The Magazine About Writing For Comics, Animation, and SCI-FIThe Magazine About Writing For Comics, Animation, and SCI-FI

#12INSIDE: HOW TO FIND YOUR STORY’S THEME!

HOW TOGET HIRED

STEVEENGLEHARTWRITINGWEBCOMICS

STEVEENGLEHARTWRITINGWEBCOMICS

EDITORSREVEAL:18

HOW TOGET HIRED

EDITORSREVEAL:18

The Magazine About Writing For Comics, Animation, and SCI-FI

MAGAZINE

INSIDE: HOW TO FIND YOUR STORY’S THEME!

May2006

#12$695In the USA

All characters TM & ©2006 DC Comics.

MAGAZI N E

Conceived byDANNY

FINGEROTHEditor-In-Chief

Cover art byGEORGE PEREZ

Associate EditorBOB BRODSKY

Assistant EditorLIZ GEHRLEIN

DesignerRICH FOWLKS

TranscriberSTEVEN TICE

PublisherJOHN MORROW

Special Thanks To:

THE 18EDITORS!!

And…PAUL BENJAMINALISON BLAIREBOB BRODSKYT CAMPBELLKIA CROSS

STEVE ENGLEHARTRICH FOWLKSLIZ GEHRLEIN

GISELE LAGACEPAUL LEVITZERIC NOLEN-

WEATHINGTONJOHN OSTRANDER

ADAM PHILIPSCHRIS POWELL

BEN REILLYJIM SALICRUP

ANDY SCHMIDTSTEVEN TICE

VARDA STEINHARDT

Issue #12 May 2006

Read Now!Message from the Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2

Mr. DCInterview with DC Comics President and Publisher Paul Levitz . . . . . . page 3

One From the ’HartInterview with Steve Englehart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 19

Writing WebcomicsIt’s a whole new world on the web for comics. Starting with the definition of“what is a webcomic, anyway,” webcomic expert (and writer) T Campbellexplains what the world of webcomics is and why it might just be the place toshowcase your ideas and maybe even generate some income . . . . . page 62

FeedbackLetters from Write Now! ’s Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 70

Danny Fingeroth’s Write Now! is published 4 times a year byTwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh,NC 27614 USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Fax: (919) 449-0327.Danny Fingeroth, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Write Now!E-mail address: WriteNowDF@aol.com. Single issues: $9Postpaid in the US ($11 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions:$24 US ($44 Canada, $48 elsewhere). Order online at:www.twomorrows.com or e-mail to: twomorrow@aol.com Allcharacters are TM & © their respective companies. All material© their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter ©the respective authors. Editorial package is ©2006 DannyFingeroth and TwoMorrows Publishing. All rights reserved.Write Now! is a shared trademark of Danny Fingeroth andTwoMorrows Publishing. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

Breaking and Entering DepartmentYou have great ideas and sensational writing samples—but what do you dothen? How do you get someone in a decision-making position to decidewhether or not they want to hire you to write for them? These three featureswill help you find the answers to that key question.

Writer, Know Thy EditorPaul Benjamin, former DC/Humanoids Managing Editor and currentin-demand freelance writer, investigates what comics editors want to see—and brings back the information for you! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 43Editors’ PreferencesIn handy, point-by-point fashion, a checklist of what 18 top editors want to see inyour submission—and what they don’t! Compiled by Paul Benjamin . . .page 47

Breaking into Comics (and Staying In) for WritersFrom the horse’s mouth: what one top editor wants to see in your writingsubmissions, and his thoughts on what every editor wants to see from aspiringwriters. Marvel editor Andy Schmidt talks in detail about the skills you need,how to network, the art of The Pitch, and much, much more . . . . . . .page 53

WRITE NOW | 1

Nuts & Bolts DepartmentPitch to Arc Breakdown to Script: BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE IISteve Englehart traces the evolution of 2005’s smash hit Batman: DarkDetective II mini-series/story arc. We see the pitch letter that sold the idea, hisissue-by-issue outline for the story arc, and the first five pages of script and artfor the first issue. Art by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin . . . . . . . .page 32

Theme: The Heart of the StoryJohn Ostrander sheds some light on the subject that is the essence ofwriting: having something to say! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 37

Script to Pencils to Finished Art: PENNY AND AGGIEPages from the webcomic by T Campbell and Gisele Lagace . . . . .page 67

PAUL LEVITZ | 3

bolts and other objects that you need to hold abuilding together when you’re constructing it. Beforeshe had kids, Mom had been a bookkeeper, and, offand on, other odd things, including, at one timeheading a branch of the Drake Business Schools.Neither of them had particularly touched real creativeindustries in their work, other than Mom having brieflybeen a bookkeeper at an ad agency. Pretty basicworking class upbringing.

DF: When you were reading all these comic books, didthey encourage it, discourage it, just think it was cute?PL: Mom was afraid I would ruin my eyes, which wasprobably a fairly accurate conclusion. My father was, in hisyouth, quite an athletic man, and he had taught all thekids on the block how to play ball. He was rather confusedby having a kid who wouldn’t come out from under thetree and put down whatever book I was reading at themoment. “Thanks, Dad. I’m glad you’re having fun runningaround out there. Can’t imagine why anyone would wantto do it, but if it makes you happy, have fun.” They were

aul Levitz is the President and Publisher of DC Comics;as a writer, he is best known for his run on The Legionof Super-Heroes.

Levitz was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1956, and enteredthe comics industry in 1971 as the editor/publisher of TheComic Reader, the first mass-circulation fanzine devoted tocomic news. He continued to publish TCR for three years,winning two consecutive annual Comic Art Fan Awards forBest Fanzine. His other fan activities include editing theprogram book for several of Phil Seuling's legendary New YorkComic Art Conventions, and he worked briefly for Seuling atSea Gate Distributors, the original direct distribution company.

Levitz is primarily known for his work for DC Comics, acompany he's been associated with for over 30 years.Beginning as a freelance writer of text features, he wenton to write most of the classic DC characters, includingBatman, Wonder Woman and the Superman newspaperstrip. His most popular writing was his thirteen years ofThe Legion of Super-Heroes, including an eight-yearuninterrupted run, one of the longest in super-hero comicshistory, and on Justice Society of America.

Levitz joined the editorial staff of DC in 1973 as an assistanteditor, and became editor of the Batman titles before shiftingfrom the editorial to business side in 1980. Since then, he hasbeen the Manager of Business Affairs, Vice President—Operations, Executive Vice President, Executive Vice President& Publisher, and since 2002, the President and Publisher.

Levitz lives with his wife and three children in the hills ofWestchester County, New York.

As one of the most important decision makers in comicstoday, and as someone who has deep experience as acomics editor and writer, it goes without saying that Paulwould have much of significance to say to the Write Now!audience. His generosity with his time and insights aredeeply appreciated.

[Special thanks to DC’s Adam Philips for helping makethe whole process go smoothly.]

—DF

DANNY FINGEROTH: Paul, you have a unique perspective.You’re the guy that sets policy for DC. On the other hand,you’ve been in the trenches as a writer and editor. I’minterested in how and why you chose this path. To startwith, can you tell me a little about your background?PAUL LEVITZ: I’m a Brooklyn boy, and my dad workedat an industrial hardware place selling the nuts and

Conducted at DC Comics by Danny Fingeroth October 3, 2005Transcribed by Steven TiceCopy-edited by Paul Levitz, Adam Philips and Danny Fingeroth

P

Mr. DC:

THE PAUL LEVITZ INTERVIEW

4 | WRITE NOW

both extremely supportive at some points where they madea tremendous difference, including running around an awfullot with me in the days of fanzines, taking the fanzines tothe printer, things like that that. A 14-to-16-year-old is notextremely mobile. They were very tolerant of somethingthat probably didn’t make a lot of sense to them.

DF: Were you always writing as a kid? Did you draw at all?PL: I don’t know that it was writing per se. I guess I did acertain amount of that. It was more publishing that gotme. My parents had been the co-editors of the PTAnewsletter when I was in third grade. In those days youprinted that on horrible little mimeographs with stencilfluid and manual typewriters. It was sort of one stepforward from chiseling it out of stone, but only about one.We did the newsletter on my dining room table. And, asbest as I can kind of reconstruct these things in my ownhead, that’s where I began to be interested in thepublishing process. And by a year or so after that, I wasdoing my own little magazine for school.

DF: Was that a magazine about comics, or a generalmagazine?PL: It was a magazineabout nothing much.Sort of the equivalentof the school magazine,but if it were moreexciting and moresalacious. You couldcall it an “under-ground” version or an“unauthorized” version.

DF: What was themagazine called?PL: Spotlight, I think.I’ve never been aparticularly great“namer” as a writer.

DF: How did the schoolfeel about themagazine?

