CHARLES SOULE
I write and I sing and I play.
The Land of 10,000 Things- Twitter
- Watch
- Tell me something.
-
Posts
- May 15, 13
Wow, this has been a long time coming. I’ve been working on Strange Attractors – my story about New York City, complexity theory and the people affected when they interact – since at least January 2006, and my guess is that I had the seed of the idea back in 2005. Of course, the most intense period of work was from roughly fall 2010 through fall 2012 while the story was being drawn, but still, that’s a long road for any book.
It hits comic store shelves today, and will be available at bookstores and via Amazon in a few weeks. I’ve been doing a ton of press for it, so I’m a bit talked out about the premise, but in a nutshell, it’s a real-world thriller with some sci-fi touches, about two genius complexity mathematicians who are able to use extremely high-level applications of the Butterfly Effect to (more or less) make New York City do whatever they want. One of the reviews that hit today called it “equal parts Ex Machine, Sandman and Planetary,” and that’s a comparison I can certainly live with.
If you’re the kind of reader who likes books by Jonathan Hickman, Warren Ellis or Neal Stephenson, or Christopher Nolan movies that don’t involve Batman, then I think this might be your kind of story. If you’d like to know more about the story, check out this interview I did with Multiversity.com, a pretty fantastic review from MTVGeek and another lovely writeup from ComicBastards.
Here’s the Amazon link if you think you might like to order it, and your local comic shop can certainly help you out as well – just ask for it.
If my ongoing work for DC or Marvel brought you here, consider trying something on the creator-owned side. I know the entire creative team is really proud of this book, and we’d love to see people reading it far and wide.
Stay complicated!
- Apr 25, 13
I love C2E2 – I’ve gone every year since its inception, and it’s always a good time. It’s the con where 27 was picked up back in the day, it’s the con where Strange Attractors was announced (last year) and it’s the con where it will debut (this year). I have at least one additional big announcement coming this show too. Aside from comics, Chicago’s a really quick flight, the food’s fantastic, and I look forward to going for a run along the waterfront every year. From Grant Park over to Millenium Park and then to Navy Pier and back – hard to beat it.
As seems to be the case every year, C2E2 changes for me based on what’s happening with my writing. I’m not tabling this year, but I still have one of the busiest schedules I’ve ever had at a con, between panels and signings. That’s due in large part to the release of Strange Attractors, my beautiful new hardcover OGN, published by Archaia. I’ve posted about it before – there’s a tag on the blog if you want to see those posts, which include art and so on. You can also read the whole thing digitally here: http://www.comixology.com/Strange-Attractors/comics-series/9685, and if you want the hardcover, you can get it at the Archaia booth at C2E2 this weekend or at finer retailers near you very shortly – I think either May 1, 8 or 15, depending on the vagaries of international shipping.
I should also say that I was truly touched by the support people showed for my first Swamp Thing issue (#19), which came out about three weeks back. If you scroll down, you’ll see that I was a bit nervous about it, but many of you seemed to connect with it, and that’s all I can ask. We have some incredible stuff coming as the run continues – next issue’s out next week, in fact – and I think that if you liked 19 you’re going to love where we go from there.
Now, here’s my C2E2 schedule:
Friday, April 26
12:30- 2 PM – STRANGE ATTRACTORS SIGNING (Archaia, Booth 1019) – I’ll be signing as many copies of Strange Attractors as you can shove at me.
4:30-5:30 – DC ALL ACCESS PANEL (Room W474) -
6:00-7:00 – STRANGE ATTRACTORS SIGNING (Archaia, Booth 1019) – As before, signing away.
Saturday, April 27
12:45-1:45 PM – DC NEW 52 PANEL (Room W474) – If there’s anything you didn’t ask me on Friday at the DC panel, here’s your second chance!
2:00-3:00 PM – STRANGE ATTRACTORS SIGNING (Archaia, Booth 1019) – by now I’m sure you get the drill.
3:15-4:15 PM – POP & COMICS PANEL (Room W475b) – I’m on this panel with a bunch of other creators who have worked on music-related comics. I’ve done this before at a number of cons, and it’s always a really interesting, compelling discussion. If you like music OR comics, very much worth your time.
