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Comics Debbie Likes

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By Debbie Lynn Smith

This week I thought I’d talk about a few of my favorite comics and why I’m hooked on them.

Lazarus
Written by Greg Rucka
Art by Michael Lark

My favorite comic right now is Lazarus. In a dystopian near-future, where there is no government other than the Families who have carved up all the world’s resources and those without, known as the Waste, have very little hope of improving their circumstances. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle is the family Carlyle’s Lazarus, a cybernetic warrior pledged to carry out the family’s dirty work on their path to control their population. Forever is our protagonist and has far more depth than her role as coldhearted killer would initially suggest.

I absolutely love Forever. She is a complex character who is strong and lethal, and yet harbors a soft interior. She actually works against her “programming” as she begins to discover the truth of her heritage and question her allegiances.

Even though Forever lives in a dystopian future very different from our own, I find her journey realistic and compelling. I can’t wait for each issue to come out.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Written by Ryan North
Art by Erica Henderson

Squirrel girl couldn’t be more different than Lazarus. It is clever, funny and, once again, has a compelling female protagonist.

Squirrel Girl comes from Marvel. Yes, you heard correctly. And yes, I’m not a fan of superhero comics, but this one is totally different.

Squirrel Girl herself, created in 1992 by Will Murray and Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man), but given her very own comic book only this year, is Doreen Green: a chubby-cheeked, awkward, yet preternaturally confident first-year student studying computer science at a college that looks a lot like NYU. She “secretly has all the powers of both squirrel and girl.” For example, she has a tail, and talks to squirrels, and they talk back. Doreen’s favorite pet squirrel, Tippy-Toe, came with her to college, though squirrels aren’t allowed in the dorms; Tippy-Toe lives in a nearby tree and gives Squirrel Girl advice.

What I like the most about Squirrel Girl is that she solves problems not through direct confrontation (squirrel powers vs. cosmic force: not a good match) but through the kind of cheerful turning aside of wrath, the playful offering of alternatives, that actual kids are often told to use in playground fights.

Finally, Squirrel Girl is softer, rounder, shorter and more realistic than your usual super hero.  She’s a great role model for girls and women alike!

The Spirit
Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Dan Schkade

Growing up I was a fan of detective shows. I loved Mannix, Mike Hammer, Honey West, The Cat, 77 Sunset Strip… I could go on and on and I haven’t even mentioned Humphrey Bogart movies!

So when I saw that Dynamite had brought out a new The Spirit comic, I couldn’t resist. I was not disappointed. This comic has all the mystery, noir atmosphere and camp needed to delight that little girl in me.

Set in the classic period of The Spirit’s golden age, the 1940s, the first 12-issue story arc follows the strip’s most beloved characters, Commissioner Dolan, his daughter Ellen, Ebony White and Sammy as they attempt to uncover why The Spirit has been missing, and presumed dead, for the past two years. Has the famous blue-masked hero finally fallen victim to one of the malicious felons or beautiful femme fatales from his lengthy rogues’ gallery of enemies? In the words of Central City’s most prominent headlines: “WHO KILLED THE SPIRIT?”

There are only two issues of this comic out, but so far I’m a fan, though I am NOT a fan of all the advertisements in the middle of the book breaking up the story and assaulting my eyes with images of women with impossible bodies.  But alas, that is the way things are these days so I simply let my eyes glaze over as I look for the next page of story.

I chose to give you an overview of just three of the comics I’m reading these days. I’m reading many more, some of which I’ve already mentioned in previous posts

Kymera Press is a Gateway to Comics

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By D. Lynn Smith

Last month, Kymera Press went to Bubonicon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bubonicon is New Mexico’s oldest and best science fiction and fantasy convention, held in Albuquerque every August. This year there were 850 attendees. Yes, it’s a small convention, but it is not small when it comes to the writers who attend every year.

Who are some of these attending writers? They are Daniel Abraham, John Barnes, Richard Berthold, Livia Blackburne, Ben Bova, Adam Jarmon Brown, Craig A. Butler, Aaron Campbell, Suzy M. Charnas, Yvonne Coats, Dr. Larry Crumpler, Doranna Durgin, Zachary Gallegos of Mars One, Josh Gentry, Raya Golden, Steven Gould, Sally Gwylan, Loretta Hall, Darla Hallmark, Betsy James, Darynda Jones, Jeffe Kennedy, T. Jackson King, Susan Krinard, Jane Lindskold, Christine MacKenzie, Emily Mah, George R.R. Martin, Victor Milan, Gail Gerstner-Miller, John Jos. Miller, Pati Nagle, costumers Charles & Tauni Orndorff, Scott Phillips, John Picacio, C.S. Plesko, science speaker Benjamin Radford, M.T. Reiten, John Maddox Roberts, Joan S. Saberhagen, Jon Sanchez, Debbie Lynn Smith (me!), Melinda Snodgrass, Jim Sorenson, Caroline Spector, Gabi Stevens, S.M. Stirling, David Lee Summers, Pari Noskin (Taichert), Lauren Teffeau, Sarena Ulibarri, Robert Vardeman, Carrie Vaughn, Walter Jon Williams and more.

