The World of Myth Magazine

Welcome to 2022 and another attempt to entertain all of you with my questions. To be honest, with the production season starting back up in the Spring, I am not 100% sure how many more interviews I will have time to perform before I have to get back to my day job. But I would be remiss in my duties if I did not sit down and have a serious conversation with our next guest.

With the company's thirtieth anniversary here in 2022, I knew that I had to pick the mind of the person who first saw the dream and has worked like hell over the last three decades to make it come to fruition. So, ladies and gents, please welcome David K. Montoya!

Now, before we get started, I want to let the readers know that this may be a more serious tone than my typical interviews, but I will do my best to lighten the mood when needed. For example…

C.W. Winter: I once heard that you closed the entire magazine for years because they did not know you were a writer. Well, let me say that I know you are a writer and even have a copy of your Children's book, The Missing Unicorn in the Land of The Zombie Fairies.

David K. Montoya: That's more a wives tale than truth, but it just so happens that that interview was in the same issue. I hope you have a copy of the book. (Laughs)

C.W. Winter: Welcome to 2022, Dave… Uh, I can call you Dave, yeah?

David K. Montoya: Of course.

C.W. Winter: It has been 30 years since you decided to start your own company. How does it feel?

David K. Montoya: Hmmm… It is bittersweet, man. So many people who have taken this journey are no longer here, or we have lost contact. I was going through paperwork the other day, and I stumbled across a contract for Selma Morgan. I remember she started as a letterer back for Southern Myth and then into another position that escapes me at the moment. That was over twenty-something years ago; if she were still alive, I believe she'd be in her late eighties.

C.W. Winter: And of course, your late wife, Lacie.

David K. Montoya: Of course.

C.W. Winter: I honestly don't know how a person moves on from that.

David K. Montoya: Brother, I am going to hit you with some seriousness.

C.W. Winter: All right. Whatcha got?

David K. Montoya: There are two paths that a person can take in that situation. One must continue to live in the moment and be sad and heartbroken. Be a victim of circumstance and have everyone feel sorry for you. Or two, stand up and say, "While this was the greatest tragedy of my life, I will not let it define who I am." Brother, it took a very long time to get to that second part. That frame of mind, you know? You have to believe what you are saying to move forward.

C.W. Winter: Okay, here is a scheduled question. What is your earliest memory of starting your company?

David K. Montoya: In the beginning, it wasn't about starting a business. It was an inspiration. A feeling that I could do this. That a fourteen-year-old could make a comic book and sell them like the other guys. Especially Image Comics. I watched them that first year, like a hawk! I wanted to see what worked and what didn't.

C.W. Winter: How hard was that without the internet?

David K. Montoya: We didn't miss what we didn't even know about. But it was actually relatively easy. Back in the day, there was a Comic Book Magazine called Wizard, and they would tell their readers everything, the good and bad, and I used to take notes, man, big time notes. (laughs)

C.W. Winter: When you saw your first comic book together for the first time, what did you think of it?

David K. Montoya: That was the greatest thing since sliced bread! That it was so great that we were going to be rich and famous, just by its synergy alone. That is a very nineties word there. But little did I realize that it was a heaping pile of crap, and the only reason people bought copies from us was that they felt bad for the little homeless boy. (laughs)

C.W. Winter: Thirty years is a long time, Dave. How come you are only now where you are with the company?

David K. Montoya: That's a really good question, man. Hard to answer but a good question, nonetheless. In the beginning, it was simply that I was a poor kid. I borrowed fifty dollars from my Great Grandmother to make those first batches of comics. As I got older, I married at eighteen and jumped into the workforce with both feet. I regret not going to college and getting my degree, but I was young and thought I knew it all. I went to a trade school and joined the medical field.

C.W. Winter: So, you made good money then.

David K. Montoya: Uh, no. It was 1996 in Arkansas. I made like $4 an hour.

C.W. Winter: So, is that your final answer?

David K. Montoya: Not really. In hindsight, that sounds like a copout. I would put a little aside to do at least one project a year throughout the years. A few times in the past, I was able to generate a few projects in the same year. So, again in hindsight, I did it to myself. I guess. I wanted to do a project, and I saved up and did it, even if it was once a year.

C.W. Winter: So, what changed from the 90s to the 2000s?

David K. Montoya: A few things, man. When my son was born back in 2001, I really felt the need to be smart about my money. So, a couple of years later, I went back to school and became a Critical Care Technician.

C.W. Winter: Ah, that is where the money comes into play?

David K. Montoya: Yeah, it does. (laughs) It was a year later, roughly, that we started The World of Myth Magazine. Good times… Fun times.

C.W. Winter: SO, you only knew Terry D. Scheerer for a year when he agreed to be an editor?

David K. Montoya: Something like that.

C.W. Winter: Okay, here is a direct question, and I mean no disrespect right out the gate.

David K. Montoya: All right. Shoot.

C.W. Winter: What is such a big deal with Terry? Again, no disrespect.

David K. Montoya: None taken.

C.W. Winter: I mean, you have had a bunch of other Editors. For example, Randy Lee Walker was your first editor, but you never mention him.

