4/11/2010, 9:56 PM: I just applied to a job posted by Chris Crosby on Digital Webbing. That might not seem so bad, but I didn’t actually read the username that posted the ad: just the ad itself asking for colorists to contribute to a comic hosted on Keenspot. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but I also linked to my Digital Inks column which, as you may recall, has basically devolved into “Shane hates Chris Crosby: The Series.” It’s only by coincidence that I was looking through the forums again later and recognized his name. What the fuck was I thinking? Sure, it would be hilarious to actually work with him after spending the majority of my time on this site dissing the dude, but damn would it be awkward. Even if he never replies to my application, I’ll never know if I missed out on the job just because I have publicly hated him on a semi-regular basis.
On the plus side, the job pays $5 a page for coloring, so I’m not exactly sweating it if I miss out on the opportunity. I’m kind of hoping he sees my review, gets pissed, and I can at least get an entertaining article out of this. I’ll try and keep a journal to see if anything comes up.
4/12/2010, 8:10 PM: Get this: the job I mentioned earlier apparently wasn’t the only job posted by Crosby on Digital Webbing that I’d responded to. It turns out a second, slightly more lucrative job had been posted as well, and I applied for that job as well. Thing is, for that job I didn’t post a link to my InGenre column; the ad for this one didn’t specify anything about webcomics, so I didn’t feel it would have been relevant. The best part, though, is I actually got a response to this second application, specifically asking if I was the “Shane Woodis” who wrote for InGenre. This means: 1.) Someone has actually read this column! Wow, what are the odds? And 2.) I think Chris Crosby is going to berate me soon. Unless the correspondence is handled by someone else at Keenspot (or whatever this job was for; maybe it’s part of Blatant Comics) then it’s clear that Chris is aware of my column; if only from looking up my name after receiving my application.
The question now is: if confronted, will I stick to my guns, or turn into a simpering apologetic if Chris confronts me about how much Shit I’ve talked about him? On the one hand I’m a very proud man, but on the other hand I’d rather not antagonize someone who could, theoretically give me money down the line? Ah, but I seriously doubt I’d hire someone if I found out they spent half their time bad mouthing me on the internet.
–Update: Chris (who apparently mans the correspondence email himself) has responded now that I’ve confirmed that I am, indeed, the Shane Woodis of Ingenre.com. He made sure to put a smiley face in his post to let me know this was a good natured conversation, so that’s good.
–Further conversation has occurred, and I now have evidence that The Crosbys and Gieni have been aware of my column for some time, and apparently Gieni even thought my Wicked Powered review was kind of funny. What the Hell? I must be losing my edge if these guys aren’t just reading these things, but enjoying them as well. I guess you don’t get to be in charge of the largest (and possibly only) financially successful webcomics collection without eventually developing some tough skin about this sort of thing.
I hope Bobby shows up and yells at me for calling him crazy, though. That’s always good for a laugh, though I’m pretty sure he’s let up on it since the last time I saw anyone report on his wacky behavior. It’s really hard to look up information on Bobby Crosby since there’s an MLB player with the same name, and he kinda dominates google search.
–Chris seems pretty relaxed about the whole thing, but declines an interview request. Little does he realize I’ve been documenting our conversations for posterity…
4/18/10 12:38 a.m.: Despite my hopes, the conversation ended on a positive, jovial note. Chris was polite and he joked a bit about himself and his writing skills. So, if you’ve learned anything from my short adventure, dear reader, let it be this: you can say whatever you want about anyone on the internet and, as long as you’re not expecting to get hired by them at some point there, are never any negative side effects. Ever.
Damn… now I need to find another prolific bad webcomic author to obsess over…
Shane “Inkmonkey” Woodis started making webcomics in 2003, and didn’t stop until he graduated from the Joe Kubert School in 2008. Since then he’s worked as a freelance artist, and as a moderator for the DrunkDuck website. He has also contributed to two of their print collections. His best known work is Elijah and Azuu, an action/comedy series that ran on DrunkDuck for 5 years and over 1300 pages. 
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That was pretty amusing! I know of several other creators who’s stuff has been reviewed on the site who have read said reviews, either through correspondence with me or with the reviewers.
My assumption is that people either google their own stuff to see what people are saying (pretty smart IMO) or they are being told by their fans who google their stuff (handy fanbase to have.)
I’m glad to see Chris is apparently being good-natured about it all – if he has any delusions that I endorse the opinions of everyone who writes for my site, he should take another read of your review of MY web comic…
Haha, holy crap, that was pretty fascinating! Interesting how that played out. I try not to talk too much about people myself, unless they happen to be corporate tools that ruin my favorite character!
Heh, I don’t Google my stuff anymore. I’m scared of what I’ll run into these days. My mind quails at the very thought!
Keep up the great work here, I check as often as I can and just got motivated to actually register and comment. I’m supposed to be unconscious right now though!
Good luck on the search for the new!