Indy Comics Writer

All throughout my freelance writing career, I’ve operated with one clear assumption: People pay me to write for them. I don’t pay them to publish me.

And, under no circumstances, do I write for free. I’ll write for the monetary equivalent of peanuts, sure, but I do have to get paid something for my efforts.

But in the world of comic-book writing, it doesn’t quite work that way. What I’ve discovered — and what every would-be writer who wants to pen comic stories finds out, too — is that new writers are pretty much the peons of the comics industry. Think about it: Comics publishers and editors are bombarded with countless blind scripts and series ideas from novice writes, most of which are awful. Then there are the hopefuls who send in suggestions for Spider-Man and Batman. Do they really think Marvel or D.C. are going to entrust their top properties to an unknown?

And there is the problem: There are countless writers out there who’d give anything to work in this field. For that reason, the dollars don’t often flow from publishers to new, unproven writers.

The best route for new comics writers to make it in this business is to somehow wrangle some writing work from one of the many independents in the business. Problem is, the vast majority of these companies don’t pay their writers upfront page rates. They don’t have the budget. Any payment to the writer comes out of back-end profits. In the world of independent comics, most books don’t sell enough for their to be any profit.

So, if you do want to make a go of it in this field, be prepared to go without much money. You need a second job. I’m fortunate in that my main job is writing and editing newspapers and magazines. I’m not stock working in a gas station or a fast-food restaurant. I can support my family with my writing.

But any writer who thinks he or she is going to make an instant splash in this business is fooling themselves. There are very few overnight successes. It takes a whole lot of quality, low- or no-paid output to get any of the bigger names in this industry the slightest bit interested in you.

That’s just the way it is.

As someone trying to break into the comics industry, it’s all too easy to focus entirely on writing and pitching comic scripts.

Now, I can’t do this entirely. I have to maintain my non-fiction freelance writing career to pay the bills. So that takes up far more of my time than does pursuing my goal of crafting a career in writing comics. But when I do have that free time to work work on fiction, I make sure to focus not solely on comics scripting. I also like to write prose fiction, short stores mainly.

I was fortunate to place one of these short stories recently with the folks behind IF-X, an anthology series that features a mix of comics and prose stories. You can see what I’m talking about here on the publication’s Web site.

The editor, Michael Marcus, had some extremely kind words for my story, a comedic zombie tale. It was much appreciated. My goal in the future is to find an artist to illustrate some of my shorter comic scripts, which I’ll then send to IF-X for possible publication. Having a short story approved by the magazine, of course, doesn’t guarantee that the editors will accept anything else. The quality still has to be there. But it does help that the editors are now familiar with writing style.

So don’t forget to focus on other types of fiction writing, too. Comics are great fun to write. They allow for some amazing creativity. But they’re just one form of fiction writing. Don’t pigeonhole yourself. You never know from where your next opportunity will come.

Writing comics can seem like a lonely endeavor. Most of the time you’re holed up in your office — or wherever you do your writing — coming up with ideas, writing captions or scripting dialogue. Unless you’re working directly with an artist or editor, it’s a fairly solitary endeavor.

But there are some wonderful online resources that allow comic creators — artists, editors, inkers, letters, colorists and writers — to connect. These forums offer creators a place to test out ideas, post samples from scripts, ask questions about breaking into the industry and debate the merits of comics currently on the stands.

They also provide evidence that you’re not alone out there. There are plenty of others aspiring to breaking into the comics world. (I suppose that can be viewed either as good or bad news, depending on how you look at it.)

Here are some of my favorite stops when I’m looking for a comics-industry connection:

1. Digital Webbing: This is my first stop. It has an extremely busy forum, one filled with creators of both veteran and newbie status.

2. Pencil Jack: Here’s another nice forum for creators, though it’s weighted a bit more heavily toward writers than others.

3. Girl-Wonder Forums: Just discovered this one. It’s quite a fascinating place. Visit it and you’ll see what I mean.

This business of writing for comics is a tough one, especially if you’re a writer who can’t already draw. Try as a writer new to the industry to get a job for one of the big two, heck, try the big four or five, and you’ll see what I mean: No one wants writers. And they certainly don’t want a writer new to the comics industry.

Then try finding an artist to hook up with. You should pay your artist, but how many writers can afford to sink thousands of dollars into a project that may never end up turning a profit? That leaves collaboration. Unfortunately, collaborations are known to fall apart when there’s no money involved.

So writing for comics, or trying to break into the field, is largely one frustration after another.

But then there are those magical days when it all seems worth it. Like yesterday for me: That’s when the third issue of my first comic mini-series, GEARZ, came out. Published by Blue Water Productions, GEARZ is the first series I’ve written that’s hit store shelves. And even though this is the third issue, it’s still a thrill to see my comic up there with work by Brian Michael Bendis, Gail Simone and Alan Moore. Now, my comic in no way can compare to the work put out by those three. But GEARZ, though a bit silly, is no embarrassment. I’ll be proud to show it to editors and publishers as I look for more opportunities in the comics industry.

