A Critic’s Eye for the Comic Guy

Ben here-
Thanks for the cover Kurt, but in all honesty I sent Kurt a Spinner Rack from July. This wasn't an accident however. I was inspired by God this week as I wrote the Rack, and as He is perfect so are His jokes it caused the two people who read the listings to laugh until their stomachs ruptured.

To save you all I sent Kurt the wrong one and pretended it was an honest mistake. The original has been sent to Rome for safe keeping.

You're welcome.

Time makes everything better. Frankly, it's the preparation they put in before they start a new series, or jump onto an established one, that makes or breaks them. Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee made their run on Batman brilliant because they knew the end before the beginning. The same goes for Kevin Smith on Green Arrow. Otherwise, they're basically turning in their first drafts, and it's a pretty ignorant writer who thinks their first drafts are always the best.

I agree with kgatchel. For any artist in any medium, it's highly presumptive to think a first draft is the best. Only in rare instances of capturing lightning in a bottle is this the case. Especially with any written medium, multiple revisions are to be expected. However, I don't think the weekly or monthly deadlines are at issue. Consider the journalist, who writes a column a day, and often may not be aware of the latest news to base on article on until hours prior to a deadline, yet they are expected to be witty and introspective and articulate, and to always give their best by the time the Edition is printed. Besides (also as kgatchel mentioned), a good writer should be expected to lay out an outline and timeline for their future script and plotlines -- not to full detail, but they should have a pretty good idea where their characters are going and where the story arc is taking them -- the impending deadline should not impact that creative planning process.

I guess my biggest fear in Kurt's argument is the same thing that made the 90's boom/bust the most distasteful to me -- the (lack of) schedule. When Image et al broke out with the stylized artists and writers professing the need for greater creative control -- it all seemed great and many early issues (Savage Dragon, Spawn, Shadowhawk, etc.) seemed promising and really drew me in. However, very shortly after, it was a continuous litany of excuses from almost all of them about being behind and missing deadlines. The typical defense was "Don't you want the best quality issue you can get ? Then you should be able to wait, right ? Be patient...". This defense wore pretty thin pretty quick, and I'm glad we aren't faced with that paradigm any longer.

A good writer should be prepared, and a good story should involve some forethought and revision, well prior to the time of final editing and printing to meet deadlines for monthly publication. IMHO.

I don't write comics professionally (damn you diamond) but I do write for a living, specifically, I write grant proposals.

The output is dry, but the work behind some proposals is immense. Research, writing, communication, finalizing and acceptance all represent huge amounts of time, and there is always a deadline.

It is the writers job to ensure that their best work is done by the deadline. It's part of the job.

Could quality be improved with less scheduling restraints? Sure, but that sounds more like a hobby than a job.

P.S. I still like big boobs.

while it's tough to side with you on the "no thanks" to giant breasts, I do on many of the other points you bring up.

I noticed that someone wrote "time makes everything better", but I'm not sure that's always the case. often we've heard stories of how great artists from all mediums have, or have HAD TO, do a work fast or under a crunch, and some of those things are known as the best work around.

I think what we're talking about here is prepared-ness. in times when an artist (and of course I mean, comic writer, filmmaker, musician, novelist, screenwriter, etc.) IS READY, that's when the best work comes out. that readiness could be "ready to make a statement", or "ready to take a chance", or "ready to prove themself", but I'm sure that it's readiness that's at the heart of it.

when this happens we're talking about the coming together of many things: bringing the skills of the artist to bear, the summation of the artist's experiences, and that creative spark of "something new." obviously I'm oversimplifying but with the issue of time to quality it's not always that more is better.

there was plenty of time for something like CIVIL WAR and that ended up being a non-moment. a big question mark of "why?" and "what was all this for?"

I'm a long time fan, but I'm also one that bailed when many did (during to knee-pad, big gun phase) and came back when people like Alan Moore (who DIDN'T GIVE UP on us) reminded us of what was special about the medium with books like TOM STRONG and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (among others).