If you are deeply into comics, you’ll notice there are very few comic creators here, and even fewer artists. However, if you are a fan of science fiction and fantasy, you’ll be wowed by the above list. I mean George R. R. Martin? Come on. Ben Bova! You must be kidding. Carrie Vaughn and Walter John Williams…Steven Gould and Jane Lindskold…

Bubonicon is a convention where fans can meet and talk to their favorite writers. Novels and short stories are the focus, not comics.

The theme of this year’s convention was “Women of Wonder.” Guests included Tamera Pierce, Mary Robinette Kowal, Catherine M. Valente and Ruth Sanderson, all wonderfully creative women. So this was a great time to bring Kymera Press and its message of supporting women in comics to Bubonicon.

I mentioned in a previous post that Bubonicon fans were very good to us this year. We sold almost as many comics as we sold at the much bigger San Diego Comic Con. That was great, but it wasn’t the most interesting part of the convention. The interesting part was just who was buying those comics.

Of course we had comic fans stopping by the table and picking up issues. Science fiction and fantasy and comics have a lot of crossover fans. But what was really interesting were the people who said, “I don’t usually read comics, but this story sounds really interesting.” Or the people who commented, “I am really caught up by the artwork.”

These people bought our books. They weren’t regular comic readers. They were at the convention because they read novels. Looking through our books, most of these people were surprised by the quality of the artwork and the depth of story. We even had people who bought Issues 1-4 of Gates coming back to our table looking for Issue #5, which hasn’t been printed yet.

In another case, a girl about 8 years old wanted to buy Pet Noir. She finally convinced her mother, but as they walked away her mother said to her, making sure that I could hear, “But you can’t stop reading books.”

To me, this is an example of the stigma comic books have. People just don’t realize how complex reading a comic can be. I talked in a previous post about how reading comics involves looking at the art as well as the words because most of the story is told in the art. Hopefully that mother will read Pet Noir herself and see that it’s a worthwhile reading experience.

I don’t want people to stop reading novels. I read novels and will never give them up. But there is a place for the comic reading experience as well.

Bubonicon showed me that there are people out there who are willing to give comics a try. What we have to do as an industry is reach these people who would be too overwhelmed or intimidated to walk into a comic book store or go to a comic book convention. Actually I get overwhelmed with the amount of great material out there.

Because I also write short stories, I’ve attended a lot of conventions like Bubonicon. I thought that comic conventions were going to replace them in my schedule. Now I think that Kymera Press will probably be attending more of these cons in the future. When there are only two or three tables of comic sellers in the dealers’ room, it’s easier for someone to find a comic that appeals to them and take a chance. And quite honestly, I’d love for Gates, or Pet Noir, or our upcoming Dragons by the Yard to be a gateway into comics for these hungry readers!

 

What Do I Look For in a Comic Book Artist?

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By D. Lynn Smith

I recently answered some interview questions, and one of them was something like what advice would I give to artists wanting to work for Kymera Press. I talked about getting your work up on sites like Deviant Art and not being shy about displaying your work. But I thought it might be helpful to tell you what I look for when searching for an artist.

Kymera Press is a new publisher and we want to support young artists so they can continue to grow and develop. This does not mean, however, that we are going to hire an artist just because they can draw. Yes, drawing is important. But more important is if you can tell a story with pictures.

My previous entries about the writer made the point that, for the most part, the writer of the comic book is invisible. That’s why I’m not a huge fan of narration. I’m constantly trying to cut back on the number of words that appear on my pages. That’s really difficult, but if you have a good artist, it’s much easier.

When I go to sites like Deviant Art, I’m looking for an artist who has posted more than just illustrations. I want to see sequential pages. I want to see how you arrange your panels, if your art tells a story that flows from one panel to the next, if you left some room for dialog bubbles.

