You know what I miss: The Seven Guys of Justice. You may not have heard of the book, it never won an Eisner (I don’t think it did) and I have no idea if it will ever come back. I just know it was this fun little book written by Brian Joines. In a lot of ways, it’s similar to Monkey in a Wagon Versus Lemur on a Big Wheel or The Tick in that the creators where having fun and just enjoying the process of making comics. I got to meet Brian a while back, shared a table with him at San Diego… and I have to say he was fun, just like his writing.
I bring this up because of two reasons. First is that there are so many talented people in comics that never get the recognition they deserve and second is there are some untalented hacks getting way more credit than they deserve. Now I’m not going to sit here and put down a list of who I’m talking about but rather the type of person I’m talking about. Now, before I go any further, you might be wondering what makes me think I’m even qualified to talk about this stuff, how can I critique anything outside of being a writer… well, since I have published books, inked pages, lettered pages, colored pages, thumb-nailed pages, done layouts for pages and even
drew a pin-up… I think I’m at least knowledgeable enough on the process of making comics (good and bad) to know of what I speak.
When I was publishing, the bottom line was simple: get the book finished. This gave me the mindset of making sure I could do just about any job needed so that I could assure things were done on time. Anything I could do myself meant I was in control of and that made life easier. At this point I feel I’m a competent colorist and letterer and have a half-dozen books out there with my work. When an inker flaked on me, I had spent enough time working with inkers to understand the process and do a passable job on a short story for an anthology. What I have learned since then is that competent and passable is not good enough. Any job you do in comics should be the job you love and should be your sole focus. I watched Joe Weems ink a Walter McDaniel cover once, it was awe inspiring to see Joe fly around the page with his brush and bring to life Walter’s art. If you think inking isn’t important, just ask Jim Lee why he always works with Scott Williams? I would like to see more permanent art teams because I think the longer an inker works with an artist, the better the product becomes. And I think anyone who takes up inking full-time should be held in just as high regards as the penciller they work over. Colorists fall in this same category as well, so many times a book can be improved or destroyed by colors but it’s not a glamour job.
Now the most underrated person on the creative team is the letterer. It blows my mind how many people who are self-publishing just slap the word balloons on the pages without a second thought. Do people not realize that when someone looks at a page, the balloons are part of the art? Not only do they have to be incorporated well into the page, but they should guide the reader’s eyes, leading them from panel to panel in a natural progression. The placement of a balloon could correct a poorly laid out page or destroy a masterpiece. As much as I know about lettering, the number one thing I know is I’m going to leave it to the professionals. Richard Starkings name shows up on a lot of comics a month and with damn good reason. Robin Spehar has made a good living putting down balloons and deserves every penny. There’s also a couple of up and coming guys whose names I’m sure you will be hearing more of: Jason Hanley and Ed Dukeshire. Both of these guys know the importance of what they do and have taken the time to learn their craft right.
You have to think of a creative team like the offense of a football team (since this is playoff time, we’ll go with this analogy). The writer is the Quarterback, calls the plays and puts things into motion. The penciller is the running back that can really control the game. The inker is the wide receiver and the colorist is the tight end, both can block on running plays and the QB sure needs someone out there to throw to. So what does that make letterers? Simple… field goal kickers. You really only notice them when they screw up but in the end, they usually have more points scored than anyone else on the team. I think Indianapolis fans can understand the point I’m making right now.
To go to the other half of my rant and follow the football analogy… there are far too many Michael Vicks and Peyton Mannings and not nearly enough Jake Delhommes in comics. I see Vick as an extremely overrated player. I see Manning as a good player who doesn’t perform when the pressure is on. I see Delhomme as a player that no one expects anything of, yet he does great work when the pressure is on and never wants the accolades. How does this translate into comics? Simple. The Vicks of comics are the independent guys who do these books that get critical acclaim yet it’s hard to find anyone who actually likes the books. It becomes vogue to say
Book X is awesome so everyone is saying it, yet sales of the book tells you that most of those people have never seen the book. It becomes a work of hype to the point where the writer starts getting work based on his press and not his ability. It seems in today’s market, you get points for your book not being about superheroes. You also get points for it being ‘gritty’ which most times means the art is rough and dark and you have a few curse words in it. And most books now are judge on their first issue, yet in this area of decompression most first issues tell us nothing. So how can the writer of a book that next to no one buys and the first issue tells you nothing suddenly become the new ‘it’ guy? Hype.
Now, the Manning type: these are the writers who start off doing smaller books, fringe stuff or independent work that no one expects much of and are genuinely surprised by the work. They build their name on a loyal fan base and a couple of strong works and that launch them into the big time where they fall flat on their face. They can’t write the big book. They do great with a third-tier cast off but when given an icon to play with, they either try and take it the same direction they were with the third-tier guy or they go so far out of character for the icon that you question if they had ever read anything about the character. They are the type to put up great numbers on small books but can’t sustain the book ones.
Now, the Delhomme type is simple. He’s the guy that you can hand any book to and he’ll put out good work. He’s never going to get they hype machine behind him and he’s never going to be mobbed at a convention, but he’s going to consistently put out good stories. A writer needs to be a storyteller that combines characters with situations, not someone trying to get an agenda across or see how much he can shock you. A roll out, 40-yard TD pass into double coverage looks pretty on the game film, but eight hands offs for 5 yard average runs gets the same job done and eats up more clock so your opponent doesn’t get his offense back on the field.
