What's in a Name?

Something is bugging me.

Set the wayback machine to 1998, and a younger me (with hair) really wanted to write and draw comics. With the support of my wife-to-be, and some financial backing from the Prince's Youth Business Trust, I wrote and illustrated four issues of a comic called Missing under the name of "Autocratik Press". 

The old Autocratik Logo

The old logo had the slogan "Autocratik for the Masses", inspired by the REM album, Automatic for the People. I chose the name Autocratik for a couple of reasons – I was given the advice that, especially when it came to getting the comic listed in Diamond Comic Distributor's Previews catalog, to ensure that your company name was high up in the alphabet so it got noticed. You couldn't get any better than starting with A, other than it being at the start of the A's (which it wasn't). I went through the dictionary, looking at words that began with A and there was something about the word that stuck with me. In the dictionary it said that it referred to someone who did things their own way. Kinda rang true, I wanted to do comics, write and illustrate them, I did the layout, the design, almost everything with help from Debs and her graphic design skills, and constant advice. Together we were going to forge a new beginning in comics...

Three of the four issues of Missing, published in 1998-99

Of course, it didn't last. Sales were low. Too low for Diamond to keep distributing it, so after four issues Missing came to an early end. Shame... I had another 91 issues all planned out. Autocratik Press returned a year later for a single comic by the legendary Matt Brooker, called D'Adventures of Israeli: Consequences, continuing the story from Timulo from Deadline. It was amazing – hit nuns with rocket launchers, weirdness, giant haddock. So very cool. 

After that, Autocratik was no more.

When I got into game writing, I went freelance, declared myself self-employed, but I didn't really use the name Autocratik again until 2011. 

Something happened. It was messy, and I won't go into details, but let's just say there was a clash, I was angry. I was annoyed. And above all, I was determined to do things my way. To create, to make the crazy stuff that I wanted to make, and I was damn-well going to do it myself.

I started the blog, used Autocratik as my handle on social media, started specific pages for it on Facebook, it's the name of my Youtube channel, I had business cards done, bought the domain name, and it's been on all of those #RPGaDAY graphics for the last dozen years. 

However, over the last few years, I've heard the term autocratic and autocracy become more and more prevalent, as those with money and power throw their weight about and try to do whatever they want with little regard for anyone else. Now, if you look in the dictionary, the term autocratic is defined as a dictatorship. Sure, it still means someone doing things their way, but now it feels like it's more associated with someone doing things their way to the detriment of others.

Certainly not what I had in mind with the name. 

Which brings me to what's bugging me. I'm wondering if it's time to retire the name, and choose something else? If I did, I'd have to update all of my links, rename all of my social media thingies, get a new website domain, transfer this blog over (which I must admit, I don't know how to do, but I'll learn), destroy all of those business cards and start afresh.

Or do I keep it as it is, and hope that the world changes? Just hope that the term becomes less synonymous with rulers and domination.

Or maybe bring back the "For The Masses" bit, to really embrace the REM-ness of its origins. I may be making stuff and writing things my way, but I'm not forcing anything onto anyone. If you like what I make or write, that's great. I'm not a tyrant. 

If I did rename, what would I change it to? Would people still find me? Do I actually want to be found... maybe I should simply diminish, and go into the west... 

What do you think?