J.M. Matthews's Flavors.me profile [brand new homies!]

J.M. Matthews:

I am an internet writer, among numerous other things, duties, and responsibilties...I am an award winning anime  reviewer, an author of numerous fiction and nonfiction works. A cartoonist. An animator and designer. And a devout Christian-Mystic and Internationalist Counterculture revivalist. I also talk a lot too much when I'm not drawing and writing or being an obscure famous celebrity type person and French-Japanese and Chinese Connoisseur wannabe traveler and Florida Southerner expatriate.

J.M.'s YouTube Series....

Live Action Video Segments

Secret Rules of Pitching Concepts, Ideas, Books,and Shows. TIMING: Save and Protect Your Darlings for the Right Opportunity and Moment

Save your best ideas not for first meetings with your industry peers once you meet them. Get to know producers and studio heads and publishers first, develop a relationship with less B.S. and hype or pressure, pick a time they're not busy THEN pitch your idea. Don't rush people out of the blue. It comes across as much more demanding and gets on people's nerves. Being "All Business" and "No Friendship, Trust, and Bonding" can turn people in Hollywood off. That's all they deal with for the day. Put yourself in the Producers and Studio Manager's shoes: Who can you trust with a 6 month project to handle Day to Day operations. An assistant artist or writer who's been working within the studio staff for five years,or some people scheduling an appointment with you for 45 minutes who you've never met. Trust and Kindship is important. You may not know people at first or right away, but you will over time. Have faith in the hiring and business. Slowly work your way up through the ranks, and save your best ideas not for the first meeting, but the 15th one with your bosses, even if it means getting internships and putting in that grunt work with your niche skills you already know how to do up front, like music making, or screen writing, or animating, or storyboarding, or art direction. Etc. Snowball it. Relationships often develop a lot slower than individual projects, but relationships lead into projects and establish trust, and can last for many career lifetimes, and have much more peace, quiet, and stability to them, and don't bug people in the industry as much with their impersonal nature. You can achieve this in anime too. Just  ask Kris Prynoski, John Lasseter, Dan Vado, and Thomas Romain. I did at one point, believe it or not, and in some rare instances, I was actually honored with a thoughtful and courteous response. Which kind of validates my point through my own experience so far in and of itself.. I've still got a long way to go though.

After 7 Dominant Years, The Webcomic You Grew Up With, Is Moving. Witness the Rebirth of a Legend...The Fall of Webcomics Nation and Joey Manley (My condolences to Manly's family and fellow WCN Publishers)

I was going to say something sooner about he untimely Death of Webcomics Nation (WCN) site founder, publisher, president, webmaster, and webcomics Power Player Joey Manly, but at the time, I thought to myself "But I don't really KNOW Joey Manly other than through his website, plus is it really my place to speak out on the subject? We did have our rocky moments afterall."

But now I'll say a few words about Joey. 

Joey Manly was great at comics! I admired his publishing and internet web master know how, and published End Times through Webcomics Nation initially (you can find) End Times at its now permanent home, post-WCN, Comic Fury, a site that I have a much more INSTANT and NOTICEABLE, as well as less unpredictable audience over at. 

When I started publishing comics online in 2007, the same time I was writing reviews for Anime TV with Bang Zoom! Entertainment for titles like Fate Stay/Night with the so-called "Bosch crew", I was popular, yet very insecure. I honestly had no clue what I was doing. I just knew this was headed some where potentially big, if things worked out all right in time. Well...Yes and No.

Link: NEW WEB ADDRESS AND HOME

Second URL: 
ComicFury

Old One: Webcomics Nation

J.M. Matthews: Webcomics Artist

Yes yes. Please don't tweet me. It's a lot of stress and adjustment for me and my small audience of diehard fans, apostles, and devotees, but it is by NO MEANS THE END (so to speak). It's not End Times for End Times. Just a bumpy patch. But it is timely and aptly titled, oddly enough. It's NEVER The End in the World of End Times. And It NEVER WILL BE. People just like to SAY it is. But fuck them. What do they know. They haven't been right about things SO FAR . Everyone when I first started off said my career was going to simply die off and rot in obscurity because of how much of a "perverted friendless girlfriendless loser I was. Totally NOT sexy". All the things you hear in the beginning.

please exuse me, it's 2 months later almost from my traumatic entry, and i'm still a bit shellshocked. Doing relatively okay, though. 

