Indy Comics Writer

I’m guessing that I’m not alone in wishing 2008 a hearty “good riddance.”

This was one tough year financially. The majority of my income doesn’t come, unfortunately, from writing comics. Instead, I get most of my yearly money from writing non-fiction stores for newspapers, magazines, Web sites and trade publications. And of this, much of my income comes from magazines covering the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Now, that was great news during the housing boom that lasted in the United States from roughly 2001 through 2006. But during the housing slump, during which house sales have plummeted and housing prices have fallen just as much. At the same time, the real estate magazines that I write for are struggling, with ad sales at record lows. That means fewer pages, and fewer holes for a freelance writer like myself to fill.

I have hope, though, that the second half of 2009 will see some improvements in the housing market. And when that happens, those magazine sales and pages will increase, along with freelance-writing opportunities at them.

I hope, too, that your 2009 will be better than your 2008.

My 9-year-old son — soon to be 10 — recently discovered the BBC’s new Doctor Who series. He’s especially a fan of David Tennant’s portrayal of the Doctor.

I was happy, then, to see that IDW publishes its own Doctor Who comic. Unfortunately, after reading through several issues, which my son later read, I have to say that the comic doesn’t quite capture the inspired madness of the Doctor Who series at its best.

It tries. The comics I’ve read, which depict the David Tennant Doctor along with his companion Martha Jones, is filled with wisecracks, odd science and lots and lots of running. Problem is, it’s awfully hard to follow at times. The first arc I read was practically impossible to decipher until I’d gone through its very final issue.

I’ve not tried the comic adaptations of the new Battlestar Galactica yet. But I hope that that series manages to more accurately capture the flavor of the cable show. I imagine it will, considering that the new Battlestar Galactica is awfully grim, and comics do a good job of capturing that dark feel.

The sad truth about writing for the comics industry is this: Unless you’re a hotshot, famous writer, you probably can’t earn enough money to make a living. If you’re a novice, like I am, you’d be lucky to make enough money to treat yourself to McDonald’s once a week.

Because of this, I spend the majority of my writing time working on non-fiction stories for newspapers, magazines, trade publications and Web sites. Much of this is boring; I write for trade magazines that focus on topics such as erosion control, water treatment and real estate, after all.

But sometimes you hit upon a story that’s actually fun and actually pays well. In that vein, I am working now on a story for Phoenix Magazine about people who hunt Bigfoot, UFOs, ghosts and other mysterious creatures. It’s a fun story to write. And I’m talking to some people who are truly committed to what they’re doing, and you have to appreciate that, whether you believe in ghosts and UFOs or not.

It’s important to find stories like this. For one thing, they force you to be creative while writing nonfiction. That can be a challenge. As a writer trained in journalism school, it’s often hard for me to break free of the “just the facts” style of writing. Writing about a man who claims Bigfoot once chased him back to his truck three decades ago, though, begs for a more colorful, fun type of writing.

Don’t get down, then, just because you can’t always write for your favorite medium. If I had my choice, I’d spend my entire day writing comics. But I have a family to keep feed and sheltered. I try to remember that every story I write, no matter how boring the topic might seem, represents a chance to practice and, hopefully, improve upon my writing.

Even though I love comic books and graphic novels, and even though I’m striving to break into the business of writing for the medium, I still like to read prose novels and short stories. There’s a lot of great writing out there that doesn’t come with pictures, and if you’re ignoring it you’re not helping to develop your own writing skills at all.

For instance, for Christmas I received The Boy Detective Fails, the new novel by Joe Meno. If you’ve never read anything by Meno, you’re missing out. Check out his work and you’ll see: They all have their own distinctive style, and they’re all heartbreaking. But Meno’s not depressing to read. His work can also be heartwarming, and his characters will stick in your mind long after you finish reading one of his stories or novels.

If you ever read the adventures of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew when you were younger, you’ll enjoy The Boy Detective Fails. The story concerns the exploits of a real-life (well, this is fiction, but you know what I mean) version of everyone’s favorite teen detectives. Mysteries are a bit more complicated in Meno’s world than they are in the works penned by the pseudonymous F.W. Dixon.

Like all the best writers, Meno can teach aspiring pros all about pacing, wit, style and, of course, hooking the reader. Just because he doesn’t write graphic novels and you want to, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out his work.

Well, Christmas is over, and I can happily report that a trip to my local chain bookstore is on the horizon.

Yes, I received that most coveted of all gifts on Christmas morning: the bookstore gift card.

I know that some folks when they need to blow off steam head to the bars. Others jump off bridges or shoot themselves. Me? I go to the bookstore. I don’t always buy anything; In fact, I leave empty handed most of the time. But the big-chain bookstores — and they know who they are — are where I read most of my mainstream comics. You see, I don’t like to waste my precious bucks on Marvel and D.C.’s offerings when I can spend them instead on necessities, you know, baby food, gas, comic books from independent companies, the important stuff.

So tonight, I’ll head out to the chain store, find a seat and read through some comics by Brian Michael Bendis I’ve been meaning to read. I like Bendis’ writing, a lot. But I’m not quite as fond of his work with Marvel — outside of the consistently fun and witty Ultimate Spider-Man — as I am of his other work, such as Goldfish, Jinx and Sam and Twitch.