Okay… I’ve taken the football analogy too far; but my point is a fairly simple one. Don’t buy into the hype and remember it takes more than one person to make a comic.
I bring this up because of two reasons. First is that there are so many talented people in comics that never get the recognition they deserve and second is there are some untalented hacks getting way more credit than they deserve. Now I’m not going to sit here and put down a list of who I’m talking about but rather the type of person I’m talking about. Now, before I go any further, you might be wondering what makes me think I’m even qualified to talk about this stuff, how can I critique anything outside of being a writer… well, since I have published books, inked pages, lettered pages, colored pages, thumb-nailed pages, done layouts for pages and even
drew a pin-up… I think I’m at least knowledgeable enough on the process of making comics (good and bad) to know of what I speak.
When I was publishing, the bottom line was simple: get the book finished. This gave me the mindset of making sure I could do just about any job needed so that I could assure things were done on time. Anything I could do myself meant I was in control of and that made life easier. At this point I feel I’m a competent colorist and letterer and have a half-dozen books out there with my work. When an inker flaked on me, I had spent enough time working with inkers to understand the process and do a passable job on a short story for an anthology. What I have learned since then is that competent and passable is not good enough. Any job you do in comics should be the job you love and should be your sole focus. I watched Joe Weems ink a Walter McDaniel cover once, it was awe inspiring to see Joe fly around the page with his brush and bring to life Walter’s art. If you think inking isn’t important, just ask Jim Lee why he always works with Scott Williams? I would like to see more permanent art teams because I think the longer an inker works with an artist, the better the product becomes. And I think anyone who takes up inking full-time should be held in just as high regards as the penciller they work over. Colorists fall in this same category as well, so many times a book can be improved or destroyed by colors but it’s not a glamour job.
Now the most underrated person on the creative team is the letterer. It blows my mind how many people who are self-publishing just slap the word balloons on the pages without a second thought. Do people not realize that when someone looks at a page, the balloons are part of the art? Not only do they have to be incorporated well into the page, but they should guide the reader’s eyes, leading them from panel to panel in a natural progression. The placement of a balloon could correct a poorly laid out page or destroy a masterpiece. As much as I know about lettering, the number one thing I know is I’m going to leave it to the professionals. Richard Starkings name shows up on a lot of comics a month and with damn good reason. Robin Spehar has made a good living putting down balloons and deserves every penny. There’s also a couple of up and coming guys whose names I’m sure you will be hearing more of: Jason Hanley and Ed Dukeshire. Both of these guys know the importance of what they do and have taken the time to learn their craft right.
You have to think of a creative team like the offense of a football team (since this is playoff time, we’ll go with this analogy). The writer is the Quarterback, calls the plays and puts things into motion. The penciller is the running back that can really control the game. The inker is the wide receiver and the colorist is the tight end, both can block on running plays and the QB sure needs someone out there to throw to. So what does that make letterers? Simple… field goal kickers. You really only notice them when they screw up but in the end, they usually have more points scored than anyone else on the team. I think Indianapolis fans can understand the point I’m making right now.
To go to the other half of my rant and follow the football analogy… there are far too many Michael Vicks and Peyton Mannings and not nearly enough Jake Delhommes in comics. I see Vick as an extremely overrated player. I see Manning as a good player who doesn’t perform when the pressure is on. I see Delhomme as a player that no one expects anything of, yet he does great work when the pressure is on and never wants the accolades. How does this translate into comics? Simple. The Vicks of comics are the independent guys who do these books that get critical acclaim yet it’s hard to find anyone who actually likes the books. It becomes vogue to say
Book X is awesome so everyone is saying it, yet sales of the book tells you that most of those people have never seen the book. It becomes a work of hype to the point where the writer starts getting work based on his press and not his ability. It seems in today’s market, you get points for your book not being about superheroes. You also get points for it being ‘gritty’ which most times means the art is rough and dark and you have a few curse words in it. And most books now are judge on their first issue, yet in this area of decompression most first issues tell us nothing. So how can the writer of a book that next to no one buys and the first issue tells you nothing suddenly become the new ‘it’ guy? Hype.
Now, the Manning type: these are the writers who start off doing smaller books, fringe stuff or independent work that no one expects much of and are genuinely surprised by the work. They build their name on a loyal fan base and a couple of strong works and that launch them into the big time where they fall flat on their face. They can’t write the big book. They do great with a third-tier cast off but when given an icon to play with, they either try and take it the same direction they were with the third-tier guy or they go so far out of character for the icon that you question if they had ever read anything about the character. They are the type to put up great numbers on small books but can’t sustain the book ones.
Now, the Delhomme type is simple. He’s the guy that you can hand any book to and he’ll put out good work. He’s never going to get they hype machine behind him and he’s never going to be mobbed at a convention, but he’s going to consistently put out good stories. A writer needs to be a storyteller that combines characters with situations, not someone trying to get an agenda across or see how much he can shock you. A roll out, 40-yard TD pass into double coverage looks pretty on the game film, but eight hands offs for 5 yard average runs gets the same job done and eats up more clock so your opponent doesn’t get his offense back on the field.
Okay… I’ve taken the football analogy too far; but my point is a fairly simple one. Don’t buy into the hype and remember it takes more than one person to make a comic.
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