I have been asked on more than one occasion about how I got the 'Mr. Majestic" book in a fairly short amount of time.

My automatic answer has always been "Pure blind luck."

In no small part could that be any more true, but beyond that, beyond the Pink Panther/ Inspector Creuseau string of good fortune that has befallen me, a lot of the credit also goes to hard work and persistence.

Like others trying to get into this industry, I have had my more-than fair share of rejection letters and disappointing portfolio reviews. The difference between then and now is that I have since then learned the three most valuable disciplines I need to make it in the business. Don't get me wrong, learning and mastering are two completely different things and, as I have said, I have just learned it. It took five years to realize that not everyone is going to like my work and another two years to learn how to check my ego at the door. Here I am telling you in about 15 minutes so that you might avoid those same pitfalls and in hopes that you can learn from my experience.

The bottom line is, as pure and as great as 'luck' might be, nothing substitutes for good hard work. That coupled with a reckless courage some akin to determination goes even farther than any four-leaf clover or a rabbit's foot. At the 1998 San Diego Comic Book Convention, I brought a portfolio consisting of 40 new pages of material (Oh, I know they tell you to only bring 5-6 pages of your best work, but I'm thinking they've never heard an editor say "… well, this is nice and all, but we'd like to see how you'd handle one of our characters." How the hell am I supposed to do that in six pages and still cover all the companies I wanted to hit up for gigs AND still show competent storytelling skills? I figured I'd do 40 pages of characters I would like to do, show the editors the pages that would pertain to them and should the wander into the other sections, who am I to stop them? Anyhoo…), photocopied and stapled, I went to everyone who wanted to look- and even some who didn't care to. I had written out a schedule on when and where the people I wanted to meet would be and I didn't limit myself to editors. Writers, pencillers, inkers, colorists- if you worked in the business, I was showing you my work. I must have been badge hunting all four days of my attendance. No one was safe from my resolve.

Here's a statistic every young aspiring comic book pro should know. Mr. Mark Chiarello told attendees at a DC Comics portfolio review orientation that, "If you draw like Jim Lee or Michael Turner or if you copy the style of Mike Mignola, a word of advice: DC can call Lee and Turner. I have worked with Mignola. We don't need clones of them. We are looking for something different, something new, and something we can bank on for the future." At least 2-3 dozen in a room of 300 excused themselves.

Another fascinating and REAL statistic- DC Comics reviewed at least 600 portfolios in the 4 days of the convention in 1998. Out of the 600, 3 were given callbacks to be hired for a project. That is half of one percent. Think about that.

Three points you will need to keep in mind to avoid becoming a mid-summer convention statistic. They are:

1. Solid work. Talk all the talk you want. Brag about how many pros you might know. And act like you're the cat's meow when you're showing your work by coming up with excuses at every turn of the page, but nothing, I mean nothing, can substitute for a whole, competent, and comprehensive portfolio.

"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

2. Persistence. Do not be afraid. If you have an easily bruised ego, you are in the wrong business. Unless you are the next coming of 'MOEBIUS', you're going to get shot down once in a while. Besides, the worst thing they can say is "This isn't what were looking for right now." Have the courage to know that if your work is truly good, it will be something that someone is looking for. Good work is good work. No one can deny you that.

3. Luck. You can't control this, mind you, but you can stack the deck in your favor by buying stock in the points I've mentioned above. See, it may seem like you're a whole lot of lucky, but if you really think about it, the work and persistence are what got you hired-'luck' just made it 'Mr.Majestic'.

So there it is. That's how this whole thing came about for me- just as I said, pure, blind luck- but not exactly as I said, at least not wholly. It was mostly persistence and a good chunk of hard work. Here's something I have on a piece of paper pinned up next to my drafting table that always keeps me in check:

"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and will solve the problems of the human race."

--Calvin Coolidge

Okay. That's enough of the motivational speaker stuff. Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night.

--Eric Canete