PL: My folks were running the PTA, so the school’s reactionwas pretty well under control at that point. And there wasn’tanything objectionable in the magazine. It was just a strangelittle outcast off in the corner. That whole process of seeingthings come together into a publication is something thatgot into my blood very, very early on, and more, even, thanwriting, that really is where my passion comes from.

DF: Were you writing fiction of any kind at this point, ordid you pretty much see yourself as a journalist andpublisher?PL: I suppose I must have written some kid fiction at somepoint, but not a lot of it. I never saw myself as a writer offiction in those years. There are those who say I’m still anovice.

DF: What did you think you would do when you grew up?PL: At that point I wanted to be a chemical engineer, gooff to MIT, work in a laboratory with things that wouldblow up in some interesting fashion.

DF: How did you go from chemical engineering tomajoring in business?

PL: When I went off to high school, Iwas commuting into Manhattan, toStuyvesant High School, one of thoseunique and wonderful insane asylumsthe city runs. [Stuyvesant is a highly-regarded public high school for whichapplicants must pass a rigorous test.—DF ] And in the high school years, Ibecame involved in publishing bothwith DC and with my own fanmagazines. At the same time I wasexperiencing what a chemical laboratoryreally smells like. That was a veryconvincing reason not to pursue that asa career. And the practical realities offamily economics meant that I wouldhave to go to college somewhere I couldcommute to from home, and somewhereI could continue to work in comics topay for school. That pretty much addedup to being New York University.Columbia was too far uptown toreasonably commute to from Brooklyn.NYU fit fairly well with my compromise:“Oh, maybe I’ll go into the business sideof science, ultimately sell some high techfor IBM, or something like that.

DF: I guess all this time you were puttingout The Comic Reader?PL: I started doing some fanzines thatnobody read in junior high school. The

total circulation of those was probably outnumbered bythe three people in this room. Certainly outnumbered bythe number of contributors who did things for it. When Igot into Stuyvesant, about six months after that, PaulKupperberg and I started Etc., which turned into anincarnation of The Comic Reader, and I stuck with thatthrough my whole time in high school.

Some of Paul’s earliest writingand editing appeared in theanthology title Weird MysteryTales. Here, the covers to twoissues he worked on, #18 (byErnie Chan) and #14 (by LuisDominguez). [© 2006DC Comics.]

DF: Was Paul a high school friend, or junior high school?PL: Junior high school. We ran into each other in juniorhigh, we discovered we both liked comics, and have beenplaying together ever since.

DF: And you actually started working at DC while youwere still in high school, right?PL: You have to bear in mind in all of this that the businesswas infinitely smaller then. We’re talking about the early1970s. There probably were under two hundred people inthe United States who made their living specifically incomics, whether writing, drawing, editing, being involved inproduction or publication, or even distribution—becausethere was no distinct distribution system for comics at thatpoint. Probably at that point, there were a half dozen or socomic shops scattered around the country, something youwould recognize as a comics shop today.

Virtually all of those comics industry people were in NewYork, and they were all fairly anonymous, even to eachother. Artists would receive scripts without writers’ nameson them. Many of the people had met informally overtime, but there wasn’t a lot pulling the industry together.There were a few early conventions in New York, and hadbeen for a few years. But not a lot of infrastructure.

The Comic Reader was really the first “TV Guide” for theindustry that actually gave credits and gave reasonablygood information about what was coming out in the nextmonth—varying from time-to time—with the co-operationof the companies. This brought me into contact with prettymuch everyone in the publishing and editorial end of thebusiness, and they were willing to put up with a snotty 14-or 15-year-old wandering around their offices, becausethey’d be able to actually know when the stories they wereworking on would be coming out.“

As part of that process of collecting information, I was, Ithink, the first kid who wandered past [DC Editor] JoeOrlando’s office one afternoon after Marv Wolfman quitwriting letter columns for him. Warren Publishing had justhired Marv to be the new editor-in-chief there, and he hadto quit the DC assignment. So Joe called to me and said,“Here, want to do these letter columns?” “I’m not a writer,Joe.” “Ah, I’ve read your fanzine. You know how to write wellenough to do a letter column.” So I found myself afreelancer at 16 years old.

It’s been an odd life. I’ve never applied for a job, neverlooked for a job. There’s something resembling a resumeof mine on file in the HR department, because every nowand then, someone in HR calls me and says, “We needone for the collection.”

DF: How did you start writing comics stories?PL: I was working for Joe, I guess for about a year, at firstfreelance, doing text pieces, then as his assistant editor. Itstarted when Michael Fleisher went on vacation. Michaelnever came back. It was a very nice vacation. He is stillwell, and will happily testify to the fact that I had nothingto do with the fact that he didn’t come back… he’s just leftfor Africa with a human rights group.

Part of being an assistant editor in those days, particu-larly working with someone like Joe, who had atremendous number of anthology books in his workload,was a lot of rewrite work, including rewriting people I

probably had no business taking a blue pencil to. But thecircumstances required sometimes—as I mentioned to yourcolleagues at Back Issue magazine—that I had to takeShelly Mayer stories and cut them apart, because we werechanging Black Orchid from being in the front ofAdventure Comics to a back-up in Phantom Stranger.

So I’d add pages and do bridges to connect different piecesof the stories and things like that. Shelly never killed me. Webecame friends over the years, so I guess I didn’t do it toobadly. But, boy, I shouldn’t have been allowed to do that. Atany rate, the process of working with Joe on editing scriptstaught me a tremendous amount about writing. And, at acertain point, between my hubris and Joe’s open-mindedness,he just said, “Here, why don’t you try writing something?

DF: What was the first story you wrote?PL: The first full scripts were for, I think, Tex Blaisdell, who wassort of an editor working in Joe’s orbit for a very brief time forWeird Mystery and Tales of Ghost Castle. Exciting stuff.

DF: And then you just became known around thecompany as a guy that could write, and more assignmentscame your way?

PAUL LEVITZ | 5

Adventure Comics #441. Aquaman story written by Paul, with artby Jim Aparo. [© 2006 DC Comics.]

DF: I was thinking more of a case where itwouldn’t be a case of an aspiring writer saying“I’m going to take the regular guy’s job,” butmore a situation where the idea would be forsomeone to show you: “Here’s how I mighthandle a DC character. What do you think ofhow I did it? I’ll be happy to do a five-pagebackup.” But it sounds like the door, even forsomeone like that, is closed.PL: A submission like that’s not going to getread, because that’s not going to solve aneditor’s problem. I might read your writingsample if it’s a published sample, but I’m notgoing to read a five-page story that I can’t use. Idon’t mean editors are lazy. Some are, butcertainly not all. But they read all day. That’swhat they do. And when you suggest that theyread something to consider whether or notthey might want to read or buy it, that’s not asalable proposition. You have to provide avolume of material that says, “I’m good withwords. I’m good with story. When you needsomething, when you’re open to something,let’s keep that dialogue going.”

We’ll go back to Alan Moore for amoment. I have a very vivid memory ofreturning to my apartment in the Village toa letter from a kid in England announcingthat he was England’s best comic bookwriter, based on his stories published in2000 AD, and if we were ever going to dosomething with the Martian Manhunter,please consider him for it. That was at thevery beginning of Alan’s career. And Ihappened to be a fan of British comics, sowe had some mutual friends, and I readhis Skizz stories at the time and thought,“Yeah, this guy’s not bad.” I suggested himfor some work shortly thereafter. Len Weinhad a very similar experience with Alan.We’re not sure which of us made thesuggestion of using him first. Our memories conflict.But that’s really still the way in.

DF: So being solicited is not a formal process. Could itbe you meet an editor, you talk, and you, the writer, say,“I’ve got some interesting ideas,” or, “I’ve got somethingI wrote and published myself,” and if the editor says,“Oh, sure, send them to me,” then your work has nowbeen “solicited”?PL: Yeah. The magic words are, “Let me hear your ideas.”You don’t have 800 page forms to fill out before yousend in your ideas, but you have to have an editorwilling to look at it.

DF: Fair enough. Moving along, what do you enjoyreading? What kind of TV shows are you a fan of,movies both past and present? Give us a general “Paulcultural tour.”PL: My reading tends to split into mystery and science-fiction on the one hand, and history and biography forthe more serious stuff. I’m not a great reader of literary

novels. Perhaps some people who’ve read my work canguess that. Clearly, as you can see in the body of thingslike The Legion, I was a tremendous fan of the GoldenAge science-fiction writers. They had a tremendousinfluence on me that shows through in my body of work.As a writer, all of this stuff is grist and is meat and it’swonderful. I got the ideas for my Starman series out ofthe history of the Ottoman Empire. I launched a series inthe back of one of my war comics inspired by PhilipKnightly’s history of war journalism, in which he expandson the idea that in war journalism, truth is the firstcasualty. [For more details on Knightly’s book, see:http://journalism.nyu.edu/portfolio/books/book54.html]I’m always looking for stuff that provokes thought andleads your mind places. Best books of this summer:Friedman’s The World Is Flat and Kidder’s MountainsBeyond Mountains (which is a great biography of a realsuper-hero).