So all you fledgling comics writers out there, take heart: The good days, the days when your work finally shows some fruition, are out there. You just have to keep working toward them.

There was a time when I considered Wizard Magazine the bible of the comics industry. Sadly, that time is long, long past.

Have you read this magazine recently? It’s like Maxim for comic geeks. One of the most embarrassing aspects of comics are the unbelievably drawn women — think watermelons, or pumpkins — and Wizard revels in it. Then throw in the fact that the magazine acts as if the only publishers creating comics are Marvel and D.C., with the occasional Dark Horse or Image feature thrown in the mix, and it’s clear that Wizard is no longer interested in the comics industry. It wants to attract the horny boy crowd.

I suppose that’s OK. A magazine has to do what it has to do, right?

Fortunately, there are alternatives if you really want to learn about the comics industry. One of the best is TwoMorrows Publishing, which puts out a number of great magazines about the comics industry. My personal favorite is Write Now!, which covers the writing side of comics. It includes terrific interviews with the comic industry’s top writers, often offers sample scripts from classic comics and is a treasure trove of information for the aspiring comics writer.

TwoMorrows publishes several other magazines dealing with comics, most notably Draw!, AlterEgo and Rough Stuff. They all contain more useful information about the comics industry in one issue than Wizard does in an entire year.

So if you’re trying to make it in this business, avoid Wizard and check out publishers who really care about the comics world.

This month has been a good example of what a rollercoaster it can be as someone trying to make a splash writing for the comic-book industry. There was some good, some bad and a whole lot of in-between.

First, the good: The second issue of GEARZ — search for it at HeavyInk.com — came out. That’s my first published comic mini-series. Issue three, by the way, comes out tomorrow, with the fourth and final issue coming out in the last week of September. This is obviously a thrill, seeing a real-live comic book that I wrote on the shelves. Of course, looking over the first two issues, there are some things I would do differently. I tended to be a bit wordy, for instance, something I think I’ve gotten better at avoiding with the subsequent series I’ve done with Bluewater Productions, the comic company that’s given me my first break in this industry.

That brings me to the second good thing this month. I finished writing my fourth mini-series for Bluewater, and have begun seeing completed pages. The art is amazing. This is one series — which I can’t say much about until Bluewater officially announces it — that I’m thrilled about.

Third: A prose short story of mine received an enthusiastic acceptance letter from the publisher of a comics anthology. (The anthology prints a mix of comics and short stories.) Again, I’ll have more details about this when everything is official. The editor even offered to get me in touch with a writers group in the Midwest. Nice guy.

Now for some frustration. I started working earlier this month with an artist on a possible Web comic. I wasn’t too thrilled with the artist’s story idea, but I went ahead and wrote out a synopsis and plot structure. Unfortunately, it looks like this project is dying on the vine. That’s bad because as a writer who can’t draw, it’s essential for me to develop good relationships with as many artists as possible.

Second bit of frustration: Still no takers on the comic project nearest and dearest to my heart, Morgan Underground. I’ve had two independent comics company accept my script for this teen-oriented adventure story. Unfortunately, neither company pays any advance. That means I’d have to shell out thousands of dollars up front to the artist who put together the submission package for me. Right now, with a new baby in the house, I just can’t justify spending that kind of money for a project that, if it’s not published by a comics company with the right marketing budget and approach, might not return any profits.

So there you have it; That’s just a sample of what August has brought so far. Overall, a pretty good month, I’d say. Here’s hoping that September, October and the rest will be even better.

I’m fortunate in that my local public library has a great selection of graphic novels. It’s a good mix, actually, of old and new.

My 9-year-old son is turning into a fan of comics. To help him along, I often pick up some of the more kid-friendly offerings at our library. Last week, I found a trade from Marvel reprinting some of the classic battles between the Incredible Hulk and an assortment of other Marvel heroes: The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Silver Surfer, Thor and Daredevil. (Yes, Daredevil. Doesn’t seem like much of a fight, does it?)

In reading over these comics, I was reminded again of how much the comics industry has changed from the days when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were making hay at Marvel. It’s almost jarring to read these old comics today. Their pages are filled with sometimes 10 panels. The dialogue balloons are cramped in their panel boxes. And it takes far fewer pages to convey the same amount of story when compared with today’s comics.

That isn’t to say that modern comics are better than the classic ones. Storytelling has just changed. It’s like watching the old Superman T.V. show and then watching his big-screen debut. Heck, it’s like watching Superman: The Movie and then watching Batman’s latest cinema adventures. Things are different.

My son, by the way, prefers today’s comics. That’s no surprise. They’re, generally, a quicker read. The action scenes are more dynamic. The colors are often brighter.

