Introducing Created by Clyde

A new comic project, published weekly on Substack.

Hi there,

If you’re reading this, it’s because you are a good friend and I have added you to this list. Cody here, operating under a pen name (Clyde), but really, just barely.

This newsletter is the start of something new for me. A sustained effort towards the creation of something that I have long had a love for, but only now felt ready to create: comics.

Comics have been a passion of mine for a very long time - since middle school really. I was introduced by a close friend of the family and someone I saw as a family member to me. Marty, if you are reading this, I thank you for the waterlogged copies of Age of Apocalypse comics you shared with me, and just how formative that was.

I’m about to enter my 30s, with uncertainty about my career. While I’ve enjoyed a lot of the work I have done, and will continue to work in tech & graphic design for years to come, I find myself searching for a place to express my creativity separate from what the marketplace deems valuable. I think back to the times where that expression existed - my teenage years - where curiosity was the underlying foundation for my creations. I’d make video games, I’d draw with a desire to make comics, I’d learn animation and programming to express my creativity in other ways.

It has brought me back to those roots, with a renewed passion and feeling like I am back to understanding myself and what makes me tick. It has not been easy - as I’ve struggled with depression and nihilism that often feels impossible to shake. With those feelings, I’ve channeled it into a story that I’m incredibly excited to share.

Behind the scenes, I have been hard at work rebuilding my skills as an illustrator, as a writer and so much more, which is typical of the comic book process. It is labor intensive and meticulous at times. But I can’t stop making this. The catharsis has been immense so far.

The comic is called Processing. I have created a personal brand, a website and this newsletter, to share pages each week as they are created, with the hopes that one day I can see it published in print. With time, consistency, and an eye towards quality, I am hoping that this comic will resonate with others and that you will share it with people that would enjoy it as well. Substack has a funding model that might help out down the road, but for an unknown creator with zero career experience within the comics industry, sharing this story could make all the difference. It is literally years out from seeing completion, and if it can buy me a few hours here and there to work on it, that’ll mean I’ve succeeded.

You can expect this newsletter to hit your inbox weekly, with the occasional break that might find me doing a side story, illustrations or articles that give me time to catch up. If you’ve read this whole thing, I thank you so much for the support. Talk to you some more next week.

Cheers,
Cody Clyde