PAUL LEVITZ | 15

Levitz-LaRocque-Mahlstedt page from Legion of Super-Heroesvol. 2 #18. [© 2006 DC Comics.]

16 | WRITE NOW

I’m much less of a movie buff. Television is kind ofhard for me to get on a regular schedule with, given theway my life’s organized now. West Wing is probably mymost recent appointment television, as was a lot ofSteven Bochco’s material in the years prior to that. Youcan see there’s a commonality of that material with thetype of writing I like to do, as well.

In comics, I drop in and out ofall the different series. I’menjoying a lot of the stuff that’sbeing done today on some of theold characters I used to write,Geoff Johns on JSA, Mark Waid onLegion. I think both guys havereally interesting takes on thematerial, so it’s been fun visitingwith old friends there. A numberof Vertigo titles over the last fewyears have been fun. There’s notone I’m particularly passionateabout at this moment.Transmetropolitan, I think, is thelast one I was fully involved with.Again, it was a series touchingscience-fiction, set in a futureworld, and that explored some ofthe issues that have interested mein politics.

DF: Is there anything beingpublished by other publishers thatyou’re finding interesting?PL: For old comfort food, I lovedthe redo of Stan and Jack’sAvengers run that Marvel didabout a year ago, and PVP by Kurtzalways makes me smile.

DF: Do you have any plans to returnto writing, or is that a fantasy forwhen you’re on to the next phase oflife, whatever that may be?PL: Writing on a serious basis ishopefully not a fantasy, but anambition for the next phase oflife. I had the good fortune tohave the living lesson of my highschool English teacher, who wasquite a raconteur. I sent him myLegion: Great Darkness tradepaperback when it was publishedin the ’90s. I got a note back thatsaid: “Imaginative stuff. Not thesort of thing that I like, but goodto see you doing well, boy. Me,I’m working on my memoirs. Notquite sure if anyone’ll read them.Keep an eye out. Thanks!” And acouple of years later, the nextthing I saw of him was on the frontpage of the New York Times BookReview, when he’d turned into

Frank McCourt. He’d always been Frank McCourt, butnow it was in all capital letters. Frank became a Pulitzerprize-winning author of great stature at 63. Many of hisstudents would have cheerfully told you that the manhad a writer within him. He was an extraordinary story-teller. But if he can do that at 63, it provides somehope for the rest of us.

Cover to the trade paperback collection of Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga.The stories (which originally appeared in LSH #s 287, 290-294, and Annual #3, were written byPaul. TPB cover by Keith and Larry. [© 2006 DC Comics.]

STEVE ENGLEHART | 19

BOB BRODSKY: What were you reading in the ’50s, Steve?Before the Marvel Age?STEVE ENGLEHART: I read Batman, Superman. I don’trecall really reading the Timely stuff. I was too late to catchEC. At a certain point, I’d kind of “outgrown” comics. So Imissed the Silver Age revival, and came back into it later,when I was in college.

BB: That would have been in the ’60s?SE: Right. The ’60s was an incredible super-hero time. Wehad Kennedy, we had people going to the moon, we hadMartin Luther King, we had civil rights, we had Vietnam. TheAvengers [the TV series featuring the adventures of Steedand Peel] was on TV, Batman was on TV. Without goingtotally sappy about the whole thing, the ’60s was really atime of heroes and villains. We had larger-than-life heroes,we had larger-than-life villains—in real life. I think that’s whatStan and Jack tapped into. They’d been doing comics foryears, and all of a sudden, in 1961, it took off. They did it byrelating it to the real world, and the real world was verycolorful. I mean, if you look at ’60s movies, they’re all verycolorful. It was an optimistic, comic-book-colored time on akind of subliminal level. It was a time when not only werecomics starting to really sell and make a point, but they couldreprint the Doc Savage, they could reprint the pulp-characterthe Avenger, they could reprint The Shadow. So all theseheroes of the past were now reappearing for our perusal. SoI read all that stuff. I was a complete comic book guy, but Ialso read mysteries—the classic stuff, Agatha Christie, ElleryQueen—and the pulp stuff like Shell Scott, Perry Mason.

rom his vital recasting of the terminally un-hipCaptain America in the early 1970s, through 2005’sacclaimed revival of his Batman: Dark Detective,Steve Englehart stands as one of the most important

writers in modern comics.The son of a respected newspaper journalist, the

Indiana-born Englehart began his career in comics in1969 as an art assistant to Neal Adams. The appren-ticeship with Adams soon led to other artistic assignments,including various chores at DC Comics and WarrenPublishing, as well as two little-known (and quite good!)penciled romance stories for Marvel Comics.

In 1971, a chance writing assignment pivoted Englehartto a staff writing and editing position with Marvel Comics.By late 1972—the beginning of Roy Thomas’ run as StanLee’s editorial successor—Englehart was writing threeMarvel titles: The Avengers, “The Beast” in AmazingAdventures, and Captain America. Englehart attackedthese assignments with a creative ferocity far beyond anypossible expectations for a young writer.

Steve’s creative resume includes stints at DC,including a memorable run on Batman in DetectiveComics; an excellent prose novel, The Point Man; a slewof creator-owned projects including Scorpio Rose andThe Night Man (which became a live-action televisionseries); and various animation projects.

In the 1980s, Steve was an early designer of videogames, doing pioneering work for companies like Atariand Sega and in the ’90s was one of the writers of theonline and CD “Multipath Movie”: Superman: Menaceof Metallo.

Most recently, Steve, often in tandem with his wifeTerry, has written various fiction and non-fiction prosebooks, including the DNAgers adventure series andCountdown to Flight, a biography of the Wright Brothers(selected by NASA as the basis for their lesson plan onthe invention of the airplane).

2005 brought Steve back to Batman, via his creativereunion with penciler Marshall Rogers, inker TerryAustin, and letterer John Workman on Batman: DarkDetective. Together, Steve and his collaboratorsmaintained the spirit of their original late 1970sDetective Comics run, while succeeding in making theirstories relevant to today’s reader.

The following interview with Steve was conducted viaa series of telephone conversations during late springand early summer 2004, with e-mail updates added inearly 2006.

–Bob Brodsky

Conducted by Bob Brodsky via phone ande-mail 2004-2006Copy-edited by Bob Brodsky, Danny Fingerothand Steve Englehart

F

One From the ’Hart:

THE STEVE ENGLEHART INTERVIEW

BB: Did you start reading comics again because othercollege students were reading the Marvel books?SE: Yeah. It was at the end of my freshman year, in the springof ’66. A roommate came up to me—and I had no comicbook predilection at all—and he said, “You’ve got to read this.”It was Spider-Man #30, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. And Ireally liked it. I thought, “Oh, is this cool.” I have no ideawhy that guy showed me the book. Maybe he showed it toeverybody in the dorm. But I read it and I liked it. This was themid-’60s, and Marvel as we know it was only three or fouryears old at that point. Stan’s columns were already filled withhow cool Marvel was, and college students were into them,and so on and so forth. So he sold me. I started hunting upother Marvel titles, then other DC titles, and then Gold Keyand all the other stuff that was available in those days. Therewere a lot of different companies, and comics were adime, or twelve cents. It wasn’t a mind-boggling conceptto be able to buy and read everything that was out there.Now, of course, it’s a totally mind-blowing concept.

I was able to read the entire range of comics. Good comics,bad comics. And so I developed critical faculties about what’sgood, what’s bad, what do I like, what don’t I like. It graduallycame to me that I might like to do this myself. I do think onething that’s changed as comics have become a smaller andsmaller market is that it used to be when you got into comics,there was some gravitas to the whole thing. There was a

feeling that this was a field, and you not only needed to knowwho Spider-Man was, but you needed to know who WillEisner was, you needed to know about the Ray, and youneeded to know about the EC comics, you needed to knowabout this, that, and the other thing. And everybody else did,so you could talk to other people in the business about,y’know, the Fawcett comics from the ’40s, or whatever. Now, Ithink, because it’s all gotten so small, there isn’t that sensethat you need to know that stuff, or that it’s important. It’s likethat stuff’s all ancient history and the h*ll with it, the onlything you can really follow is all the X-books or whatever it isthat you’re doing. That doesn’t breed people who have muchof a sense of history when they try to do comics.

