The email was completely out of the blue–Muktuk had not appeared in print since 1997, and I assumed interest was restricted to the few aging, nostalgic comic geeks who'd encountered him way back then. It turned out one of those comics geeks was working for Jack Black and he wanted to acquire the option.
Obviously, this was exciting news, and the timing was perfect, since I needed a project to finish my degree. I figured that at the very least, when the news was made public, there'd be a lot of interest in Muktuk and it would behoove me to have something out there to actually sell. Sealing the deal was actually way more complicated than I'd anticipated–Muktuk had at various times been published by 3 comics companies, including DC, which meant I had to get all the rights back. Fortunately, that went off fairly smoothly. Negotiating the contract, though, took nearly 8 months. Luckily, I found an excellent lawyer who was willing to do it for a percentage of the final project. I don't know if he wants to be publicly named, but bless him.
Anyhow, a deal was finally made and I got my (paltry) payment. I was told not to make any formal announcements, so I satisfied myself with telling family and friends and watching Jack Black movies with new appreciation. Time and the project dragged on, and then, in November of 2011, I got a call from the guy who'd originally contacted me to say he was leaving Jack.
Bummer. I know from long experience that when the person who's excited about your project leaves, your project is probably doomed, and since he was the only one over there who had any appreciation of what was otherwise a completely obscure property, I figured my chances of hanging out on the set with the glitterati, or even sending out a press release talking about the option before the online comic ended, had just plummeted to pretty much zero. Everyone said they were still excited etc., but the months accumulated, and every time I called Jack's other assistant to see if anything was up and if I could actually make a formal announcement, I was told no. Then October rolled around and the option was up. I wasn't surprised when they passed on renewing it, but of course, a little sad. It was a nice fantasy to live with for a year and half, infinitely satisfying to bring up in bars and at parties, and I felt sad for my lawyer, who'd done a month of work for less than he usually makes in an hour.
It could have been… it still should.
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