We had a good run, Joey and WCN! But I'm setting sail again.

Webcomics nation was just as much of a webcomics brand as End Times, Mono, and J.M. were at one point. And easily just as famous and powerful. Dunno about now, though. Tough to say. I am "Ahmed" after all. I don't know why people call me J.M.....I need to buy a new scanner. If only I weren't poor and had no money or resources to do so. hmmmmm.

G+ aside, it's official. I currently publish End Times and various Mono Projects at ComicFury. But I'll make more announcements and social media press releases about those things in the future. I left Webcomics Nation and am no longer associated with it in a branding sense, even though it's impossible to delete accounts from there for publishers who don't badger them to do so or threaten legal action if they don't help you.. But ce la vi. What's done is done. I've moved on yet again. Surprise surpise. I always do. 

I like it there so far. I like the comics equally. I like the fans and their kind treatment of me for the most part. I like the responsiveness. I like how I have a small but large audience and better more informative analytics there.  EVEN WITH the negative side of that whole Thing with a capital "T" of the eerily racist-istic Ahmed-eque famous-infamous arrest at the hands of my adoptive father, Cary Alberts sicking his police bloodhounds on me without telling or informing me he was doing so beforehand or warning me to not misbehave in any way, back in Casselberry, Florida, which surprisingly was never publicized in reality (if only things were as simple as they were on TV shows! ya know?, other than by me being likened to Ahmed through news, Twitter, and media insinuations since it was  similar situation of racism and injustice, in August of 2015, right around the time the Pope named dropped Thomas Merton my famous relative, this year narrowly missed me and threw a monkey wrench into my publishing career, plans, goals, and schedule and could have ended in COMPLETE and not just "partial" Disastrophy numerous times.

But yeah. Joey Manley. Good Guy. Good Legacy. Untimely Death. Hopefully more people will become aware  that WCN has sort of retired or at the very least become incapacitated as a website because Joey is no longer alive to run it. I'm still alive though, and I'm still publishing and kicking, so I looked for other options for my webcomics career than a website run by a corpse in a computer chair (far as I know. No one told us any different. You see what I'm getting at here??)

hopefully my newer-ish youtube audience, my Amazon and Google audience and my webcomics, manga, and anime-swim audience will be able to make peace, play nice and get along for the most part. 

Joe's Write's The Modern Filmmaker's Bible: How to Be a YouTube Indie Filmmaker and Producer

How to Be a YouTube Indie Filmmaker and Producer

(no budget required)

Things to Keep In Mind When Favoriting Videos

(For Posterity, Fans, Other Filmmakers, Broadcasting Networks, The Press, Producers, Movie Studios, Neo-Hollywood, Aspiring Filmmakers and Producers, Fans, Otaku, and Anyone Else Watching My Shit Who's Curious)

