Comments on: Breaking In To Comics (the inside word from a Marvel Editor) http://gregghurwitz.net/2010/01/28/breaking-in-to-comics-the-inside-word-from-a-marvel-editor/ Bestselling Author Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:17:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert Schreib Jr. http://gregghurwitz.net/2010/01/28/breaking-in-to-comics-the-inside-word-from-a-marvel-editor/comment-page-1/#comment-1204 Robert Schreib Jr. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:16:34 +0000 http://gregghurwitz.net/?p=1203#comment-1204 This article reminds me of the time Marvel Comics published a "Mighty Marvel Try-Out Book", for $29.95, where they offered a chance for THOUSANDS of aspiring comic book artists and writers to be published by them in exchange for drawing the artwork for a Spider-man story called "Personals" about Spidey starting a relationship with a street kid who contacted him through the Daily Bugle's personal ads, that was only half done. Anyway, the story, only halfway done, was about how Dr. Octopus captured his ad penpal and forced Spidey to just stand there while Do Ock beat him to death, and then asked aspiring writers to write an impossible escape clause, and because I'm a long-time comic book writer wannabe, I managed to do that and send it in, etc., but they rejected it. Later on, they re-printed the whole thing for thousands of more fan-atic readers to try it out, OF COURSE, making MILLIONS off it. I don't think anybody got a job with them doing that! The point is, comic books is a big business, a heavy industry, with the primary focus on making money by selling ANYTHING. Like when the movie "Jaws" was a big hit, DC comics made truly stupid comics of Superboy fighting the 'Space Shark', or when the movie "Brokeback Mountian' was a hit, Marvel Comics immediately created a mini-series of their old time character "The Rawhide Kid" coming out as gay, making a fortune selling such collector items to the gay demographic. The point is, you THINK the comc book companies have the same ultra-noble ethos (Or Comic Code approved moderation) of their superhero characters, (an ethos that will never coincide with situational ethics encountered when you're in a situation from hell, which frequently is the conflict focus of the stories) , but they are all just in for the money. I keep expecting all of the comic book companies to start making XXX comics (Like DC's Vertigo division) simply because it would make them more cash. Keep that in mind when you are deciding exactly what to write for, for a specific comic book company large or small, you have to gear your writing or artwork to precisely whatever they are selling first and foremost! It is a big business, but the fan-atics tend to forget that when they try to break into it. This article reminds me of the time Marvel Comics published a “Mighty Marvel Try-Out Book”, for $29.95, where they offered a chance for THOUSANDS of aspiring comic book artists and writers to be published by them in exchange for drawing the artwork for a Spider-man story called “Personals” about Spidey starting a relationship with a street kid who contacted him through the Daily Bugle’s personal ads, that was only half done. Anyway, the story, only halfway done, was about how Dr. Octopus captured his ad penpal and forced Spidey to just stand there while Do Ock beat him to death, and then asked aspiring writers to write an impossible escape clause, and because I’m a long-time comic book writer wannabe, I managed to do that and send it in, etc., but they rejected it. Later on, they re-printed the whole thing for thousands of more fan-atic readers to try it out, OF COURSE, making MILLIONS off it. I don’t think anybody got a job with them doing that! The point is, comic books is a big business, a heavy industry, with the primary focus on making money by selling ANYTHING. Like when the movie “Jaws” was a big hit, DC comics made truly stupid comics of Superboy fighting the ‘Space Shark’, or when the movie “Brokeback Mountian’ was a hit, Marvel Comics immediately created a mini-series of their old time character “The Rawhide Kid” coming out as gay, making a fortune selling such collector items to the gay demographic. The point is, you THINK the comc book companies have the same ultra-noble ethos (Or Comic Code approved moderation) of their superhero characters, (an ethos that will never coincide with situational ethics encountered when you’re in a situation from hell, which frequently is the conflict focus of the stories) , but they are all just in for the money. I keep expecting all of the comic book companies to start making XXX comics (Like DC’s Vertigo division) simply because it would make them more cash. Keep that in mind when you are deciding exactly what to write for, for a specific comic book company large or small, you have to gear your writing or artwork to precisely whatever they are selling first and foremost! It is a big business, but the fan-atics tend to forget that when they try to break into it.

]]> By: Scott http://gregghurwitz.net/2010/01/28/breaking-in-to-comics-the-inside-word-from-a-marvel-editor/comment-page-1/#comment-1109 Scott Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:18:35 +0000 http://gregghurwitz.net/?p=1203#comment-1109 Thank You very much GH. Interesting and sounds hugely helpful for someone trying to go in that direction. Naturally I disagree with you on the idiot middle man part - and I must admit it's a pleasure. Thank You very much GH. Interesting and sounds hugely helpful for someone trying to go in that direction.

Naturally I disagree with you on the idiot middle man part – and I must admit it’s a pleasure.

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