Cry Wolf... Time to Worry?

I dropped by the Metro Comic-Con last Saturday for a little go-see. Despite the Megatrade Hall being a bit too spacious, the event appeared well-attended, though I didn't stay too long. After so many years of not having any major project to promote, I felt a bit like a fish out of water.

In between chatting with Wilson Tortosa, Syeri Baet, Lyndon Gregorio and Johnny Danganan, saying hello to Budjette Tan and Gilbert Monsanto, and taking pics with Gio Paredes and Gener Pedrina, I picked up a few comics here and there. While I do enjoy reading the works of my fellows, there comes the occasional tinge of quiet envy, like I've been lax at this whole comics-making thing while the others religiously keep the pages coming. I do have that six-pager in the first Komikero Komiks anthology, and I'm submitting an eight-pager for its third issue. There's also another Graphic Classics assignment due in a few months...

But I neeeeed to get a big, fat book out. It's like a delicious curse with a bittersweet aftertaste.

Over a year has passed since I cried "Wolf!" by releasing 14 pages of the Zaturnnah sequel. Weeks ago, I said that I was shelving the project, primarily due to mental block. I've been so fickle about this project that I wanted to hit my head against a brick wall for being so seesaw-ish about this story. Apparently, what I've been going through is something many-a-writer has experienced. I told myself, "Carlo, stop! Move away. You need a fresh perspective." And I did remove myself, even though I felt like I failed somewhere.

After some time of not touching the Zaturnnah sequel, I'm at it again. Thanks, in part, to the five-plus hours of listening to elementary Spanish MP3s. Going through the language lessons somehow flicked a switch in my brain. A few days later, which was quite recently, I was giving the writing pad another wave of scribbling, charting a fresh outline for the sequel. And last night, I managed to type up a full eight chapters, scene by scene, from beginning to end, of perhaps the most complex story I've done to date.

The next challenge, of course, is the remaining 70% of actual script that I have to write, followed by that great epic journey known as illustrating pages. Dear Lord, let this be done!! I don't want to cry "Wolf!" again!