Notes of a Super-Genius

• Youtubes never cost anything. Aside from paying for video budgets, your budget 95% of the time is $0.00, otherwise I wouldn't be here.
• Showcase and show off your favorite things with people. The public, the masses, the world, friends, enemies(?), the world, your fans, the press, journalists, celebrities, power players, producers, other filmmakers, directors, broadcasting networks. Anyone? No one? You never know ahead of time actually most of the time
• Post Anonymously, especially if your violating copyright, which you can, and both should and shouldnt depending on how poor you are and your situation. Just remember,in terms of identity and how much you contribute, what you contribute, how much, and at what level, there is a cosmos of difference between being a fan and filmmaker. The latter is considered to be a more desirable and high pressure position. But there is less a whole ton less fear, intimidation, snarkiness, and pressure to running a successful youtube operation than there is to running, say, DeviantART, or Adult Swim, or Viz, or Dream works. They actually have Money. Well, Google does too and they have it in more countries than ANY of those guys, easily, but that's not the point. The point is not all people operating on Google ARE Google, Work for Google, Make Money through Google, or Cooperate With google
• Google doesn't mind porn in it's search engines. Just not stuff that's completely illegal and the people distributing it know it, and it's hurting people's reputations, lives, minds, and careers, etc. You all know better people. If you want to be treated equally, don't break the rules, “terms of service”, and law every 2 seconds. Sexual reference, youthful sexuality (teen), risque euro ero, yuri, romance (gasp, not just sex??),
• A feminie point of view. Human romantic relationships, are not generally condemned on YouTube, but most o f us are geeks and they make a lot of YouTube fans avoid them and skip to the next video JPEG and clip. But if you WANT to go there for a few minutes or thirty minutes for a few scenes or one concept, be my guest. Female filmmakers are welcome at YouTube. Just remember girls, there is still stigma out there, so be wary of your video comments
• Music is welcome on YouTube. As is Political Causes and General Equality, AS LONG AS
• YouTube blurs just as many lines, rules, divisions, categories, genres, mediums, cultures, and nations as it defines. Behold the Power of Social Media and the Internet.
• Linking is Good. Music is Good. Anime is Good. Information is Good. Film is Good. Animation is Good. Technical Ability and Technique is Good. Strategy is Good. Quality is Good. Originality and Uniqueness is Good, Even if it is a variation of a repeated thing.
• YouTube is JUST as open minded as Google and Twitter and LinkedIn. Don't Deny it.
• YouTube is neither Google nor Not entirely Google, nor NEVER Google, it just is. Is a Walkman Sony, or is it a Walkman?
• If you're a REAL fan of YouTube Videos and Their publishers and distributors and supporting your favorite tubers, you must be just as willing to watch 2 seperate videos with equal consideration. The one with 2 views, and the one with 200,000.
• But you do have to be willing to play “armchair therapist as a mentor for the gal who once only had 2 measly hits who wrote you an email and said you saved her life and career and said you saved her life and career by making here a millionaire brand and icon in the otaku community when you favorited her Toonami and drove her popularity through the roof from a struggling middle school anime fan to a Hollywood player that one time. Yup, that happens a lot. AND VICE VERSA! That's why some videos on YouTube DO get 1,000,000,000 views, and then suddenly stop getting views at one point
• Radio Friendly and Catchy. Doesn't have to be. It can be just as dissonant, as long as there is some form of higher meaning there.
• No everyone reads between the lines: Dialogue context and subtext, Screen composition and mise en scene, video editing and order, video length, publisher name or reputation, who made what, How much the video costed to publish, who's watching, what people in the comments section are saying (do we really read ALL video comments, what hollywood's opinion is, what the fan opinion is, how many people are linking to the video, who's aware you're the publisher or favoriter or fan comment giver, whether your comments are being flagged or commented on, or favorited, or linked on other sites by pros or fans or haters or not), but sometimes it does help to make your choices accordingly, in according to these things in on a subliminal context, not just because you like them.
• Haters sometimes gonna hate, though not always,and not always when you're more influential
• You can make a living from you tube, but it can be depressing and frustrating if that's your only incentive, not the quality of your reputation on you tube, your relationship with your viewers, how much people love you, what your publishing, how much your helping people, and how big the scope of your audience is. And audience size can be deceiving in and of itself, YouTube viewer figures are pretty accurate and honest for how big they are, believe it or not (for the most part), but they can still get manipulated behind the scenes when we're less likely to pay attention or get aware. Like any other only publisher in their published stats and anaytics, billion audience things can register as “1 hit” (yyyyyaaaaaayyyy!!! - Peter Griffin), and 1 hit videos can be platinum sellers in disguise, or PRODUCED BY A NOBEL WINNER OR BILLIONAIRE who really wants to be your best friend or gain your trust and friendship behind closed doors, but doesn't want you too get too sought out or hassled like he ended up being as a result. There is a higher truth and wisdom behind many things happening on the YouTube Network system and community and genre, but it can be incredibly hard to explain quantify and track all the time. MUCH OF the time. But not all.
• Entertain us! Don't be intentionally dull, stupid, immature, offensive to the wrong people, mean to sensitive people, loud to quiet people, or boring to the easily bored, or too patient with the impatient. Some YouTube producers get mistaken for Jesus, and there is a DAMN GOOD reason for that, and not, it's not just always because of the username
• If you get some groove on with some of them hot hot YouTubeLove69 groupies, tell me how you did it. Cuz I ain't got NONE of that hot hot action yet like how John Lennon once did. I'm more of a Flint Lockwood.

