Fear and Moaning in San Diego
Hi there gang -- I'm back! Ol' Widgett stood in for me while I was off to Southern California and handed in the last two issues of Director's Cut that you read, along with a couple more that are in the pipeline and will hit the screen this coming weekend. All this and he does windows, too.
I'm going to hold off on my script review of Kevin Smith's shelved version of The Six Million Dollar Man again -- I've got a little rant to get off my chest. For those of you who were hoping to see my critique of Smith's homage to the Steve Austin Fan Club, tune in next week.
Now, where was I? Oh yes.
This is the worst time in the history of seeking employment within the comic book industry. Now, take a moment to digest that last sentence, regardless if you're even aware of comics or are just focused on film, it's something I'd like to share with you. It doesn't matter what level of the comic book biz you're in the groove for 'cuz things are bleak. On one hand, indie comics like Lowell Cunningham's Men in Black can be translated into a film and become the highest grossing film of the year. These also a bunch more comic book movies coming soon to your cineplex like Bob Burden's Mystery Men, Mike Mignola's Hellboy or Steve Seagal's House of Secrets to name a few. Actually, the rule for the moment seems to be this: if it's not a major iconic superhero that the general public has heard about, it's getting made into a feature. If it's Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man or anything else published by DC or Marvel...well, at least The X-Men movie is coming along. But that's it.
If you're looking to get a job working in the comic book business then get ready for even worse news: it's almost impossible. Artists have a better go at it than writers; it's easier to show your work when it's visual rather than handing an editor a stack of ten-page manuscripts. There's a couple of reasons just why the industry is in a major slouch and I'm not going to dive into them here lest I bore you away. Just trust me on this one. Or, better yet, if you know an editor/writer/inker/penciller/letterer/colorist working in the comic biz, ask them. Things are not going well for comics as a whole.
My specific vantage point on this whole shebang is as a writer. I went down to the world's largest comic convention to try and drum up something, anything, as a writer of fiction. Now, since writers already have a harder time pitching their talents to an editor who hasn't heard of you, and there's X number of writers also trying to find work in a rapidly shrinking number of comic titles, you're starting to get the picture of what kind of wall I was facing.
(As a side-note, don't fret too much. I'm working freelance for the nice people at Wizard: The Guide to Comics on odds-n-ends, and that's a paying gig. Even though it's straight forward journalism and not telling stories it's fun work and I like the gang I work with. However I want to tell stories -- that's my passion, and even though you're having a blast doing the other stuff there's a part of you that wants to get the chance to show your stuff.)
As cons go it was fun. There's getting to be more crossover from movies and multimedia at the SDCC -- a number of studios and Hollywood people were wandering around the booths or hosting panels. I spotted John Carpenter late Thursday night at the Hyatt hotel walking past me, which as a fanboy makes you do a mental hi-five while the other side of your brain tries to make sure you don't actually do that in the hallway. But I was there to try and see if the gates could be opened. I was looking to pitch my talents to editors at the big publishers even though I knew that seasoned, experienced writers and editors couldn't even get steady work. Nevertheless, there I was, and if I couldn't get work I at least wanted people to tell me what my chances were like.
I stood in line waiting for the chance to speak to a particular DC editor as two writers pitched their concept to the editor. I knew from my artist friends working in the industry that the chances of a pair of unknown writers (even with previous published credits, but still reletively unknown to the comic book readership on the whole) pitching a ten-page idea were practically non-existent. I knew that that editor has probably faced this exact same situation twenty times yesterday and would probably go through the same process another twenty times today -- "Send in your stuff and I'll try to look at it." Editors are people too and from the ones I spoke to in San Diego, after I had gotten through to them that I knew exactly how slim my chances were and I just wanted an honest answer as to any reletively unknown writer's chances in the state of comic books circa 1998, I felt that most of these editors felt sympathy with my (and our) plight.
But that's not to say all editors at every company feel that way.
I went into the Marvel booth Saturday afternoon hoping to speak to any editors there. I was told that Chris Claremont was the only one avaliable. Claremont, for those of you unaware, is best known for doing a 15-or-so odd year writing stint on Marvel's #1 comic book The Uncanny X-Men until he was fired back in 1991. Marvel re-hired him last year and now he has a sort of 'Editor-of-Editors' job at the company, overseeing the wearving of the Marvel Universe so that it roughly fits together with all of Marvel's books. He's also writing one of the books I'd love to come in and re-invent for the 21st century, The Fantastic Four. In essense: he's the Big Cheese to writers seeking work -- so be nice to him.
After I took a moment to steel my nerves and search for the proper wording to use, I walked over to the desk where he was signing books with other Marvel writers and artists. He didn't have anyone in front of him and so I introduced myself and what I wanted to speak to him about. He looked around, checked his watch. "Come back at 3:15."
"Here?" I asked. Mentally I told myself, This is a good sign...
"Yup. 3:15."
I thanked him and left, then proceeded to eat up an hour and a half wandering around the con. I knew that Claremont would most likely tell me what the DC editors had told me: things are tough all over, kid. Send in what you've got but I can't make a promise. That's all I wanted and if I could get that I'd consider it a success.
I bumped into Sean Jordan, creator/writer of ZENtertainment and hung with him for a while at the Wizard booth. Told him I had an official appointment to speak with Marvel's Big Kahuna later on and I basked in that small bit of coolness. Sure, I'm thinking there's not a hope in hell of landing a job that afternoon but getting to speak to someone of Claremont's statue is still a good thing. As 3:15 approaches I make my way back to the Marvel booth, waving ta-ta to Sean.
Claremont is nowhere in sight. Kevin Smith is fifteen feet away from me, frantically trying to sign all the Marvel books people are plunking down in front of him.
I wait five minutes. Still no Claremont. I'm beginning to get the feeling I was ditched when-
-- I nearly turn and bump into Chris Claremont. He walks around me over to where Smith is and grabs his stuff (which was apparently behind Kevin.) A couple of other Marvel writers, Joe Kelly (X-Men) and Steven Grant chat to him. Their coats are on and Claremont's getting his. Shit.
If I'm going to do something I have to do it now.
As Claremont begins following the writers I take a step forward. "Mr. Claremont? Excuse me, Mr. Claremont?"
Claremont looks at me once. We make eye contact. And then he walks right on by.
That summed up what it's like as a unknown writer trying to get work in comic books. That moment, that frustrating, fucked up moment. And then I turned around and walked out of that booth. A couple of minutes later I was laughing about it with a friend. "This", I said to him, "is a nasty con."
Yeah, it's still not right but that's what getting work in the comic book industry is all about today, boys and girls. It's nasty. I know that it's a million-to-one shot at selling your screenplay if you're still a spec screenwriter; I know it because I'm getting ready to do that. I know the odds are incredibly high against you when you try to sell your movie script. But I also know that it shouldn't be just as difficult to sell a comic script. Nevertheless it is.
I recently told a professional screenwriter I chat to that it's easier to write a comic book if you're sold a movie script. Here's my advice to any aspiring comic book writers: sell a movie script first.
That's the truth, kiddies, as disjointed and twisted as it is.
Patrick Sauriol
Creator, Chief Content Writer & Director
Coming Attractions
(Who secretly thinks far more people read his site than do Marvel's Fantastic Four comic at the present time -- draw you own conclusions from that.)
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