Indy Comics Writer

Sometimes a surprise twist ruins a story. Think of the first movie in the Nightmare on Elm Street series. The kids appear to have defeated Freddie Krueger. The story has wrapped up on a clever note, with an enterprising heroine using her brains to defeat a seemingly unstoppable foe.

But then, at the very end of the movie, we see that Krueger has returned from the dead. And he’s captured the kids we thought defeated him.

The ending scenes do have shock value, but they cheapen what was until then a thoughtful, truly frightening movie. The sequels that resulted were junk.

But then there comes the twist that defines a work of fiction. Take Robert Kirkman and perhaps his most enduring creation, the superhero series Invincible, published by Image.

Invincible at first seems like a typical superhero story: A young boy gains super powers and struggles to learn how to control them or use them effectively. Sounds a bit like the early days of Spider-Man, right? But then, early in the series’ run a twist occurs that is so amazing and surprising, I won’t even hint at it. All I can say is, read the trades of Invincible. You’ll be amazed at the switch that Kirkman pulls.

Not all twists are created equal. Some, like Kirkman’s, can transform a series into something amazing. Others can make everything that happened before the twist meaningless.

Alan Moore has long said that his graphic novel “Watchmen,” the one that everyone points to as one of the most important ever written, is unfilmable.

That word has popped up again several times during stories written about the upcoming film, due to open, unless a legal battle sidetracks it, in early March.

I’m inclined to side with Moore here. I remember when I first read the story. I never could imagine a big-screen version. The story is long on drama, character development and intrigue. But its real beauty is how densely packed it is, with story, plot and, most of all, mood. It’s hard to capture all this on the movie screen.

Besides, we already have a wonderful visual production of “Watchmen.” Why do we need what will probably be an inferior film version?

There are some works of fiction that Hollywood should leave alone. Moore might be right in suggesting that all of his stories fall into this category.

I have a friend who loves Tintin. The first time I heard her going on about the comic, I thought she was talking about Rin Tin Tin, better known as the world’s most famous German Shepherd.

Of course, Tintin is actually a cub reporter of sorts who, along with his trusty dog Snowy, get into adventures across the globe. It’s quite popular in certain quarters, and the art is undeniably fetching. But ever try to read these stories? To say they haven’t aged well is an understatement.

Here’s an interesting story by the BBC News about what the news service calls the cult of Tintin. Steven Spielberg is beginning a Tintin film, so if you don’t understand the appeal, just wait: You’ll be hearing a lot about Tintin soon.

Personally, though, Tintin feels to me like Walt Kelly’s Pogo. I know as a fan of comic books and comic art, I’m supposed to like it. But I’ve never quite been able to get into Pogo, either. Some people love the comic strip Mutts. It barely makes me smirk. Then again, there’s something about Blondie that almost always makes me smile. Others would say that strip is old-fashioned and past its prime.

Maybe it’s the same way with Tintin; You either love it or you’re a bit bewildered by all the fuss.

A common complaint among comic readers today is that comic writers write for the trade.

This means that they stretch out stories that could be told in fewer issues so that there will be enough comics for the publisher to combine into hardbound and paperback trade volumes. In the comic-book business today, trades are where the powers such as Marvel and D.C. make their dollars.

I understand this complaint. It is kind of a drag to wait six issues — which usually equals six months — to see a story resolve itself. It’s why I no longer purchase single-issue comics. Instead, I wait for the trades.

This makes sense: By buying a single trade, you end up saving money. Comics aren’t cheap these days. You also get better storytelling. It may seem like nothing happens when you buy that single comic. But when you wait a few months and get the trade volume, you have six or more comics, usually, combined into one book. You get the beginning of an arc and the end of it. It’s a complete story and, yes, it finally feels like something is happening.

If the writers write for the trade volume — and no one can argue that they don’t — then the readers would be smart to wait for that volume. To purchase the single-issue comics seems like a lot of money for tiny drabs of story.

You never know what you’re going to find in the daily papers.

Sure, you’ll certainly come across plenty of bad news — more housing foreclosures, more job losses, a tumbling stock market, violence across the world. But once in a while, you find a tidbit of information that you never expected.

For instance, you might be surprised to discover that Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner considers a homemade comic book he made as a teen to have led him down the path to publishing that eventually gave us unfunny party jokes, a bewildering unabashed dictionary and plenty of airbrushing.

Yep, according to this story, America’s favorite dirty old man used to write his own comic based on the adventures of himself and his gang of friends. He eventually turned the project into a scrapbook, which eventually — this might be a stretch, I suppose — led to Playboy magazine.

See, comics aren’t only for geeks. They’re for guys who hang around in their pajamas all day, date three girls at once and every once in a while wear really goofy looking yachting captain hats.

So next time you’re working on your own comic, sure that it will never amount to anything, remember the fate of Hugh Hefner. Things worked out well for this former comic writer, right?

Take a trip to your local comic shop and visit the independents aisle. I know it’s hard to force yourself away from Marvel and D.C., but do it anyway.

Here’s what you’ll find on the shelves devoted to independents: multiple versions of Doctor Who comics, Battlestar Galactica comics, Transformers comics, G.I. Joe comics, graphic Indiana Jones adaptations, Buffy the Vampire Slayer stories, Star Trek comics, Star Wars graphic novels.

Yes, the independents — at least many of them — have embraced the idea of taking well-known characters and spinning them off into their own comics. The hope is that casual readers familiar with the TV shows will take a chance on a comic series starring their favorite characters.