Myself? I fondly remember reading the old comics. But I’m also a fan of some of the more daring work of comics creators today. The creativity of many creators is amazing: Look at how Alan Moore let loose in his recently released sequel to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or the way Gail Simone twists realty with her Welcome to Tranquility series.

It’s hard to go back to the old days. That doesn’t mean we should forget the lessons taught by the pioneers during the golden age of comics. It just means we should always be striving to leave behind new lessons of our own.

If you’ve never visited Digital Webbing be sure to do so. The site has an amazing forum area, where you can get into discussions about the state of the comics industry, ask for a critique of your latest script or look for artists to collaborate with or hire.

Recently, there’s been an interesting thread on the forums concerning several incidents of male comic attendees of various comic conventions harassing any females that happen to be nearby. You can read the thread here.

The thread has generated a variety of responses, some reasoned and well thought out, others, of course, idiotic. But the one thing that’s barely been touched on, and I’m surprised at this, is that this kind of behavior shouldn’t be a surprise at a comic con. Just look at the casual sexism on display in the comics industry as a whole.

Take one look at the D.C. character Power Girl. Her breasts are bigger than her head. Not only that, her costume features a hole cut out strategically to show off her cleavage. And that’s just one example: Take a look at Marvel’s and D.C.’s superheroines: Put them all in a room and you’ll think you’re staring at a mountain range.

Now, there’s no excuse for harassment. But people who work in the comics industry shouldn’t be surprised when their fans treat women as objects. After all, that’s what the comics industry usually does.

I know there are examples of strong women with normal body proportions in comics. But they’re rare. Even in the early days of Stan Lee’s heyday, women were second-class citizens. Did anyone respect the Wasp or Invisible Girl? It wasn’t until much, much later that either character became important or powerful.

Comics are fantasy. I get that. But maybe so many wouldn’t be embarrassed to read them in public if they weren’t such horny boy fantasies.

I’m fortunate as a comics writer to have a 9-year-old son. He can fill me in quickly on what comics are supposed to be like.

For instance, he loved Iron West, a graphic novel by writer Doug TenNapel, which I’ve written about before on this blog. The reason? It had tons of action and lots of jokes. He also liked the fact that one of TenNapel’s evil robots pooped nuts and bolts when it was scared. He also liked Earthboy Jacobus, another of TenNapel’s stories, this one about a horde of aliens chasing after a little boy. The reasons were the same: Lots of actions, lots of jokes.

His reaction wasn’t as strong when I showed him Abadazad: The Road to Inconceivable, a fantasy graphic novel by J.M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Ploog. He read the entire thing. But it didn’t inspire the same joy that TenNapel’s works did. I’ve read Abadazad, too, and I liked it. I thought it was skillfully written and drawn.

But there was one thing it wasn’t: much fun.

Sure, the comic delves into mysterious fantasy worlds full of odd creatures. The art is colorful. The heroine likeable. But there aren’t many jokes. There isn’t much to laugh about.

And maybe that’s what so many comics today are missing:They don’t make you smile.

Now, I’m not saying every comic has to be a gigglefest. But there’s a reason people consider Carl Barks’ Scrooge McDuck comics classics, and it’s not because of the gravitas of the title character. No, it’s because the comics are funny, and stuffed with implausible adventures.

As you work on your own comics, remember this. I know everyone wants to create the next great, intellectual graphic novel. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be funny, too.

I want to work as a professional comics writer. So far, I’ve had some success. But this is the kind of business where you’re always looking for your next big chance. Even while I’ve been writing series for one independent publisher, I’ve been pitching my own creator-owned property and sending short stories to anthologies.

It’s best to have a lot of options, right?

But sometimes it’s easy to forget why I want to make it in this field in the first place. It’s because I love graphic fiction, and the creativity it allows for. Sometimes, then, it’s important to take a break from writing and sit down with a great comic or graphic novel.

I did this earlier this week, reading Jinx for the first time.

You may not know this work, but it’s one of the best things that well-respected comics writer Brian Michael Bendis has created. It’s a graphic noir, the tale of two petty con men and one bounty hunter. The bounty hunter is Jinx, that rarest of comicbook characters: A woman whose breasts are actually normal size. She’s also a complex character. That’s rather rare for female characters, too.

Anyway, see if you can track this work down. It’s filled with Bendis’ amazing dialogue. Bendis has always been one of the best comics writers when it comes to capturing the way real people speak. Jinx captures him at the height of this skill.

You probably know Bendis from the work he does with Marvel, most notably Ultimate Spider-Man, my favorite of the mainstream Marvel comics.

Whenever I read a great graphic work, it inspires me to go over my own scripts, fine-tuning them, searching out awkward dialogue or unnecessary exposition.

So if you find yourself stuck on a particular story, crack open the work of your favorite authors. Who knows what inspiration may hit?