I was ravenous for more, and there has slowly been the shift in the guard to those who cared as much as the collective "we" do. (I feel I'm getting a bit off topic...)

we basically started following "creators" as opposed to "artists" (ie: pencillers). that was fine, and the writers themselves (in theory) seemed to be able to interchange with various artists (pencillers) and therefore, take on more jobs.

but that's not the problem. the problem is the business model.

some of what you bring up reminds me of that article in the Onion's AV Club not too long ago asking if the superhero genre is over and should monthly serial go away as a possible solution. again, the business model probably won't allow that to happen, yet, when there are failures, it hits the entire industry as a failure and creates problems in the future.

as I understand it, a HUGE part of the business model for comics comes in the announcements made. these announcements create fan anticipation, which leads to increasing orders from comic stores, which equals money -- which is what drives ANY business. when large sums of money are made in orders just from announcements of certain creators and artist on titles, then making and releasing the details of deals becomes an important part of the business.

I'm also aware of the whole "dvd release" aspect that the tradepaperback has on the comics industry, and like many who say "I'll wait to see it on video" when a somewhat interesting movie trailer comes on, more comics buyers are saying that they'll wait for the trades when they see issue #1 of a certain writer/artist team of an interesting book -- mainly cause they don't want to get hooked and then have to wait the agonixzing time it take for all six issues to come out.

I was just talking about this with a published comic writer friend of mine. a screenwriter myself, we were talking about how politics drive this (and every) industry, and money being at the heart of that. He was telling me that there are MANY really great people in comics, who genuinely love what they're doing, but they're fighting against release dates before many of the details of the work is even mapped out. he was saying that most arcs are being geared toward atleast five-part arcs with a trade release in mind.

as a screenwriter, there is a "hurry up and wait" aspect of Hollywood/the movie business. I was once hired to rewrite a movie from two horrible scripts, only to do a page one overhaul in three days. (in fairness, I thought about it for three weeks, and wrote it in three days.) lack of time served me there, and fear of losing the job made me act. the project sits as a star negotiates to sign, and so we wait. but nothing would've moved if not for the completed script.

I also think that -- and this is unfortunate in comics as well as movies and televisioin -- that the writer and the written word is greatly misunderstood. while good writing is somewhat appreciated in it's final form, the alchemy required is often forced into a "get it done" attitude which often leaves out the important ingredient of quality.

I also think that a huge part of this comes down to not having it all worked out before the project has begun. ALWAYS KNOW YOUR WAY OUT, or ALWAYS LOOK FOR AN EXIT is the popular way of saying it, but it's true with storytelling too. "know the ending." "know the punchline." KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

like greater have said, "it's important to think hard about it, but you'll find you don't have to think as hard about it as you think you do."

again my friend cited that certain old school editors wouldn't let writers & artists on to a book before they knew their ending -- firmly.

this sounds like a no-brainer, but trust me when I say, that the bigger deals jam up and miss their releases because certain celebrities (writers/artist/creators) are known to have delivered in the past, and do not have a gun put to their heads about "knowing their ending" and getting it done. they don't have any level of accountability on in that regard because of the position that they've earned in the industry. so they sign on, and we (and the publishers) trust that they'll deliver. when they don't, or take forever, it's not just them who's left to flounder.


frankly, I also think that FEAR and fear of failure (or fear of sucking) is what leads to these latenesses, but fear of getting fired doesn't move them to complete things. I've said before that while someone like Warren Ellis is probably the best thing that ever happened to comics writing, he's also someone who often doesn't (or can't, or doesn't know how) to finish a story. his PLANETARY was a sight to behold, and the fate of it's powerful nemesis and driving antagonists... was to have them fall in a hole? it was a cop out and a let down, to which Ellis (I'm sure) would surely say, that he doesn't care, and that superheroes suck and all the rest, and that he doesn't pander to audiences or endings... but that's no ending. that's fear of "I don't think I can live up to the build up that I've set up." it's grand expectations, and unimpressive results.

(for the record, I totally love Ellis' work and I'll defend it, but it's true, he dropped the ball on that -- as have many creators who haven't planned out their plots... cause I don't think he thought he'd drop THE FOUR in a hole back when we first saw them appear...)

as for deadlines, if this were television, we all know that "the beast must be fed" and that's why they throw money and MANY talented writers on jobs because they know there's no missing a release date.

I'm sorry for being all over the place and I realize that I've reiterated my point many times, but I feel strongly about many points in this topic.

