My Enlightening Conversation With Gay Comics Legend Dale Lazarov

As an author of novels, short stories, and comic books, I’ve met a number of kind and supportive creators. Some were writers like myself, artists, editors, and publishers. What’s cool about meeting and networking with other creators is that you get to check out various sorts of projects, from new books and art from other creative people. I’m used to having fun interactions with creators and mutually sharing work.

I recently had an enlightening experience where I realized this is not always true with everyone. My comfort in sharing with others gave me a great lesson a month or two after I received a link from gay comics legend Dale Lazarov. Inspired to share my own work back a month or so later as I had been impressed and seen his projects here and there for a while, I asked to share a link back. What resulted is a conversation that has taught me more than I could have ever imagined in dealing with other individuals in the publishing world.

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As this treatment was new to me, I was shocked by this interaction. I wondered if I could have approached this situation better, and if my rush to return a free comic to someone who shared links to buy his comics was presumptuous of me and rude. Luckily, I recieved good insight from others.

In life, I’m sure a lot of us have learned either from our parents, elders, or even celebrity interviews from heroes that we admire how to treat everyone on an equal footing. I treat a janitor the same way I treat a professor, or a blue collar worker the same way I’d treat a white collar worker, or someone who’s homeless. People are people. Different people, however, have their own philosophies and adaptations to life. That can be a disappointing realization, but it can also be educational and empowering. This experience, for me, was all three. It is good to also know we can spread awareness of how others treat others, and be inspired to be better because of it. I’m thankful for this conversation with the gay comics legend Dale Lazarov.

I’m also thankful that in a time where someone may reinterpret situations to make themselves look a certain way in relations to others, we can document the truth as it is.