My
friend Steve used to work at a comic book store called Red Rock Collectables.
At one point he ended up becoming roommates with a guy Robert, who also worked
at Red Rock, and lived right across the street.
One
time when I was visiting Steve we talked about an idea we had called Qerth. We
had the general premise, a parody of Dungeons & Dragons, but we didn’t
really know how all the pieces fit together. We talked it over, and suddenly
inspiration struck—we knew the key, the concept that would make it all work. It’s
an amazing rush, that moment when you come up with a great idea.
Steve’s
roommate Robert came home, and said hi, and I said hi, and he went about his
business. And maybe I thought, Man, Robert, you have no idea what a great idea
we’ve come up with. I can’t say for sure, but wouldn’t it be funny if I, in
that moment, pitied Robert for not being a really creative individual like me?
Because Robert Kirkman no longer lives in that house in Lexington, across the
street from Red Rock; he’s out in LA, where he’s busy being one of the most
influential creators in modern popular culture.
Qerth
did not end up taking the world by storm. But that sense of excitement and deep
satisfaction, when Steve and I figured it out, was a reward in itself.
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| Qerth cover art by Juan Navarro |
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