David K. Montoya: Randy Walker, S.M. Morton, Joshua Kimbler are all special in their own rights. But they all, with the exception of Morton, were employees. They did a job, and that was it. Sandy was a great inspiration in the early years; in fact, if it wasn't for her introducing me to comic books, I may not have turned out the way I am now.

C.W. Winter: What happened to her?

David K. Montoya: Life, man. She was an active part of the team from 1992 to 1999. But I think there was a disconnect after we moved to Arkansas back in 2000. I tried to bring her back on board multiple times over the years, and it never really took off like before. In fact, I approached her last year and even assigned her an assignment, but with COVID affecting her on a personal level, I never followed up.

C.W. Winter: So how does Terry play into that?

David K. Montoya: Terry was more than an editor. He, like S.M., was family. It seemed that Terry was willing to teach me what he knew about things. He became my mentor and very much a father figure. I respect the hell out of him and was honored that in his last leg of his life he decided to do it, working with me, and helping in everything. It moved past writing and editing; I remember calling him and telling him I wanted him to podcast for the newly created network. He grumbled and eventually agreed.

C.W. Winter: Tell me about 2005 to 2009.

David K. Montoya: On what level?

C.W. Winter: The business.

David K. Montoya: I decided that I had all these small businesses in my pocket, and it was a bloody nightmare trying to run all of them.

C.W. Winter: So, you merged them.

David K. Montoya: So, I merged them. I had Montoya Entertainment, Dark Myth Comic Productions, and Danx Entertainment. On July fourth, I announced that they would be rolled into one company, Dark Myth Production Studios. I decided to test the magazine's following before I started publishing books, so we created a 2006 calendar for The World of Myth.

C.W. Winter: And?

David K. Montoya: AND we sold out in a week if I remember correctly. It was also around that time, Terry Scheerer released his book "Dreams of Darkness, Dreams of Night" through his own publishing house Gateway Press. I watched every step of the process; I knew that I could do this regularly by the time his book was released.

C.W. Winter: But in the process, you did something that pissed all of your remaining comic followers off.

David K. Montoya: (Laugh) Yeah. Yeah, I did.

C.W. Winter: And that was…

David K. Montoya: A smart move, actually.

C.W. Winter: Okay. What did you do to make them?

David K. Montoya: We stopped making comic books so we could create books for the next two years.

C.W. Winter: Like paperback books, type of books?

David K. Montoya: Yeah. I noticed a while back that our followers were shifting in demographics. Before, it was a younger group, who dug to read comics, but by 2006 I would say that 90% were now older readers and enjoyed reading the magazine and paperbacks.

C.W. Winter: Make sense.

David K. Montoya: I thought so.

C.W. Winter: So, what happened next?

David K. Montoya: We published more books. Especially in 2007, that was a great financial year for the company. That was when we purchased Horrotica Magazine from that other company. I don't remember what they were called anymore. But, yeah, we put out three books and two calendars that year.

C.W. Winter: Then what happened next?

David K. Montoya: Well, while we were working on those, behind the scenes, we were working on an Ayot Nom remake.

C.W. Winter: The comic book?

David K. Montoya: Yeah, the comic book. I met an artist who I felt could really do that title justice, so he took the script and redrew it.

C.W. Winter: How did that go?

David K. Montoya: Sold out twice and went into a third printing.

C.W. Winter: In how many years did that take?

David K. Montoya: Like, what, three or four months.

C.W. Winter: Dude! You go and put out comics every chance you got?

David K. Montoya: Basically. (laughs) Mario [Martinez] was the editor in chief of the comics at the time. He really took his job seriously, man, and he spearheaded the effort to bring more content in the way of comic book characters and stories to our followers. We halted production after we realized that we were going to order a third printing and rerouted the funds to the comics. They were throwing money hand over fist for talent and supplies. There were like three issues of Martinez's creation Majestic ready to roll, three issues of a new Ayot Nom mini-series, a Sgt. Iron one-shot and a new military series called the Saints. They were prepared to roll.

C.W. Winter: That sounds ominous.

David K. Montoya: Yep.

C.W. Winter: What happened?

David K. Montoya: October 24 happened.

C.W. Winter: Um.

David K. Montoya: The stock market crash of 2008.

C.W. Winter: Oh sh*t, dude!

David K. Montoya: That's what you get to have a business account in a small local bank.

C.W. Winter: How much?

David K. Montoya: We had about $15,000 the night before and almost $1,000 that morning. We struggled in the months that followed.

C.W. Winter: I'm not going to lie, Dave, it sounds really similar to what's going down now in 2022.

David K. Montoya: Agreed. But you can be cautious about your movement in planning your next step, but you can't be fearful. That causes bad business decisions, and you have to tackle each project with a complete understanding that if you do a crappy job at some level, it will cost the company money.

C.W. Winter: Is that how you work as the company's C.E.O.?

David K. Montoya: Absolutely. Expect the worst outcome and pray for the best, but I am luckier than most C.E.O.s.

C.W. Winter: Oh? How so?

David K. Montoya: I own The JayZoMon/Dark Myth Company, so I do not have shareholders about which I have to concern myself. If I lose money, basically, it's my money that I've lost. (laugh)

C.W. Winter: Will you ever go that direction?