Sincerely,

The YouTube Filmmaker

The J.M. Approved Alexa Top 500 WORLD Web Bestseller List

Top Ranked Bestseller, Most Popular, Highest Ratings

1. Google
2. YouTube
3. Amazon
4. Twitter
5. Google.co.in
6. LinkedIn
7. Google.co.jp
8. Bing
9. Google.de
10. Amazon.co.jp
11. Google.co.uk
12. Blogspot.com
13. Google.fr
14. Tumblr
15. Google.ru
16. Google.it
17. Amazon.de
18. Google.ca
19. Google.co.hk
20. Amazon.co.uk
21. Blogger.com
22. Google.com.sa
23. Deviantart
24. Google.cn
25. Google.se
26. Goodreads
27. Google.ae
28. Pixiv
29. Scribd
30. Google.co.il

Non Google-Amazon “Indie” Sites

1. YouTube (Content)
2. Twitter (Content)
3. LinkedIn (Social) (Networking) (Anime)
4. Bing (Search/Content)
5. Tumblr (Content)
6. Blogger (Content)
7. DeviantART (Content) (Artwork) (Anime)
8. Pixiv
9. Scribd (Content)

J.M.'s Current Standing with Websites Currently Ranked on the Alexa 500 List

The Alex 500 Ranks the 500 Most Popular Websites in the World. 

For 2015, Regarding My bout Current Status and Ranking in The Alexa Top 500 Listings on 27-Out-of-The-500 Most Popular Websites in the World...(2015 Edition)

There are 27 URL links on this list to represent profiles and/or at least one webpage for each sites, if not a lot more, that I have to 31 Different Alexa Top 500 Sites: 27/500

1. Google

3. YouTube

6. Amazon

9. Twitter

10. Google.co.in

14. Linkedin

18. Google.co.jp

22. Bing

24. Google.de
    28. Google.co.uk
    32. Blogspot.com
    36. Google.fr
    42. Tumblr
    46. Google.ru
    48. Google.it
    54. Amazon.de
    61. Google.ca
    63. Google.com.hk
    69. Blogger.com
    122. Google.com.sa
    202. Deviantart.com
    220. Google.cn
    269. Google.se
    294. Goodreads
    336. Google.ae
    420. Scribd
    441. Google.co.il  

Yeah, I forgive Google. They're one of my 3 most powerful allies....

I still don't forgive YOU THOUGH!!! BIN LADEN!!!! DIIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

It's okay, Google...

I forgive you.

We cool?
Yeah. We cool.

Inside the Mind of a Saint..

I'm not sure when exactly it was that I first discovered I was touched by God, and was put on this earth to help Heal the World and bring peace to God's children. But I was. God just wants you to be happy. Love him and he will love you in return. God is the only one who can unite the world. And he speaks through me from time to time. Not all the time, though.

I like messages of hope.

That and saving the world. Never condemning my fellow man...Thanks Internet.

Sincerely,

The President of the United States of the World

I'm Back, Bitches!

Hi ME!!!!!

I got too new accounts you should check, religiously...

Adult Swim
DeviantART

I'm so sexy, aren't I...

Well, that's what goils tell me.

