I know how I'm going to die. It won't be pleasant and I sincerely hope by the time it happens the laws on euthanasia will have changed. But until that happens, which might be in 10 years or 30, depending on how I look after myself (isn't that the case with everyone?) I want to be doing something that I know about and can contribute to a lasting legacy.
It's what to do with my life between now and then that is the big issue for me and frankly there's really only one thing...
Comics...
I was a reader, then a fan, then a dealer, then a retailer, then a retail consultant, then a comics journalist and a columnist, then an editor... The only things I haven't done is write a comicbook and been a publisher. I've never had much interest in writing a comicbook, although that might change, so the logical thing to do was go into comics publishing.
Why? Especially as the market seems quite well... stocked?
I've always fancied myself as an A&R man; spotting talent and then watching as unknowns in comics, music, books, etc make it big. So many of the bands I have loved I got into before they became national treasures. Heck, I wrote a column called Movers & Shakers for ten years that essentially told people about what was going to be hot and who was going to be the next comics version of Leonardo Da Vinci. I also want to do it because one of the only things that was an unmitigated success about Borderline was we gave a lot of up and coming artists a spotlight which I hope helped them become regular comicbook employees and creators.
If I can do something like that again then I think I will be able to die happy!
The next couple of months are going to be tough. Not only have I got to set up this new publishing company, I've got to find people to publish. I have a few at the moment, but I want a portfolio of quality to show people, especially the doomsayers, that this is a serious and worthwhile project.
I also have to come up with a nice Borderline Press logo; an interactive website; talk to film makers about extra content available only through the web page and a whole bagful of ideas that I'm not going to tell you (yet), in case some bugger comes along and steals them!
However, what you need to know is this isn't something I've woken up this morning and just decided to do. This has been planned, in one form or another, for months. It actually started life as an exercise to see if me and my old team could bring back Borderline as a news stand magazine. When we realised that we had more chance of resurrecting Jesus, I started looking at other ways and Borderline Press was born, quite easily, with no pain and an expectant grin on its face.
Now, as it (if you'll excuse the cheesy child analogies for a bit longer) teeters on its first steps and I face the world to tell them of this new arrival, I kind of want to say something really big headed, so I will...
Phil Hall is back, and trust me guys, this time it's serious!
