Dennis O' Neil On Comic Book Writing

This Bleeding Cool feature with Dennis O'Neil on how to write comic books is worth a look.

I clearly remember the advice O'Neil gave me when I asked him what comic books should I read in order to become a better comic book writer:

"You've already read too many comic books."

Comic Writers: How To Find An Artist!!!

The number-one question I hear from budding comic book writers is: "how do I find an artist?" Part of this stems from the need to have illustrated samples of one's work as opposed to just script samples. Other writers are just skipping the submission process to publishers entirely and just want to get their comic book out there themselves.

But what if you don't have the cash to pay your artist up front?
Where do you find artists to approach?
What do you say to the artist when you approach him or her?

Writer Brendan McGinley (Invisible Inc., Hannibal Goes To Rome) has, in my opinion, incredible luck in finding artists to work with. First, his artists are really really talented. Second, they actually produce (which is a tribute not only to Brendan's compelling scripts, but his management & interpersonal skills). If there was any comic writer I would go to for advice on finding artists for new projects, it's Brendan. And so he has been so gracious as to share with us his advice.


OS: Do you recommend paying the artists rather than getting them to work on spec? Pros and cons?

Brendan: I recommend chaining the artists to their desks till those flighty geniuses turn everything in. But that's not our concern at the moment.

Val Staples advised me once to pay everyone in percentages, and he should know. But there are no guaranteed profits. and if you're an unknown talent with a story good enough to print, you ought to lubricate that offer with at least a nominal page rate as operating costs.


Page rates aren't necessarily expensive. There are lots of incredible artists who want to create something smashing. I've found a lot of collaborators in Argentina, where the rate I can afford to pay is a better income than here in the states.

Collaborative terms should be open and upfront. Is the artist merely a hired gun for flat-rate collaboration? Are you simply sharing net profits? Copyright? Trademark? Merchandising/licensing rights? Will one of you have to jump out of a cake wearing a penguin suit? Figure out what benefits you both, then re-state it clearly in a single document and confirm it.

I tend to offer a mix of up-front page rate and back-end spec, depending on how fast the production schedule is. A more demanding schedule calls for a higher up-front rate because they don't have time to work on other, more lucrative projects. That said, those heartless bullies at Tokyopop and Mirage keep swiping my best artists, so maybe it's best to dominate someone's calendar with a fat page rate.

If you have an arc equivalent to a feature film's worth of plot, you're looking at 110 pages of 11" x 17" zoom and pow. You can't ask someone to commit to that kind of workload without offering them some money along the way. If you can't afford it, write something short and satisfactory. The DOSE anthology was founded on my hard-learned lesson that most artists whip out five pages before they run out of steam, and I wanted to do scripts I could write in a few days rather than agonizing over the social resonance of repurposing Thelemic principles as superpowers for political allegory. You know, just like in GARFIELD.

And lastly, remember: you're writing all those pages and coordinating production and submission, and actually paying gobs of money for the privilege. Your time and talent is worth something too, and if you're going to do triple duty as writer, editor and publisher/production director, you should hold out for quality, timely work. Otherwise, do what I do and draw it yourself. Badly. Over the course of several months.

OS: How did you build such an impressive roster of talented artists? Did you know them all beforehand as friends, or how did you meet them?

Brendan: I haven't met anyone in person, because no one dares venture this deep out into Queens, which is a shame, because I grill a pretty good steak when you get here.

I originally solicited artists on Digital Webbing but found the responses too broad. Very few people regard the actual stylistic requests, and though a lot of the submissions were qualified, not everybody's ready to actually work on a production schedule. I've been burned and burned again by great artists who decide life is in the way of the agreement, and then I'm holding eight pages and an art-shift when I have to replace them. That's no way to launch a mini-series. It's easy to find an excuse. It's hard to find a professional.

(One more reason for DOSE -- to see who can get a short story done before handing them a sustained project. And Digital Webbing did get me, among a couple of other choice finds, Johnny Zito who I have in fact met, but not cooked steak for. So I do still recommend it, especially if you're a vegetarian artist.)

