Black Hole and Beyond: Lifting Off with steady growth
From Black Hole’s recent artist feature with Alec Smith.
By Toren Chenault — Last week, was the biggest week in Black Hole Comics and Entertainment’s short history, for a few reasons. The main one is obvious: our short story contest winners were announced. That was exhilarating, and I get giddy as hell when cool things happen for creatives, especially when they feel seen. But also, last week was the first time we had more than two pieces of content out on the website in a week. Our contest announcement, an interview with comic writer Lonnie Nadler, and an original short story from one of our launch writers.
It might not seem that big, but here’s a funny story. When I tried out for wrestling in 8th grade, I had no idea that wrestling was not what I saw Shawn Michaels and Rob Van Dam doing on Monday nights. And had no idea the cardio needed to succeed. I also wasn’t accustomed to the band Disturbed, but that’s literally all they played during practice. The coaches made us run two miles the first day, and I almost died. But…I didn’t die and was proud of that. Maybe I couldn’t beat John Cena at One Night Stand with the help of Paul Heyman, but I could run two miles.
Well, later in high school, I won a scholarship. It was a leadership program where I had to interview with 11 people at once. Not kidding. Basically the “best” students are picked in the school, and the winners got to go to this leadership retreat in Colorado. They told me to talk about a time I’d overcome something tough, so I talked about those two miles. Later, I found out that one of the faculty members in the interview commented how it was silly that I was proud of that, that it was kind of trivial. And that faculty member was my freaking principal. Long story short, I’m going to my beat, not yours. Whether it’s three pieces of content or two miles. Life’s too hard to care about what others consider significant.
In the bigger picture though, last week was the start of some big things for Black Hole. My collaborator Nick Couture and I have been planning some pretty cool stuff and having content flow like it did last week gives me hope. We’re growing, evolving, it’s a huge theme for me personally this week, but also the company. And that’s mainly because of Lift Off, a series where we highlight up-and-coming artists.
I talked last week about the short story contest and why it was important to showcase writers. But artists need love too. More than love, they need money for their work. There are too many stories in the comic and entertainment industry about artists not getting their fair share, whether in payment or credit for work. Publishing and payment are taboos that people don’t really like to talk about. It took a man dying at the hands of police and a social shift in multiple industries for that #PublishingPaidMe tag to start circulating as writers and artists from marginalized communities discussed the ways they had been slighted. I won’t try to understand the comic industry’s hang up with discussing these issues, not just in times of crisis, but artists deserve to be paid for work, period. They deserve proper time to do bigger projects, as well as being paid more for more complex work. It really is that simple.
I’m rambling, but Lift Off is my attempt at giving artists the same spotlight as writers. I knew it needed to be different, I didn’t just want to interview the artist and give people links to work. So, they are paid for an original commission. And the subject is anything they want to discuss. It might be corny, but I really love it when people bare their souls with and in their art. I don’t know if there’s any other way to approach art. So they create, and I ask them to tell me about their influences, the piece itself, and really anything else they want. I pitch it as a free form interview where anything and everything can be discussed. Quotes from them are usually used, and I do a write up of them and the art. I think the format of it, that freeform and creative feel, matches the pieces that these artists are turning in.
At the time I’m writing this, there are two pieces in our Lift Off series finished so far. The first was Kiana Kremer who turned in a really cool and colorful D&D piece. Alec Smith is July’s artist. He turned in a demonic black and white piece that’s one of the coolest images I’ve ever seen. And August is Domonick “Pickle” Rocket. They have a webcomic called Bar Bots and their piece is colorful and trippy just like their comic. There’s no one style I prefer or am looking for in these pieces, it’s about letting these artists shine with what they do best.
There’s lots to look forward to. In the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing the short story winners (first one went up Monday with the second going up on Friday.) Nick and I are working on getting a podcast off the ground, mainly to discuss comics and just mess around but also to talk to up-and-coming creators. And we’ll be announcing some of our comics coming out in the next few months, the main one being a science-fiction anthology. And Lift Off will be continuing once a month at the very least until the end of the year.
I was proud of those two miles. Hell, I still am. And I’m proud of what Black Hole is turning into. Our only motivation is telling stories, and I think we’re well on our way.
Toren Chenault is a writer and creator from Lansing, Michigan. He released his debut novel, Mystic Man in 2018. He's the owner and co-founder of Black Hole Comics and Entertainment. Toren has a passion for comics and all forms of storytelling. His influences range from hip-hop to anything science fiction related.