The Grand Experiment that was Tall Tale Features officially comes to a close here in 2012. Mike Witmer, he of the brilliant Pinkerton comic, had a wonderful vision of a comics collective made up of truly talented individuals who were all doing great work. If you follow comics online, you know the names and probably read their comics. Brian Anderson, Lucas Turnbloom, David Reddick, Norm Feuti, Jonathan Lemon, Brock Heasley, Irma Eriksson, Barb Jacobs, Chip Skelton, Scott Metzger. There’s a whole lotta talent in there, folks.
There’s no scandalous reason that TTF is toddling off into the sunset other than the one that plagues so many valiant ideas and splendid plans…time. Or, more specifically, the lack thereof. All those artists listed above are amazing and supportive, but the bottom line was simply that there was no time to really devote to maintaining the community properly. Many attempts were made at blogging, posting, forums, etc…but each of them is deeply immersed in their own site, or for most of them, sites. Anyone who has even thought about taking a shot at creating their own comic strip, comic book, or graphic novel knows that it’s a full time job. Usually on top of a day job, family, illustration jobs, freelance gigs, and side projects.
I have been lucky enough to hitch my wagon to those stars, and without exaggeration, each of them has been inspirational to me, supportive of the show, and honestly, good friends. I’m in contact with all them in one way or another most every day. Irma has become such a close friend and webmistress to my web efforts, and the site you see before you is a small part of the 325 things she does for my artistic and personal life. Lucas and I have lunch quite often and talk shop and our kids, Jonathan Lemon contributes brilliant comedy to my podcasts and is good friend I simply don’t see enough, Brock and I get into great discussions on twitter and email about every subject under the sun, Chip and I have political discussions that I wish actual politicians would emulate…Mike, Barb, Scott, Norm, and David are all artistic inspirations and wonderful people who I converse with all the time. I wish I had half the artistic skill they all possess in their pinky toes.
In short, there would be no Tall Tale Radio without Mike Witmer’s vision and the support of all those amazing artists. They’re all doing quite well on their own, and it’s so exciting to watch them grow and stretch themselves. I look forward to getting free copies of all their works as they explode on the scene!
So, Tall Tale Features is dead. Long live Tall Tale Radio. I have had the opportunity to grow as a podcaster, interviewer and voice artist over these past several years, all because of this show. I have some great plans on the horizon for the show, hopefully some bigger news, and as always, the honor to talk to such great artists, musicians, filmmakers, and people from all walks of life. All of my TTF Brethren will surely continue to appear on the show, and all have carte blanche when it comes to that. I can’t thank them enough for their support and friendship, and know that both will continue for a long, long time.
Onward! And stay tuned!
