Indy Comics Writer

Spy vs. Spy has been a regular feature in Mad magazine since 1961. Hard to believe, but that white-coated spy has been trying to kill that black-coated spy (and vice-versa) for more than 45 years. That’s an awful lot of bombs, daggers, poisoned darts and machine-gun fire.

Spy vs. Spy, in its own silly way, is what we all aspire to as novice comics writers: We all want to create something that will last, that people will still read decades after we write it. Antonio Prohias, the creator of Spy vs. Spy, has done just that.

I bring this strip up, because my 9-year-old son recently discovered the simple joys of it in a bound edition at our local public library. He gobbled up the entire book in one evening, taking breaks only to laugh.

The strip inspired him enough so that he has been writing his own comic: Kid vs. Kid. I admit, it is a bit derivative. But it’s also inspiring to watch my son draw his own paneled comics. It’s a real kick.

I know it provided some inspiration for me to keep on experimenting with new characters, stories and adventures in my own comics scripts. Maybe some day, 45-plus years in the future, some kid will try to duplicate my comics on his blank sheets of paper.

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