I haven’t read many of these tales. I have read a few issues of IDW’s Dr. Who comic and a few of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer stories. I liked Buffy far more than I did the Doctor, a shame because I do like the new Doctor Who series quite a bit.

The problem I do have is that there are too many adaptations. I look to independent comics for creativity. Many deliver. Slave Labor Graphics, for instance, has put out some of the most intriguing comics out there. The adaptations of licensed characters almost feels … well, lazy.

Marvel and D.C. have their own problems with a lack of imagination and creativity these days. We don’t need the independents to follow their example. Adaptations are fine, in smaller doses. We really don’t need quite so many Doctor Who comics.

Sometimes writing for comics seems like a thankless job: No one wants to pay new writers. Artists are tough to find, and often disappear in the middle of a project. The industry is so dominated by two big players that it’s almost impossible to land a job anywhere as a writer in the comics world.

But for all the stresses and frustrations, comics writing is still great fun. For one thing, it’s creative. For another, the medium allows you to tell stories in a way no other medium can.

And, most importantly, it’s not commercial real estate.

Let me explain this: One of my major freelance non-fiction jobs involves writing for and editing a commercial real estate magazine. These days, everyone involved in the magazine is a bit touchy. If you’ve not turned on the TV or read a newspaper in the last year, you might not know that the U.S. real estate industry is suffering a major crash. For our magazine, this means it’s harder than ever to get those ads.

Because of this, the salesmen working on the magazine are taking out their frustrations on the editorial staff. For instance, last month, I held out a column written by an advertiser because we didn’t have enough space for it. Instead, the column is running in our January issue. You’d have thought I went to that advertiser’s office and set it afire the way the sales staff reacted. I’ve been dealing with the wailing and whining all day. In fact, I am ready to set an office on fire, the office of the magazine that I edit.

Anyway, this kind of aggravation makes the headaches that come with comic-book writing seem like a vacation to Hawaii. Remember this the next time you’re ready to toss those dreams of making it in this field.

I finished a big project today, rewriting a more than 80-page graphic novel for an artist. He was unsatisfied with the work of his original writer and he hired me to, basically, re-do everything.

The job wasn’t the easiest. Much of the original work was hard to decipher. It took me several readings of the story to understand exactly what was going on. On top of that, the original writer had made some mistakes, giving characters’ different names and changing their personality traits halfway through the story.

Still, I wasn’t complaining. The artist I was working for was understanding when I asked for more time. He understood that I wanted to do the best job possible, and that rushing through the story wasn’t going to help anyone.

And when I turned everything in this morning? He not only paid me through Paypal in about five minutes, he gave me a bonus because he was so happy with the work I gave him earlier on the project that he gave me a bonus.

I bring all this up because it’s rare in the comics field to find publishers or clients who actually do what they promise. This client not only did that, he exceeded his promises. He also said that he’d like me to work on future installments of his story. That’s good news. It’s rare to get paid anything as a new writer for comics. To get paid well and on time? That’s wonderful.

I received in my e-mail inbox this morning my first piece of happy comics news of 2009: A short strip of mine will appear early this year in MangaQuake, an anthology series published in the United Kingdom. This morning, I saw the final results of the drawn and lettered seven-page script.

Let me tell you, it’s fantastic. The artist, Triluz from Belgium, is amazing, and has turned in some fine-looking work on this script. I wish I could post a page or two here, but I won’t be doing that until the strip is actually published. I’m especially happy that Triluz is working on another of my short scripts, “Baby Button,” which will appear in a 2009 edition of IF-X, an anthology published by the Hamtramck Idea Men right here in the United States.

Finding Triluz has been a blessing. I’m hoping to have to her draw some of my other short scripts. We all know that it’s very difficult for writers to sell a comic script without any art attached. It’s even harder to sell a script when, in a fit of desperation, you hook up with an artist who isn’t really ready for prime time. (I’ve made this mistake. I’m sure many new comics writers, desperate to have at least some art with their scripts, have done the same.) But having a great artist illustrate your scripts increases your odds of publication in this field enormously.

So here’s hoping that my early happy 2009 moments bode well for the rest of the year. Last year was a tough one on the work front: I worked harder than ever, but ended up making a bit less money than I did in 2006 and 2007, my two best years of freelance writing. Of course, it could have been a lot worse. We’ve all seen, and many have experienced, the toll that the recession has taken on so many professionals.

I have my hopes, though, that 2009 will be a year we can all look back on fondly. Keep writing, and keep aiming for your goals. My friend, who works in the PR field and has to be positive all the time, says you only fail when you stop trying. So … keep on trying.

If you haven’t heard of Jack Johnson, you’re probably not a boxing fan. But even if you haven’t and you’re not, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit www.comicmix.com to read the regular installments of the online comic The Original Johnson.

The comic, which was mentioned recently in a New York Times story by writer George Gene Gustines, is an online biography of Johnson, who became the first black heavyweight champion a century ago. You can imagine that this didn’t sit well with many.

The series, written and illustrated by Trevor Von Eeden, takes a hard look at how racist the United States really was when Johnson ascended to his title. It doesn’t picture Johnson as a saint — he certainly wasn’t one — and it does depict boxing as a brutal, sometimes horrific, sport.

The comic does a wonderful job illustrating a particular time in the United States. With Barack Obama set to step in later this month as the country’s first non-white president, we all hope we’ve taken a huge step away from the history of racism and bigotry in the United States.

The story of Jack Johnson, even though it’s 100 years old, might show us how far we’ve come. But it also shows how far we have to go.