Many may recall about two months ago, I had stated my intention to slowly back away from my fanfic commitments, beginning with resigning from my Associate Editor position at Marvel Omega. But now, I’m back at MO as the new Submissions Editor and I’ve gotten back into writing my titles (albeit slowly).
The reason I wanted to scale back from fanfic was because of a relocation to Japan, taking on a full-time teaching position, and planned to spend my free time either exploring the country or working on my original writing. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and this wasn’t an exception. Once I arrived in Japan, I found out the company I was hired by was incredibly insolvent and I didn’t have enough money to afford another apartment (I was staying in company-sponsored accommodations and Japanese apartments can cost up to USD $3000 down). So I was forced to return to the States and put my dream of immersing myself in the Japanese culture on the back-burner for now.
With more time on my hands since coming back, I’ve returned to fanfic as well. It’s been a bit of a difficult transition, getting back into the groove of writing on a regular basis. But it’s also been comforting. The last time I chose to “retire” from fanfic, I ended up coming back due to a personal crisis in my life, and fanfic helped me deal with the transition. It seems history has a way of repeating itself.
I’m not quite sure what it is about fanfic that I find comforting to fall back on in times of crisis. A part of it probably has to do with the therapeutic nature of writing in general—getting your thoughts and ideas out on paper and whatnot—but there’s something more than that.
It’s the community.
Even during the times when I was at odds with my colleagues on the HEROES list, there was still some sort of a community feel. I’ve been part of this community for almost eight years, and during that time, I’ve made a lot of close friends. Some of them I’ve even met in person. But even the ones I haven’t, I’ve crafted a very strong bond with. And that’s what keeps me coming back.
Sure, there are problems with the community, just as there are problems with any community. Many of us are very stubborn and arrogant, and when you put a lot of very opinionated people with very strong personalities together, those personalities are bound to clash. And there have been some clashes that were downright epic. Sometimes, we veer off-topic—be it the infamous monkey vs. robot debates, Sam’s sister, or talking about how much Joel sucks.
So I’m back once again, and once again writing far more fanfic than should be permitted by law and psychiatric regulations. How long I’ll be back, I’m not sure. I can promise at least a year. After that, depending on how things work out, I’ll either be going to graduate school or back to Japan with a better company.
In other words, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.
Dino Pollard is the Submissions Editor for Marvel Omega, where he writes New Warriors, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Ultimate X-Men and co-writes Avengers and Thunderbolts. He also writes X-Force and X-Men: The Lazarus Contract for Marvel 2000 and Nightwing for JLU: 2001. He also co-writes Wildcats at Vertigo: Subculture and Wolverine at Altered Visions.