Last week I launched my newest, latest, most unusual project yet: Reflected Gaze.

This week I remembered that I haven’t mentioned it here yet, and should probably do that. So here I am.

Remember Embrace Infection, my senior show at ETSU? I’ve been wanting to revisit that sort of thing for a while now, but never had a decent idea of figuring out how. But it always comes back to me, especially when new interviews with David Cronenberg start popping up online. His new movie, Maps to the Stars, isn’t really all that good, but I love reading anything the man has to say, and reviews of his movies are always pretty thoughtful. Then Leonard Nimoy died, and I remembered my favorite thing about his career wasn’t his acting but his photography, most specifically (nsfw) the Full Body Project.

So I conceived a short autobio comic, or diary comic, whatever, about my own body and the issues I face, poking at myself in the mirror. But there isn’t much to that. I mean, for me it’s important to sort of put this out there, kind of exorcizing some personal stuff, but there’s not much meat to it. So I started thinking on how I could make it bigger and reach more people without making it just about myself, because that‘s boring. I mean, we all have these issues, right? All of us, regardless of shape, size, color, gender, whatever, we examine ourselves in the mirror every day. It differs from person to person, but it’s universal.

I talked to a select few people about it to make sure I wasn’t crazy. The idea I came up with was to make comics about all kinds of people and their own personal issues. To interview them, take pictures, and draw them. To get as many voices as I can and show readers that they aren’t alone in dealing with these things. Even better, I wanted to get people who can write or make their own art to contribute: essays, interviews, comics, whatever.

Thus, Reflected Gaze was born. I recruited a few friends, set up the main site on Wordpress, as well as a Facebook page and a Tumblr, none of which I was really planning on announcing right away, but some savvy individuals caught sight of the Facebook before I even had any content and spread it like wildfire. The immediate buzz of interest was a little more than I could handle that night, I just wasn’t quite ready for it. I was overwhelmed.

I hit the ground running and haven’t slowed down yet. The first comic, my personal one, is halfway complete. I’m laying the groundwork for the next one, focusing on a good friend of mine. The first article should be on its way to me later next week, and I’m working on another article myself, with a friend who’s a fellow Cronenberg fan. Altogether I’ve got just under 20 people interested in participating or contributing to the project, many of whom are much smarter than I am about discussing this stuff. The Facebook page is nearing 200 likes. I’m excited and terrified.

This could very well be the biggest undertaking I’ve ever done. The first comic isn’t even finished and I’ve already got a much larger audience than I’d expected. This is incredible. I really hope I don’t blow it.

If you’re interested in being a part of Reflected Gaze, please let me know. In the meantime, go like the Facebook page, follow the Tumblr, and look at the entries I’ve posted on the main site so far. And then go spread the word! Tell your friends, send these links far and wide! I can’t do this all by myself!

Anyways. Back to work. The first comic should be finished and up next week, then you’ll get to learn all about my own insecurities. Gulp.