Comic Book Resources

I don't think comics reach a large enough audience to effect society as a whole (and what a fine whole it is), but as comics continue to influence movies and television, that's changing.

For those who have read mainstream comics over the last 40 years, comics have spoken loudly and clearly on a couple of social issues that would have imprinted strongly on children. I know they did on me.

One is that racism is universally wrong. White, Black, Brown, Green, Mutant. All are welcome.

The other is, "Batman! No! If you kill the Joker, then you become just like him! Just like him! And he wins!"

And if things like Honor, Duty, Loyalty and Teamwork are social issues, comics have always spoken strongly about them too.

I think reading comic books as a child was good for me. Like a balanced breakfast and playing team sports.

"Can anyone design a comic and would he or she be able to get it looked at?"

There's a guy named Greg Hatcher who can answer this better than anybody.

"What is your take on comic books that take on social issues?"

It's bad when a writer turns what should be a story into a platform to deliver a lecture on an issue of the day that's either too thinly disguised or not disguised at all. Or when a writer's self-satisfied worldview is so shallow that he or she believes "all right-thinking people will obviously agree with me and anyone who disagrees with us is an idiot to be caricatured."

By the same token, it can be really good when a writer gets away from real world specifics so we can look at an issue from an outside perspective -- to see our own attitudes reflected from a different angle, or to cast the other side in a more empathetic light. You don't have to agree with someone to know where they're coming from: metaphor and analogy are "safe" ways for us to explore the other viewpoint. If you try to talk about racism or homophobia, a reader's defensive screens may go up, causing him or her to filter everything through his or her own personal experiences...but if you talk about "mutants" instead, you might be able to lead that same reader to a new insight.

Well, I wasn't going to second-guess Brian, but since my name was actually brought up, I'll take a swing at a couple of these.

3. Can anyone design a comic and would he or she be able to get it looked at?

The answers to #1 and #2 are covered in this question too, so I'm just going to talk about this one.

The short answer is yes. Anyone can do this. I have classes full of students that come in saying, "I can't draw." But it turns out that they can. Let me ask you this: if I asked you to write your name in all capital letters, you could do it, right? It wouldn't be scary or intimidating, you'd just do it. And yet if I asked you to draw me a cartoon cow, you'd probably freeze up, or at least be much less confident.

Now, here is the great secret -- the skills of cartooning are the same as the skills of writing, in terms of the mechanics of DOING it. You are making abstract marks on paper that other people need to be able to recognize. And that's ALL. That is something people can LEARN. Not everyone can be great but everyone can be COMPETENT. The techniques that go into making good comics are almost never about the actual drawing. They involve things like figuring out what to put in the panel boxes and what size to make them (composition, layout) changing the point of view from one panel to the next (composition again, and also pacing) clarity (inking skills come into play here, figuring out what to darken up and what to leave lighter, and also deciding what lines are thick and what lines are thin...)

...I could go on and on. I do this for a living, after all. But the important part is that comics is not so much an art as it is a LANGUAGE. It's a means of communicating ideas. You can use it to tell a story or to describe a process (ever really looked at a model kit's instruction booklet? Words and pictures together to put across an idea? That counts, too) or to tell a joke, or whatever you want it to do. The better you are at learning the language, the better your comics will be. They aren't meant to be hung on a wall and admired, they're meant to be READ. So I always tell my students to concentrate first on making their comics READABLE. After all, when it comes to actual artistic skills, you look at a lot of newspaper strips and I'd say roughly half those guys couldn't draw their way out of a paper bag in terms of the rendering skills. It's the writing and the humor that sells Dilbert, not the drawing.

It's only in the last century and a half or so that drawing has come to be regarded as this mysterious Artistic thing, you have to be divinely inspired or whatever. Horsefeathers. It used to be a trade, you apprenticed to it same as carpentry or silversmithing or whatever. And some of the guys we really admire in comics today learned under that old apprentice system, working as studio assistants to other, more famous artists. There's a lot to be said for treating it simply as a craft that you can learn. The most important first step anyone can make who wants to do comics is to understand that they can reach a baseline level of competence simply by learning the language. Beginners should concentrate on that.

Now, the second part of your question -- getting it looked at -- that's a different thing entirely. To me that translates as "get it published, find an audience, maybe even get paid." Comics is one of the few areas left in the arts where you can do that relatively easily, especially if you put getting paid off to one side for a while. There is a thriving community of amateur 'zine makers and cartoonists all over the country -- all over the world, really. The beauty of comics is that it's really cheap. You can print and bind a fairly hefty black-and-white 'zine for about a dollar a book. And there are all kinds of people who will gladly display it for free if it's a giveaway -- comics stores, record stores, cafes. If you want to try and charge for it that's harder but it's still doable.