I really like to see artists experiment with panel arrangements. A comic that plays with this is Gotham Academy, written by Becky Cloonan and Brendan Fletcher with art by Karl Kiershl. I’m continually delighted by the creative panel arrangement in this comic. So play with the panels: maybe have a full-page illustration with panels arching across the page from the top left to the bottom right. Or have a two-page spread where the panels go across the top of two pages instead of just one.

Something different and interesting always catches my eye. I’m also looking to see if the artist draws a background. Many young artists draw the action, but forget that the characters are somewhere, not standing in the middle of a cloud of nothing.  If they are in a restaurant, are there tables, people, wait staff? Is there food on the table, pictures on the wall?

So if you’d like a job as a penciller or inker on a comic book, post some pages of sequential art. If you don’t have your own story, ask a writer friend, or look for a script online and draw up one of the pages just as a sample.  Show me you can tell a story in pictures.

One of my favorite comics is Bitch Planet written by Kelly Sue Deconnick and drawn by Valentina De Landro. In one of the issues, the action is happening in the foreground while a whole different action, the beginning of a prison riot, is happening in the background. It’s absolutely brilliant. And yes, Kelly Sue wrote it that way, but that’s because she also fills in the background, something I’m working on learning to do. The point is, the background can be as important as the foreground.

Many young artists post a lot of fan art. While these are usually interesting to see, it doesn’t show me that these artists are able to conceptualize their own characters. Building a character is a very important part of the storytelling process. I may post reference pictures for a character, but it is the artist who actually brings that character to the page. When I’m searching for an artist, I want to see if they can create original characters. Fan art simply doesn’t do that.

Finally I’m looking for consistency. When I’m doing a series, I expect my character in Issue #30 to look like she looked in Issue #1. Some artists have a problem recreating a face from one panel to the next.

These are the main things I look for in an artist. Of course there are other things as well, like professionalism, price and just plain niceness! Don’t underestimate the value of being easy to work with.

Richard Matheson and Lynda Carter in New Comics

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By D. Lynn Smith 

You all know I’m a big fan of horror. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love a good horror story. Like many people my age, I used to run home from school to watch Dark Shadows every afternoon. During the same period of time, I discovered the late-night horror host Ghoulardi and saw horror movies that would never be considered anything other than B-movies, but were great fun to watch.

It was also during this time period that I saw the movie, The Incredible Shrinking Man, adapted by Richard Matheson from his own novel. The thing that really has stuck in my head after all of these years is the scene of a man, tiny enough to make a bed in a matchbox, using a needle to fight off a spider that towers over him. It’s the stuff that nightmares are made of. So imagine my delight when I go to my neighborhood comic bookstore, Alternate Realities Comics, this past week and find The Shrinking Man comic! Just looking at the title, with Richard Matheson’s name prominent at the top, took me back to my childhood.

At lunch that day I described the “spider” scene to my husband who has never seen the 1957 movie. He promptly googled the movie and found a picture of the very scene I was describing, delighting in my shudder when he showed it to me on his phone.

In case you don’t know who Richard Matheson is, he’s one of the most revered horror writers there’s ever been. He wrote I Am Legend, Hell House, Duel, Trilogy of Terror (who can forget Linda Black fighting the little devil doll) and Nightstalker. And then there’s the lesser known Dead of Night, with the segment called Bobby, which scared me even more than the Devil Doll ever did.  Richard Matheson inspired more of my nightmares than any other horror writer and I love him for it! (For those of you who are not horror enthusiasts, Matheson also wrote the movie classic, Time After Time, staring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve.)

What’s great about the comic is that Ted Adams, who did the adaptation, lifted some of Matheson’s dialogue right out of the novel. This is a man who loved Matheson’s work and who has created a comic faithful not only to Richard Matheson, but to my own memories. It’s now on my pull list.The Shrinking Man

 

Whereas The Shrinking Man took me back to the 60s, this graphic novel brought back memories of a decade later. In the 1970s, Lynda Carter starred as Wonder Woman on CBS. The graphic novel, Wonder Woman ’77 Special, celebrates the television series. The art is all based on the actors from that series and there are six vignettes that come straight from actual episodes.

Reading Wonder Woman ’77 Special transported me back to when I was just graduating high school and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. Wonder Woman presented a strong, independent woman who was an undercover spy right alongside her male counterpart. She claimed her place in history as a modern heroine in a man’s world. (I was a big fan of The Bionic Woman, which was also airing at the time.)

Wonder Woman 77 SpecialThe WW graphic novel took me back to a time when I was trying to figure out what it meant to be an adult woman and it reminded me how far I’ve come since then.