4:30-5:30 PM – MARVEL FROM NOW! TO INFINITY (Room W474) – I’ll be talking about Thunderbolts and how it ties into Marvel’s upcoming Infinity crossover. Should be fun.
6:00-7:00 PM – STRANGE ATTRACTORS SIGNING (Archaia, Booth 1019)
Sunday, April 28
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – STRANGE ATTRACTORS SIGNING (Archaia, Booth 1019)
It’ll be a pretty packed con, but I hope I get to see each and every one of you. Viva Chicago!
- Apr 02, 13
I’m writing this on April 2, 2013, which means that tomorrow, my first issue written for one of the “Big 2″ publishers of American comics – Marvel or DC – will appear on shelves. That issue is Swamp Thing #19. It opens a new storyline following the completion of the long and wonderful “Rotworld” story written by Scott Snyder, with primary art from Yanick Paquette. The penciller for 19 is Kano – he also inked his own work. Colors were by Matt Wilson, letters by Travis Lanham, and the book was ably edited by Matt Idelson and Chris Conroy. The cover was drawn by Andy Brase. Every single one of them did amazing work.
Tomorrow marks a significant milestone in my comics writing career. Writing for the Big 2 isn’t the only reason I got into comics. Creating my own characters and stories will always be something that means more than almost anything else. That said, I would be lying if I said that doing Big 2 work doesn’t matter to me. It does. A lot. Swamp Thing and other characters in DC’s stable are folks I’ve seen interacting in a thousand different ways since I was very young. There probably hasn’t been a single day since I was about six that I haven’t seen a DC character. My Mego Superman was one of my most prized possessions for several years starting with my seventh birthday. The impact of the DC characters on the world over the past 70+ years is immense. Same’s true of Marvel (although for a bit less time, of course).
Are they “just” superheroes? Sure. Do these comics tell deep stories that touch people’s lives? Sometimes, but more often they’re just disposable entertainment. Still, for me, getting to be part of that shared tradition of writers and artists – craftspeople, really – stretching back over the decades… it’s meaningful to me on a level that surprised me. I had a conversation with a friend recently at a con (it was probably Jim Zub, since he’s the guy I tend to chat with about stuff like this): Detective Comics 27 came out in 1939, so a little over 70 years ago. There have been a ton of Batman comics since then, especially if you bring in the ancillary titles like Batman & Robin, Legends of the Dark Knight and so on, but still, we figured that less than five hundred writers have ever written a Batman comic in all that time. Swamp Thing’s even crazier – the comic debuted in 1971, forty years back. In that time, there have been seventeen people who have written this character in his flagship title. I’m the eighteenth, starting tomorrow. And the names on that list of seventeen – literally some of the most brilliant comics writers to ever touch the medium. Look it up for yourself if you don’t believe me. It’s humbling and intimidating and wonderful, all at once.
I know some of those folks (awesome people one and all), and they might think it’s ridiculous that I’m saying this, but it feels almost like a bit of a fellowship. Swamp Thing is just a silly comic character owned by a huge corporation – and not even someone big like Superman. He’s a walking plant dude, for god’s sake. I could be kicked off the book ignominiously in two issues, or it could be cancelled if it doesn’t sell. But you know what? I’m still going to do my very best work. Anything less wouldn’t be true to the other writers who came before me, and those who will inevitably come after me. I don’t want to let any of those people down (even the guys who will make fun of me for writing this the next time I see them at a con), and I don’t want to let myself down. Whether you like superhero books or not, there’s a legacy of shared creation in that part of the medium that’s like nothing else in comics. Everything I do on Swamp Thing can be traced back through the years in a winding trail leading back to the very first issue. All those ideas, all those images, all that brilliance – and now it’s my turn. I best not fuck it up.
It’s just Swamp Thing. But it’s not “just” anything, really.
