R n R
August 24th, 2007Yeah, I’ve been taking a break from posting online and all that jazz, except for over on herobynight.com - Thought i’d pop in and give an update on what’s been going down.
Before I go on— it’s the LAST 24 hours of this years voting for Comic Book Challenge. Go help crown a new winner. These guys worked hard to get where they are, and it’s been a rough two weeks of vote pandering for them I’m sure. VOTE NOW!
Today I spent the day out at Idlewild Park with my family. The kids start back to school on Monday, which means back to full steam comic production. It’s been nice to spend more time with the family, mess around with the kids on Xbox (even though I suck and I’m a lousy gamer)– but yeah, it’s been nice. I also spent the day admiring my hot wife as she rode the spinny rides with our two brave kids and I toughed it out on the bench with our brainiac child who’s afraid of anything that goes fast and high. What a lucky guy I am. I almost feel like seeing pictures of me with them, i think “Who’s that dorkish oaf standing with that hot chick and her kids?”
Comic wise….I’m currently doing M-W-F on Hero By Night, while working on the new upcoming ongoing series, and a couple more HBN announcements probably next week when things are in order.
Thanks to the magic of “google alerts” I got an email today alerting me that the world renowned, T Campbell had posted something about me in his blog… I went to check, and i it was something about editing Wikipedia entries. To be specific, someone had been going around and editing Yirmumah or something to say it was the greatest comic ever, and renamed Graphic Smash’s entry to read “Completely Graphically Smashingly Comics online!”— Hmmmmmm… Now, a couple weeks ago, I would have wondered who that could have been, because I don’t mess with Wikipedia bullshit…. but here’s a funny story that could clear it up, and to old Yirmumah fans, you probably already know… but Bob was over here a couple weeks ago, and he says something that he saw something ackward in the “D.J. Coffman” listing at Wikipedia, and I was like HUH??? So I went and glanced over and didn’t see anything… but he specifically points out a paragraph and it now reads:
“After several years freelancing while earning his degree from Rutgers University, Coffman began publishing his own works online and in print in 2003 starting with his daily comic strip Yirmumah. Coffman also balanced his off time by gaining a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu - Jitsu and achieving an amateur fight record in Pennsylvania , West Virginia and southern Ohio of 7 wins and no losses at the time of this writing.”
So we laugh. I see now that he actually went back and added the Rutgers University thing. Bob. Bob + Wikipedia…. sigh. Bob+ Internet actually equals MADNESS I think. He doesn’t care about any of this online horseshit, case in point, I have a note he hand scribbled to me when I was on a podcast with Scott Kirtz and that other guy, telling me to tell him he’d challenge him to a UFC type fight on Youtube or something…. cut to me looking at him like “WHAT???” — Bob is madness, but it’s this awesome little contained madness that can be wildly entertaining.
That whole comment there makes me sad now. Because.. Bob is awesome is to Yirmumah is awesome. And Yirmumah was probably never the same after Bob left. Bob IS Yirmumah. Well, Bob and DJ are Yirmumah. No offense to Wiz. In fact, out in San Diego, Wiz and I had this conversation about the future of Yirmumah and how maybe we should let Bob take it over, with all sorts of wild shit…. while it sounds like a fantastic idea, it also made me worry… because Bob + Internet = MADNESS. I don’t know if I’d be able to contain it. I’d always be the level headed guy in a conversation with Bob telling him why it wasn’t a good idea to tell the people who were paying me to draw comics that he’d like to punch a hole in their head like a rotten pumpkin. But that was Bob in a nutshell. Still is. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Now I’m waxing all nostalgic here. Were coming up on the unofficial 10 year anniversary of Yirmumah. It September of 1997 is when I drew the first Drew and Bob comics adventure that would later become the underground mini comic adored by tens of dozens of people around Fayette-Nam and the surrounding Pittsburgh area. 10 years…
10 fucking years of Yirmumah…. What will the future hold? Are we done here now? I don’t know. I’m not sure. I don’t want to be sure.
In a way… it could be said, that we spent 10 years fucking around and not giving a shit about anything we wrote, drew or published anywhere. If it made us laugh, as dark and twisted as it might be, that was it. That was Yirmumah.
Maybe now it’s time for Yirmumah to get serious? We’ll see. I can feel it down there inside somewhere… but we’re missing pieces of what made it GREAT. I’ll try to put it all back together again.
August 24th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Aww honey, you’re the dorkish oaf that’s standing with the hot chic and her three kids!! Silly boy! ;p
I love you!
August 24th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Well I guess it is true, she takes after her mother and not her father, thank god. I Love You Guys.
August 25th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Thank the Lord for some things! I’m such a lucky gal to have such a HOT momma!
August 25th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Hellz yeah , bro ! D.J. Coffman is not only the most multi-talented juggernaut out there today but YIRMUMAH was - is - and will continue to exist as the mutha’ crunkin’ mad hatter o’ the comic block . Nobody can beat Coffman/McDeavitt - nobody . And that’s the truth . Maybe it IS time to unleash the Rancor again - perhaps the people have grown too soft in this sub -par culture -rehashing -of -pseudo- humor -that so called comic creators lamely slop out as funny . Yesssss…perhaps it is time for the beast to rise anew….perhaps , indeed .
August 25th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Man that would be much appreciated if the team Coffman/McDeavitt would work together again. I LOVED Yirmumah its still one of the bests at Keenspot.
Keep the good work up dude, you own!
PS: Wiz is great too
August 26th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Bob and I met at the Pittsburgh– instantly hit it off. Him coming back to Yirmumah would definitely be a great thing.
August 27th, 2007 at 6:32 am
I heard DJ Coffman has a credit card on the bottom his shoe, and if you ask to he will gladly leave an imprint of it on your face.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
DJ, on a totally unrelated topic, I’m sure you are aware Kurt is putting out a book on how to succeed in webcomics. Gonna be published by Image. You should have Platinum put a book out by you on this. For years you’ve posted info for free on how to be successful as a webcartoonist. You deserve to have this book printed. Not knocking Kurtz, I know his head is in the right place but this has been your baby for years. You have always been supportive to up and comers and I’d like to see you earn a little more green to pad your pockets and build the Coffman Empires.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Steve— I had planned to do a “Business of Webcomics” book based on the blog stuff I wrote at yirmumah.net/make_money, but I got way too busy with actual work. When the time is right, I might put something out. I think there’s plenty of room for more than one book on the subject. I also feel odd charging anyone for the information– part of me would like it to always be FREE online so that aspiring creators could access it easily.
For now, I have actual comics to draw. My good friend James Patrick told me once “If you can do, don’t do about.” — and I think he’s right to a point. It’s a very deep thing for creators to consider.