The Argument For Art Now

July 27th, 2021

I want to start by saying that I have the utmost respect for people who take their time. I do. I just want to make that clear because in a few sentences it’s going to sound like I don’t.

I can’t stand people who take their time.

Damn. It only took one sentence.

I frequently get asked how I create things so quickly. There’s a complex answer, and there’s a simple one. This essay is the simple one.

I believe that art is an expression of your emotions and thoughts captured in a moment. And that’s why I believe art is meant to be caught, made, and released in a swift, successive motion.

Spending time on something is one of the most reliable ways to ensure that it will be the best thing it can be; it will almost certainly change that thing several times, too.

I’ve read a lot on the craft of writing itself, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a writer share how many times a story became dramatically different from the way it started. There is nothing wrong with this. I’ve gone through that process. I’m going through this process.

But as I get older (and most definitely not wiser), my mind tends to think: why not just write two stories then? Write the first one, with your feelings and level of skill then, go ahead and hit send, and then write the other one, as the person you are now, with all the changes you’ve experienced in the meantime.

Basically, when you spend a lot of time on something that’s supposed to capture a moment, you end up stringing together moments for so long that the initial moment falls away. You can create something timeless this way. You could also create something completely devoid of the emotions and thoughts that inspired you and the story you wanted to tell in the first place.

And, regardless of how complicated that may have read, this is the simple reason for why I work fast once I know what I want to say.

You will forever cringe at some of the things you make, at least in quantum part.

The things that I cringe at the least are the temporal bubbles of sincerity I’ve created. The times that I genuinely laughed or cried or felt the warmth of a naturally indifferent universe wrap around me and the words that I used in a moment. The moments where I had something to say. The moments that define me.

Eat Us

July 26th, 2021

The reason that modern youth seem so supremely defiant now is because at no previous time in human history has it been so apparent that adults have no idea what the hell they are doing.

Adults used to be able to hide behind the fact that we didn’t know what stupid thoughts and dangerous ideologies went through their minds at every point throughout their day.

The internet has changed all that.

And not only has that made the young more righteous, but it has made them more right.

Lives that are not our own matter, they chant. Eat the rich, they tweet. Eat the old, they chuckle maniacally.

And to the youth, I offer my hand. To eat.

Eat us.

For countless generations, we promised you better, and you deserved better. And the only thing we delivered is the only thing adults are good at providing: disappointment.

So I say: burn it all down. If you decide to leave any of us, you only let the ones who can and will change go on. You devour the rest of it whole and don’t look back, but never forget.

And if this just sounds like an adult pleading for his life when he knows his days are numbered: you’re right.

And that is why you have to eat us. This is what we do.

You have to be the first good adults.

Brushfire Cover Reveal!

July 25th, 2021

My squirrels! I am beyond excited to finally reveal the cover for my upcoming all-ages (yes, this one is for everybody!) graphic novel, Brushfire.

I’ve been working on this story for a long time (and as you can see, it’s titled Wave 1, which means that it’s just the beginning of a series). There isn’t an official release date yet, but if I were a betting rodent, I would expect this before the end of 2021.

As you can probably deduce from the art, this is my love letter to the cartoons I grew up with in the 80’s and 90’s. Not everything from that era has aged particularly well, but I wanted to create a more timeless story that anyone from age 8 to 88 would get something out of.

I’ve described this as Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers meets Agents of SHIELD or Fringe, but it’s also very much something all its own. It’s about adorable animals, yes, but it’s also about love and family and music and science and time and… well, adorable animals.

But what specifically is Brushfire all about? Well, let’s take a look at the official description.

…

You have to memorize the Mission Statement: Brushfire exists to reveal and respect the truths of the universe, and to protect and provide for all of its inhabitants.

Brushfire is an advanced society of wildlife who live in the Burrow, a sprawling subterranean city built deep under Faribault’s Central Park.

Squirrels Bay and Elle are part of a specialized group within Brushfire called FLARE — Fair Leaders in Action, Relief, and Exploration. The members of FLARE are respected and admired throughout the community for their work, their honesty, and their bravery.