The issue is done, the work is complete. It’s hitting stands tomorrow, unless the world ends. We’re hard at work wrapping up the next one, and making solid progress on the next after that. That’s Big 2 monthly comics, though – you only get a moment to take a breath and appreciate what you’ve made before it’s time to look ahead. That’s why I wanted to write this, to crystallize for a moment in my own mind what it’s meant to have worked so long and so hard, and to finally be at the point where I’ll go to the shop tomorrow and see a Big 2 book with my name on the cover.
It doesn’t mean everything, and if it hadn’t ever happened I’d still be thrilled to be making comics – I’ve already been incredibly fortunate with my comics work up to this point – but it means a lot.
If you pick up Swamp Thing 19 at the store tomorrow, or download it (one way or another), I hope you enjoy it. I loved making it, and I hope there will be many, many more to come.
- Feb 27, 13
Tomorrow morning, at the moderately ungodly hour of 7:45 AM, I shall begin my annual spring journey westward to celebrate the weekend-long commencement of convention season that is Emerald City Comicon. I’ve written about ECCC several times before, so I won’t rehash in any great detail. We’ll leave it at this: it’s in Seattle, and it’s one of the best shows around. ECCC is the first major comic convention of the year for most folks, and then there’s at least one big show per month all the way through to New York Comicon in October. I try to keep it to one per month, because there’s a point where the fun of hanging out at shows is no longer outweighed by the stress and intensity of getting to them.
In any case, I haven’t been to a big con in about five months, so I’m rested and ready to rock. I’m really looking forward to this weekend – these shows are like weird family reunions. Actually, who am I kidding – family reunions are nowhere near as fun as cons.
I have a lot going on at ECCC this time around, and I wanted to post my schedule so that if any of you want to find me, you can. After the schedule, I’ll give the lowdown on the various projects I have in the hopper – some cool things to report.
First, I will be sitting at table I-15 in Artist’s Alley for the majority of the show. I’ll be near an amazing set of creators, so even if you could care less about chatting with me, it’ll still be worth your time to hit up section I. ECCC always has one of the best Artist’s Alleys around, and I can’t imagine this year will be any exception. I will have the following things for sale:
27 (First Set and Second Set trades)
Strongman (Vol. 1 and the always impossible to find Vol. 2 – both of these will be pretty limited quantities, though)
The ECCC variant cover version of Strange Attractors #1 – 26 pages of absolutely gorgeous images of New York City and mathematicians doing nefarious things with complexity theory. Also limited in number. We only made fifty, and I’m holding a bunch back for various purposes. Here’s what the cover looks like:
T-shirts! I still have some 27 shirts left, and I’ll bring what I have.
I will be on three panels:
1. ARCHAIA PRESENTS: HOW I BROKE INTO COMICS (AND HOW YOU CAN TOO!) -Friday, 4 PM, Room 3AB. This will be a great opportunity for aspiring writers and artists to learn how a number of established pros got into the business. Aside from me, you’ll also be able to hear from Royden Lepp (Rust), David Marquez (Ultimate Spider-Man), David Petersen (Mouse Guard) and others.2. THE ONI PRESS “REVOLUTIONIZE COMICS” PANEL -Saturday, 6PM, Room 3AB. Oni’s going to be announcing a new title here, and if you’re at all interested in whether or not that’s a series I’m writing (it is), then come, enjoy. I would guess you’ll get to see some of the amazing art from… ah, well, wait and see. Honestly, I’m incredibly proud of this project, and I’m thrilled that I’ll finally get to tell you guys something about it. Even if you could care less about what I have going on, the panel will also boast Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt from Sixth Gun, and Joelle Jones (working with Cullen on Helheim.) Oni panels are always fun.3. WRITERS UNITE – Sunday, 12:20, Hall C. I’ve done this panel four or five times at conventions across the country, and it is a DO NOT MISS event. The ever-voluble and informative Jim Zub moderates a panel of skilled, successful writers (and me) as we share our thoughts on successful comics writing. It covers everything from story techniques to pitching to format to networking. No subject is off the table, and it’s often wildly funny. The emphasis is on practical, useful information that isn’t typically disseminated. This year, the panel will feature Jim, me, Cullen Bunn and possibly another foxy young comics superstar. Really worth your time if you want to write comics, and I’m not just saying