Writers Are Not a Dime a Dozen. Good Ones Anyway.

I decided to write this post because I happened to read an article on Deviant art which I am apart of from a fellow member basically stating that writers specifically in the comic book genre are a dime a dozen, and they should be privileged when an artist decides to work on their book.

First let me begin this article by saying that this is NOT a direct attack on the person who wrote the article. I respect his or her opinion even though I may not personally agree with it. This is just me giving a different perspective from a writer’s point of view.

The basics of a good comic book is eye catching imagery, interesting characters, and a plot/storyline that will interest the reader enough to make them want to buy the next issue. If any of these are missing the book is dead in the water by issue one.

That being said, yes an artist gives a character shape, appearance, and movement within the comic book to attract the reader, but it is the writer that gives the character personality, soul, and purpose. It’s a well written story that makes the reader chomping at the bit for the next issue.

Yes there are a million and one writers out there….there are also a million and one artists as well trying to break into the industry.

And from a writer’s perspective, not to offend anyone, NOT ALL ARTISTS ARE GOOD ARTISTS EITHER.

I’ve seen my share of artwork that I view as subpar the same way an artist may look at a writer’s storyline or character and think that it’s crap and not worth working on.

What it comes down to is the skill level of both the artist and the storyteller, and like me who isn’t a good artist, but a very good storyteller based on the input of my peers, not all artists are good storytellers.

The sad thing is that in everyone’s pursuit to make it into the crème la crème of the industry, we forgot the fundamentals of how some of the greatest comic books and characters of our time were created.

STAN LEE…the writer

JACK KIRBY…the artist

They worked and collaborated together to create characters that have been read for decades, and that we now see on the big screen today.

To my fellow artists, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t continue to shoot for your dreams for possibly working on a Hulk or Superman comic book one day. But if you go around with this “Oh lord, here comes another stupid writer looking for me to collaborate on his project”, you could be passing up the opportunity to work on a story that could be the next KickAss, Sinn City, or 300.

In an industry that is so competitive and dominated by the big two, independent artists and writers should be banding together more to help one another get their work out there.

It is my opinion that most books die or don’t even get started because either the artist is also the writer and has to find the time to BOTH write a decent story as well as the artwork, or the writer whose written the story is forever searching for an artist to work on their book, when if you have a collaboration of the two working hand in hand with one another you can create something awesome.

Superman the greatest superhero of all time was the invention of two friends, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. Without either one of them the Man of Steel that we know now today, would never have came to life.

The same could be said for Spiderman, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and so on and so on. Stan Lee needed Jack Kirby’s skill as an artist to make his characters look cool, but it was Stan’s skill as a writer and story teller that also made his characters so unique and awesome, that we continue to read them now, and generations to come.

So again to my fellow artists, don’t be so quick to snub your nose when a writer comes your way, he or she combined with you might make the next superhero or comic book that fans will also be talking about for years to come.

And that’s my two cents…

COMMENT AS YOU SEE FIT!!!