Comic World News | 12 Step Program

April 22, 2008:
CWN and the Grand Finale! -

February 4, 2008:
In Conclusion - David ends his CWN run with Tezuka's MW from Vertical

February 2, 2008:
Acting Like You Have Nothing to Prove -

February 2, 2008:
The Shoegazer Returns - A New Year Begins, And Our Narrator Makes A Pledge

January 30, 2008:
Tim's Reviews -

September 13, 2007:
Wizard World Chicago Loot, Part One - Stykman, Empty Chamber, the Ztarian Saga, and yes, Little Bunny Foo Foo

February 15, 2007:
I Come Not to Bury Nick Cage... - But to mourn the death of my punchline

November 20, 2006:
The End - Rich's last Chicks & Romance

November 8, 2006:
Joann Sfar's Klezmer - And a Front Racks Hiatus

October 4, 2006:
This Month's Guest: Dave Gibbons - From the pages of Elephantmen!

September 18, 2006:
Back in Berlin - or How I spent my summer

July 29, 2006:
KICKING UP A STORM - An interview with David Lloyd

June 19, 2006:
You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me. - Graeme looks at Spidey's "genies"

December 18, 2005:
Disappointed - Sad news for fans of Busiek's CONAN, Stephen King, and others

December 13, 2004:
JUSTICE UNPLUGGED 2 at last !!! - By Fabrice Sapolsky & Xavier Fournier

December 2, 2004:
THE TWELFTH AND FINAL STEP - Say it ain't so, Dan.

November 23, 2004:
The importance of editing -

September 29, 2004:
Mystery and Conundrum indeed! - Where in the world is Jason Pomerantz?

September 13, 2004:
Hello and Goodbye and Hello Again - Change is in the air at CWN and it smells sweet.

August 12, 2004:
The Rise of the Web Toon - New Business Model or Dumb Luck?

July 30, 2004:
The Name Says it All... - Spin Doctors revamp Boomerang.

July 27, 2004:
Bigger Isn't Always Better -

June 8, 2004:
Pre-emptive Strike: MoCCA Arts Festival - Looking forward to the con, rather than looking back at it

The Layer Method
Our top Secret time-saving technique for creating and merging balloons and tails in Illustrator.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Down In The Valley

On the edge or "in" and what lies between.

Down in the Valley

Most people talk about the comic industry from one of two places: �On the edge� and �in�. For a while there I kept being told that I was �on the edge� of the industry and about to break �in�; I heard that for so long that I figured this was the longest edge ever conceived. It was what I believe to be the cruelest torture anyone could come up with. I had this burning desire to write comics, I had a couple editors who would look at my stuff, one or two companies that actually were thinking of buying my work but nothing was happening� I felt like I was going to explode.

A few months later and some things had changed. Humanoids Publishing actually bought a story, Avatar Press wanted a story idea we had pitched but negotiations were slow and an editor at Dark Horse wanted to use a story for an anthology but hadn�t gotten the book approved yet. I went into San Diego flying sky high� a month after San Diego one of the Humanoid stories was coming out but the Dark Horse book didn�t make it and the negotiations with Avatar wasn�t moving at all. This now seemed to be even worse than before; I had some good things suddenly slipping away� I felt like I was going to explode.

A few months after that I decided, with the help of Red Eye Press, to self publish one last time a book called The Conversation. The story with Avatar Press never did get picked up, but they offered me other writing assignments that I jumped at and both Humanoids stories were out on the shelf. Suddenly the edge didn�t look that far away, I was almost there. I figured things would start rolling in now� yeah, right. Most of the stuff I was writing for Avatar was inventory work so as grateful as I was for the work and the pay, nothing was seeing print; I was having no luck with new ideas with Humanoids; The Conversation did fairly well but I had no way of following it up. In other words I had all the cool things happening but it seemed to stop right there, no other doors to go through� I felt like I was going to explode.

That brings me to yesterday. I was chatting with Caleb Gerard and I was telling him how frustrated I was feeling. I had finished my script for an IDW project I�m doing that will be announced next week (officially that is), but since it�s in the next Previews I was feeling frustrated that I couldn�t hype it yet and I was seriously worried that someone was going to come and tell me the script sucked and I had no business trying to be a writer. I usually feel that way after I finish any script. It�s funny how creative people can be filled with so much self-doubt. I also have pitches on three different editor�s desks with two more pitches to go out soon, but all those things were up in the air� I felt like I was going to explode.

So in the two and a half years since I decided to write freelance I have sold 2 stories to one anthology; written over 260 pages of script for another company; been asked to participate in three other companies anthologies; been asked to write two forwards, one for a Dark Horse trade and the other for an art book. I self-published a book that got great reviews and have been asked to play in a very popular horror universe. And I have at least a half a dozen editors form a half a dozen different companies who are willing to read anything I sent their way� so what the hell am I complaining about right? Why am I on the verge of exploding?

Well, it goes back to the original topic of the column� you are either �on the edge� or �in�. That is a bold faced lie. There is an area of time that you are established enough in the industry that you can talk to editors, get small projects, have a few books printed and still need to keep your day job. The point where you have too many books on the shelf to be considered a �newbie�, but you can stand next people in line at the comic shop and they have no idea who you are. You are part of the industry but you�re not �in�� you�re not Steve Niles, Joe Casey, Jim Lee �in�. You are in the valley that is just under the �edge� and you have to work your way up to �in�, and it can be so frustrating at times that you feel like you�re going to explode.

So when does the frustration end? To the best of my knowledge it never does. Each step forward you take has it�s own unique set of problems. How do you think Jimmy Palmiotti feels today after being told that his third creator owned comic through DC is being cancelled? How do you think Ron Marz felt as Crossgen was beginning to collapse? How do you think Brian Michael Bendis felt when he couldn�t get DC to approve his Batman/Daredevil crossover? Or Brian Azzerrello having to hear all the negativity about his run on Superman even before he gets to finish it? Hell, how many editors� feel frustrated Monday mornings after reading Rich Johnston tell about the project they were holding back for a special announcement.

This industry is full of frustration. Why won�t editors read my stuff? Why won�t the editor buy my story? Why won�t that artist work on my book? Where the hell are the pages? Why are the numbers so low? Why aren�t retailers buying the book? Why do all the women fawn over the artist and not the writer? Why won�t that guy buy a shirt that will fit him? When will this convention end? Where is the bar? Why won�t they let me kill that character? What do you mean you�re taking me off the book? Why do so many people think they can write columns?

So take this to heart if you want to create comics: the highs are very high, the lows are very low� and the waiting is hell.

I now return you to your life already in progress.

Dan Wickline
http://www.danwickline.com

Dan has written for Metal Hurlant (Humanoids Publishing), The Conversation (Red Eye Press), Threshold and Jungle Fantasy (Avatar Press), Hero Happy Hour (Geek Punk) with upcoming work with Ben Templesmith for IDW Publishing.