I started hitting up people whose work I loved on Mark Millar's message board. There I linked up for STAR-X with Andres Ponce, who's now working on HEIST, and this was while I was still at WIZARD and they encouraged us to read all the comics that came out every week. I really enjoyed a Jay Faerber property called FIREBIRDS, especially the costume design, and I checked the credits to see who the artist was. "Oh...it's that fellow I agreed to do a book with this morning." So he passed a blind test and we carved out a fun chapter of STAR-X. I've kept Andres close since then, and he's recommended a lot of other people, like Tomás Aira for INVISIBLE, INC. And I'm going to meet him in person at SDCC next month. But again: no steak, though I doubt my grilling could impress an Argie.

Josh Elder and I trade artistic wishlists sometimes. I tried to peel Ashleigh Firth, who blew me away with just a couple of headshots in Drew Melbourne's ARCH-ENEMIES and almost succeeded. Nicola Scott, I'd hit up, too, right before Dark Horse found her. I'm either half a step ahead or one step behind all these companies with the budget to woo great talent. Maybe I should become a headhunter for editorial. Which is to say, I should let Andres do the headhunting and take all the credit.

Yeah, recommendations, those are where it's at for me. Look to Buenos Aires, I say.

OS: Say that Writer X wants to find artists to do pitches or spec stories. What do you recommend he or she do?

Brendan: Writer X should do the smart thing and go into screenplays. Much better payoff. But let's assume they have a story that must remain intact, free of meddlesome suits.

I keep a list of eye-catching artists with stylistic notes for reference when a fitting story hits my keyboard (are you listening, Bing Cansino? One day I'll track you down!), though if anybody at the moment can do a cool, pop-glam, animated style ripe with expressions and textures then...well, either you're Amanda Conner or you need to e-mail me right now about SHE'S FAMOUS NOW. Or both.

What really works is to see who the people you want to hire are watching on DeviantArt. Sure, Writer X wants to work with the impressive Artist Y, but what about the stunning Influence Z?

Thanks, Brendan!

You can read "Hannibal Goes To Rome," by Brendan McGinley and Mauro Vargas, on Shadowline Web Comics.

The Sexy and Glamorous Life of a Comic Book Writer

Just in case you were wondering.

(rest assured, many sexy and glamorous ideas are going on in that brain, feverishly being translated into rip-roaring entertainment for all!)

Bias Against Writers In The DCU?

Rokk breaks down LITG's DC rumors better than I could. A good point I failed to elaborate on that Rokk nails, regarding Tony Daniel writing "Battle For The Cowl":

"Now, I love Daniel as an artist, but I have never knew that he was a writer as well. Has Daniel ever written anything before? I have extreme reservations about DiDio tapping a relatively unknown and untested writer in Daniel to handle such a huge event in the Battle for the Cowl that DiDio has stated will outline the future for the Batman universe. I would have thought that DiDio would have wanted a big name writer to handle this important task."

The question here is: did DiDio pick Daniel because he genuinely thought he was the best man for the job, or was it partially out of desperation because he has alienated so many writers? Again, this is not a knock on Daniel's writing ability. And I think it's cool to take chances on new and untested talent -- it keeps things fresh.

But think about it: you have a highly important Batman event, dealing with issues coming off of Grant Morrison's high-profile "Batman RIP." Don't you give it to an established writer? Doesnt DiDio have a Rolodex? Is he hoping that Daniel might be another "Todd McFarlane" and pull in big sales with this writer/artist combo? Though I doubt the reasoning behind the decision was this deep.

A bigger question: is there a bias against comic book writers in the DCU?

The subject of writers and the DCU is starting to remind me of that classic Byrne X-Men cover, with Wolverine/Kitty & the wanted posters in the background:

Dixon: Alienated
Rucka: Non-exclusive
Shooter: Alienated
Morrison: Alienated
Robinson: Status Unconfirmed
Miller: Overpaid
Johns: Overworked

Will DC follow the comic book model of the late 80s/early 90s and focus on the art rather than the story? Will they stop trying to build a stable of comic book writers and look to Hollywood for new talent?

And in such a relatively small field as professional comic book writing, was has been the full extent of the DiDio regime's impact?

How Not To Succeed In The Comics Business With Lots Of Trying

When you're a freelancer, or a potential freelancer, the wait to hear back about a project can be frustrating.