Self-publishing is, believe it or not, probably the easiest option for newcomers who want to get their names out there and show what they can do. A finished book is about the best calling card possible for potential employers. Most other areas of the arts, self-published = lame, but that's not the case in comics. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Elfquest, Cerebus, there are lots of success stories of self-published funnybooks.

Getting paid... well, good luck. I know lots of professionals who still have to make ends meet with a 'day job' of some kind; advertising art, illustration, teaching. If you're in it for the money, comics is not for you.

4. What is your take on comic books that take on social issues? How do they effect society?

"Affect," with an A, is the verb. When you AFFECT something, you achieve an "effect," the noun that starts with E.

--sorry, I'm a teacher, it's a reflex. Actually I liked what Mutt said up there. That's true of a lot of the arts. The effect created by comics is almost subliminal. Good art that speaks to people on a personal level will always have some kind of an effect, it changes the way people think. Change attitudes and you can't help but affect society. Probably the single biggest weapon the U.S. had in the Cold war years was the export of our pop culture. God help us if the government ever actually figured that out someday.

5. In your opinion, how big is the comic book industry and is it growing?

It depends on your definition. Remember what I said about comics being a means of communicating, a language. It's like asking how big is the television industry -- ask that and do you mean Hollywood, or in the U.S., or all the Western countries, or the entire planet? Are you including things like closed-circuit TV and security cams and webcams? ... and so on. It's a very open-ended kind of a question.

I think the WAY people get comics is in a state of change at the moment. They used to be mostly magazines, newspapers, periodicals. Now I think they are changing more to books. That makes it hard to assess. Magazine-style comics publications are hurting. Book-style comics are booming. So you ask the guy running the magazine stand and he gives you a way different answer than the librarian or the guy at Barnes and Noble. Also, a lot of what people used to get from newspapers or magazines we are now seeing on the internet, and that makes a difference too. Comics are just starting to catch on to that possibility.

6. What is your favorite comic book and character?

Sadly, those two answers ought to be the same and they almost never are. Right now my favorite COMIC currently being published is probably either Jonah Hex or Bat Lash -- I really enjoy Westerns and those are two good ones -- but my favorite CHARACTER is probably Batman.

You have to bear in mind that the comics I tend to read are mostly U.S.-produced adventure stories. That's what I like. But there's a whole lot of great manga and small-press independent books I don't see, too. Most of my colleagues here at CBR are probably reading a wider range than me.

I hope that helps, Jeff, and that it wasn't too dull. Come back and tell us how the project turned out when you're done.

Well, I wasn’t going to second-guess Brian, but since my name was actually brought up, I’ll take a swing at a couple of these.

No second-guessing involved! I even asked folks to give their answers, too!

And fine answers they were, Greg!

This has, I realize, been noted before, Brian and Greg, but it's worth pointing out again: You and your colleagues at CSBG are doing a really bang-up job. The time and energy you dedicate into producing a high-quality blog is always in evidence. And your willingness to answer, in depth, the questions of a student — something I'm sure many others would disregard — well, that speaks highly of your values. Kudos!

Thanks, Rebis.

Boy, Greg, you got Rebis' comments the same day as both Max Collins AND Terry Beatty stopped by to thank you! That's some day!

I certainly appreciate the kind words, Rebis, but my experience has been that comics people are almost uniformly willing to give their time to students. You should see the way my kids get treated at conventions when we go. Parents often ask me, "Did you arrange this?" and I explain, no, they're just really nice.

Of course, in fairness, it has to be said: it's generally more entertaining to help out a school kid than to listen to some forty-year-old fan blathering on about a job someone did thirteen years ago, and I say that as a forty-something fan who tends to do exactly that.

Still, my experience with comics people is that they have all been really, really nice folks, willing to take the time for fans even when those fans may not deserve it. Last Sunday we were at a little show at Seattle Center and Mike Grell must have signed almost the entire run of Green Arrow for one crazed woman. Julie was really horrified, especially when Grell got to the CrossRoads issues and said wryly, "You know, I didn't have a damned thing to do with these..." But when we asked him why he didn't set a limit or something, he shrugged and said, "She's not selling them, she's just insane. But nice people like you get the LEGIBLE signature."

He threw in a sketch, too. Just a really sweet guy. And that's typical, in my experience.

Mr. Grell did tell us a hilarious story about Sergio Aragones telling a dealer he'd only sign a huge stack of books if he'd split the revenue with Sergio. The dealer eventually caved and handed Sergio something like $300. I'm not doing it justice, Grell tells it much better, and he does a terrific imitation of Sergio's voice, too. Ask him about it if you ever see him at a con.

“Affect,” with an A, is the verb. When you AFFECT something, you achieve an “effect,” the noun that starts with E.

Not quite, actually, see xkcd.

Sorry, I can't help it, I'm a linguist.

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