I don't think they should (or think they will) end the monthly-ness of comics. but I do believe in less is more. I do think that a few less titles, folded in on themselves would lead to a solid and steady stream of consistency amont titles. I also think that creative teams should work on things together and in succession. this has been tried and done many times. some successfully, others not so much. but I think that pipelining it all would make things much smoother.

they're already many months in advance. I think a solid break (which no one would take cause that means loss of income) to gather and regroup is in order. for titles that are off-shoots and "elseworlds" (if you will) and live outside of continuity, they should be announced when they're completed and not before.

my comic writer friend also said that this business seems to succeed in spite of itself... it's like they can't get out of their own way. (but he also told me that, eventhough everyone hates it, delays create greater sales so... you never know.)

and also, I just want it clear that I'm not one of those guys who's grown up and wants my comics to grow up with me. I read "grown up" books, and I read "grown up" comics, and I also read superhero books when they're good and it's all interchangeable. cause it's about great storytelling. it's about good fun. a story well told, that unfolds, IS GOOD FUN, no matter the premise. like Kurt said in this column "to entertain and fascinate" is what it's all about, so I'm not asking for Spiderman's identity to be revealed... sorry, "outed" just cause I don't wanna see guys in costumes anymore. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? I digress yet again, but sorry, we were told "well for those that are a little angry... they don't know how the story is going to end..." and that made me suspend my disbelief (and anger) a little longer just to see how "outing" Spidey folded into this grand scheme that was CIVIL WAR. IT DIDN'T, it was a cheap gimmick that they can't take back -- that is, not without a lot of groans and collateral damage -- a gimmick I'd liken to sawing off your arm to show someone you can get out of some handcuffs...

... what I'm asking for a well told, fun story. for superheroes and well done comics in general, I'd say something like Kirkman's INVINCIBLE is spot on, and he's planned it out succintly and it's never (rarely if ever) late.

anyway, demanding that the work be done -- and this would have to happen across the board, the big two, and all other smaller imprints as well -- before they announce and before the bulk of the payment made, would set alot of this industry straight.

sure, it's a rant, but I think I've made a valid point in there once or twice.

Why do people insist on saying Loeb and Lee's run on Batman was brilliant?

Miller & Mazzucchelli's run was brilliant.

Englehart and Roger's run was brilliant.

Wagner, Grant, and Breyfogle's run was brilliant.

But there was nothing brilliant about Loeb and Lee's run. Nothing.

I totally agree muchdrama,
It was pretty and a good joyride, but not even close to brilliant. I think they have both done brilliant work and thusly their work is "automatically brilliant"
sad to say

Writing a comic book script takes no time. No time at all.

Writing a GOOD comic book script can take a long time (relatively.) But deadlines for twenty-some page issues does not take much time at all. Writer's block, a writer's personal style, and other factors can increase the time before a comic script is turned in, but seriously - other than poetry and short short stories (and I know this'll piss off some poets and short short writers), comic book scripts are the quickest media to produce.

Its why you see so many authors writing multiple, multiple titles a month. It's not THAT hard to do.

Let me clarify - I'm not saying its easy to write GOOD comic scripts quick. Just that you can quickly whip out a comic script in a couple to three days of moderate work, max. A competent writer could slam out one a day.

Where deadlines matter with comic scripts come more from sending in the script, editor comments and needs of the publisher for changes in the script, communications with the artist and working there to get a script the artist can draw / the writer accepting feedback from the artist and making modifications to the strip, etc. It's the overall process that takes time, not the initial writing. And THAT can eat into the author's time significantly, enough to make getting an issue ready for printing take long enough that the writer, as an effect, falls behind.

Outside of being too busy with other projects or uncontrollable life situations (death in the family, sickness, etc.), there really is no excuse for not getting a written comic script finished per month. None.

muchdrama and gauleyboy, could you please make a list of all the other things people are allowed to think are brilliant and the things they need to realize is crap? I wouldn't want to be caught forming my own opinion based on personal likes and dislikes.

nax,
in your post criticizing us, all I can say is WHA?...
Neither of us were TELLING anyone what their opinion should be, we were simply stating OUR opinion.
You criticized us "for not letting others form their own opinion" (which is BS), which is exactly what you are doing, by basically telling us we shouldn't post our opinion on... AN OPINION POSTING BOARD?
Lay off the espresso's.