David K. Montoya: I may one day, but honestly, I like the freedom it gives me as the sole owner. I sold shares of MythWurks back in 2012 or 2013, and I quickly learned that I could not even publish a book without the shareholders' permission. It was very frustrating on many levels, which was one reason for the launch of JayZoMon.

C.W. Winter: Where does the company stand in 2020 among the worldwide pandemic.

David K. Montoya: We do our thing with or without Covid. We did PCE right before the outbreak, and while things got real in 2020, we continued business as usual. That brings me back to what I was saying about being the owner and having the freedom to do what I want; we continued with the Open Contract Challenge for the year, we published books, and even acquired Zombie Works.

C.W. Winter: And yet, you reestablished the Board of Directors in 2021.

David K. Montoya: I did. (laughs) But by the end of 2020, I knew that The JayZoMon/Dark Myth Company had grown to the point that I could not run it by myself. I hired people I trusted as the figureheads of each division and gave them a seat on the Board of Directors.

C.W. Winter: Can we talk about them a bit?

David K. Montoya: Sure.

C.W. Winter: There has been a bunch of, let's call them revisions, to the roster of the Board of Directors. Is that normal to see such a turnaround on the Board?

David K. Montoya: Meh. The last time we had a Board of Directors, they weren't nearly as invested as the people I have now. So back then, they'd become part of the Board and just kinda be there.

C.W. Winter: As compared to today?

David K. Montoya: The Board of Directors today are as invested in the success of the company as I am. We meet monthly, and sometimes it gets heated, but it is always because of what is best for business. They helped guide me in running this business, but one of the big things, in the beginning, was that some of the original members thought it was like "adult play" or something. And they were quickly removed. I felt we had a solid collection by the middle of the year, but we lost one who decided he needed to do something different and one who was out for his own betterment.

C.W. Winter: Have you found a replacement for those two members?

David K. Montoya: Only one so far. Rebecca Ilich was elected as the Chief Events Officer at the December Board Meeting. It is going to be very difficult to find a replacement for Joe as the Producer of the JayZoModcast, and it requires technical and creative skills.

C.W. Winter: So, you do not expect to have that position filled anytime soon?

David K. Montoya: Short answer. No.

C.W. Winter: Something else I wanted to talk to you about was the Live Events division. It started out as JayZoMon's Pop Culture Expo. Right before the 2021 show, the JayZoMon Live Events was formally created. What moved you to make that decision?

David K. Montoya: By the time we were on ScareFaire, I knew that we should hold two different shows, and I knew that it was going to require more hands-on deck. I knew that the person in charge of the event at the time wasn't going to be returning after the event, but I did know that it needed to be done.

C.W. Winter: Do you want to talk about the $41,000 loss?

David K. Montoya: It was $40,800, and I sincerely do not.

C.W. Winter: Fair enough. How about your writing? Can we talk about that?

David K. Montoya: Of course.

C.W. Winter: With everything going on, you managed to release your first book last year. I won't lie. I was surprised that it was a kid's book.

David K. Montoya: It was really hard at first, but I got the input of my girls, and it became a story solely for them. It was a project that, I feel anyway, brought my family a little closer.

C.W. Winter: What's next?

David K. Montoya: Not another kid's book. (laughs) I plan to have a book released once a year until I turn 50, which then I don't know what is next.

C.W. Winter: Can you let us in on one of your books?

David K. Montoya: December will finally see the release of "Through the Eyes of Madness," and I plan "American Smash" to hit the stands in September, hopefully.

C.W. Winter: Switching gears a minute, but still talking about books. I heard you have a unique request for each author you publish. Do you care to disclose that request?

David K. Montoya: (laughs) You make it sound bad, dude.

C.W. Winter: I just put the words out there. It was your brain that processed it. So back to the question, would you like to tell us what you have your authors do?

David K. Montoya: I have them make a video

C.W. Winter: Oh, sweet baby Jesus! You didn't have to put that out there!

David K. Montoya: (laughs) Not that kind of video! I have them make a video of them opening the package containing their book and seeing it for the first time ever. I love seeing the excitement, and it honestly is one of the big reasons I still publish Indie books.

C.W. Winter: That’s actually really kinda cool.

David K. Montoya: Thank you, I enjoy it.

C.W. Winter: I know we have been talking for a couple of hours now, and I want to thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

David K. Montoya: Of course. It feels like I have been talking about the past most of the time. (laughs)

C.W. Winter: Is there anything that we didn't cover that you want to talk about?

David K. Montoya: Brother, as you said, thirty years is a long time, and you barely skimmed the top, but I feel this is a great interview. C.W. It genuinely was. Okay, I was saving this final question to end on.

David K. Montoya: Okay, let's do it man.

C.W. Winter: With everything you have achieved and accomplished, what is the one thing that you still crave the most?

David K. Montoya: A "thank you."

C.W. Winter: Really?

David K. Montoya: Yeah, man.

C.W. Winter: All right, that's doable. Thank you.

David K. Montoya: It's my pleasure, sir.