I’m painting with a broad brush. There are certainly goodpeople now and there were bad people then. But I don’t thinkthat the range of knowledge to draw upon is there. Andthat’s even aside from the often-made point that a lot ofpeople who do comics now, the only thing they know iscomics. They don’t have much contact with things beyondcomics. But in those days, it was not only the comic book field,but it was part of the larger world of pop culture. So all of uscoming into comics in those days were not only comics fans.

BB: You were digging The Avengers, which you mentioned.What about and James Bond and Star Trek and all that?SE: Oh, yeah. Sure. Absolutely.

BB: How about genre, Steve? Did you read romancecomics? War comics?SE: I read ‘em all. The stuff was available and I wasinterested. I can’t say that every eight-page story about “ILoved My Boss and Lost” riveted me, but what I likedwas the serials. DC had a couple of ongoing soap operasin their romance books. And even though they weregirls’ soap operas, they were characters, they wereongoing storylines, and I liked that.

BB: You were a real student of the craft. Were youthinking at all about a career in comics in this period?SE: I don’t think so. When I thought, “Gee, I’d really like todo this,” I was in college, and I was pursuing my degree,which was psychology. This was Vietnam times, so when Igraduated college, I went into the Army. And it wasn’t untilI got out of the Army that I was even able to think about,“What am I going to do?” But in that time period, while Iwas in the Army, I had gone to see Neal Adams andshown him some of my work. And he had taken me on asan assistant. I was still in the Army, but I was going to NewYork on weekends and working with Neal.

BB: Steve, having known you mostly as a writer for solong, I was really knocked out by your artwork, the OurLove Story and My Love stuff. Did you ever considerbecoming a full-time comics artist?SE: Well, thank you. Maybe if I’d kept at it, I would be afabulous artist today, but it didn’t seem like that waswhere it was going. I enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed theprocess of breaking the story down and figuring out howto tell it in art, which then later became the same processof how to tell a story in words. But I didn’t think that thefinal pencils were totally there yet. I had an option to go adifferent way, as a scripter, so I went that way.

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Most fans are probably unaware that Steve broke into comics as aromance artist. Here we see the splash page to Our Love Story #15.Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Steve Englehart, inks by JackAbel. [© 2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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something like that, make sure that any deal you sign saysthat you’re a part of it—whatever happens, you’re a part of it.

BB: Was it a gas to see your character on the little screen?SE: Yeah! And even more so to see him in real life,because I went to the set. The first story that I wrote wasfilmed in San Diego, so I was able to go down to the set.There was a good-looking guy who looked like Night Man,wearing a Night Man costume, with the red eye and thewhole thing. That was very cool. I was a total Hollywoodgeek at that point. [Bob laughs]

BB: That must have been a thrill. Do you have any desireto revisit Hollywood?SE: Oh, sure. I did like being down there. I’ve spent areasonable amount of time in Hollywood for somebodywho doesn’t live there.

But the connection between somebody saying, “I reallyliked your character, story, whatever,” and “We’re going toput it on the screen,” well, that hasn’t happened. I’vecome close a couple of times, but everybody inHollywood’s come close a couple of times.

I liked learning the rules of Hollywood. One thing that Ididn’t understand was, if you want to write a comic bookstory about Spidey fighting his way through 53 gang dens,no problem. But if you want to do a TV show about Spideyfighting his way through 53 gang dens, you have to build53 gang dens. And you have to populate them with 53groups of actors, which you have to pay for. It’s totallyobvious, but I had never had to consider it before. Whenyou’re writing stories for television, you start thinkingabout, “What’s the minimum number of sets I can use?What’s the minimum number of actors I have to hire?”

That kind of stuff. I found that fun, because it was anew challenge. “Okay, I gotta do it under thesecircumstances. Now how would that work?”

At this time I have a large body of work, and somepeople like some of it, and it would be nice if it everwent somewhere, but it’s not really up to me. Myagent keeps an eye out for people to connect meto—if there’s interest we do a meeting—if there’s stillinterest, the people go looking for money, a star,and so on. If it all keeps moving forward, I startgetting involved more completely, but at the earlystages I do the meeting and go home. Movingforward is up to the people I meet with.

BB: I’d like to know a little more about yourvideogame work. I know you did the early Ataristuff, and the Superman: Menace of Metallo“multipath movie” in the late 1990s, but what othertypes of videogame material did you work on? Areyou doing any such work now? How did yourcomics career prepare you for it?SE: The last thing I did in 2003 was the storyline forTron 2.0 and the storyline for a proposed Tron 3.0,from Disney’s Buena Vista. I’ve worked for maybe adozen companies over the years, mostly freelance—though, as I mentioned, I held down a few day jobs.The thing with many pure game designers, like purecomics writers, or pure anything else, is that theytend not to think outside their own box. I generallycome in with wider vistas, shall we say, because ofthe comics, and the TV, and the books. But unlikemy comics situation, where I at least tried to be anartist before I started working with artists, I’ve neverbeen a nuts-and-bolts programmer. It all leads tomy asking for things that can’t be done, and havingto be educated… but it leads to my asking forthings the programmers never thought of that canbe done, too. It turns out to be very productive ifpeople really want to go outside the box.

BB: Now you’re back at DC and have DarkDetective under your belt. Can you talk a littleabout how you approached the story?SE: DC came and said, “We’d like you to do this.”So I came up with a number of ideas. (A) I wantedto do a good Batman. (B) I wanted to do aThe cover to Detective Comics #472 displayed Rogers’ and Austin’s

striking portrayal of the Batman. [© 2006 DC Comics.]

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Here’s Steve’s original proposal for what came to be calledBatman: Dark Detective II. Note that, while many details needto be filled in, Steve knows where he wants the storyline tostart and where he wants it to end, and what he wants toaccomplish along the way. [Proposal © 2006 Steve Englehart.Referenced characters © 2006 DC Comics.]

STEVE ENGLEHART | 33

Once the proposal was approved, Steve broke the storyline down into six 22-page issues. As he recalls the process:

“Here’s my original brainstorming breakdown of the plot for the six issues of DDII, where many differences may beseen from how the actual issues turned out. I knew I had enough for six strong issues, so I laid that down as my baseand continued to improve from there in my head.

“The 6-panel layout works like this: I have some ideas about what I want to do in the series. I startblocking them out, seeing where I need more material. I eventually get to the point where I haveenough to make up an acceptable storyline, which is what this document represents. Then, I keepworrying away at that, seeing what feels out of place, or what's not strong enough, and when Ifind something like that, I make it better. But now, every time I add something, I have tosubtract something else, because I had enough to start with. This process makes the wholestructure stronger, and thus we move past acceptable. But those changes generally don't causeme to make a new document; I just scribble notes to myself and move into the actual scripting.

“So, in this 6-segment overview, we find a subplot involving Professor Radium and DoctorPhosphorus that went to the cutting room floor, and so on.” [Storyline breakdown © 2006Steve Englehart. Referenced characters © 2006 DC Comics.]

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Note that, while the general story points are similar to theones in the grid-outline you just saw, the details of thescenes, starting with this first scene, are different than, and/orfleshed-out from, the ones suggested in the outline. (Also, the“Joey” referred to in the note in the script is editor JoeyCavalieri.) [© 2006 DC Comics.]

And now, here are the first five pages of Dark Detective II, issue #1. We seeSteve’s script (done full-script style; that is, with panel-by-panel art descriptionswritten at the same time as the balloons, captions, and sound-effects) and theresulting artwork by Marshall and Terry. [© 2006 DC Comics.]

JOHN OSTRANDER | 37

Morals are usually simplisticand, frankly, obvious. They areusually baldly stated just to makesure you don’t miss them.Themes, on the other hand, areoften interwoven into the fabric ofthe story and ask more complexquestions, sometimes providinganswers some would consideramoral or even immoral.

I also think themes are verypersonal. They require a point ofview, a perspective, on the partof the author. When you receivethe perennial (and sage) writingadvice of “Write what you know,”I maintain it refers to this asmuch as practical knowledge. It’sthe difference between what youwere taught to believe and whatyour experience has taught you

to be true. You may wind up with the same belief but,through questions, thought, and meditation, you’vemade it your own.

Experience teaches each of us different things. Yourtruth may wind up being different than my truth. Peoplewho have the same or similar experiences may learncompletely different lessons from it. It’s also not amatter of how much experience we have had but whatwe have learned from it. We all know people who seemto never learn from what happens to them. On theother hand, some people, such as the poet EmilyDickinson, can distill a lot of wisdom from what seemslike a very small amount of experience.

We bring (or should bring) to our writing all theexperiences and lessons learned from the past. What’simportant to realize that is that while you have yourtruth it is not THE truth. There is no one universalanswer for most of the questions facing us—there is ouranswer. Others can be equally valid to other people.

