What is My Facebook Avatar All About?

A couple days ago I changed my Facebook avatar to a cartoon image of a young boy.

What’s that all about? Who is this cartoon character?

First, if you didn’t know already, for more than a decade I’ve been drawing cartoons. I’ve worked on several projects over the years, but the most enjoyable projects have been my own comic strips. I’ve had a lot of fun creating my original comic strip Zzack (a cartoon about a teenage boy named Zack Zimmerman), and a webcomic called RTSCTV (which stands for “Real Time Strategy Cable Television”) for a now defunct online gaming community.

Recently, I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a new comic strip called Zzackback, a cartoon based on a younger version of Zack from my original comic strip Zzack. As the idea developed, and as I imagined what the younger Zack would be like, I began to reminisce about my own childhood. Then it occurred to me – why not relive my own childhood through the character(s) in the comic strip?

So, the young cartoon boy that now appears as my Facebook avatar? That’s young Zack, a character who will represent me and my own childhood experiences in my new comic strip and webcomic Zzackback. In the years to come, I plan to re-explore life in my old neighborhood growing up, my experiences in elementary school, etc.

I could elaborate more, but I don't want to give away too much.

Though Zzackback will focus on my younger years, I may eventually give my original comic strip Zzack the same treatment so I can relive my experiences during my teenage years. There’s quite a bit of stories there to share as well.

Needless to say I am really excited about this concept, and I look forward to sharing these stories with you in the years to come.

~ Keith R. Martin (@rangeraragorn)