Years ago, a collection of scientists called the Ekpyrotic Ensemble were lost overnight while trying to tap into a vast source of mysterious power. In the present, a strange visitor lights a spark under FLARE to revisit the tragic events of that evening, and possibly discover a way to reverse them.

Brushfire is the work of acclaimed writer and artist Dennis Vogen, the creator of The Weirdos comic book series, novellas like Flip and Theia, and the collection of essays known as Time is a Solid State.

…

I hope you dig the cover, and I can’t wait to share so much more to come!

Wake me up before you go go

July 23rd, 2021

I think that heaven can be a dangerous idea.

Before I take you there, though, let’s talk about the benefits of believing in an everlasting life.

At its base, the belief that life never truly ends helps appease what William James calls the “worm at the core of all our usual springs of delight,” which is the perpetual knowledge that we all are going to die.

That’s not a bad thing. For many, it means they can move past the objective truth that death is going to take us all; for minutes, hours, or days at a time, they can ignore the truth of the dead, allowing them to focus instead on those aforementioned delights.

“The unfolding of any given life is beyond prediction. The final fate of any given life is a foregone conclusion.” Brian Greene puts to words what is primally printed on our subconscious. You didn’t choose it, and you can’t escape it.

You are going to die.

And it’s the complex thoughts and emotions we tie to this fact that inspired the idea that maybe we don’t. (Though, don’t get me wrong, you do and you will.)

So why do I think that can be dangerous?

Because it is, at its worst, the infinite excuse.

When you think you are going to live forever, you can allow yourself to skip the hard things in life that are important to do.

You don’t worry about saying those words to that person — because you’ll see them in the hereafter, anyways.

You don’t try to fix the thing that you broke or repair the relationship that is cracked but not altogether destroyed — because what will it matter in the afterworld?

You dismiss the ideas of guilt and regret because they belong to this plane; in turn, you remove yourself from the responsibility of living on it.

Basically, you’re a spiritual billionaire, rocketing off to a unmapped place among the stars, uninterested in the world you’ve decided is below you.

And that, to me, is dangerous. An odd cocktail of intentional ignorance and bliss.

So that’s why I seek it out on earth. I try to find it in words and in music and in animals and always, always in other people.

We are going to die. That is certainly true.

But it is possible that we can find a little bit of heaven here before we go.

Warm Woolen Mittens

July 23rd, 2021

I wrote a post last week about how sometimes people get to my stuff after I feel like it’s had its moment. A few of those people have picked up Theia lately, and it inspired me to pick it back up and thumb through it myself.

The character of Mittens came up in conversation, and I described the albino ferret as “the most selfless creature in existence.” When I reread his backstory, I remembered why he is the way that he is; I described what ferrets believe in, and I found that passage kind of beautiful.

“An animal’s faith is hard to describe. But each kind is different, if some not so different than others. Mittens believed in a kind of karma, which many ferrets believe in. They believe that the skills you possess during your life transfer into the afterlife. It’s one of the reasons ferrets are so cunning and quick to disappear; they believe they can use these abilities to fool Death herself once she comes.

And it’s the reason that Mittens always chose to be kind, even in the face of terrible abuse. He believed that if he could be skillful with kindness, he would bring that gift with him to the afterlife, and be able to teach it to any ferret who had passed without learning or receiving it during their lifetimes.

This ability to be kind almost killed him on countless occasions, and he never regretted it once.”

Mittens has an idiotic kind of deep wisdom and I love that so much about him.

If you want to read more about him and the rest of the shelter animals, Theia is available on Amazon and dennisvogen.com now.

i love u all so much

July 22nd, 2021

Oh, m’gosh.

First things first: my deepest, sincerest, most saccharine gratitude to every single wonderful soul who attended the Book(s) Release Party today, whether you showed up over an hour early, or stayed with me until the very end (and maybe even a few minutes past that).

I’ve said it before, and why wouldn’t I repeat this simple truth: connecting with you makes this life both worth living and mean something.

It was electrifying to see so many friends and faces, some of whom I hadn’t seen since the before-times (and some of whom I had never seen before).