that because I’m on the panel.Beyond the panels, I’ll also be signing posters and the ECCC Strange Attractors variant at the Archaia booth, #808, on Saturday from 1-2 and Sunday from 10-11.Should be a great show – looking forward to seeing all of you.And now, a few quick updates on what’s what…First, SWAMP THING. All is well. Very well, I think/hope. The art for my first issue is incredible, the cover looks sweet, and basically, I can’t wait until the first week of April when you guys can take a look. I’m scripted fairly far ahead, and I’ve got detailed outlines for up to the end of the year. Swampy’s in for a wild ride. (Speaking of which, I really need to do a post on my research trip down to Louisiana. That was a great time, and I learned a lot.) I wish I could tell you more than this, and I’ll see if I can’t get approval to post some art. By and large, though, I think fans of the character will be happy, and we might even convert some of those sad folks ignorant of the greatness that is Swamp Thing.If you want to hear more about my approach to the story and working in DC in general, I’d recommend this podcast. It’s a great, detailed conversation between Josh Flanagan of iFanboy.com and myself. We talk about Swamp Thing and so on, but also the creator-owned stuff and working in comics in general.STRANGE ATTRACTORS – my next big OGN project, is available in digital chapters now from Comixology. Get it here. It’s a fun story about two complexity mathematicians who use their theories to turn all of New York City into sort of a giant machine, and what happens when they turn it on. The full, gorgeous hardcover (which I have seen in mockup form and CANNOT WAIT to hold in my hands) will be available in late April, it seems. It came out incredibly well, especially the design. A large part of the story revolves around these intricate maps of NYC’s systems, and those were incorporated into the book design in a very cool way.There’s also the new thing for Oni, which I’ll talk more about next week, plus a totally unannounced limited series that I think will start around August, being drawn by a very talented friend of mine, and a one-shot featuring a character that’s arguably the entire reason people decide they want to work in comics in the first place.See you in Seattle!
- Jan 23, 13
Just a quick one today. My pal Riley Rossmo, who you probably know from a ton of great Image books including Green Wake, Bedlam, Debris and many more, sent me this amazing Swamp Thing pinup today. He said I could share, and so I’m sharing:
Gorgeous, right? I particularly like the horror that image captures. The more I write Swamp Thing (and I’m deep into my third script right now, with issues plotted out to my ninth), the more I find the scary side resonating with me. You can do anything with Swamp Thing, really, but there’s definitely a lot of room for the spooky stuff.
As a side note, I love pinups, so if any of you artist-types out there feel like doing a take on the Avatar of the Green (or any other characters I’ve written), go for it! I’ll post up whatever I get.
Finally, my first issue of Swamp Thing, #19, is in Previews right now, so if you’re looking forward to it, please pre-order with your local retailer! While most shops should carry it, the advance orders are a big part of how well a book does. I’d love to write Swampy for a good long time, so tell your guy to put it (or keep it) on your pull list!
- Jan 15, 13
…a long, mournful wail that writhes through the gnarled cypress branches like a breath of Hades’ wind, skipping over the placid surface of the stagnant mire below…
That’s the first sentence of Swamp Thing #1, by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, all the way back in November of 1972. The character has been almost continuously published since that date, and has germinated (HA!) two films, two TV shows (live action and animated, the latter of which had a spectacular theme song) as well as tons of toys, fan art, cosplay and so on. The comic has been written by some of the most spectacular talents in the business, including Alan Moore, Rich Veitch, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughan, Joshua Dysart and Scott Snyder, to name a few (and I put those names in publication order – not trying to imply any preference). Swamp Thing has always been a home for incredible, mind-stretching ideas. At its most basic level, it’s a story about a man turned into a plant-based swamp monster, who is also a sort of champion of the environment, specifically its vegetation. But in the hands of those very talented scribes, Swamp Thing became much more than just a spookshow. Swamp Thing has covered virtually every aspect of the human experience (despite having a giant lettuce as its main character.) It’s an incredible book, and well worth your time if you haven’t read it.