In the case of "O," this apparently resulted in a nasty text message to Michael Davis.

In the Comic Mix article "The Story Of O," Davis elaborates on both the situation and the etiquette involved in dealing with publishers while you are waiting for feedback/movement on a project.

Davis's mantra? Don't burn bridges.

My own mantra on the subject is, assume the project might or might not happen, and just live within that. This might not be the most positive way to think, but I am pretty skeptical about any project I'm working on will come to pass until I sign a contract or see something in print. In the meantime, I work at my job. I see no need to be bitter or impatient about it.

Admittedly, my years in comic book editorial might have jaded me on this point. I've seen a lot of pitches become books, and a lot of them shot down. I've seen projects that get "fast-tracked," and projects that languish for YEARS.

Since "Goodbye To Comics," I have been involved in many pitches, projects, manuscripts, plans, etc. This is not bragging. As you can see, I have no printed work yet -- just this blog and one article in a magazine. I was picked up by a major literary agency within weeks of "GTC." But, despite working on a manuscript adapting the blog, and numerous drafts, in the end it was not meant to be. It might be meant to be some other time. However, I don't feel my time with my agent was wasted. I learned a lot about writing, and about the entertainment industry.

That's the way it works -- you might get something, you might get nothing, you might get something later, or you might have to wait a good long time.

Getting angry, feeling entitled, all this shit -- it's pointless. Because I've seen too many people driven figuratively or literally insane by this desire to write/draw mainstream comics. It's as if even if they reach that level, things will mysteriously be "okay" for them.

Getting your first comic gig does not put you on easy street. If you are prone to negativity, you will find a whole new bunch of things to bitch about. And you will still have to prove yourself, issue-by-issue. You don't just cinch your first fill-in and suddenly become Bendis. Bendis didn't even suddenly become Bendis.

Now, in the comments section of the Comic Mix piece, Elayne makes a good point -- what about a freelancer waiting for a "green light" on a project that is plagued with delays. Well, if you are an artist, and your editor wants you to "wait" for a project, wants to "reserve" you, and it's taking forever -- that's an entirely different matter. That's a matter of putting food on the table, and Elayne is right on that point.

But the nature of developing projects, of submitting pitches, it's very ephemeral.

And if somebody truly wants to get their creative works out there, and the mainstream is not receptive, there are so many options these days. Webcomics, e-books, blogs, podcasts, videos, etc. Try an independent route. Learn the skills of self-promotion. You might get just a small group of fans, or become the next Perry Bible Fellowship.

There is no reason to curse somebody.

Less Work For Comic Book Writers?

With the announcement that Hugh Jackman is developing a comic for Virgin Comics, a question I remember being discussed 6 years ago in the DC editorial offices has raised its head again. At the time, we were asked to start brainstorming TV & movie writers and developers we could ask to write and create comics for us. This was a new way of thinking back then (relatively speaking), while today it's pretty commonplace at every major mainstream comics publisher.

A year after that, I remember talking to a freelancer about the situation. He felt that this practice crowded the traditional comic writer out, and made jobs harder to come by.

With directors, screenwriters, novelists, and actors being enlisted in increasing numbers to script and create comics, has the amount of gigs at the major companies for traditional comic book writers really been reduced?

Not that I am at all criticizing the decision made by comic companies to turn to this route. Well-known names like Jodi Picoult, Joss Whedon, and Hugh Jackman are going to be an asset to these publishers. If we are concerned about reaching out past the niche "superhero" crowd and attracting the "masses," this is certainly one way (though not the only way) to do it.

But, the amount of really good comic writing gigs (by which I mean, ones that actually pay a steady paycheck) has been relatively small to begin with. Perhaps this really does reduce an already-small playing field.

There is a similar situation in another area, voice-work for animation. With the advent of big-name stars voicing animated movies and TV shows, traditional voice actors have found that they have less jobs (for a discussion on this in their own words, watch the extra features on the DVD Comic Book: The Movie).

To be fair, comic book writer Marc Guggenheim is working with Jackman on the Virgin Comics project. But again: Guggenheim also does work for TV. Perhaps the key is for comic book writers to diversify their skill set so they are working in multiple media anyway.