Out of This World Comic Book

OOTW Presented at ISCA 2005

The Iowa School Counselor’s Association (ISCA) was held in Ames, Iowa this year from October 10^th to October 11^th.  Youthlight invited Sandy Ragona and myself to present and represent Youthlight and our books for the attendees.  The response for Eliminating Bullying and the OOTW books was amazing. 

Many counselors were pleased with OOTW, and saw it as truly unique.  They have worked with workbooks and storybooks for many years and are excited to have a therapeutic tool that is created in a comic book format.  Many individuals made sure to express this thought.  Not only did it encourage me to continue developing OOTW products but it also encouraged me to continue focusing on new interactive multimedia tools for our work with children.

I am anxiously waiting to hear from many of the ISCA attendees who will use the OOTW books with their students and obtain feedback regarding the response from the children.  I will be happy to summarize the feedback in the blog.

So I’m back, less busy now that prep for the conference is over, and I will back on track regarding updates.

Introducing: The "Waving Man"!

I work in the school district here in Dubuque, assisting families with coordinating services and working on issues that are family related, but which spill over into the school setting.  This means that I am somewhat on call when a family is in crisis or needs a meeting to discuss options.  On this morning I had a meeting scheduled at 8 AM to meet with a parent regarding the family’s issues. 

For those of you that don’t know me, I am not a morning person.  I’m not the “grumpy-until-I-get-my-coffee” type of person, heck, I don’t even drink coffee.  Can’t stand the stuff.  But, I am sometimes slow going if it’s work related.

So I got in my car, realized I should have worn a coat, and thought of the Midwestern winter that is right around the corner.  It was cold, foggy, and just plain dreary.  I got in my car, pulled out of the driveway, and began the trek to school, ready to battle the eager mothers rushing their kids to school.

The way to school took me on a busy walking street.  That is, many people tend to use this long, straight road to meet their exercise needs throughout the day.  At this hour the majority of the walkers are the elderly, the early birds getting the worms.  I am a people watcher, so I always tend to look at each person as I pass.  Nothing extraordinary so far, just walkers, looking even more unhappy then me, questioning their right of mind for walking on such a morning.

Anyway, as I continued to drive I recognized a walker.  I don’t know this man.  I have never talked to him.  I don’t even know his first name.  But for some reason there is a connection.  You see, this man, no matter when I see him walking, always waves and has a great big smile on his face.  And not just to me.

I remember the first time I saw him.  I was going somewhere, most likely in a hurry, most likely with the impatient determination that I usually have when trying to get across town, and there he was.  Waving as big as life to me.  With a big smile.  Almost as if he was encouraging me to cheer up.

The first thought I had as I passed, was the same that we all have when someone waves to us that we don’t know.

“Who the heck was that?”

But then, after some pondering, a quick look in the rearview mirror revealed that he gave the same big wave and the same big smile to everyone that crossed his path.  At first I was a little disappointed.  I mean, I thought his wave was meant for me and me only.  Like God sent him down from the heavens above to have an intervention with my hurried, spastic headset.  But then I realized the bigger picture.  He was making everyone’s day.

So I saw him again this morning on my way to the meeting.  Of course he was waving to everyone that went by, and again, like every time since the first, it brought a little joy to my soul on this dreary morning.  In fact, after seeing him, you wouldn’t believe the disappointment I feel after passing other walkers.  It’s like something is missing if they don’t greet me.

So here’s to you “Waving Man”.  For making my day.  For making many other days as well, I am sure.  Thank you.  And one of these days, when I’m not rushing to here or there, I will stop and thank you Waving Man.  God bless you.

Updates and New project!

Work continues to develop regarding some OOTW interactive media.  One thing is for sure though, these things do take time.  Contacts continue to be made and ideas continue to be thrown around.  There are definitely plenty of new and innovative counseling tools on the horizon, both OOTW related and not.

