Indy Comics Writer

I’ve been asked by a publisher to include a double splash page in the latest comic I’m working on for him. I don’t like splash pages in general. I especially don’t like double splash pages.

I know they give artists a broader canvas on which to work. And I know that art is what really sells comics these days. But still, a double splash page seems like a huge waste of space. You only have so many pages in a comic to tell a story. This particular comic, a one-shot, lighthearted action story, has 24. That double splash is going to suck up some much-needed story-telling space.

Of course, I will provide the double splash anyway. And I won’t complain about it — at least outside of this blog. The reason? Because I’ve been hired to do a job. I’ve not been hired to write my own story the way I’d prefer to write it. Doing what your publisher asks for, even when you don’t agree, is one of the things that makes you a professional.

So I’ll do that double splash page. But maybe, just maybe, I’ll put a bit of extra dialogue in there. Might as well take advantage of all that extra space, right?

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