Let's meet at 13 n' FUX! lulz

Seriously, though. Most famous people AREN'T going to read what EVERYONE online says on Twitter and boards and comments sections. And it's not in their job descriptions to follow popular opinion and do what the sellout powers that be  tell them. We all want to have a heart and post goofy fotos online. Don't we?

*Visits Japan*

Dood. Yer ah Jenius. You dream up the best shit. You're a GOD Kishimoto.

Ah, nuh. I just constantly strive to emulate dah truff of dah Eichirii Oda or DragonBall Whatever Series, and ah, It is yoo who provided me the honah. Bows* Domo, Bows deeper. Hai.

Dood. Take dah fuckin COMPLIMENT man. Forget about being nice, kind and humble towards Bambi's mother or whatever. You're a fuckin God genius and you know it. Take dah damn compliment. Oi Vey. Moebius could take compliments.

Ah Moebius.

Yeah, he WAS very good, wasn't he.

Hai.

Both at same time *sigh.

Word, homey.

Moses vs Santa Claus. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2

SNOYOOHHP DAAAAWWWWGGGGG!!!!!

Why Jo-Hann IZ Ztill Fukin Awesome and Badass...!

Jhonen is a good artist, writer, and other such creative entities. But he is intensely private outside of public appearances and occasional freelance gigs with Titmouse and good old Misstur J.R. Goldberg, who's friggin hot as the friggin Sun I might add (love Carl). But to watch him supposedly "stall for time" for the Titmouse panel waiting for older announcements at the time made me realize: He can be  a Standup Comedian or a Shakespearean Actor if he wanted to. He's certainly still famous and charismatically cool and popular enough to. He's probably just too humble and shy about his persona to realize it, even until this day. And yet there he is, public speaking at a comic book convention even as far as 012-013, rebeling against the same sort of things that can tend to make comic book and media conventions in the U.S. the kind of places some hardcore comics folks are considering boycotting (well that or Justin Bieber. Sorry rebellious youth of America, Even I'M succeeptible to Peer Pressure. But over all the audience attending Jhonen was smaller, low key, and well behaved, closer to what I picture myself or John Lasseter's fans being like. (Yeah, I got fans! Wut wut? Bust a nut.)

But N.E. Wei. China! And furthersuch, c'mon people. People have such amazing and interesting dialogue about Jhonen in da Jhonen Gone Wild tapes (collectors items). Kidding!,and on internet forums some odd years ago. And on YouTube comments sections, and on DeviantArt. But even Jhonen is sarting to hate his own fanart.I think we all are. Obscurity sells nowadays people! Don't cha wanna be RICH, KIDS?? Then stop with all the imitation. Draw Moebius, Blacksad. PICASSO. Hentai! Game of Thrones! Ayn Rand! Sears Catalogues. ANYTHING and everything is vunerable to your art habits but the cliches, and the cliche is now the Jhonen Doom Song, but it's essentially turned into asking Micheal Jackson to rise from the Grave and Moonwalk. Too soon? Black Power! Noir Power!

Any way, it's fun hearing Jhonen lead conversations. I was sitting there thinking "Just act like your hosting a real Radio Talk show in Florida, Jhonen! Works for me when I need an ice breaker: copy the Jerky Boys or Dane Cook, Works like a charm. People love a good gag at conventions. Not eveeryone has to be "Ask a Ninja" or "Epic Rap Battles of History". Now THAT's FUNNY! But I think in the right situation that's not to awkward or uncomfortable, Jhonen is incredibly funny. But it helps to give him crew and cast and comics collaborators to play off of, not just be me and act like a schhizophrenic on psychotropics all day.

But back on point. Here's some memorable videos of Jhonen Vasquez from YouTube: That I'm taking the time to highlight, just to show how he's evolved as a person. Not necessarily "just a book in your your hands" in the Immortal and Ingeniously DarkWords of Zimself on time: Tron: Uprising, I get this vibe from him like he was really inspired by that one in some ways. The execution and layering. That'd be my guess. And THAT'S NOT a horrible show! But it's time to bridge the communication void people. Let's start shall we:

To which my online 4 Chan MEME rebuttal is the following:

Okays. Now that we've gotten all duh good old Fashioned NickToon Funnies outta  our system, onto da rest!

