My Five Minutes - Short Thoughts on Creativity and Culture

I always knew life wasn't fair, but I didn't see it until I was seventeen; I was just glad I wasn't on the receiving end.

On my first day of college, an English professor delivered a lesson that had absolutely nothing to do with English, something I remember to this day.

That experience eventually informed how I approached a lot of things in my life: publishing comics, working with artists, and dealing with the uncomfortable reality that hard work, talent, and determination don't necessarily produce success.

After more than forty years in independent comics publishing, I've seen talented people succeed, talented people fail, and plenty of things that defy explanation.

In this episode of My Five Minutes, I talk about expectations, disappointment, artistic ambition, personal accountability, and why sometimes the most important thing you can do is accept the circumstances and keep going.

Along the way, I also try to prove my point by recording this podcast in increasingly terrible lighting.

Topics: Life lessons, personal responsibility, independent comics, creative careers, publishing, failure, persistence, and the absurdities of everyday life.

As some of you may already know, I wrote the Justice League for DC Comics in the mid-1990's. I often forget that I had fans of my work, and there were people who liked my JLA work.

Complaining about that period the way I do is off-putting to my supporters. Mostly, my bitterness comes from the experience I had and how it affected the work. I lasted over a year, so the podcast title doesn't really ring true, but it sounded good and will attract the right attention.

In addition, I look back at several things, like having to get EXTREME (as in Extreme Justice), not following sound advice, pivoting back to being a publisher, meeting Jhonen Vasquez and publishing Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, an event which proved to be, and I mean this in no small way, life-changing.

And, yes, I talk about Booster Gold's clunky armor, the death of fan-favorite character Ice, and discovering how writing-by-committee works (or doesn't), and if you know what I am talking about at all, you're probably pretty old and maybe not my target audience. I left out maybe the most important thing, and the thing that got me recording this episode: Why, after over 30 years, do people still care and talk about these comics (not just mine but any of them)?

Support the podcast:

https://www.patreon.com/c/artboutiki

Visit SLG Publishing:

https://slgpubs.com

Getting to Comic-Con in 2026 was never the goal; it was more of a mile marker on the road back to the full-time publishing world. So I got there with grand ideas and probably not a real grasp of how much less space a six-foot table offered over a full-on 10x10 booth.

With all my big ideas for podcast interviews sort of fizzling out, I settled on a simple man-on-the-street-style Q&A, asking people what they did while they listened to podcasts.

In another sort of big swing and a miss, I did not anticipate that people, while very enthusiastic about podcasts and this style of content, really had very little appetite for actually taking part in one, especially when video is involved, which led me to ask the last few people about how they felt about video in their podcasts.

I close the episode by reflecting on SLG Publishing’s 40th anniversary, my “comeback” to comics, and why I intend to keep creating and helping others tell their stories for as long as possible.

SUPPORT ME ON PATREON: - https://www.patreon.com/c/artboutiki

This episode was being edited while I was getting ready to go to Comic-Con in San Diego, my first time exhibiting at that show since 2016 and the first time I have ever gone solo. As I was prepping, I got to thinking about starting this entire comics publishing venture 40 years ago and how it sort of started with my pointing at one person and saying, "Draw this for me!" That person was Mark Buck, a man who went on to excel in the world of Visual Effects while working at Industrial Light and Magic.

I got to thinking that if he had said no and decided he was not ready to draw a comic book, or unwilling to work on spec, the entire publishing venture might have collapsed right then and there, and we might not be sitting here today. So in this video, I reminisce about that humble origin story, the man who really made it all work, and what Mark became later in life. Samurai Penguin, Mark Buck, Dan Vado, SLG Publishing, Slave Labor Graphics, independent comics, indie comics, comic book history, comics publishing, independent publishing, 1980s comics, black and white comics boom, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT comics boom, comic book creators, alternative comics, small press comics, visual effects artist, VFX artist, Comic-Con International, San Diego Comic-Con, SLG 40th anniversary, publishing memoir, comics podcast

