Comic Books aren’t quite dead up here in Washington, D.C., thank whatever higher-power you’re a fan of. Thanks to the intrepid fighters over the D.C. Conspiracy, there’s something of a safe haven for you lovers of the graphic narrative. Composed of 30-some-odd creators from around the D.C. area, the Conspiracy has no real mission; they’re not a publishing house and they’re not just a book club, either. They’re some weird mashing of the two, and against all logic, it seems to work out. In the five brief years since they were founded, the group has produced three large anthologies of no small quality as well as various other, lesser anthologies that have gone off the charts. The individual members manage to be successful all in their own; one in particular, Jason Rodriguez, apparently has received a deal with Random House publisher for an anthology, while a few of the members are likewise getting picked up for their work by another publishing house due to another anthology. The former I do not know the subject matter of, but the second is devoted to portraying the trickster-god stories from various Native American Cultures.

The individual members were likewise friendly. Though I only had the opportunity to meet three and only for forty minutes at a time, and though they were being drawn away from much more pressing work by my pestering, they were all cordial, welcoming and informative (even if one was a little shy and the other was a little curt). I won’t give out specific names to match certain personalities; I don’t want to risk embarrassing anybody or coming across as an ingrate. These men saved me from the worst paper assignment ever while simultaneously giving me an informed looking into a topic I found interesting. I learned from them the art of keeping together projects that lack any real hierarchy, the pitfalls of trusting newcomers with money, the value of certain writing techniques, and once more the joy of talking to somebody about this hobby that everyone else seems to find such a waste.

Again, thank you, Evan Keeling, Andrew Cohen and Chris Pierce. You made what could have been an impossible assignment into something fun, you answered all of my questions wonderfully, and you made me realize again that yes, I am not the only person in the world besides the big names writing or reading comics. If you’re reading this, know that I’m much obliged.

For all the rest of you kids, do yourself a favor and check out the D.C. Conspiracy website. I didn’t get the opportunity to peruse or buy any of their work (I can’t afford a haircut, cheap as that is; how the devil could I be expected to pick up some comics?), but I have no doubt it’s excellent. The universe doesn’t waste talent on lesser peoples.