The Journey to Roundhouse Hooligans

Part Issue #2

As I write this, the Round House Hooligans journey is closer than ever to fruition, we can at last see light at the end of the tunnel. The long road and challenging work is about to pay off and soon we will share the story of our Hooligans with the world, a story that I hope, could change lives, inspire people and become something bigger than even I imagined.

Getting to this point of the journey has not been an easy one. Not just from the standard obstacles I’ve faced creating it but… in life as well (yep… life, that son of a bitch who likes to kick you when your down sometimes). I know from the outside looking in it may seem as though Free Fall Comics is doing very little sometimes, what person spends the better part of 10 mother flippin years on a dream without having anything to show for it yet? Well, from where I stand I can finally answer such a question and the answer is because we are crazy and have accepted our crazy as a gift. I believe you have to be a little crazy to chase a dream as big as ours. It takes a lot of crazy to constantly block out the haters, the naysayers and anyone else that attempts to drag you down while on your journey, because it’s a vision they don’t or can’t see, a dream no one except you (and Brizey) sees. Every time you close your eyes it’s right there in front of you, you just gotta reach out and grab it by the balls, hold tight, squeeze and twist a little, but most importantly, never let go.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

― Rob Siltanen

Ok, let’s get back to the topic, ROUNDHOUSE HOOLIGANS!

To begin where I left off in JOURNEY TO RHH ISSUE 1, I had just started writing RHH as a TV script. The opening scene was gritty and violent! It was the lead characters’ backstory. At the end of the opening I realised I was on my way to writing another strong female lead. She was broken, and was trying to outrun her life. Every day, a waking, self-loathing hell on earth where happiness was just a word. This self-loathing, this pain I imagined eating away at her every minute and hour of the day, I imagined she had many a time contemplated giving up on life completely, and it occurred to me that this woman’s tale could possibly change lives, it could be more than just a story. For me it was life changing because as I was going through my own hell so was this character. I believe it was because of her, her daily influence on me, the distraction she provided from my own unhappy reality, this place she allowed me to cast my own demons into that got me through some really fucked up times.

The Hooligans became as real as they ever could for a writer. The more I wrote the more real they became. I said it before, they were my friends, a part of me that would never die and the more I wrote about them the more I delved into my own feelings. Some may read this and say, dude! They aren’t real, they are fictional characters…I feel sorry for these people, they are missing out on so much! I saw it the same way a child (or adults like me who are childish at heart) put on a superhero mask or cape and run around a playground like they are unstoppable, because real or made up, they can inspire us to be better.

NEXT GEN HOOLIGANS IN THE MAKING!

It was amazing to see this story coming to life on paper, but then… while trying to work my way into the film industry and working another crappy job, time as it has a habit of doing, got away from me, and I am ashamed to say the half completed RHH screen play sat on the shelf collecting dust, perhaps, never to be looked at again.

But I’m pretty sure you’ve already figured out it didn’t play out like that, No, RHH would again see the light of day! You see, one day after I had already taken a long hiatus from the film industry due to some personal set backs I stumbled upon that old screen play. Before I go further let me just say that film making was my biggest passion at the time, leaving it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. It was an amazing journey and learning experience I will never forget, but life is strange because, what felt like the end soon became the beginning. That choice I made, as hard as it was would allow me to open another door, a door to comics/graphic novels and it became the best decision I could have ever made.

Where was I, ah yes, so…I stumbled upon my old friends the Hooligans on a particularly bad day. I had hit a huge low and who better to find on a day like that then your closest friends. I realised I needed the Roundhouse Hooligans in my life again. So, after a 2 year gap, I picked up that old screen play, blew the dust off and read through it all. I realised with the recent things I had been through and was still going through would be great material for my characters, for my new project…the RHH comic book series!

It was so easy to write! In one night, I believe I had more than half the story completed in a first draft. Once again, the Hooligans became an addiction. I could not stop thinking about it, I knew what I was creating was something new and different and as it had changed and affected my life for the better, I knew it could possibly change the lives of others. Round House Hooligans was dealing with depression, loss, anxiety, PTSD, suicide and so many other things that everyday people go through and suffer from. I learned from everyday people, I started asking more questions, read through real life accounts, diaries and blogs of some of the saddest true stories to better understand and give my characters more depth. The more I found out the more the story evolved. It’s not all doom and gloom though, that would be boring, it was also filled with laughter, friends taking the piss out of each other! those amazing, special little moments between friends…family. I believe it is often the little moments that create the most meaningful and lasting memories. The little things have a way of building up into something big, changing you over time, just a little so you don’t notice…until it’s time to look back.

It was amazing to see RHH grow, for me…it was like I was giving it birth, my very own child, A bouncing baby Hooligan! Haha! So…now I had a completed script It was time to take Roundhouse Hooligans to the next level. It was time for the Round House Hooligans to level up! No longer be just mere words on a piece of paper, No, it was time to see them on paper.

I grabbed pen and paper and I…I, Holy shit! I just realised I can’t draw!