Too Many Words

When I'm not getting lost down conspiracy theory rabbit holes on the internet (y'know, shadow governments, UFOs, satanic cults, etc, etc) I'm spending most of my time looking at comic book related stuff.  Some of those sites are linked in the side bar to the right.  I find myself waking up on a late morning and getting lost down these other rabbit holes, on a smartphone, from the comfort of my own bed, easing my pre-caffeinated transition into the waking world.

Today, I found a cool article by Kurt Busiek, a comics writer with whom I am familiar from the two Astro City graphic novels I've yet to return to a friend.  I liked those books pretty well, and the guy's been in the business for awhile - and I know he worked on some Miracle Man stories in some capacity, so I'm inclined to give ear to what he's offering by way of advice about breaking into comics in this article.

It's a pretty interesting (but also rather verbose) story about how Busiek broke into the field, full of ups and downs, ingenuity, resourcefulness and perseverance -- the kind of story my dad might cite to me when he wants to illustrate that success comes with diligence, particularly in the face of discouragement.  The kind of story you vaguely connect with the biography of some magnate of industry who started out as a paper boy during the Great Depression and went on to own the newspaper itself.  That sort of thing.  At any rate, this was the part that struck me most out of the whole article:

"You don't need a map. You need to figure out what you've got and capitalize on that. Instead of bemoaning the fact that you can't mail in something that a publisher wasn't going to read and wasn't going to buy, try to figure out something else, something that builds off your skills or knowledge or contacts or whatever. If you don't have any way to get at Marvel and DC editors, try to get at someone else. Make comics, not just proposals—even making crappy comics that convince you that you never want to draw another background again in your life will teach you more about telling a story in pictures on paper than a zillion proposals in the slush pile.

You are your own business manager. You have to be. If all you can do is write, you have no future, since you will get screwed. Not by malicious editors, since they're as rare a breed as people who broke in because they were somebody's gardener—but by editors who use you to fill your needs without any concern for what's best for you and your career. That's not evil—it's not their job to care about your career, it's their job to care about getting their books done. It's your job to care about your career.

So develop the skills. Don't ask others to hand them to you. Analyze the market yourself. Figure out who needs what you can do—not who controls what you want to write, but who has a specific need you can fill, whether it be Power Man fill-ins or one-page humor fillers in a local paper. And if it isn't what you want to do most, too bad. How many people get to start out on their dream assignment—in any field? Do it anyway, and see what you can build on it. A year's worth of single-page weekly comics is enough to fill a 48-page collection, and that's a fine calling card.

But don't look at the great gulf of distance between where you are and where you want to be and complain that you can't get there without help. Look for the closest opportunity you can find, finagle or create. And go for it. Then, whether it worked or not, look for the next one. And if it takes you 18 years between deciding you want to be a comics writer and actually making a dependable living at it, well, welcome to the club. That's how long it took me, too."

It also brings to mind something else I read somewhere -- a quote from Brian Michael Bendis perhaps? -- about breaking into the industry.  Whoever-it-was made the point that, while mainstream comics are hard to break into, even if you xerox your own book and give away all the copies, you are now "in comics."  As long as you have some sort of comic project you've created and finished and given to the world, you are "in the industry."  It is, in fact, the easiest industry to break into, because that's all it takes.  It's difficult to be successful, of course (as Busiek illustrates) but again, the point is that it's the work, the effort that you put into these groundwork jobs that gets you there.  All that elbow grease.

Which I naturally suck at.  So I need to read things like this to keep me motivated and productive.

Anyway, here are a few rough sketches for 'House of Asterion':

A drawing I did years ago, from an old sketchbook;  the design was originally for Buarainech, the father of Balor in Celtic Mythology.  I liked the drawing and thought it was a good jumping off point for some visual elements I wanted in 'Asterion'

Inspired by the 'Buarainech' drawing -- an Asterion design with a more anatomically correct headpiece.

A quick rough thumbnail of one of the incarnations that Asterion muses his redeemer might take.  The head is obviously the astrological sign for Taurus, the sun elements ('sun face,' corona) refer to traditional association of bulls with sun gods.

A rough paneling layout for the first page of 'House of Asterion' -- based on a Golden Spiral design.  I like the idea that insinuating the spiral in the layout could naturally draw the eye through the panels.

The first three sketches are done in ball point pen -- a medium I used to draw in all the time because instead of taking notes in class, I was doodling weird crap, and eventually just got comfortable with Bics.  I haven't used them in a long time, but I really like certain pencil-like qualities you can get out of them, and for this project, they may even be appropriate for some of the finished art.  

This is part of what I hope to work out for myself with 'Asterion' -- what mediums do I work best in? Are they appropriate for comics? Do they reproduce well enough?  Do I like the results?  Do they fit the mood, tone, ambience, atmosphere, or what have you, of the characters and the story?  How does working in other mediums affect my style?  Can I master other mediums and styles as well as I have the ball point pen?  Should I even bother trying, or just stick to what works for me?

That last question I realize is bunk;  of course I should bother trying, when it comes to expanding my talents, I know that.  But for the sake of immediacy and efficiency -- for the sake of buckling down and really cranking out a product, I do need to find a technique and medium that aids me in working quickly, and that provides results with which I am happy.

We'll see, I guess.