Writing Zim, Back in da day, homie. Those writers are good actors and structuralists, actually..

Hmm. So That's what Jesus looks like, eh?....Kewl. Doooooooooooooommmmmmmmms.Daaaaayyyy.....Stop with the pigs, Sumner.

Yes. Titmouse / J.R. and Jhonen. Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Sexy. Mmmmm.....

Okay settle down ladies:

Next up: Algorithmic Video Selection!

Oh, wait, we're not discussing AIZEN from BLEACH! How'd THAT get in there! Damn you Nortooooooonnnnnn Freemaaaannnnnn!!!

Darn.These things just keep getting cranked out, don't they. Audience sizes [and confidence levels] vary.

And another one!...

And a More Polished Introspective-Retrospective...It's nice seeing Jhonen Images that move. Somuch of him is static imagery in the media. He's a reclusive of course, though. Jhonenology 101.

And last but not least: a spoken Word GothGirl669 Essay:

Whooaaaaa. Duuude. You should do more of those video mash-up posts.

Yeah. Maybe I should.Maybe I will some time. Actually, I just did.

We now return you to your reuglarly scheduled anime marathons about another pretty famous cartoonist who was also just a little popular online for his day and age...

Stuff. Interrupted Tweet

shows I got stashed on my harddrive, uploaded to streams, you could have just asked. But because you worded it so kindly I'm doublymotivated to return to uploading on YouTube..Not even for MONEY, this time. I just want to share what 've seen, the way I ONCE SAW IT with people. That captured moment and all those episodes we missed...

The Late 20th Century Counterculture Subculture Movement - Where it was, Where it's Gone. Where Will It Go??

Avant-Garde Culture

The Avant-Garde Independent Arts has traditionally been known as the place True Artists of the Modern Era have been Drawn, Inspired By, and Attracted To Throughout the Twentieth Century Primarily during the 80s and 90s, which is considered it's Decade Renaissance in Mainstream American Culture, a time when a lot of mainstream acts were in fact emerging straight out of the underground and independents, that offered an outlet, an escape and Safe Haven from the compromise of the Mainstream Conservative “This is Business, Not Art, Stupid!” Money Bottom Line” Status Quo. The Indies, or “Independent Publishing and Publishers”: where artists were free to be themselves, hangout with one another, share their creative works, for a tiny little tight knit like-minded, young community of sub-cultured individuals from various and assorted backgrounds, drawn together on college campuses, dormitories, classrooms, cafes, pubs and clubs, bookstores, bedrooms, garages, and living rooms in America and other countries like Britain, Canada, Paris, and even Japan from time to time back then, and most importantly, experiment, either with art, (sometimes) sex, and/or (also sometimes) drugs and alcohol. But also at the same time be relevant, self-aware of themselves and society to a degree, yet still be dark, rebellious, edgy, cutting-edge and cool in some way. Some produced work that was incredibly simple and metaphorical or symbolic. Others produced work that was more complex and deep or poignant, and everything in-between. These early innovations in self-expression, publishing, art, literature, music, and media defined many of the genres and categories of media and arts and entertainment industries and publishing or production companies that followed them, and generally received the lion's share of the attention. This counterculture movement was often reflected in such notable figures and groups or movement starters as J.D. Salinger, Jack Kerouac, Punk Rock in British Clubs, Kurt Cobain, Robert Crumb, William S. Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorecock, Primus, Tool, Matt Groening, John Kricfalusi, Jamie Hewlett, Hunter S. Thompson, Moebius, Katsuhiro Otomo, Tim Burton, Green Day, Rob Schrab, Beastie Boys, Bjork, Mike Judge, Hip-Hop Music, Run-DMC, Metal Music, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Shirley Manson, Eminem, Jhonen Vasquez, Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Trent Reznor, Limp Bizkit, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Eastman, Dave Sim, Dave Eggers, Chuck Palahniuk, Mike Lazzo, Dave Willis, and Kevin Smith. Those are many of the most innovative acts of the modern era. Some more well known, or “rich and famous” than others. Not that that last part matters.

