And that's something to consider carefully. I love comics. I would love to get paid to research and write about about whatever comic book related stuff strikes me. But I know that's not commercially viable. Heck, there are plenty of things I write here that I think are really great, but they don't even get linked to. Maybe it's utter crap but I suspect it has more to do with my just covering topics that don't interest anyone. So I keep a day job that I'm reasonably good at, and brings in enough money to pay all my bills.
When I had first graduated college, I could look out and see older people who were a lot more successful than I was with regard to job prospects and income and whatnot. And that was okay because, well, they were more experienced and had been out there longer. I'm old enough now that see people my age or younger climbing the corporate ziggurat lickety-split, and I can see that I'm not going to get to that level of "success." Which is still okay, because that's not really what I want to do with my life.
See, the thing is that every person has to have their own priorities and goals. While mine do include living more comfortably (financially speaking) than someone like Pekar, I also want to live for myself before my career or my bank account. So I go into the office and do good work -- derived more from personal pride than corporate ambitions -- but I also make sure than I'm working to live, not living to work. I want to come home in the evening and kill some time reading a biography of Gardner Fox or researching old Denny O'Neil comics or banging out another (ultimately) fruitless blog post.
I heard years ago that one of the keys to a life well lived is to take your two deepest passions, make your second-favorite your job and make the other your hobby. If you make your deepest passion your job, you'll get caught up in the bullshit that inevitably crops up and you won't be able to see it in the same untainted light. If you reserve that for your second-favorite passion, you can always keep whatever it is that really excites you alive and fresh and energizing.
That's why I've never aggressively pursued a career in comics. That's why I haven't worked very hard in trying to monetize my writing about comics. I've explained to a few people recently that much of my writing is just the means to an end. I'm looking to understand different aspects of comics better, and writing about them forces me to organize my thoughts in a cohesive manner. Writing it down forces me to create a narrative about what I'm learning and thus makes it easier for me to remember. I'm not averse to getting paid to write about comics -- that's where my Webcomics book comes from after all -- but it's never really been a primary goal.
I think Pekar did something similar. I don't think anyone would claim he was that deeply passionate about being a file clerk; that was just how he paid the bills. Even comics were a secondary passion for him, following behind jazz. Robert Crumb is the same way. Both of them have expressed annoyance and frustration and dismay when talking about comics, but they never seemed to be that way about jazz. They could put on an old jazz album, and be completely absorbed by the music.
They key is recognizing which is a hobby and which is going to make you a living. I don't claim to have all the answers, and whatever answers I might have are just what works for me. But I like to think I've got my act relatively together. I'm happy with who I am and what I'm doing. And I can sit down and read a good comic book, and just enjoy the fact that I'm enjoying a good comic. I don't have "how do I turn this in money for groceries" floating in the back of my head the whole time. I don't have "DEADLINE!!!" screaming at me from within the pages of Fantastic Four. I could drop off the comicdom's radar entirely, and just sit at home quietly reading Questionable Content by myself with no outside interaction at all, and I'd still be able to cover all my bills just fine, thankyouverymuch. F.I.J.A.G.H.
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