Artists treat gigs like dogs treat a bone; they think it's the last one they will ever have, so when another one comes around, they sometimes jump at it and say yes before they are even done with the first one. As I type this, I wish I had included this in the actual episode. In this episode of My Five Minutes, I (that is Dan Vado) talk about the uneasy math of creative work: when to say yes, when to say no, and how hard it can be to tell the difference when you are trying to build a career, pay the bills, keep the lights on, or just prove that you belong in the room. Most of the time, when people offer you low-paying gigs with the promise of exposure, it's usually bullshit. But it's not 100% true, just mostly true. Then I talk about myself, which is boring, then it all ends thank God. Support me on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/cw/artboutiki Go to Kickstarter and get a copy of OMWO and help us bring this fantastic graphic novel to press - https://slgpubs.live/ksomwo

In this episode, I, Dan Vado, sit with my cohorts, Kevin Ryan and Chris (Meat) Edwards, to go over viewer mail, such as it is, and discuss the burning questions of the day, including what that thing is on the tip of my nose and whether I have gained weight. Yes, these are actual questions I get. Later in the episode, I talk about why I am podcasting, how I find it a powerful medium, and how I want to work towards telling people's stories. I also talked warmly about the people who stuck with me on Patreon after my venue, Art Boutiki, closed. Ironically enough while I was editing this episode (on June 1) four people cancelled their support. Which is my way of saying, if you like what you hear, give my Patreon page a visit and drop a monthly tip our way. https://www.patreon.com/cw/artboutiki Also, tell a friend if you like this, and if you have comments, please feel free to message me. Dan Vado

This episode clocks in at just shy of 14 minutes, which may make me a liar about the title of this podcast. Not really. My Five Minutes has always been about having something to say and taking the time to say it.

In “The Grind,” I am joined by Chris Edwards, otherwise known as Meat, to talk about the daily labor, routine, pressure, and chaos of the restaurant industry. Meat was the chef at Art Boutiki, the music venue I operated until it closed in December 2025, and he saw firsthand the many grinds involved in keeping a venue running.

Later, I share a story from the 1990s about the day Jeff Smith, creator of BONE, walked into my comic book store and pitched us on carrying his book—and what that moment says about the work behind every creative success.

This episode I recount a story from Comic-Con which was an impactful moment that has stayed with me to this day. Yes, this episode of My Five Minutes is ten minutes long. I imagine that had I called it My Ten Minutes the would be much shorter, or longer, or whatever. The story is the story and it takes however long it takes.

I am going to admit that, from a production standpoint, this one was another step backwards for me. Much like my previous decision to record in my car, this time I decided to record in my back yard and it turned out, not well. There was all kinds of road noise and wind that I tried my best to eliminate and I had the gain on the mic turned up so loud that every breath I took sounded like I was broadcasting from a hurricane.

Why didn't I just start over? Because the story itself is difficult to tell. Doing it again would have been a technical improvement, but I am not sure I would have had the energy to recount the incident as well as I did in the take that you are listening or watching.

And if you are watching the video version of this, yes I do have a face made for radio and yes I did leave the autofocus turned on.

Long story short, the story is worth listening to, I will get better at this and lastly thanks for your time and support.

The takeaway from this episode is that I set out to do one thing, realized it wasn't great, and pivoted to another, which was also not great but better than the first. This illustrates the dangers of not recording several episodes ahead of releasing the first one. I could have just trashed the whole thing and come back a week from now, but I didn't want to give the appearance of having spun off the tracks already.

To be honest, this episode is pretty solid, just not the sound or video quality I wanted. I got a lot of compliments on my first episode's production values, so I am now willing to take the lumps on this one. You let me know.

Episode four or five is going to be a Q&Q, AMA type thing so if you have questions for me, please direct them to my email at [email protected]

Next week, a story from Comic-Con

In the first episode of My Five Minutes, SLG Publishing publisher and founder Dan Vado looks at the arrogance required to create anything at all, at least anything worth remembering.

Before there is a book, a comic, a song, a podcast, a company, or a stage, there is usually one unreasonable belief: that the idea in your head is worth bringing into the world.

As SLG Publishing celebrates its 40th anniversary, Vado reflects on the confidence, delusion, ego, and blind faith involved in his own path through being a creativer professional..

This episode sets the tone for My Five Minutes: short, personal reflections on creativity, memory, mistakes, publishing, music, failure, and the strange art of not quitting.

Topics: creativity, ego, indie comics, SLG Publishing, podcast launch, independent publishing, creative risk, making art, failure, persistence.