Parisian Phoenix Publishing

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Phillipsburg Comic Con with my children’s book illustrator Joseph Swarctz promoting the Echo City Capers books. Joe trained at the Joe Kubert School in Dover, N.J., which if you are a fan of the comic book scene, you probably recognize as the place where comic book illustrators are born.

To me, comic books provide for illustrators what journalism does for writers, the monthly production timeframe of comic books demands a rapid creation schedule that hones craft while also fostering a sense of urgency and repetition that transforms art into a sort of muscle memory.

Now before you read that and think I am saying that it strips art of creativity and focuses on a money machine, let me say it this way: The demand for repetitive and consistent illustration allows the artist to perfect his craft and not get paralyzed by perfectionism and fear.

After 15 years of journalism and endless years of other types of writing, it is rare for me to sit down at any blank page and not be able to write. The ability to perform your art on demand without too much stress or hesitation is invaluable.

The organizers of the Phillipsburg Comic Con invited the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group to the event, and the club sponsored a table so that we could talk with people about writing, and we had lots of people ask questions and some authors even sold a couple books. (And much to my delight, we had our own GHOSTBUSTER and one of our members is a balloon animal master. By the end of the day people were seeking out “the balloon guy.”)

You can join me for a social media marketing workshop at Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group on Saturday (GLVWG.org to register): free presentation at 11 a.m., hands-on workshop at 1:30 p.m. ($15 for non-members)

You can see Joe Swarctz at Barnes and Noble on Sunday in the Southmont Shopping Center.