Which leads up to chapter 2/or/3: The Internet. How does the Internet Factor into the counterculture in This Country and Worldwide.

Announcement: My New Post-Kindle Publisher: Lulu

Lulu

Well, Amazon, fired, er, “banned” me from self-publishing/distributing Kindle e-books with them for pretty much forever, due to me spending too much on my marketing budget. Lesson learned. So from now on, I'll be publishing the book I still mostly, if not ENTIRELY FROM NOW ON, through Lulu.com, so please update your bookmarks if your interested in publishing ebooks or printbooks of my writing and artwork..

Asians Can Be Picky...When It Comes to Art

Asians can be quite fickle and picky when it comes to who they let participate as a member of their own cultural arts community, practice, and industry...

I'm part Mongolian, of partial Chinese descent from forever ago. 

But technically, I do have Chinese DNA, so yes, if we're going by cultural biology, I'm partially a Chinese artist. I don't really have any Japanese DNA for the most part, so yes, I'm much more comfortable calling myself a quasi-Chinese artist (among other cultures) than a Japanese artist...Wuxia, Ink Art. Choreography. Heroic Bloodshed. Gun-Fu. Shaolin. Etc.

I'd much rather simply hope to be accepted by my respective and native cultures than merely to get rich, famous, or powerful off of my art. 

Ordinarily...My Ordinary Work Rate and Training Period: 10 Years. 1 Decade.

Mark my words. I will return to comics and finish writing more fiction at some point. 

It's just, I'm a late bloomer. I don't excel as quickly as my peers do. 

If you're a person who's pacing is slow and powerful, it's going to take 10 years of training to really get good at each individual craft you do.

The first main area I have mastered has turned out to be journal writing. 

It took me Ten Years, an Entire Decade to Master Journal Writing. Now I do it in my sleep. 

It's my most powerful area of study and practice. Far more than fiction, cartoons, and comics, which are but mere infants to my skill arsenal. I'm only just getting started with those. I haven't even been doing those fields consistently routinely for even 5 years. There were hints of my desire to work on something, but I held back back then, in favor of my secret journals. 

Well, I TOLD the world the truth. I TRIED...

I can't speak for everyone else. But I know I did MY BEST...

Stuff...

Technically, I live in a retirement home. I'm 31 years old. Mostly because of the fact that I don't have enough money to live anywhere else and live on my own...

What's Real, What's the Deal...Famous Family Member

So as some of you may or may not know, according to a recent statement my birth mother admitted to in a phone conversation when I met and spoke to her in my early adult years for the first and perhaps only few times, she mentioned recent revelations that I, Joseph-James, aka, J.M. Matthews am related to the famous Trappist Monk, Thomas Merton, who was born in France in the early Twentieth Century, who was well liked by many sacred religious figures, such as the Dalai Lama, and the Pope, who mentioned Merton recently, which can also be found on Google. It might sound odd, but honestly, the more I looked into it, the more it matched up: My birth father who I've never known directly, was indeed a Trappist Monk, born in Kentucky, which is where Merton spent much of his life as a Trappist monk working and studying. And then there are the Journals, and the mysticism, and the writing abilities. And the East-Meets-West Philosophy...And the Religious and Mystical concepts in my work and stories and cartoons..And the more I learned about the connection, the more it matched up with the information I've gathered on my own personal information...Merton isn't just related to me by DNA. We both thought about many things and experience life in the same ways much of the time. Our commonality is Profoundly Similar on a more hidden level. If you read Merton's books, the books he wrote say it all. If you want to know how I think, learn about how Merton thought. There is a connection and similarity there a lot of people apparently missed. Our writing has a lot of similar elements to it. BECAUSE we are connected by our genealogy!

