Creator’s Corner: Eric Manix
Oh man. What a week to be alive. It has been nothing but bedlam in the world of the Quill.
I shall go into greater detail tomorrow.
For now, it is time to relish in one of the greater porpoises… purposes of the Quill and my current career trajectory.
I want to use my platform to uplift other creators like myself. It’s wonderful that I’m in a position where I can offer my something of my own and show off the work and lives of others to those who stop by. I love that aspect of writing: Community.
Community is something we take for granted, and it’s such a powerful and necessary thing for our well being.
So, without further soap box speechifying, I give you The Unsheathed Quill’s first Creators Corner: Eric Manix (@thebobbycrogan)
Quill: Good afternoon everyone! Let’s start with the basics. Eric, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Who you are, what you do, that sort of thing. Oh, and please share a bit about your family! You post such wonderful photos of them on twitter all the time, I’d love to know more about them.
7) ONLY IF YOU WANT TO AND ARE COMFORTABLE: Do you wish to share about your experience with melanoma? 8) Last question: What do you look forward to most with your life right now?
Eric: My name is Eric Manix. I’m a husband and father of two amazing little girls. I’m the closing manager at a comic book store. I’m super outgoing and yet I have extreme social anxiety. I know the two don’t seem to mix and well, lol, they don’t.
Eric: I don’t have a favorite board game. I’m not that into table top gaming. I talk too much and I’m easily distracted so I’m not fun. I do play games with my kids. My seven year old is a big table top gamer so I imagine if you asked again in a couple years I’d give you a different answer. As far as video games I love rpg’s and survival horror. The Resident Evil series are some of my all time favorite games. The last game I beat was Alien: Isolation and it was fucking brilliant.
Eric: I became a fan of podcasts during my years as a care provider. I had a love of time on my hands taking clients out on walks and stuff like that. I tired of my music quickly so I began to research shows. I found myself subscribed to a ton of comic book and video game shows. My friends from View from the Gutters, an excellent book club style comic book show, asked me to join them as a host. Andrew Chard, my friend from the shop was a founder of that show and would later become a co-host on Out of the Fridge with me. Chard had already told them I was in but they felt the need to quiz me on my geek knowledge. It was pretty funny seeing them try to twist me up. Of course I knew my shit so I was in. I wasn’t able to commit to the show full time due to my work and family life but it was a huge honor to be on one of my favorite shows the handful of times I could make it. I started Out of the Fridge with Kelly Okler and Alison Poppy, more friends from work. They had started a blog to get themselves to branch out and try new comics and the next step was a podcast. With my recent experience with views I was initially someone they bounced ideas off of. Eventually they asked my to join them and I was totally flattered. We recorded after hours at the shop for several months with our good friend Jamie Coe recording on us on his amazing pro rig. Chard offered to let us use his studio so that we could be more consistent with our release schedule. I think about an episode and a half went by before Chard joined Out of the Fridge as a full member.
Eric: With podcasting just be yourself. Choose a topic you love, don’t fake it to do what’s more popular. I stick with a show because I love the hosts. Authenticity goes a long way with me. I often see folks focus so much on the format of their episodes that they’ll cut off an interesting conversation. I think having a loose outline and taking notes is great but keep the conversation lively and interesting most of all.
Quill: Thank you for sharing the fact that podcasting is all about enthusiasm. So many people try to fake what’s popular and burn themselves out. Self-taught doesn’t always equate to bad, however! Look at me. I had no writing experience or other relevant background, and I’ve already shot past so many others who fall along the wayside. You take fantastic photos, and I know that for people in my position who barely know which end of the camera to hold, you could offer a wealth of advice.
Okay, last question, and it’s a big one. I know that you’ve never been shy sharing about it, but you survived cancer recently. I’ve had to deal with that twice myself, once it was a close friend, the other was my mother. Do you have anything you wish to share about your experience?
Eric: I am a cancer survivor. I got diagnosed with Melanoma several years ago and had to have surgery to remove the tumor. I noticed a small dark mole by my left eye when my oldest daughter was born. Over time it grew and got darker. Eventually it kind of turned into a square shape so I went to my doctor. My doctor initially said that it was an abnormal mole but not cancerous. I asked him to remove it anyways because it just didn’t feel right to me. He relented but sent it to get biopsied so that insurance would pay for it. Of course the results came back positive and he felt pretty bad! I had to have another couple inches of skin removed around the sight. I had an amazing plastic surgeon, Dr. Woodman, that saved my life and kept me from being disfigured. I’ve got some lovely scars on my face now but they’ve faded a lot. When people ask about them I told them I got into a fight with a bear.
Quill: Thank you for sharing your story Eric. I know it sounds corny, but I think scars are the most wonderful part of being human. They show that you’ve been through things, that you’ve endured things which are no more. They mean that you’ve got a good story to tell as well, and I’m glad I got to share it with an audience. Have a wonderful day Eric, and thank you for your time.
