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.

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.

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.

Remember Creature Features? If you were lucky, your local UHF station showed late-night — or maybe early evening — horror movies hosted by a wisecracking host. They’d play the classics, like Bride of Frankenstein or Dracula. Sometimes, they’d play the not-so-classics, duds like Night of the Lepus or Bride of the Monster.

If you were like me, you waited each week for the next chiller. It didn’t matter if the movies were lousy, if the dialogue was inane and the special effects made out of cardboard, you loved those movies.

I was thinking about these old-time films because Bluewater Publishing, an independent comics company that I’ve written several limited series for, is coming out soon with a comic-book sequel to Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Plan 9 is often referred to as the worst movie ever made. Ed Wood was its director, and Wood, of course, was famous for his ineptitude.

There’s a certain nostalgia I have for old horror movies, bad or good. And I have the feeling that there are a lot of comics creators out there who feel the same way. In fact, I’d bet that there are several creators out there who were inspired by Creatures from the Black Lagoon, Saucer Men and Teenage Werewolves to create their own fantastic tales.

I’m thrilled, then, that my son and I watch Channel 26 here in Chicago Saturday nights at 9. That’s when the Svengoolie show comes on. Svengoolie, of course, is our local wisecracking host. Last week, he showed Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. My son loved it.

Maybe, must maybe, all the mummies, vampires and robots he’s watched on the Svengoolie show will inspire him to create his own tales one day.

There are times when I like to do anything but write. There may be a Bears game on. The Sunday paper may have just thudded against my front porch. Maybe it’d be nice to run outside and play catch with my son.

All these things are good. They help relax the mind. And it’s never a bad thing to spend quality time with one of your kids.

But too often, I’ll use these activities, and more, as a way to put off a writing project. Like many, many writers, I’m a bit of a procrastinator. Like this weekend: I’m rewriting a comic for an artist. He’s paying me solid money to do it. Yet, I’ve been a bit sluggish on actually finishing pages.

I have worked on the project. And I have turned in a quality rewrite so far. I just haven’t gone after it nearly as quickly as I should have, especially considering I only get paid when I turn in pages.

It’s far too easy to let work pile up. I’ve learned that lesson several — way too many, actually — times during my writing career. So today I’ll be hunkering down in front of my computer. Let’s see just how many pages I can force out before the call of a good book, a chance to play cards with my family or some other distraction calls my name.

If you, like me, are trying to make it as a writer of comic books you’ve undoubtedly realized something by now: Even if you do get published, it’s awfully hard to actually get any paychecks at all from your comics writing.

Many of the projects I’ve taken on have been back-end deals, meaning I get paid from a comics’ profits. That usually means I don’t get paid anything at all. That’s OK, for now. I’m trying to build a portfolio of work large enough to actually land jobs that do pay upfront.

That being said, it’s still a thrill when you do receive actual money. And that happened last week. I received a check, albeit it a tiny one, from an anthology publisher that printed one of my short comic stories earlier this year. Now, that check will barely buy me two meals at McDonald’s, but still, it’s something. (Actually, if I go off the dollar menu, I could get four or five meals!)

Paychecks are rare for new writers in this industry. I did receive one four figure paycheck early last year. Surprisingly, or not, that company has since gone out of business, and the graphic script I wrote for them will probably never see the light of day. Still, the check didn’t bounce, and it bought a lot more than McDonald’s.

So when you do get paid, however infrequently that may be, for actually being a comic-book writer, savor the moment. You never know when it’ll happen again.