The Blade, Toledo, Ohio, Kirk Baird column [The Blade, Toledo, Ohio]

Jan. 06--When I last spoke with Dirk Manning, the Toledo native and Bowling Green State University graduate was poised to break big time on the national comic book scene.

He had two works published by Image comics through its Shadowline branch, Nightmare World series Volumes One and Two, available at Amazon.com, and was collaborating with comic-book artists as far away as Ireland on other digital online works.

That was October, 2010.

More than a year later, and the comic-book author has inched closer to being a well-known commodity in the industry. Blessed with an enviable talent with words and clever story ideas, Manning has followed the path of a master plan diligently for nearly a decade.

"And I'm pretty close to where I want to be," he said in a recent interview over lunch. "The next year I've kind of vowed ... I want the mainstream comic-book readers -- not the industry -- to know who I am, recognize what I do, and be excited about it. Ten years from now I'd like to have a bookshelf full of my own books. That would be pretty sweet."

An early coronation of Manning's success came in April, when MTV interviewed him at a Chicago comics convention to help promote his online series Farseeker, an all-ages fantasy-esque comic about beings from different worlds brought together for an undisclosed quest. For a month Farseeker was featured on the network's Web site mtv.com/geek.

"Holding that MTV microphone in my hand ... it just blew me away and it really sunk in about far I've come as a creator. I mean, I have a long way to go ... but from self-publishing my work online with my artists in 2002 to then in 2011-2012 being interviewed by MTV on camera and being featured on MTV about a graphic novel series I'm writing, it was wild."

The year ahead looks to be even brighter for the 36-year-old Manning. His Nightmare World, Vol. Three: Demon Days was published by Shadowline in October. He will sign books from 6 to 9 p.m.Jan. 13 at Books-A-Million, located in the Town Center at Levis Commons in Perrysburg. The trilogy is also available for order at comic shops and book stores everywhere, as well as at Amazon.com.

He's also kept himself busy with other projects including the online digital horror-noir comic series Tales of Mr. Rhee, about a paranormal troubleshooter living in a post-Apocalyptic world, available at shadowlineonline.com; Farseeker continues its run at act-i-vate.com; and Manning will continue to dole out advice to those looking to make it in his business through his Write-or-Wrong column, available at newsarama.com/topic/write-or-wrong.

There's also the possibility of a collaboration between Manning and "an indie-level Hollywood moviemaker, if such a contradiction could exist" on a series of short films.

While 2012 looks to be a busy year for the comics author, Manning refuses to quit his day job and dedicate himself solely to his craft. It's just not practical, he said.

"I've got a family, I've got health insurance. I would love nothing more than to write full-time, but I don't know ... that's dangerous. It's very dangerous," he said. "Even if I was to make a million dollars on my next book, I like having health insurance; I like having that check. I'm not in my 20s and some single guy who can live in an economy apartment his whole life.

"It's my other job. It's work. ... I love what I do and it is very fun, but make no mistake, my end goal has always been to be one of the premier creators at Image comics. I'm working my way there. And I've done everything on my own terms."

Contact Kirk Baird at [email protected] or 419-724-6734. Follow him on Twitter: @bladepopculture.

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