing up my projects because of being late or poor work, etc. On the other side, a great deal more of my time is used up "wearing too many hats."—-I am responsible for such things because my book is MINE, win, lose, or draw. I have designed it from cover to cover. I have written every word of the stories and I am finishing up the interior artwork (I am the penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, and cover artist). I want my book to be the best I can possibly make it AND (like one of my idols, Rod Serling, once said) I don't put out anything I am not proud to put my name on.—-I see this trend towards lateness from the perspective of the fan/customer. I don't want to read issue #1 of a comic in January 2003 and wait until March of 2005 for issue #2. Therefore, I don't do that to my (would-be) customers and (possible) fans.—-I just don't get this sort of behavior. Of course, being that I had performed some decent art duties for a couple of webcomics and never had the benefit of working for a "legitimate" comics publisher, I may not have enough experience in the industry to voice too strong an opinion…….I HAVE, however, been a customer who was forced to "Vote With My Wallet" because I had to wait several months for a MONTHLY series and received sub-standard product when it FINALLY came in.—-Now, for something a bit lighter…I am curious about one thing…How can homeless man who wonders what time the homeless shelter opens watch the show he created win Emmys? ;)