Why is this project an NFT?
I first learned about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) shortly before a friend of mine had been talking about the Dogecoin frenzy that took place in early 2021. I had very little knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrency at the time. To me, cryptocurrency seemed like the wild west of investing. I’ve never been one to take on too much risk, so I shied away from it. It wasn’t until learning about the utility of blockchain that I became really excited.
Enter NFTs. While learning about Dogecoin in January of 2021, I came across a Reddit article that very briefly mentioned NFTs. I believe someone wrote something to the effect of “I’d like to learn more about this, it’s interesting.” Although that rather boring passage wasn’t what got me really excited to create art via NFTs, it got the spark going.
So, when Dogecoin took off and I started discussing crypto with my friend (I think this was mid to late February), I recalled NFTs. My intention was to drop a little cash into Dogecoin and see what could come of it. However, it took forever for my account to get approved (likely due to every other idiot trying to take advantage of the situation) and I lost interest as Dogecoin continue to climb. This led me to learning about Ethereum and other crypto. This is when NFTs smacked me in the face.
An NFT comic project by the name of Eth-Men was started back in October of 2020 and has taken off since then. There are a few comics and collectible “action figures” that can be purchased at Ethereum NFT marketplaces like Rarible and OpenSea. So, I started doing the math (this was just before Ethereum gas spiked) and thought, hey, I have the chops to put together a project, so why the heck not?!
After getting the blessing of my wife and splurging on a new iPad setup (I’d been thinking about it for over a year), I was ready to get started. As of this writing, I’ve finished all twenty fully colored pages and am working on the covers. I’m primed to get this out to the universe and make some good things happen!
Oh yeah, the title of this entry…”Why is this project and NFT?” I really didn’t answer that, did I? Well, a few things have happened over the past ten years that gave me pause and made me retreat from the indie comic scene. Most notably, I became a father of two children and I took on the stress of a very demanding job. And while I doodled and thought up ideas for comics, I really didn’t PRODUCE anything of note.
Couple the chasm of not producing any art and a lot of idle time during the pandemic, it drove me even more crazy that the wacky stories in my head hadn’t been told PROPERLY. And given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic (yes, I know we don’t need to wear our masks everyone), I felt that I could at least start putting this project online and skip the conventions or self publishing route.
So, why an NFT and not a webcomic? Well, I think that there is a great opportunity for artists, and specifically comic people, to earn some extra income by selling their art on blockchains. In fact, the blockchain I’ve chosen (NOT ETHEREUM), even gives folks the ability to read my comic without buying it (although, I’d rather you did that, folks…remember, I have kids!)
Now, there is a learning curve to this stuff. Heck, I haven’t even dropped my first comic, yet! And although there are some nerves around that, I think I have a pretty good plan mapped out. I just hope that you’ll come along for the ride and enjoy the stories and, hopefully, the community we create!
Boss!
