When we last left our young, neophyte inker, Drew (cue soap opera music), he was stewing in the sweet & sour juices of his sorrow over the loss of his first monthly gig, Justice League America. It was hinted editorially that this setback may not be of a permanent nature. Two weeks of floor-pacing passed before a ray of hope appeared. Specifically, The Ray!

   The Ray was the son of a Golden Age hero of the same name, who wielded similar energy powers. There's a lot more to his origin, but you can Google it on your own time. The Ray starred in his own wildly-successful miniseries that brought attention to a hot new artist named Joe Quesada. Joe had moved on by the time an ongoing series was announced. Another superstar-artist-in-the-making, Howard Porter, took the reigns for the ongoing, before being recruited for DC's major summer event/crossover of 1995, Underworld Unleashed. I'm told these huge crossovers are a scheduling nightmare for editors and creators alike. Through hard work and wildly imaginative art, Howard persevered and was rewarded with the big time JLA relaunch, featuring writer Grant Morrison and inker John Dell.

   Canadian Jason Armstrong took over pencilling duties on The Ray. Jason had an exciting style that incorporated The Ray's zig-zag energy flight and Kirby Krackle into eye-catching page designs. Unlike Chuck Wojtkiewicz, Jason and I gelled right from the start, both art-wise and personality-wise. Side note: See this site's Rarities section for examples of the art we did for DC's Overpower card game featuring The Ray.

   During my first few years as a pro, I attended a lot more conventions than I do now. One of the most enjoyable for me has been the Pittsburgh Comic Con. My parents live just a few miles from the convention site, the Monroeville Expo Mart, so it's both a professional and personal excursion. Jason made arrangements to go to the show to meet up with me and hang out.

   By the time the con rolled around in late April of '96, Jason and I had just learned that The Ray was cancelled and that we were presently working on the last issue. This wasn't public knowledge yet, as some in the internet comics community were only just beginning to perfect the art of armchair quarterbacking, so our secret was safe that weekend.

   Putting on our bravest faces, we sat together in artist's alley, promoting our cancelled book, but sneaking away to hock our wares to editors in attendance. We'd even approached Jim Shooter, who was probably putting on his bravest face as well, in light of the soon-collapse of Broadway Comics, his last comics-publishing venture.

   My parents stopped by artists alley, as they always did at the Pittsburgh Con, and I introduced them to Jason. When I explained that Jason was the penciller on my book, she blurted out: "Oh, your little Canadian friend! Nice to meet you!" As if Jason and I hung out in the basement, doodling little cartoons for ourselves, rather than an internationally-published comic book company based in New York. It goes to show you: No matter how big a success you think you are, your mom can always put you in your place, whether intentionally or not!

   I remember not sleeping well that weekend at my parent's house, stressed about what future in comics, if any, I would have after I finished my last few pages of The Ray. Remember, in the '90's a legion of creators disappeared from the comics industry as swiftly as they entered. I was determined not to be one of them, if I could help it.

   So after inking four issues, and one double-sized issue, The Ray was cancelled with # 28. But better things were in store for me (this phrase is starting to be my recurring hook!)

   A couple years later, Karen and I went to Jason and Susan Armstrong's wedding in Stratford, Ontario at a beautiful country estate. It was an outdoor ceremony and the weather was perfect. I even remember the delicious asparagus/leek soup (served cold), the first course of the dinner. The Armstrong's wedding was one of the best vacations Karen & I ever had.

   A quote from The Kinks' pop poet laureate, Ray (not The Ray) Davies, pulled from Uncut magazine:

   "I'd like to have no brain and not have the hunger to do this, and be ordinary. I'd like to be part of my community. I'd like to not want any better. I want to be happy with what I have, and say, 'That's great, I've achieved a lot. And...here's my Autumn Almanac'. It is a terrible inner conflict. I do long to be the ordinary guy, and I applaud the ordinariness of the world, and the trivia. But maybe I'm not trivial enough."

   I don't know why Davies' quote resonates with me so. Maybe it's because I allow myself to be dangerously enveloped in my limited comics-as-life mindset. That stated, I often feel like an odd duck in social situations.

   But there I was, in Ontario, sitting under a white canopy, in the fresh air, chatting with new friends about nothing in particular...

   ...feeling perfectly ordinary.