Indy Comics Writer

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.

I always hate opening my newspaper on major holidays and seeing the artists on the comics page cheat. You know what I mean: Garfield and Odie will be sitting in front of turkey dinner and grinning back at the reader. Above them, a banner will say “Happy Thanksgiving.”

And that’ll be it. Not exactly a cartoonist flexing his creative muscles.

So I vowed to never do the equivalent with any of my blogs. (I don’t want to compare myself to Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield. I don’t think we have quite the same number of regular readers.)

Today, I shall break that vow. Why not? Why resist the urge to be thankful on Thanksgiving?

So here’s what I’m thankful for today. I’m thankful that I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful sons. I’m thankful that my wife supports me in all that I do (within reason!) and that our 9-year-old son is a sweet little guy with loads of imagination and creativity to spare. I’m thankful that our 14-month-old son has given our household a shot of energy this year. You see, we adopted this guy from Ethiopia. He’s turned our home upside down, in a good, good way.

I’m thankful that I’m able to make a living as a writer, even if I don’t always get to write what I want to. And I’m thankful that my first published comics — the four-issue mini-series GEARZ, pick it up today from Bluewater Publishing — hit the shelves this year. They even received some nice reviews from online comics sites. (There were a few reviews that weren’t so nice, too, but I’m not all that thankful for them.) I’m glad, too, that Bluewater will be publishing three more of my comics mini-series in 2009, and that six different publishers bought either my short fiction or short comics scripts this year. Hey, I even received a check today from one of the anthologies. You can’t help but be thankful for that.

Of course, 2008 has had its share of challenges, too. The rough economy has forced me to write more non-fiction stories than ever just to tread water with my monthly income. The publisher where I work as a full-time, part-time editor has struggled to fill its pages with ads. We lost a dear family friend to cancer recently. And my wife suffered a rather serious leg injury — though she’s A-OK now.

On the whole, though, there’s much to be thankful for. Heck, if all that we accomplished in 2008 would have been completing the lengthy, frustrating and incredibly expensive process of adopting our youngest son, the year would have been a great one.

Today is a tough one. I’m staring at the script I’m supposed to turn in next week and I’m not liking what I see. It’s for a one shot story, a crossover sequel to two of the publisher’s existing series. I’m grateful for the job, and for the chance to get my name on the shelves of comic-book shops across the country again.

Problem is, I don’t feel like writing a word. And describing the action in a panel? Seems like a monumental task right now.

So, do I give up? Nope. These are the kind of days when you really have to force yourself to be a writer.

I try to keep to a strict schedule when I’m writing. I have to, because the majority of my income comes from writing non-fiction stories for newspapers and magazines. If I don’t schedule in time for my fiction writing, I’d never get to it. There are days, though, when I’m tired, cranky or just feeling lazy, when I don’t want to even think about fiction writing.

Thing is, even though it seems like I won’t be able to force out a single word, I find that if I do, if I do force myself to start hitting the keyboard, that not only can I write that single word, I can write a whole lot more, too. Funny thing, once I get going, the rhythm of writing takes over. The sentences turn into paragraphs and the paragraphs turn into complete pages. Before I know it, I’ve made a serious dent in whatever project I’m stalling on tackling.

The same thing probably happens to you. I know I’m certainly not unique. People who don’t write always tell me how lucky I am to do something I love. It’s true, I am lucky. There are many, many worse jobs out there. In fact, I’d bet that most jobs are worse than writing. But, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t feel like work 70 percent of the time.

But when it does feel like work? That’s when you have to sit down, put your fingers on that keyboard and get to work. What you write might end up being crap. But it’s just as likely to turn into treasure.

We have a plumbing problem in our house. Our kitchen sink drains slooooowly. It’s a real pleasure because our dishwasher isn’t working, either, and I don’t feel like shelling out the money to repair it. I love the fact that our stopped-up sink and non-functioning dishwasher make cleaning up after dinner just that much longer.

I’ll be forced to call a plumber next week, I think. This plumbing problem has progressed past the point where my meager skills can handle it. You see, I’ve already poured Liquid Plumber down it. It didn’t work. So I’m done. That’s as much plumbing talent as I have.

I could try to fix our plumbing. I could try to replace a pipe or two. But, from past experience, I already know what would happen. I’d get all wet. So would our kitchen floor and our cabinets. So I’ll call in the guy who really knows what he’s doing.

What does this have to do with comics? More than you might think. I’ve tried to write moody, dark stuff before. You know, stuff that you might find in a typical Batman story arc. But I’ve discovered that it’s not my strength. So, wisely, I’ll leave the dark stuff — which I do enjoy reading, mind you — to the people who are actually good at it. I’ll continue writing to what I think is my strength: lighthearted, comic scripts. Sure, I probably could dash off a moody, angry script. But why? I wouldn’t enjoy writing it. And there are so many others who can do it better than I can.

So don’t force yourself to be something you’re not. If you’re not a plumber, pick up the phone and call someone who is. If you’re not a noir-style writer, write what you’re most comfortable tackling.

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?

Last year, a new graphic-novel publisher hired me to write a 64-page comic adaptation of Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The bad news is that it looks like that publisher is dead. The company’s Web site is down, and its phone number is disconnected.

I’m not surprised. New publishers come and go. This is especially true when you’re dealing with graphic novels. Everyone wants to cash in on the growing popularity of manga and graphic novels. But actually hiring talented artists and writers, publicizing the resulting work and getting it into the marketplace is no easy task. I’d say the vast, vast majority of new publishers in this field fail.