To understand lessons learned from your experiences,I think you need a certain amount of distance ordetachment from those experiences. It’s hard to writeabout things happening to you right now becauseyou’re still going through them. To write cogently ofyour experiences, you need to have some perspective—

or the past couple of issues,John Ostrander’s beensharing his importantinsights on key elements of

writing. In DFWN #10 he shedlight on story structure. Lastissue, he told us all aboutcreating characters. This issue,John expounds on one of thetrickiest writing topics of all:theme. It’s what your story isreally about. Read on and seewhat Mr. O has to say…

—DF

Earnest Inquiry: “What is yourstory about?”

Smartypants Answer: “Oh,about 22 pages.”

Badump-bump. But seriously,folks…

Seriously, the topic we’re considering here is theme andtheme is different than plot. Plot is what happens in astory, the structuring of events through conflict leading to aresolution or climax. Theme is what your story is about—the unifying topic or subject of your story. It is the ethical,moral, and true emotional heart of your story. It canreaffirm existing values or question them. It is the gatewayinto the writer’s soul, yet it must resonate with the reader.It’s both personal and universal at the same time.

It should be mentioned from the start that not everystory has a theme or needs one and not every theme isnecessarily a deep or profound one. In the comic stripLi’l Abner, Mammy Yokum used to say, “Good isbetter’n evil ‘cause it’s nicer.” Capp was a satirist, so youcan question whether or not he meant that as a theme,but it is an example of a statement of theme, albeitone that’s as shallow as a rain puddle.

To my mind, a theme is not the same as a moral. Amoral is usually attached to a fairytale or fable and isdesigned to teach a certain social or even religiousvalue. Indeed, the entire story in that case is meant toconvey a certain message about social values. Themoral is that message. It’s using story as a teachingdevice, making a given story more like propaganda.(We’ll talk more about propaganda in a moment.)

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you need to see the experience in the context of therest of your life, and even the lives of others. Do youlisten to the world around you? Do you hear viewscontrary to your own and work them into your visionand understanding of the world?

When my late wife Kimberly Yale was diagnosed withbreast cancer, I went through a whole roller coaster ofemotions and experiences as she fought the disease. Iwent through more with her death, her memorialservices, and the mourning period that followed.Nothing in my life prepared me for experiences andemotions like those; nothing could. I had to get past thatmoment before I could gain perspective on it.

This is what they talk about with the phrase, “Can’tsee the forest for the trees.” When you’re in amongstthe trees, you can be lost—all you can see are the trees,the path (if there is one), the undergrowth, and so on.You have to surrender to what’s happening, fullyexperience it, and come out the other side. Only thencan you really make sense of it.

It’s not important to come up with answers to thequestions raised when dealing with theme. I believe it

is more important to explore the questions and let thereaders come up with their own answers. In that way, Imay be using the term theme more in the musicalsense, in which theme is a musical phrase on which thecomposer then does variations. A writer will take anidea or a question and then embody variations on thattheme through a story’s characters.

While the theme needs to draw from a personal view, itshould also resonate on a universal level. I once was aguest lecturer at a college writing class. I asked thestudents how many of them wanted to become writersbecause they felt they had something important to say. Agood many hands went up. I then shocked them (and, Ithink, infuriated some) by saying, “Who cares?”

I never assume readers are coming to me because I havesomething important to say. I think that’s condescendingto them. I think they are looking for a voice to articulatewhat they themselves have to say. Have you ever had theexperience of reading something and come across asentence and said to yourself, “Yes, that’s it. That’s exactlyright!” Of course, you must write honestly of your ownthoughts and feelings, but can you do it in such a waythat resonates with readers? You’re creating a dialoguewith them in which you are saying, “Have you everthought this? Have you ever felt this way?” One of the bigthings we ask of story is to help us make sense of theworld, of life, of our experiences. We’re not just lookingfor what happens; we’re looking for why. I heard Germanfilm director Werner Herzog on National Public Radiotalking about his documentaries. He said that he wasn’tinterested in facts; he was interested in what was true. Acamera set in one place will record what happens in itsfield of view; it gives us what is. “Just the facts, ma’am.” Itdoesn’t, however, provide us with much insight. It’s like

reading notes on a sheet of music. Individualnotes by themselvesreally mean nothing.It’s only when theyare taken togetherand played or sungthat they becomemusic. As dots on apage, they representwhat the music is butare not, themselves,the music.

I’m not interested indogma—either mineor anybody else’s—ina story. One of myrules is—if you want topreach, get a pulpit.Dogma states that:“This is the truth; nomore questions areallowed.” As it appliesto theme, dogma willleave you with amessage that’s evenmore narrow anddirective than a moral.It will also generally

Cover and interior page to Batman: Seduction ofthe Gun. Written by John. Art by Vince Giarrano.[© 2006 DC Comics.]

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PAUL BENJAMIN | 43

variety of editors from different companies about specifi-cally what they look for in a pitch. They took the time totell me what they want so that Write Now! could sharetheir preferences with you; proving that editors want tofind new talent and they want to read strong pitches!

I interviewed editors from publishers large and smallto get a broad overview of the comics publishingindustry. I couldn’t talk to everyone, but this crosssection of excellent editors has a great deal of usefulinsight. I talked to Larry Young of AiT/Planet Lar, MikeCarriglitto and Diana Schutz at Dark Horse Comics,Joe Pruett of Desperado Publishing and Chris Ryallfrom IDW Publishing. From Marvel, I spoke with AxelAlonso, Tom Brevoort, Ruwan Jayatilleke, Mike Marts,Mark Paniccia, Andy Schmidt and Warren Simons. Iinterviewed Michelle Harman at Penny Farthing Press,Lee Nordling at Platinum Studios, Chris Beranek ofSilent Devil Productions, Paul Morrissey at TokyoPop,Jim McLauchlin at Top Cow (whose policies remain thesame, despite Jim’s recent departure from his staff gig),Chris Staros of Top Shelf Productions and Jesse Garzaat Viper Comics. DC Comics declined to participate, asthey do not accept any unsolicited submissions. [Forelaboration on what this means in practice, see theinterview with DC Publisher and President Paul Levitzelsewhere in this issue. —DF ]

Read on and see—in this article and in the accompanying“Editors’ Preferences” section—what the respondingeditors had to say. —PB

ometimes, trying to break into comics—oranywhere, really—as a writer feels like screaminginto the wind. You may have come up with whatyou think is a great new property, or a unique

take on an established character. But then what doyou do with it?

Paul Benjamin has been on both sides of the desk,as an editor at Humanoids Publishing, and in hiscurrent incarnation, as a freelance writer. From thisinformed perspective, Paul spoke to a slew of comicseditors and asked them what they want to see in aproposal. What he learned is extremely enlightening.Read on (and be sure to check out the Editors’Preferences sidebars, too) and find out what Paul did.

—DF

Once you’ve polished your comics pitch and you’recertain that it’s the best it can be, you send it off to apublisher, hoping that an editor there will see yourstory’s amazing potential. Imagine a submissionseditor, sitting at a desk every day from 9 to 5, readingproposal after proposal, writing responses anddropping them into the self-addressed stampedenvelopes included with each pitch. That doesn’tsound like such a bad job. Certainly there’s no reasonfor that editor to fail to get back to you, right?

Wrong.The submissions editor as described above is about

as real as an alien infant rocketed to Earth from adying planet. Most companies don’t even have adedicated submissions editor, in which case a book’seditor has to find time to read submissions whilestaying on top of the primary job: getting a highquality book out the door on time. Look at MarvelSenior Editor Tom Brevoort. He has to juggle 20 booksper month. That means he’s essentially getting a bookoff to the printer every single weekday.

When you write a proposal, your mission should beto present a concise and effective representation ofyour story. When the frustrated editor takes a fiveminute break to scarf down a sandwich beforegetting back to the mountain of work piled high onthe desk, he or she just might grab a couple ofsubmissions to see if any are worthy of attention. Thisis not an ideal situation, but it is a realistic one. Yourjob is to make sure you’ve given that editor exactlywhat he or she needs to decide whether or not yourstory is The Next Big Thing.

This is where knowing what an editor wants comes inhandy. Every editor is unique. They have differentbackgrounds, different philosophies towards writing anddifferent editorial goals. In late 2005, I spoke with a wide

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Step One: Use your (and the editor’s) time wisely. Knowwho will read your proposal.