To me, a trip to the bookstore is a nice reward after a long and sometimes annoying Christmas season has come to a close. Besides, next week stands to be a busy week: We have friends coming from Texas. If it happens to snow in Chicago while they’re here, I’ll be busy pumping them with hot chocolate and coffee and wrapping them up in electric blankets. They’re not used to our “magical” Midwest weather.

I had a feeling this was going to happen: Frank Miller — Mr. Machismo himself — has ruined The Spirit for a whole generation of potential comics readers.

In case you don’t know –and as a comics fan, you really should know — The Spirit is one of the landmark works in graphic storytelling, told by comics giant Will Eisner in the 1940s. Eisner’s work is graceful, witty and somehow manages to be both lighthearted and noirish at the same time.

Miller’s movie, on the other hand, is boorish, violent and dimwitted. The violence is especially surprising. Yes, The Spirit did have its share of gunshot wounds, knocks to the head and other spurts of violence. But I’d never call the work blood-soaked.

It’s a shame, really, that Miller has created such a crap movie. The right film could have introduced a whole new group of readers to the genius that is Will Eisner. Instead, The Spirit will be an afterthought. That’s a real pity.

It’s pretty common knowledge these days that manga ciomics are dominating traditional, mainstream U.S. comics, both in creativity and in sales.

I was reminded of this yet again this Christmas morning. My 9-year-old son received a Wii for Christmas this year. He was thrilled. He also unwrapped a special Wii game created by the Nerf folks. It thrilled him, too. He even gave a fist pump upon opening it.

I noticed something interesting, though, once he had the game up and running. There are several cartoon interludes spaced throughout the game. All the characters in these interludes look like they’ve just jumped out of a manga comic or animated show.

Notice that the Nerf people, targeting kids my son’s age and older, didn’t rely on traditional, mainstream comic art for their interludes. No, they went with spiky-haired, wide-eyed manga types.

It’s true, folks. Manga is kicking Marvel and D.C. up and down the stairs these days. It’s something to think about as creators.

I’ve been writing for comics publishers for about two years now. I’ve had some success. One independent publisher has hired me to write four series, one of which, GEARZ, has already been published. I’ve also had four short stories accepted by anthology publishers, been hired to rewrite an artist/writer’s comic and wrote a graphic adaptation of Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for another publisher.

But with all this, I’ve not made nearly enough money. Most of my income comes from my non-fiction freelance writing. If I had to survive on comics, I wouldn’t even be able to afford Ramen noodles.

That leads me to this interesting story at the Pulse, a Web site covering comics. It’s an interview with Darren Davis, head of Bluewater Comics, the company that I’ve written four mini-series for.

In the interview Darren — who is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet in the comics business — bemoans the state of the comics industry. Specifically, he worries about the future of independent comics. No one’s buying them, he points out. And Bluewater itself has had to cancel several promising series because sales just weren’t high enough. He wonders how any independent can ever make a profit.

What do you think? Is it possible for an independent comics publisher to succeed today? I know some have, but the success stories such as Image and Dark Horse are few and far between.

Whether you agree with Davis or not, his interview certainly provides some food for thought.

Think having superpowers would be fun? Maybe not. Maybe, in fact, it would be a nightmare.

That’s how writer Brian Wood views things in Demo, a graphic novel published by AIT/Planet Lair. The novel includes 12 stories focusing on young people who have amazing powers. Problem is, they don’t quite know how to use them or control them, and there’s no Professor Xavier around to help them master such matters.

The novel presents a clear alternative to most of today’s superhero-themed comics and graphic novels. It never made sense to me that just because someone could fly or run at the speed of light they’d choose to don a garish costume and stop bank robberies.

In Demo, the kids blessed, or cursed, depending on how you look at, with superpowers aren’t foiling crimes. They’re struggling to understand their powers, rebelling against their parents and trying to fit into society. In short, it’s a far more realistic — if you can use that word when describing super-powered kids — look at superheroes.

If you’re looking for that last-minute Christmas gift, you could do worse than Demo.

It’s hard not to reflect a bit during the holiday season, no matter which holiday you celebrate. And because I spent much of this year trying to build up a career writing for the comics industry, much of my reflection this year has turned to the graphic novel and comics industry.

And here’s what I wish: I wish the industry wasn’t dominated as much as it is by the big two, Marvel and D.C.

Now, I know that there are plenty of smaller, independent options out there. Companies like Slave Labor Graphics, Fantagraphics, First Second Books and many others do some wonderful work. But when you think of comics, you still think of Marvel, D.C., Spider-Man, Superman, Batman and the Hulk, right?

This has hurt the industry. For one thing, too many young creators pour all their energies into creating the next big superhero, hoping to one day have the chance to write their own Batman, Spider-Man and Iron Man adventures. Of course, the odds of any creator getting the chance to one day write for the Big Two are infinitely small. But the worst thing is that this mindset prevents these creators from working on something more imaginative. Instead of wasting time creating yet another Batman clone, these creators could be working up a Western comic that shocks us all or a mystery that baffles us.

Secondly, the Big Two have such a hold on the comics industry, that hardly anyone else can make any money in it. One publisher I write for regularly pays only on the back end. That means that most of his creators make pennies, if they’re lucky. Independents, at least the vast majority of them, don’t sell enough copies of their comics to make real profits. Again, this is a shame: Too many talented creators leave the field simply because there’s no money in it for them.

It’s probably a naive wish to hope that independents continue their slow growth and one day open the comics field to all sorts of creators and genres. I can hope, though, right?