{"id":1898,"date":"2018-01-16T09:23:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T17:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=1898"},"modified":"2023-12-21T09:26:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T17:26:05","slug":"devourer-of-words-052-resolved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/devourer-of-words-052-resolved\/","title":{"rendered":"Devourer of Words 052: Resolved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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MARC BERNARDIN’S DEVOURER OF WORDS<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devourer of Words 052: Resolved<\/h1>\n\n\n
Marc Bernardin<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Toucan<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Marc<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another New Year, another set of New Year\u2019s resolutions that feel like bowling pins, set up to be knocked down. We do it every year: Declarations with no accountability \u2026 usually. This year I\u2019m going to make accountability my first resolution, so let\u2019s take a look at last year\u2019s DoW resolutions and see how we did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. READ<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

I said: \u201cFor the past couple of years, I\u2019ve been in an output mode\u2014between comics and television and various day jobs, I\u2019ve been producing content on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. And, to be honest, I haven\u2019t made the time to put new literature in my brain. And that can be a costly oversight. I\u2019ve been lax \u2026 time to correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict: Not so great. Not to make excuses, but I started the year deep in Oscar season coverage for the Los Angeles Times<\/em> and in February went to work on Hulu\u2019s new Castle Rock<\/em> TV show. I went from multitasking like a mofo to deep immersion into the world of Stephen King. Now, while I did a lot of reading of the King canon, some of that was refreshing stuff I\u2019d read previously and all of it was for work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I read a lot, but precious little of it was comics. So, I\u2019ve still got a long way to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. SUPPORT<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

I said: \u201cWe\u2014and by we, I mean mostly me\u2014often complain about the lack of fresh perspectives, of new voices in the media we consume. It can too frequently feel like a closed loop. I want to stand behind the new. I want to find it on the newsstands and I want to enlist them as collaborators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict: Harder to quantify. Because I didn\u2019t do a ton of comics reading, I didn\u2019t do a ton of first-hand discovery. But I will say that when I came across someone on social media that I like, I boosted. I contributed some momentum, such as it is, to hashtags like #VisibleWomen and #DrawingWhileBlack. Be an ally when you can is a decent way to roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. CREATE<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

I said: \u201cPut something new into the world, something that only you can make. Maybe it\u2019ll sell. Maybe it won\u2019t. Maybe people will love it. Maybe they won\u2019t. But it will be YOURS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict: I feel pretty good about this one. My collaborators\u2014Adam Freeman, Rosi Kempe, and Brad Simpson\u2014released a miniseries called Genius: Cartel,<\/em> from Image\/Top Cow. While you won\u2019t get to see the Castle Rock<\/em> show until later this year, I spent the better part of 2017 helping conjure something from nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could I have done more? Yes, for sure. Will I? Well, that gets to this year\u2019s resolution\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. KEEP CREATING<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Not much more needs to be said about this, beyond the obvious as so expertly and succinctly put forth by Bre Pettis in his Done Manifesto: \u201cDone is the engine of more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s get more done in 2018, everyone. Because the world needs more, not less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marc Bernardin\u2019s Devourer of Words appears the third Tuesday of every month here on<\/em> Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

Marc Bernardin<\/div>\n\n\n

Published<\/p>\n\n\n