When I asked editors who could send them a pitch, theanswers varied based on company policy. Be sure to readthe submission guidelines on publishers’ websites. Forexample, Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel’s Director ofDevelopment, Publishing, is the guy who oversees theprocess for reviewing written proposals addressed toMarvel’s “Submissions Editor.” Jayatilleke says, “Anysentient being (humans preferred) can send a queryletter to Marvel in regards to sending a pitch. Based onthat query letter, a request or a decline for a pitch will besent. Marvel is looking for writers who have a commandof the craft and the ability to pen a compelling story.”Marvel Senior Editor Tom Brevoort points out that he canonly read a proposal if the writer has signed the releaseform available on the Marvel website. Without thatrelease form, he can’t even look at the proposaland it will simply go in the trash. Marvel hasthat release form to provide the company withthe legal protection that is necessary in thisday and age. Respect policies like this. Theyare there for a reason and you won’t gain aneditor’s trust by trying to get around them.

So if a company says they don’t acceptunsolicited submissions, how do you get themto solicit your submission? The best advice herecomes from Andy Schmidt at Marvel: get toknow the editor. Meet them at a convention andhang out a little. Strike up an e-mail dialogue. Ifyou want to build a relationship, be respectfuland courteous, don’t be a nuisance. Once youdevelop a rapport, then you can ask one simplequestion: “Would you mind if I send you aproposal?” Once an editor says yes, voila, yoursubmission has now been solicited. [For muchmore detail on Andy Schmidt’s opinions, see hisarticle “Breaking into Comics (and Staying In) forWriters,” elsewhere in this issue. —DF]

As you approach an editor to chat, do sowisely. If you want to pitch a Spider-Man story,it’s not the most effective use of your time toget to know the X-Men editor, although thateditor may help you make contact with the editor youdo need to meet. Also, odds are that you’ll never bepresenting a pitch directly to the Editor-in-Chief orsomeone at that level in a large company. Usually aneditor will be championing your proposal to them.However, in smaller companies, you might have achance to go directly to the person who makes the finaldecision. Conversely, never overlook the potential of arelationship with an editor’s assistant or intern. Gettingto know them may be just as useful as schmoozing aneditor. If they like your work, they can champion you totheir boss. It can be a feather in their cap if they bringcomics’ next hot writer in the door.

Even if you get a chance to pitch someone, there’s amuch better chance they will say “no” than “yes.”Chris Staros at Top Shelf only ends up publishing 1 or2 of the 1,000 blind submissions he receives eachyear. “If you want to improve your odds,” saysMarvel’s Warren Simons, “it helps to have already

been published.” Diana Schutz at Dark Horse is a bigfan of the self-published, even well-photocopied,mini-comic as an easy guide to how well someonecan write and handle the mechanics of telling a story.Don’t stop with one mini-comic. The more you write,the more your craft will improve and the easier it willbe to get an editor’s attention.

Step Two: Talk to the hand. Written vs. verbal pitches.The next time you see an editor at a convention and

think about going over and telling them about yourfantastic story, think again. Every one of the editors I talkedto said that they want a pitch in writing. Top Cow’s JimMcLauchlin says, “Until it’s written, it doesn’t exist,” andpoints out another important reason to have a pitch inwriting. If there’s a written document, he can show it to hisco-workers if he wants a second opinion. Most editors

don’t work in a vacuum. Theyaren’t usually the person whopays the printing bills andodds are that they need to getsomeone else to give a projectfinal approval. A writtendocument improves the oddsof your undiluted messagereaching beyond an individualeditor. Beyond that, It’s proofto all parties of what yousubmitted and when yousubmitted it.

Step Three: Living in amaterial world. Pitchstories that match acompany’s needs.

Different publishers wantdifferent material. Don’twaste an editor’s time withmaterial that is useless tothem. For example, MichelleHarman of Penny FarthingPress says, “Writers shouldpitch stories for originalproperties that exhibit strongwriting and characterizationand a sense of uniqueness.We develop company-owned properties in-house,

but are currently very interested in outside work.”Therefore, it’s not a good idea to send Harman pitchesfeaturing characters owned by Penny Farthing Press. Ifshe’s impressed with your original ideas or body of work,then she may tap you to work on an in-house project.Harman is looking for mystery and children’s titles rightnow, and is not interested in material that features gratu-itous violence or sexual subject matter. Even if you’ve comeup with an incredibly scary story that could be the mostprofitable horror spatter-fest of all time, don’t send it toHarman. Send her your mystery story featuring a ten-year-old protagonist instead. You only get so many shots withan editor before they decide that you aren’t going to bringthem material they can use. Don’t waste a single one.

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Cover to Spider-ManUnlimited #14. Art by DavidFinch. [© 2006 MarvelCharacters, Inc.]

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LARRY YOUNG [Writer/Publisher]AiT/Planet Lar1. WHO CAN SEND PITCHES: Young discouragespitches. AiT/Planet Lar only publishes 14-16 books ayear. If you send a pitch, the odds of acceptance arevery low.2. FORMAT: Newer writers should send writtenpitches. Established writers can give written orverbal pitches.3. LENGTH: Whatever serves your story. Young haspublished books from one-sentence pitches (fromestablished writers) to completed graphic novelssent via mail.4. MATERIAL: Original graphic novels.5. SETTING UP YOUR CONCEPT: Hook: Yes.Young likes to know the marketing tagline andwants some idea where the story is going. Anevocative title is also a plus.“Hollywood pitch style” Logline: No preference.Genre: No preference.Cliffhanger: NoSetting/milieu: No need to describe; it should beevident from the context.6. PLOT: Writers new to Young should include threeparagraphs, each detailing a separate “act” of thestory. The three-act structure is most common in filmand includes Act I (the conflict), Act II (escalatingcomplications), and Act III (the resolution).7. CHARACTERS: There is no need for a separatesection of character descriptions.8. ARTIST ATTACHMENT: The approval process goesfaster when a team is involved.

DIANA SCHUTZ [Senior Editor] andMIKE CARRIGLITTO [Associate Editor]Dark Horse ComicsPlease visit www.darkhorse.com to learn about theDark Horse New Recruits program.

JOE PRUETT [Publisher]Desperado Publishing1. WHO CAN SEND PITCHES: Anyone can send aproposal, but remember that Desperado is a smallcompany with limited resources. The NEGATIVE BURNshort story anthology is a great venue for new talent.2. FORMAT: Written3. LENGTH: 1 to 2 pages.4. MATERIAL: Original graphic novels (or licensedproperties with the rights already secured).5. SETTING UP YOUR CONCEPT: Hook: Yes“Hollywood pitch style” Logline: YesGenre: No preference.

Cliffhanger: NoSetting/milieu: If it’s a world you’ve created, then a briefoverview is useful.6. PLOT: A brief overview is enough.7. CHARACTERS: A simple paragraph on each maincharacter is best.8. ARTIST ATTACHMENT: An artist always helps,especially if it is an established artist.

CHRIS RYALL [Publisher/Editor-in-Chief]IDW Publishing1. WHO CAN SEND PITCHES: Please don’t submitstories at this time. IDW’s slate is full until at least late2006. Publish as many stories as possible (includingmini-comics, self-publishing, and web comics) betweennow and then to improve your chances.2. FORMAT: Written, preferably sent via e-mail.3. LENGTH: No more than 1 page.4. MATERIAL: Original graphic novels (usuallypublished as 22-page comics then collected). Forpitches based on IDW’s licensed properties, pleasestart with an e-mail inquiry as those books areplanned far in advance.5. SETTING UP YOUR CONCEPT: Hook: Yes“Hollywood pitch style” Logline: Yes, but make it simpleand relevant.Genre: This should be evident from the story.Cliffhanger: NoSetting/milieu: If the environment is germane to thestory, tell him about it briefly.6. PLOT: A brief paragraph should describe the story.Also, tell how many issues this story will fill.7. CHARACTERS: A few brief paragraphs regardingthe most essential elements of the main characters canbe useful.8. ARTIST ATTACHMENT: It can help, but it canalso hurt. An artist is not essential. If submittingwith an artist, be sure to include pin-ups ofcharacters and pages of sequential art. The pagescan feature elements from the story you’reproposing or from other properties, but shouldideally show off your ability to tell the kinds ofstories IDW Publishing produces.

AXEL ALONSO [Executive Editor]Marvel Entertainment1. WHO CAN SEND PITCHES: Anyone who signs theMarvel online submission agreement can send in apitch. Be sure to check the website for updates.2. FORMAT: Written3. LENGTH: 1 to 2 pages.4. MATERIAL: Use existing company-owned characters.

ANDY SCHMIDT | 53

The road ahead of you:The comic book business landscape is a harsh one. There

are many talented writers out there who want to do thesame thing as you—and twice as badly. Only a few attributeswill separate prospective writers from one another—talent,persistence, and luck. You can effect change on the first two,and thereby affect the odds of the third. It takes at least twoof these attributes to break into comics, so no one can sayyou were just lucky.

That being said, yeah, you’ve got to hone your threefundamental attributes in order to get your shot at the title.We’ll talk about these attributes first, then we’ll roll into howto network and pitch, and lastly, we’ll deal with how to stayaround once you’re in the biz.