While chatting with everyone, talk would invariably venture into returning to normal and what that new normal will be, and I felt a part of my new normal with significant weight tonight: this was the first time I celebrated accomplishing something without my mom by my side.

I swore I saw her a few times at the door today (and maybe I did, that trickster), and I know she goes on in ways I can’t understand.

It was different without her hug.

It was, at times, heavy and difficult on the inside, and you being there made it okay. I want to thank you for that, too, for real.

I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the stories you picked up (and hello to all the new folk I met, too!). I send a massive amount of props to the incredible Issues Needed Comics for having me as a guest once again. (Enjoy the rest of the candy!)

As always, all my love.

Push Release Day & Book(s) Release Party!

July 21st, 2021

TODAY IS THE DAY!

My seventh book, Push, has been officially released.

You can get it in paperback, hardcover and digital at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Push-Dennis-Vogen/dp/B09868L6ZS

Or get a signed paperback at dennisvogen.com

But the very best way to get your copy of any of my books would be at my Book(s) Release Party TODAY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 21st, at Issues Needed Comics in Apple Valley from 5 pm to 8 pm.

Here’s what you need to know:

– All of my books will be available for the special event price of $15 each. Every title.

– The first 25 people who arrive will receive a free limited edition 2021 print, Hot Weirdo Summer.

– I will be there in person, presumably.

– I will sign anything you want, but (again, presumably) mostly stuff I made.

– I will have free candy.

I can’t wait to see you all. It’s been too long. Can’t wait to talk stories and comics and weather and The Bachelorette and whatever else it is we humans used to talk about at these things so many eons ago.

You guys, I’ve released seven freaking books. Let’s party.

I Want To Push You Around

July 19th, 2021

In just about 24 hours, Push comes to shove and will be released into the wild. I wanted to talk about my 7th book a little (and thank every single person who has been here since my 1st, too).

I’ll see you soon at Issues Needed on July 21st starting at 5 pm, to celebrate Push, as well as Time is a Solid State, Theia and my beloved Weirdos. 2020 was a hell of a year, in so many ways, on so many levels.

All my love.

A subtitled version of this video is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RVtzAI2g7wU

Heartbreak Weather

July 15th, 2021

I’m still on the Old Chicago email list.

For more than a few months, when I’d open one, I would feel heartbreak for what I lost.

After a while, though, I would start to feel a new kind of heartbreak; I’d think of all the things I would have never experienced if I hadn’t lost that job at all.

And in a slightly sadistic way, that’s what life is all about: trading our heartbreaks in so we can create new ones.

If that sounds cynical to you, let me point out that in order for your heart to get broken, you have to love something in the first place.

So that means we just keep loving anyway, over and over and over again.

I’m sorry if you’re experiencing any kind of heartbreak today.

Hopefully you’re able to trade that in and love something you would have never had the opportunity to love before.

Tangled

July 14th, 2021

There was a fun anniversary yesterday that I kept thinking on but never got around to posting about.

On July 13th, 2003, I had my high school graduation party, and The Next Step released their first EP, called Tangled Cords.

I know 18 years seems like a random and not very seminal anniversary, but quite the contrary: it means that the music I’ve made as that artist has existed for exactly half my entire life now. That’s kind of crazy.

I remember stepping off “stage” (my front porch) to an audience of mostly deaf people, when my grandmother Gladys (who, to her chagrin that day, was not deaf) approached me.

I didn’t have a trajectory set after high school (and still don’t), so she asked me with her characteristic bluntness: “That’s not what you’re planning on trying to do with your life, is it?”

I think my grandma is okay that I objectively failed as a professional musician.

I still ended up releasing another EP and three full-length albums, kept playing shows throughout my twenties, and there was even rumors of live shows planned for 2020 (though we all know how that year went…).

I still love music with all my black heart and there’s stuff that maybe I’ll still put out there into the universe some day.

Until then: there’s Spotify, YouTube and memories of me tearing up venues and countless dive bars, like Turf Club, Big V’s, Hexagon Bar, Uptown Bar and even 7th Street Entry that one time.

Maybe not too far away I’ll be yelling “Hola, mi amigos!” to kick off a show once again.