The good news — and this is surprising — is that I was already paid. I’d love to have seen my script come to life. But, to be honest, I love seeing those paychecks, too. So here’s some advice: Next time you decide to work with a new publisher, make sure you get paid early in the process. If you don’t, not only will you probably not see your script on bookstore shelves, you probably won’t see any checks, either.

What words bring more joy to the writer’s heart than “comp copies?” There’s “The check is in the mail,” but I don’t hear that one often enough.

I did get some comp copies today of IF-X issue #6. That’s the comic anthology published by the Hamtramck Idea Men. And, more importantly for me, it’s the same anthology in which my prose story Garbage Trouble appears.

Yes, I said “prose” story. IF-X, which focuses on a different theme for each issue, fills some of its pages in every edition with purely prose story. My story concerns a zombie who can’t get the garbage man to empty his garbage cans. And for a zombie, regular weekly garbage pickup is a must.

I used to get all excited whenever I received complimentary copies of the trade and consumer magazines that my non-fiction stories appeared in. That thrill has faded. I’ve been writing non-fiction stories forever (Actually, it’s only been about 15 years, but it sure seems like forever.), and the thrill of seeing my byline isn’t all that strong anymore. But with comics, it’s completely different. I haven’t had nearly enough comics published — or fiction in general, for that matter — to not look forward eagerly to my comp copies.

I got a thrill with each of the four issues of GEARZ, the comic mini-series I scripted for Bluewater Productions, that arrived in my mailbox. I know it wasn’t like having my name on a Spider-Man or Batman comic, but still, it was pretty exciting to see my name looking back at me from the cover of a comic book.

I don’t when or if that thrill will ever fade. For now, though, I plan on enjoying it. And, yes, I’ll re-read my story in IF-X several times over. That may be narcissistic, but it sure is enjoyable.

OK, I know I’m supposed to be giving advice in this blog. But … if you can’t use your own blog for some shameless self-promotion …

There’s a site out there called Project Fanboy, which I’ve written about before. It’s run by a group of comics fans and creators. The whole message there is that comics are fun, entertaining and worthwhile. There are interviews, reviews and some really good how-to columns. So it’s definitely a place to visit. You can do that by clicking here.

The site also just put up an interview with yours truly. That’s right, Project Fanboy interviewed me about my comic series GEARZ, the other comics I have coming out and my thoughts on just how hard it is to get started writing for comics. You can access the interview itself here.

Like I said in my previous post, sites such as Project Fanboy are a great resource. They may not have all the bells and whistles of a Newsarama or a Comic Book Resources, but they will introduce visitors to new comics by writers and artists they may not have heard of. Scroll through the reviews at Project Fanboy and you’ll see what I mean. There are comics there by many, many independent companies. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll be inspired to seek one of these non-mainstream works out.

There’s an interesting story on Newsarama — a Web site devoted to comics news — highlighting the role real presidents have played in comics.

The story even recounts the much-debated story where Captain America unmasks the shadowy Number One, leader of a vicious terrorist organization in the Marvel universe. In the comic, Captain America is utterly horrified at what he finds, even going so far as to drop the Captain America guise and become a new character called Nomad. And who is under that mask? Rumor has it, that the writers, though they never show it, had intended Number One to be Richard Nixon himself. (The president was stuck in his Watergate mess at the time the comic came out.)

The story’s a fun one to read. Who knew that FDR supposedly had a hand in creating the Justice Society of America? But it raises an interesting question: When your script calls for a president — or some other bigwig politico — to appear, do you create a fake one or a real one?

I suppose the answer depends on that president’s role.

In my series GEARZ, published by Bluewater Publishing, I used a president as one of my main villains. Now, because this president was so inept and so self-centered, many may figure that I based it on our current Pres. Bush. I’m no fan of our president — I think he’s a dangerous fool — but my president was fictional. He plays a large role in the story, and I didn’t want to distract readers by using a real-life political figure.

And that’s the key, I think. If your president or politician plays a large role in the story, and if that role may be controversial, stay away from real-life people. You’ll just tick off half your audience. The other half will be pleased, perhaps, but they will also be taken out of your fictional universe.

Be careful when inserting real people in your comics, then. They can become one big, unnecessary distraction.

Here’s what I want: I want to be writing Spider-Man — the right way — for Marvel comics.

Of course, that’s not going to happen. Why would Marvel turn to an unknown when the company not only has its own stable of writers to choose from but can also turn to top novelists and TV and movie scribes, too?

So I’m working hard on writing my own comics and completing scripts for smaller, independent publishers. I do a lot of work with a company called Bluewater Publishing, which has published my first mini-series, a four-issue action/comedy called GEARZ, and in November will publish my second series, a four-issue mystery called Welcome to Waterbury.

But I’m also trying some other tactics. I write this blog, for instance. And while it doesn’t attract the kind of viewership that you’d find at a Newsarama, it does bring in some readers. I’m also hoping to get some editing work at an independent comics company. I work full-time as a writer and editor of a trade magazine in Chicago, so I know how to edit copy. I may also be writing some press releases for this company.

As a writer, you have to use all of your talents to get a foothold in this industry. It’s not easy to make a go of it at writing comic scripts. Not at all. But if you can write press releases for a comics publisher, or edit the descriptions of their comics on their Web sites, you might eventually get the chance to write the publisher’s next one-shot or mini-series.

I saw an ad the other day at Digital Webbing from an independent comics company looking for columnists for its Web site. The job didn’t pay. But it might make an excellent opportunity for the writer looking to get noticed by the publishers. If you turn in a series of well-written, well-researched columns for the company, why wouldn’t it give you the chance to write a comic or two down the line?

That old saying about skinning a cat is true: There are many, many ways to do it. So get creative and start working on your own unique ways to break into the field of writing for comics.