I. The Tools You NeedTalent

You’ve got to have skills and prove it. Here’s the thing: youmay have a great story idea, but that doesn’t mean you’re agreat storyteller. You have talent, maybe a little, maybe a lot, but

verybody wants inside info. Well, here it is—direct froma guy whose job involves evaluating writers andcommissioning paying work for a major comicspublisher. Things being what they are, some of this

information may have a limited shelf life. But 90% of it isstuff you have to know no matter when or how or fromwhom you’re looking to get writing work.

So without further ado—here’s Marvel Comics editor AndySchmidt to tell you how things are. Take it away, Mr. S.

—DF

ou’re reading this because you want to break into thecomics industry. I’m going to try to help you gain thetools you’ll need to have a fighting chance. But, thereare a few things you should know:

1. This article can only serve as a guide. There are no hardand fast rules on this subject. What works for one personwill not necessarily work for another.

2. I can’t make your writing any better. I’m working on theassumption that you are talented. I can give you adviceand a few tools and hints to getting better, but no matterwhat, you will have to do the work.

3. Following my every step won’t guarantee you success, I’ll giveyou notes on form and networking, but it’s up to the workingprofessional to actually pull this off with a great story.

Okay, so who am I and why should you care aboutwhat I say?

My name is Andy Schmidt. I’m an associate editor atMarvel Comics. Some of my series are (from my first projectto my most current) Spider-Girl, Captain Marvel, Madrox,Secret War, Alias, The Pulse, Defenders, Drax, The Destroyer,Ms. Marvel and X-Factor series. Assisting on about 15 othertitles at the same time has given me a wealth of experiencewith creators that I’m hoping to pass on to you. I think I’mgood at what I do, but I always want to learn more andhone my skills. I’ve taught courses on aesthetics and visualstorytelling, so I’m comfortable when it comes to art as well.We’ll focus a lot of our attention on communication,because communicating with your editor, your artist, yourcolorist, etc., is possibly the single most important thing youcan learn from this article. I hope you’ll take everything I sayhere with a grain of salt. Not everything I say is law and itwon’t work exactly the way I lay it out for everyone, butthese are the most efficient ways to get into the biz. So,ultimately, good luck, and I hope this helps.

E

Breaking and Entering, Part 3:

BREAKING INTO COMICS(AND STAYING IN) FOR WRITERS

b y A n d y S c h m i d t

Y

NTERING WRITE NOW BREAKING AND ENTERING WRITE NOW BREAKING AND ENTERING WRITE NOW BREAKING AND ENTERING WRITE NOW BREAKIN

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you’ve got some—all of us do. You want to present yourself in amanner that shows off your strengths and down plays yourweaknesses. But before you get to that, you need to knowwhat your strengths and weaknesses are and how to buildthem up. It’s not okay as a writer to accept that you’re poorwith dialogue or that your action sequences are rocky. Onceyou’ve spotted a shortcoming, you have to work on it untilyou’re confident you write the sharpest dialogue and mostintense action sequences the world has ever seen.

So how do you do that? First, like all good writers, youresearch. If you haven’t read Story by Robert McKee, gobuy it right now. Put down thisarticle and go get it. No,seriously. Go.

You’re back? You got thebook? Great. Now read it.

All done with it? Awesome,then let’s move on.

In McKee’s book, you’ll findout how a story works, whatparts make up a story andhopefully, what skills youpossess. Personally, I’ve foundthat in person, I’m good for afunny story, but on thewritten page, my dry sarcasmloses something (namely, allcleverness—check out my textpage in the back of therecent Defenders #1 ifyou don’t believe me; itdoesn’t work becauseyou can’t “read” the toneof my voice). You’ll figureout where your talentsare (there are books,such as TheScreenwriter’s Bible orany screenwriting book bySyd Field, that can helpyou do this as well), andfrom there, you’ll need towork on your weaknesses.For my own writing, Ihave trouble giving mycharacters different voices.I struggle with it.Fortunately, I’m notwriting stories for a livingnor do I desire to do so. Imight go insane if I did.

So look honestly at what you do well and what youneed to work on. Then build your skills. On top of that,always remember, when you get frustrated with yourself,that you do have skills and can learn new ones. So don’tlisten to someone who says you “just don’t have what ittakes.” That may be true for the moment, but you canlearn the skills and how to apply them successfully towriting comics.

PersistenceKeep trying; keep refining your skills. Don’t pester editors,

but be persistent. Part of persistence is advancing your skills.The moment you say, “I’m finally good enough, I don’t needto improve anymore,” is the day you’ve stopped being goodenough. As a writer, you must always strive to become better.A writer never learns enough. You may know everythingthere is about turning points, rising action, character interplay,and so on, but you would still need all the accumulatedknowledge of human history to know “enough.” Writingdoesn’t end with mastering the craft—that’s where it begins.Be persistent in your pursuit of knowledge and skill. Be

persistent in your pursuit of a job.When applying for writing work at comic companies,

remember a few key things. Before you write your coverletter, ask yourself whoyour audience is andresearch that audience(told you research wasgoing to come in handy).If it’s Marvel or DCeditors you’re writing to,don’t ask for workoutright. I recommendasking for an informa-tional interview with theeditor to get to knowwhat he or she does. Iaddress this furtherbelow. If you havealready publishedsomething, send italong. At the very least,published materialshows editors that youcan carry the balldown the field. If theeditor likes what you’vepublished, then you’vegot a shot. Until youknow an editor hasread your work, yourattempts at gettingfreelance gigs are futile.

When you get aresponse from aneditor at Marvel or DC,don’t let it end there. Ifyou don’t get aresponse from eithercompany, check to seeif your materials werereceived. Try to

continue the dialogue. Wait a day or two (if by e-mail) to reply.That’s not to make you look less desperate, but rather to givethe editor time to get some work done before dealing with youagain. If you start demanding too much time too fast, you’llirritate an editor, and that’s not good.

While networking, which we’ll talk about a little later, bepersistent enough to follow up with people. And ask the peopleyou meet to introduce you to others who could give you advice.Don’t leave an encounter with a comics professional empty-

Books Andy mentions in thisarticle. Story: Substance,Structure, Style and thePrinciples of Screenwriting byRobert McKee [© 1997 RobertMcKee]. Screenplay: TheFoundations of Screenwriting;A step-by-step guide fromconcept to finished script bySyd Field [© 2006 Syd Field].The Screenwriters Bible: AComplete Guide to Writing,Formatting, and Selling YourScript by David Trottier[© 2006 David Trottier].

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But do webcomics also mean no money and noaudience?

Well, there is some of each. Of the two, theaudience is the easier to get. The monthly audiencefor webcomics consistently beats out the monthlyaudience for comic books—people cried hallelujahwhen All-Star Batman and Robin #1 sold 261,000direct market copies, but Sluggy Freelance, not eventhe most popular webcomic, gets 300,000 readersevery month. Only newspaper comics can competewith that kind of circulation, and you can only guesswhat percentage of a newspaper’s readershipactually reads a given comic strip. And unlikenewspaper publication, online publishing is agrowth industry, with an audience projected todouble between now and 2009.

Now for the reality check. The audience isthere, but so is the competition. At the top ofthe virtual heap are established players who’vespent years gathering an audience loyal both totheir properties and to them, personally. At the

bottom—well, any fool can publish online. All you need isa Web address, a host, an FTP program and a scanner.

As for the money, most of the established players aregrizzled-cartoonist sole-proprietors, presenting only theirown work, who have achieved the highest level of successof which “webcartoonists” dare to dream—they make aliving. Unlike in print, the Web’s most successful self-publishers make more than the highest-profile cartoonistsat Web-publishing labels, and even members of thosepublishing labels always own their work. The two biggest“publishing labels” (i.e., websites) in webcomics, Keenspotand Modern Tales, are moderately impressive asbusinesses and a nice windfall for their most popularcontributors. [Contributors’ pay is determined by theirtraffic as a percentage of the overall site traffic, multipliedby half Keenspot’s profits (or half Modern Tales’ revenues)from ads, merchandising, donations, “premium” subscrip-tions and print.] Below those folks are an untold numberof hobbyists. Not every cartoonist on the Web treatscartooning as a business, and though these hobbyistsmight sell sketches to cover hosting costs, they don’tseriously compete for dollars. But they do compete forreaders’ attention, without which dollars cannot flow.

With this in mind, there are two reasons to seriouslyconsider writing comics for the Web. (Needless to say, you’llneed to be or to work with an artist, but since this is amagazine about writing, I’m focusing on that aspect.) One isthat you’re making an investment. Building an audience andgaining experience online today may help you get into theprint comics field tomorrow. The other reason to consider theWeb is that you’re making an immediate career move. If

he idea of “webcomics” is anirresistible one. People likecomics. People like to do stuffon the Web. And so…

webcomics! But what exactly is awebcomic (this week), and howdo you break into the field, getnoticed, and maybe even make afew bucks doing them? TCampbell, who knows about suchthings, is here to give you thelowdown. Take it away, T.

