I was in a car, riding on the 10 freeway, and I started giggling. My friend Liz, from behind the wheel, asked what was so funny. I launched into a spontaneous riff about life and how everything goes in cycles. There are cycles that take mere minutes, some that take years, and some that take centuries. It feels like the world is at a point where a lot of those cycles of all different sizes are all coming back up to the start at the same time. And that’s how I feel about my life right now, that a whole bunch of cycles of different sizes are all coming back up to the zero point at once. I’m starting all over again in a lot of different ways, but also building on what I’ve done and what I’ve learned already.

My dream has always been to be successful in comics. When I was in elementary school, the 1989 Batman movie turned me on to comics. That same summer, I checked a book out of the library called Comix: A History of the Comic Book in America by Les Daniels. I hate to admit it, but I never returned it. Instead, I read and re-read it for the next several years.  The book contained a written history of the artform, but also pages and pages of samples from the books it was talking about.  It was the first encounter I ever had with underground comics.

It was the first I’d ever seen of comics beyond what Marvel and DC had on offer.  It was the first time I’d seen comics with swearing, sex, drugs, and serious violence.  It was during this same time that I caught the movies Comic Book Confidential and Fritz the Cat on late-night TV.  That was the summer that changed my life and the decision was made that I was going to make alternative/underground comics when I grew up.  I also dreamed of making movies and appearing in other media, but comics was always my obsession and my first love.

I’ve already done interviews and stuff about how I grew up and had that big moment when I realized I needed to get moving and that’s when I hit the streets, got something going, and got the TV gig.

While I was doing the TV thing, comics accidentally fell by the wayside.  I got busy with the show, my music, and my internet videos.  We launched a spin-off comic book for the TV show and when we did, the whole idea was that we were starting a comics company and my next series would be published by them.  There are a variety of reasons why that didn’t happen, maybe I’ll comment on that one day.

The vision has always been that this is a multi-faceted project, with comics at the centre of it.  Take the comics away, and it all falls apart because you’ve lost the connecting thread.  The comics are the beating heart of the whole thing.

I might make another rap record.  I don’t think about it right now, but I might later.  I might do more stuff on TV.  In fact, I’ll most likely do more stuff on TV.  But right now, all I want to do is get my new comics series going.  That was what I learned right before I went away for the winter: none of my other accomplishments will matter to me unless my comics dream comes true.

So here I am, back at the Zero Point, starting all over again.

With Beat City and then The Sean Ward Electric Comics Freak-Out!, the goal was simply to earn a modest living by doing those comic books, by any means necessary.  Now it’s more grandiose.

Before, any time the project changed gears, I would rip the site down and put up a new one for whatever was happening.  I didn’t realize how that was affecting my momentum until I didn’t have any.  I have also been thinking lately about how much more I want to share with you about what I’m going through.  I haven’t been very candid on this blog in the last year, and I think that’s been an ego thing where I wanted to project a certain image.  But my whole thing from the very start back in 2002 has been about trying to inspire and bring artists together.

So now I’m going to try to err on the side of sharing too much.  If I have success, hopefully you can get something out of how I made it happen.  If I stumble, good.  Maybe you’ll learn how to not make the same mistake.  Besides, this is all a big joke anyway.

People have been in and out and in and out of this scene, but I just wanted to tell those of you who are here right now for the rebirth that I deeply and sincerely appreciate your patronage, and I’m super-excited to have you come on this ride with me.

OK, let’s get moving.

Sean D. Ward
Los Angeles, California

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