I Can [NOT] Retiring...

BUT, I may continue drawing webcomics and self-publishing manga-comics, and I might not...It all depends on how comfortable I am doing said activity.

If I'm not comfortable working in the field, I don't see the point in continuing. It's difficult enough doing the drawings when things are going moderately well. I don't need life disasters to be piled ON TOP OF IT, quite frankly. 

I hate to admit it, but my illustrations and comics are now a "wait and see."

I could very WELL retire from manga..

It's not necessarily that I actually believe every other artist is "more talented."

It's that other artists don't have to put up with as much struggle and bullshit as me. I couldn't think of a BETTER reason to quit my job.

It's a real honor to be called one of the most powerful and influential artists, writers, and creator-auteurs in modern comics, manga, anime, world manga, design, and webcomics, BUT that success and power came at the expense of many other benefits I used to have but don't any longer. Anonymity and peace of mind being two of the main ones...

I Changed My Mind About Florida...I Actually Kind of LIKE Florida

Well, I'm happy with where I live currently, for the most part anyway, in Winter Park. Honestly, now that I've managed to distance myself from my obnoxious adoptive parents, I'm a LOT better off, and am not so biased by my gut reactions. Upon getting a more realistic view of Florida as an adult, it isn't so bad. You know, assuming your WHITE Non-biological family isn't holding you captive as a prisoner of war. That sort of thing. But never you mind that shit. It's over and done with.

Anyway, Florida is part of what I like to call "The Cultural South."

Texas, Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Kentucky?

That's the Cultural South. Cities and states in the rural south with higher propensity towards cultural, racial, and international tolerance and harmony. Not entirely, but it's way beyond the Alabamas and Mississippi's of the world. WAY beyond. There are moderate to somewhat bigger cities there. Not MEGA-Cities, like Europe and Asia, or the East and West Coasts, but your Miamis, Orlandos, and Atlantas are certainly big enough by any other standard in terms of American so-called "rural" states.

The Great Jay Market Crash of 2015...I Remember Those Days..

Seriously, I have the subtlety of a World War II Tank. 

But Fortunately, I often also have the Energy and Momentum of a World War II Tank.

I've been plowing ahead for the last what is closing in on almost 2 months straight by now. 

I'm Finally starting to slow down and tire myself out. But MY GOD that was a lot of spiritual and creative momentum! I'm a freaking Force of Nature...

My Current [Revised] Policy on Animation Production...

I think, as a creator of a property that may or may get adapted from the page to animation, if you've grown up in or know America better than Japan, you should stick to what you know...Want details? 

Okay.

If it's an American Property, and the Producer-Creator of the animated property is American, and the show is being produced and animated in America, production should primarily be done by Americans and international contractors overseas for post production, the same way it's always been done.

If the production is being attempted in Japan, it would be important for me not to meddle in the Japanese production process. Approving scripts and production artwork? yes. Meddling into day to day operations of the overseas Japanese studio? I do not think so. 

As a producer you have to not only know how to lead a team. You also have to know when to back off and let the team you're leading do their thing, when to step in and when you keep your distance. If it's produced in America, you can probably step in a bit more. If it's co-produced in Japan, trust in the expertise of the Japanese Planners and co-producers. 

Spiritual Study, Work, and Survival....An Update

So, I've been refraining from posting a lot of new material to my online publishing and social media accounts on sites such as Comic Fury, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, or the Adult Swim Message boards, lately, or even here on blogger for that matter. When you first start living on your own, with your OWN money, even if it is just a small amount of social security, survival takes precedence. Right now I'm just trying to find a place of stability and then I will go from there. I can't really join in on the conversations about myself other people are having as that in generally is getting too voluminous and massive for me to regulate as just one person, seeing as there is a whole lot of it. I wish I could explain it all better, but some of it is just quite hard to explain...Overall though I'm relatively okay. A bit shook up from August and September, but other than that I feel fine.