So this past week was about nostalgia for me, a time for thinking about where I’ve been and where I’m going, and a time for being very proud and happy I’m working in this field.

The Role of the Writer: Part III

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By D. Lynn Smith

When you are a television writer, you work hard on writing good dialog. The dialog can make or break a scene. When I started writing prose fiction again, people always commented on the quality of my dialog. So when I turned to comics, I thought, “I have this!”

Wrong.

Let me start by telling you a story of two friends of mine, both long-time comic book readers and good friends themselves: Shannon Pricket and Randy Chertkow. While we were all at Fogcon together, I asked them to read the first issue of Gates of Midnight and tell me what they thought. Shannon said, “I felt there was too much dialog, but it wouldn’t have stopped me from reading more.” Randy said, “I thought there wasn’t enough dialog, but it wouldn’t have stopped me from reading more.”

Not helpful, you say. Quite the contrary. I learned that there are no hard and fast rules as to how much dialog is too much or not enough. As you can see from Randy and Shannon’s reactions, it’s rather subjective. What isn’t subjective is that you have to tell the story in as few words as possible. Let’s face it, if you have a lot of dialog it’s exposition and exposition can get boring. I like to put things into exposition that shows character—maybe snarky remarks, or really intelligent observations—but if there’s a lot of information you need to get out there, these just end up taking space—space that is dedicated to art. Bottom line is that the more dialogue you have the more art it covers.

Too much dialogI had a problem in issue #3 where there was too much dialog for the panels. Jessica, our letterer, suggested shrinking the font to make it fit. I really didn’t want people straining to read tiny words in the dialog bubbles, so I went back into the scene and cut and slashed dialog. You don’t realize how much you don’t need until you are forced to really find the important point of the scene, and make it without all of the extras. There is still way too much dialog on the page, and I cut out at least 30 percent of it.

So I’m learning about the economy of writing when it comes to dialog. It’s not an easy lesson.

The other thing you may notice as you look at the finished pages of Gates is that I don’t use sound effects. In 2013, I attended the San Diego Comic Fest, where I met David Lloyd, the artist for V is for Vendetta. We had a conversation about comics today, and I discovered that he hated sound effects. Being new, I looked at him and said, “You mean I don’t have to use sound effects?” That started a 30-minute talk on how he felt about different aspects of comics that have become conventions.

This conversation was very exciting for me because I really, really, really, don’t like the use of sound effects. I think the artist can usually get across the sound with having to hit the reader over the head with it. When you go to Tumblr, you find a page that has the funeral of Eddy Moon. There’s a panel there where the rifles are firing a three-gun salute for the fallen Eddy. Amelia did a fantastic job with this panel. I don’t need the BAM or POW or POP in order to know those guns are being fired. As a matter of fact, I think having sound effects would ruin the sober feel of the scene.

Thunder pageThere are instances, however, where sound effects are necessary. Raven, having been a combat medic in Afghanistan, is suffering from PTSD. I have a scene with thunder and lightning where she’s reacting to the sounds. The problem is, she’s inside, so the only hint that there is thunder and lightning is the change of light in the window, which colorist Mirana Reveiera did very well. But it wasn’t enough. So I had to add some sound effects to let the reader know what was happening.

Those are some of the issues that I faced when turning to writing comics. If you’re interested in learning to write comics, the most important resource you can have in your library is the book Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. You just have to read some of the comments on Amazon to know why.

Other sources that helped me:

You can find free comic book scripts at these links:

www.comicbookscriptarchive.com/archive/the-scripts/

www.scriptsandscribes.com/sample-comic-scripts/

http://dwaynemcduffie.com/scripts/

Dark Horse also provides a sample script that aspiring writers can use as a template

www.darkhorse.com/Help/FAQ/submissions

You can really learn a lot from critiques of other people’s scripts. Here is one place where you can find very helpful critiques.

www.comixtribe.com/category/the-proving-grounds/

The same site has an amazing wealth of articles on writing comics:

www.comixtribe.com/category/bolts-nuts/

Webinars:

Martin Shapiro’s webinar gave me the basics I needed to write comic book scripts. He also has a class on publishing and marketing your comic book.

www.graphicnovelcreator.com/classes/publishing-and-marketing

Finally, once you want to start marketing your work, Dan Blank offers some wonderful webinars on how to get started blogging, setting up a newsletter, building a writing platform and what to do if you’re feeling overwhelmed. His classes have been a gift…

http://wegrowmedia.com/

Next week we move on to the job of the Penciller. Until then …

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