By Autumn Daughetee
For weeks, we here at Kymera Press have been exploring the different professions necessary to create a comic book—from the writer to the inker. Last week we explored the role of the editor in the creation of a comic book. I’ll continue that exploration with my interview of the editor for Gates of Midnight, Valerie D’Orazio.
Valerie give us a peek into her editing process and then goes on to detail her experiences within the comic book industry. She talks about the challenges women face in the industry and why she thinks it looses talented women to other industries and professions.
When did you first decide to pursue a career as a comic book editor?
“I’ve always been a big fan of comic books since I was a little kid, so becoming a comic book editor seemed like a natural progression for me.”
How did you go about it? Do you have formal training?
“I was offered a job as an assistant editor right out of college; I just sort of dived in the ‘deep end of the pool’ and picked it up as I went along. I have a degree in English Literature and prior text editing experience, but a lot of comic editing I had to learn ‘in the field,’ so to speak.”
Can you describe the editing process for Gates of Midnight?
“Well, the process of making a comic book is broken up in several parts—there’s the script, the art, the coloring, the lettering, etc. So I focus on one of these parts at a time as the book comes together.”
“I read through the script for ‘objective’ edits like fixing spelling and formatting…and also ‘subjective’ edits like, does the plot or piece of dialogue ‘work’ for me, and how could it (in my opinion) be improved. Then the art: does the visual storytelling make sense? Did the artist follow what was in the script? If the artist added/subtracted from what was indicated in the script, is it something that could be seen as an improvement or added-value, or does it need to be adjusted to fit in with the original vision?”
“As you can see, my notes as an editor for Gates of Midnight or any other comic book are going to be broken up into objective edits (something is not right and needs to be fixed: coloring mistake, spelling, formatting, etc.) and subjective edits (here are my opinions on things where there really isn’t a definitive ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer: my opinion on the plot, if the art in a particular panel emotionally resonates with me, etc.).”
“And I think it’s important to keep these two types of edits distinct from each other because as editor you’re not a dictator. You’re working with Artists (and I mean all creative types here) with a capital A. If there is something subjective that you think should be changed, you work with the Artist, get their feedback, come up with a synthesis between what you think and what they think. It is, in the end, a collaborative effort. Or, at least, it should be.”
What is your favorite part of the process of creating a comic book?
“I think it is working through little ‘bumps’ here and there during the process and smoothing them out to produce the final product. Reworking a problematic scene with the team and then getting it just right…and then, much later, just looking at the finished book and feeling a sense of satisfaction.”
What are the most common errors you encounter during the editing process? If you could pick one thing that you could advise comic book creators not to do, what would it be?
“The biggest thing…I wouldn’t call it an ‘error,’ per se, but an issue that needs to be worked on…is being sure you are writing or drawing in the most effective manner for the specific medium of comics. Comic book storytelling is a medium all its own, and what might work for a book or a movie or a static piece of art may not work in comics. And yet, even with the number of excellent books out there that can ‘teach’ how to write or draw comics…in the end, you only really learn by doing the comics yourself.”
“That’s why I don’t call it an ‘error.’ It’s just a learning process.”
If you could give advice to someone aspiring to become a part of the comic book industry what would it be?
“Develop a wide range of skills and interests outside of comic books. Do this so you bring added value to your employer/projects—and do this because the truth is that the comic book industry has a limited amount of paying jobs. You may always be working in the comic book industry once you get in, or you may have to take jobs that are unrelated to it until the next time there is a job opening.”
“So for example I have a lot of marketing experience on my resume—that’s really helped me a lot, both in terms of getting work between comic editing gigs, and as a comic editor myself.”
What comic books have you worked on?
For DC Comics I’ve worked on Justice League of America, The New Frontier, Batman Black & White, Identity Crisis, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Aquaman, Supergirl, and a bunch more. For Valiant/Acclaim Comics I edited Magnus Robot Fighter, Shadowman, Classics Illustrated and some Disney comics.”
What do you think of Kymera Press’ mission to publish comics created by women?
“To be honest, my opinion on creating women-specific publishing imprints and groups and comics has fluctuated over the two decades I have been in this business. For a long time I have believed that by separating females from an already male-dominated industry, this would hold back rather than promote their success within the industry as a whole.”
“And yet, when you look at the actual numbers of women working in the mainstream comics industry—and a website called BleedingCool.com has a monthly feature called ‘Gender Crunching’ that literally does this—they are still so ridiculously small that there seems, in 2015, to be no ‘excuse’ for it. I’m talking about females making up less than 20 percent of certain aspects of the mainstream industry…sometimes less than 10 percent. How did this happen? This is worse than in the 1980s, when I was a kid. So I’m open to any solution at this point.”
“Additionally, there is the issue of creating a ‘safe space’ for females within the industry. And when you read the words ‘safe space,’ you either completely ‘get’ what I mean, or you don’t—I’m not going to go into details here. But it’s needed. I hear the argument all the time (sometimes from women themselves, and I’m sure I’ve said this once or twice myself) that women just need to ‘toughen up’ and not let all manner of sexist slings and arrows thrown their way bother them.”
“However, I’ve seen too many instances of everything from sexual harassment to unreported physical assault to cyber bullying/death threats to just being constantly being passed over for promotions kill the joy women have had working in the comic book industry.”
“And so, at the age of 41, that’s the number one thing I’m against—comic-loving females having their innate sense of joy being crushed. And if a place like Kymera Press can provide a space and opportunity for females to express that joy, that’s a great thing.”
As a woman working in a male-dominated industry, have you faced any difficulties?
“In general, it has been the pervasive sense that I have been seen/judged as a female first, not objectively as a comic book editor (or writer). This has certainly not happened with all the men within the industry who I have worked for. But it has happened enough. And so you have issues that have absolutely no place in a business setting—issues of gender and sexuality and just sex in general—mixed into the nuts-and-bolts of the job itself.”
“And then from there this continues into the larger sphere of fandom and the Internet, sometimes in a manner of the most depraved savagery where you end up with women getting threatened with rape or murder. For example, I was threatened with physical violence after I wrote a one-shot for The Punisher and I stopped going to comic conventions—period. To this day, because of that experience, I feel uneasy about attending a show where it has been pre-announced that I will appear at a certain time. It can be argued that male creators occasionally face this same situation with angry fans and whatnot—but the sad fact is that more often than not, the negativity that is specifically directed at females have an aspect of, frankly, sexual violence and sexuality in general.”
“See how heavy that is? ‘I just wanted to write or edit a comic book. Just a comic book! You know something fun and entertaining. Why are all these other issues coming up? This is so exhausting to deal with…I should just find another industry to be in.’ And that’s what happens…I just watch these other really talented women leave the industry one after another.”
“Once, a professional in the industry publicly stated on social media that women have exactly the same opportunities in the comic book industry as men—that it is completely and objectively a merit-based system. And, within the context of the discussion, it was implied that if there are markedly less women than men in the mainstream industry, that this was somehow reflective of their skills as comic book creators and editors and so forth. And that’s a viewpoint I’ve heard for a long, long time—and it is a Big Lie. It is a big, inexcusable lie, and that type of mentality needs to stop.”
On a lighter note, I’ve asked all of the other ladies who worked on Gates of Midnight this question. It’s just for fun. If you were a comic book character who would you be?
“Howard the Duck.”
Do you have any role models within the comic book industry?
“I think anyone who has managed to survive within this industry for a long time and has genuinely tried to make it a better place for everyone is my role-model.”