As a side note, I am also excited to talk about a new venture that I have taken on.  I am currently writing a fictional comedy graphic novel to be drawn by Manuel Aguilera.  This story is much different than the OOTW series, as it’s simply a fictional work for fiction sake.  The story is set in the 1960’s during the “Race to the Moon”.  The main character, Ted, one of the most gifted rocket scientists in the nation, has been fired from NASA.  Ted, you see, feels that NASA should be using a different propellant for launching vessels for space exploration.  He was in charge of the division that was studying the probability of using an ethyl alcohol propellant instead of the highly volatile liquid hydrogen propellant NASA eventually used for successful space exploration.  But you see, Ted didn’t have the benefit of history and hindsight on his side. He ended up on the wrong side of the fence.

Since rocket science had been his life mission since he accidentally blew up the science lab in elementary school, Ted begins some experiments on his own, and nearly gets himself killed literally hundreds of times.  As the experiments continue, and the explosions increase, Ted is told by NASA and the FBI that if he continues with his unsanctioned experiments he will be arrested and face charges against the state. 

For one, the race to space was on, and even though the nation didn’t want to come in second place to the Soviet Union, it really didn’t want to come in second place to Ted Wortmann.  Second, not just anyone can try to launch something into orbit.  It’s a good thing, I assume, that the federal government regulates when and where someone launches a 30-ton machine into the air above our heads (with the potential, of course, of it crashing back to earth).

But this is Ted’s life mission and he is determined to see it through, even if that means losing his marriage, facing federal charges, and having to ditch the FBI tail every time he leaves the house.

The story, although it seems serious, is written as a comedy and it won’t be taking itself too seriously at all.  In fact, I just got done writing the first 12 pages last night and I was laughing my backside off thinking of all the hilarious opportunities that I could explore.  What a great period of time the 60’s were.  The black op helicopters, conspiracies, the styles, the innocence that was about to end, and the race to space.  I mean, we were going to the moon…the moon!  We look back on that now and it seems like it was no big deal.  But in reality, it was one of the greatest accomplishments man has ever made. 

That’s been my other recent passion lately…reading about our voyage into space.  You read through some of those books (I’ll have to post my book list someday) and you realize these guys were heroes. But I digress…

So the story of Ted will get him in a variety of humorous situations as he tries to cobble together a working launch mechanism to get into orbit.  Will he succeed?  Will he be the first man on the moon?  I doubt it.  But I’m thinking rationally.  Ted, your neighbor with enough rocket fuel in his garage to take out five city blocks, is not.

The first scene is complete and ready for Manny to begin drawing, which he will start this weekend.  I will post images as they come through and keep you up to date on my little side project.  If I can do 3 pages of scripting a day I will be good, and I will still be able to focus on OOTW duties that call.  Overall, it’s been nice to take my writing brain down a different path for a change.

Here's a quick look at our hapless loser....

Recent Psychjourney Interview

Not much to post.  More exciting stuff coming your way, but too early to announce.  In the mean time, feel free to learn more about OOTW by listening to an interview I did with Psychjourney.com's Deborah Harper. 

Listen to Interview

Fan Art Contest

Eric and I have been interested in doing a fan art contest since the moment we opened up the site.  It's a great joy of ours to see our characters drawn with in a new style or with a new twist.  The plan is to put up all the contestants art in the Fan Art section of the site, regardless if the artist is a finalist or not.

The contest is open to minors and should focus on the characters of the OOTW comic series.  All voting will occur in the OOTW forum, where a poll will be used so everyone can see how they are doing.  The deadline will be announced soon. 

There is also a prize for this contest.  The artist that wins will have a mug created for them with the OOTW logo and their own art!  Plus he/she will get their art on the front page of ootwcomic.com with their names in lights.

So if you are a kid, or have a kid in the family, or heck, know the kid across the street, please let them know about the contest!

You can learn more information about this contest at the Fan Art Submission page.

Please contact me at jon@ootwcomic.com if you have any questions.