First Impressions of Issue 5

As I went to the printers today to pick up the first pressing of Issue 5 for It's Dagger, my friend who works there informed me that his co-worker looked at the magazine and shook his head at it.

This got me thinking:  what in Issue 5 made this guy shake his head in disgust/disbelief at the magazine?  Was it Nathan's hateful rant against humankind?  Or my anti-censorship, anti-homophobes article?  Perhaps it was the new comic strip by Charlie Baker titled "Abortionman."  I think that might do it.  Luckily, for me I plan to have the comic continue in the subsequent issues.  So, maybe it was one of these things or even all of them.

This causes the child-like part of my mind that is always searching for acceptance to say, "what can I change?  What did I do to offend and not please the masses?"  This is the section of the brain devoted to pleasing everyone, and we all have it as residue from our childhoods.  Some of us do better at extracting it than others, but still - we all have it hidden in us.

The adult part of my mind says "you don't need everyone to like you, just those who are important and who you like."  This is a harder pill to swallow and a tougher lesson to learn, but we all must do it.  Sometimes people just won't like you and that's how it is. 

Finally, the Editor in me says, "hey, you do run a blasphemous publication that isn't exactly printed for the masses and the mainstream but is geared towards those in the underground (students, artists, drunks, etc) who feel they need to express themselves somewhere."  That part says to hell with dissenters who don't get what I'm trying to do.  And of course, there is also that part of the Editor that says, "hey, this guy picked it up and READ it."  No matter what he thought, this guy did READ the magazine, and in the end, that's most important of all.

Issue 5 will be out First Friday!  Pick up a copy before it's too late.  Also, Issue 4 available for download from www.itsdagger.8k.com.

The Editor