—DF

The World Wide Web is either thegreatest publishing opportunity tocome along since Gutenberg, themost efficient means of wasting timeever produced, or both. Depends onhow you treat it and what you expect.Writing comics for the Web can be alot of fun and good for your career.But it's not for the timid.

A “webcomic” is generallyconsidered to be a comic created foronline consumption. This definition ispervasive but not universal. Somewebcomics artists take their leadfrom sentiments in Scott McCloud’sbook Reinventing Comics and claim that true webcomics arethose difficult or impossible to reproduce in print. These “puristwebcomics” might include sound, animation, hypertext orinteractivity, or they might simply be twenty feet high. We’lldiscuss those more at the end of the piece, but our focus is onprintable webcomics.

But “printable” covers a lot of ground. Is a printable webcomica comic strip, a comic book, or a single gag cartoon? Yes,yes and yes… it can fill the needs of any of those formats.

At first, writing webcomics may seem like a dream cometrue: all of the benefits of independence with none of thedrawbacks. No worries about whether circulation will justifyyour continued existence—outside of hosting costs, you andonly you decide when your comic stops. No DC, Marvel orImage to navigate around—they have Websites, but they don’treally compete in the same space as online comics, at leastnot yet. No hours wasted at a signing nobody comes to or aconvention table everyone passes. No printing bills. Nodistributors’ cut. (Newspaper comic strip syndication giantslike King Features and United Media do have significant webpresences, but they are to the kind of webcomics I’mdiscussing here as Paramount and Columbia are toindependent filmmakers who show their work at Sundance.)

T

WRITING WEBCOMICSb y T C A M P B E L L

A panel from thewebcomic Rip andTeri, written by T

Campbell with art byJason Waltrip.

[© 2006 T Campbelland Jason Waltrip.]

T CAMPBELL | 63

you’re fed up with the direct market and ready for a newenvironment with new rules, or if you want a newenvironment for that one passion-project for which the printmarket doesn’t seem to have a place, the Web could be theplace for you. Let’s talk a little about these reasons…

Everyone’s A CriticThe Web’s ability to give instant feedback is its blessing

and its curse. Writing and drawing are lonely occupations.When your work goes online and people from around theworld talk to you about it less than five minutes later, it feelsreally, really good. But mind how you listen.

The Internet has been a source of comics commentaryback since the days of USENET discussion groups withnames like “rec.arts.comics.misc.” But be careful abouttaking chatroom chatter and message board postings asaccurate indicators of what the webcomics audiencewants. As Peter David once noted:

Jim Shooter, correctly I think, observed that fans keep sayingthey want to see modern opera, but what they really wantto see—or at least what they’ll most eagerly support—is the38th production of Carmen.

This talk-versus-reality disconnect is true of all mediaaudience feedback, so why should the Web be any different?

That doesn’t mean the Web doesn’t provide an eageraudience for new ideas. It does! If I had to name the mostpopular comics genre on the Web, it’d probably be “gamercomics” (which focus on video games or tabletop role-playinggames—either the people who play those games, orcharacters and situations from them). Also commanding a lotof attention are action-adventure, comedy, pop-culture parodyand slice-of-life, with plenty of overlap between them. Super-hero comics, crime comics… they won’t be booed off thestage, but they don’t own the stage. This isn’t their turf.

However, you will find that if you introduce, say, a romancestrip featuring a “will-they-or-won’t-they” couple and plan for

their relationship to grow over the years, people will begyou, plead with you, to have them “get together” by thesecond month. It doesn’t matter if you point out that that’swhat killed the 1980s TV series Moonlighting. They wantinstant gratification—and they want it right now!

In my early days of doing webcomics, way back in 2001, Ihad two characters who the readers really wanted to seecatfight. I did give them what they asked for, but I did it myway… instead of a wacky, sexy, fanservice-y fight, they got aviolent one with upsetting consequences. You have to stick toyour guns—but still be ready to be called a sellout, regardless.

I see some of my friends get [character-]assassinated for noreason by… usually a 12-year-old who doesn't know whyhe's not writing X-Men, and he will now torture you.

—Brian Michael Bendis

You absolutely cannot win an argument with your readers.You can’t do it. If they don’t like a character, your scriptingstyle or your mother, you pretty much have to sit there andtake it. I cannot emphasize this enough: anything you say inyour defense will make them think you’re even more of ana-hole. Focus on the next strip; let other readers do thedefending for you. (The only exception to this point is if thecriticism comes from an established cartoonist—but if thathappens, you’re already in the advanced class.)

If you have a relatively large readership (say 5,000readers a day), and no one’s defending you, then it’sprobably time to take stock. And if you actually tell themyou agree with the criticism, you can win a lot of points byconceding the point. Healthy ego abounds on the Web;humility is regarded—rightly—as water in a desert.

Speaking of popularity, you may be wondering how to get”circulation figures” for your webcomic, and what thosefigures mean. There are many different programs on themarket that present “traffic reports.” Shop around for such aprogram and ask others to share their experiences with it.

The figures to pay the most attention to are pageviews andvisitors: how many times any one of your pages is viewedand how many people came to view them. Obviously everyvisitor to your site viewed at least one page while he or shewas there. The ratio of pageviews to visitors tells you howmany pages the average visitor viewed, which tells you ifyou’re bringing in new and curious readers or a loyal base.It’s also useful to look at these figures over the course of oneday and over the course of one month. Readers aren’tdollars—the flimsy assumptions of the dot-com boom werefounded on that assumption—but between 1 and 10 percentof a webcomic’s audience will buy its T-shirts and postersand printed editions and such. Webcomics are also in abetter position to negotiate with advertisers than theirindependently-published print cousins: their audience isyounger, tech-savvier and less fixed in its tastes.

“Pay-to-read” models have not been spectacularlysuccessful online (more about that later) and I’d urge mostcartoonists, particularly newcomers, to look at building anaudience as a long-term investment. It’ll take time. Justbecause Sluggy has 300,000 readers this month doesn’tmean you will next month. But on the Web, no one cancancel you except you, you are tapping into a growingreadership, and you have months or years to figure out howto build your audience one step at a time.

Sluggy Freelance webcomic by Pete Abrams for March 2, 2006.[© Pete Abrams, 2006. All rights reserved.] [You can find it at:http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060302]

T CAMPBELL | 67

Celebrity Poker ShowdownSTRIP FIFTEEN1. Party’s goin’ full blast. Karen walks up to Aggie with a seemingly sincere smile.Karen: Aggie!Karen: I’m glad you came!Aggie: You… are?

2. Karen rubs the back of her neck. She is so good here, we might actually believe whatshe’s saying.

Karen: Yeah! I feel terrible about the cold shoulder I gave you guys.Karen: I was still really insecure, and I just couldn’t…

3. Karen’s hand gestures to a group of guys who really seem more the beer-and-pretzelstype than the political-discussion-and-protest type.

Karen: Make yourself at home!Karen: We have pizza… you can pick off the pepperoni… and I’m sure these guys wouldjust love to hear about African politics!4. Karen walks off with a nasty smirk. Aggie looks at that group of guys, and is hurt.Karen’s right: she IS out of place here, and this time it matters to her.Karen: You’ll find your place.

Celebrity Poker Showdown

STRIP TWENTY-FIVE

1. Karen sets the book down, gently. Penny looks innocent.

Karen: I can smile without an instruction manual.

Penny: Some people need one.

2. Several crowd reactions. The general feeling is that Penny has the initiative here, so

Penny’s supporters are feeling better about the outcome than Karen’s. Rich keeps to the

back, nursing a beer and vaguely wondering if Penny is talking about him.

Penny: They get what they want… cocktail dress, hot guy, full house… and forget to enjoyit.

3. Karen’s seen from behind. The look on Penny’s face is so unusual for her, one might

take a second to recognize it: humility. Or carefully faked humility, at any rate.

Karen: You’d know.Penny: Oh yeah. I’m real bad. Don’t be like me.

4. View from slightly above. Almost everyone is watching the Penny-Karen

“conversation” now. This round to Penny.

Karen: …Penny: You do know how not to be like someone, right?

On this page and the following two are T Campbell’s scriptsand Gisele Lagace’s pencils and inks (and letters, too) for acouple of episodes of their Penny and Aggie webcomic.[© 2005 G. Lagace and T Campbell.]

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On this page are Gisele’s pencils for the strips. On the nextare her inks and washes. [© 2005 G. Lagace and T Campbell.]