So, it is incredibly humbling to be the guy taking over the writing reins for the next little while on the title. First of all, I’m not sure that I’ll ever come up with something that will beat that first sentence I included up above. On the other hand, I don’t think the point of writing a book with a long history like Swamp Thing or any other DC character is to compete with or try to duplicate what’s gone before. I have an opportunity to write Swamp Thing the way I want to write him, and that’s exactly what I plan to do, come what may. I hope people enjoy my take on the character, but even if they don’t, I know I’ll have written scenes and lines I think are cool. And really, isn’t that the point? That’s why I’ve worked as hard as I have to get an opportunity like Swamp Thing. I hope it’s the first of many, but even if this is the only title I ever work on for DC (or Marvel, for that matter), it’s still amazing that it’s happened at all.
The response to the announcement has been incredibly gratifying – the worst thing I’ve seen on message boards and Twitter is “…who?”, and that’s been intermixed with tons of support and folks wishing me well (from people I know and people I don’t). We’ll see how it goes, but it definitely seems like people will be reading. In particular, I’d like to single out Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette, the book’s current creative team, who have been super helpful both behind the scenes and in public. It’s a big deal to be taking over a title from two such brilliant fellows, and their support means a ton.
Now, as far as what I’m going to be doing on the book… well, I don’t want to get too specific, because I think a lot of the joy in experiencing entertainment in any medium is coming to it as fresh as possible. If you want a few hints, though, you can read the interview I did over at i09 to coincide with the announcement that I’m the new writer. Another, more general indication, can be seen here:
That lovely tweet pretty much sums up what I want to do. Anything and everything goes, except a boring Swampy.
The interior art on the book will be handled by Kano, and I’ll tell you, from what I’ve seen he’s going to absolutely KILL it (in the best way.) Covers are by Andy Brase, and… likewise. The first piece of art from my run to be released is the unfinished cover you can see below:
Beautiful, no? Just wait until you see the final version.
My first issue will hit in April 2013, probably the first week. If you want to stay up to date on Swamp Thing and other things I have going on, the best way is to follow me on Twitter, or keep checking this space. See you in the funnybooks!
- Dec 21, 12
This has been quite a week. Crazy rumors about projects I might be taking on in the new year, the release of the first digital chapter of Strange Attractors (and the first feedback on that chapter…), actually finishing Strange Attractors and turning all of the files in to the publisher, the release of the Mankind graphic novel from the History Channel featuring one of my stories and of course, Christmas around the corner as well as the onset of 2013.
It’s been good. I’d like to quickly chat about all of this stuff before I delve into a short holiday break – no time for a long one, and sometimes it feels like I’ll never have time for a long vacation again. But I’m not complaining!
1. The crazy rumor.
No comment! All I will say is that the rumor generated a lot of supportive tweets, FB posts and so on, and regardless of its veracity, I was extremely touched by people’s apparent faith that if a rumor like that were true, that I could do a good job. Thank you!
2. Strange Attractors finished.
In case you’re coming to this blog for the first time (which seems possible – I’ve been getting a lot of traffic recently, presumably because of (1)), Strange Attractors is my next big creator-owned project, a story about two complexity mathematicians who figure out how to manipulate all of New York City’s layered systems to turn it into kind of an engine. It’s very grounded sci-fi, I suppose, and I’m very excited about it. It’s due out from Archaia this March, as one of their beautiful hardcovers.
Anyway, the book is indeed finished! The team and I worked overtime over the last few weeks to get everything done, and it feels like we spent as much time on the last minute tweaks as we did putting the whole book together. That’s obviously not true – the first art for this book came in around July 2010 (most of that hasn’t been used, except for the final cover by Dan Duncan), and the final team has been working on it steadily since May 2011. Regardless, it’s without a doubt the most complex and time-consuming project I’ve ever done, on all levels, and I hope that people enjoy what we created. As a taste – there will be plenty more to come, I’m sure – here’s the very last piece of art I got for the book, one of the amazing complexity maps created by Robert Saywitz. They’re amazing on their own, and even cooler as they’re used in the story. Check it out:
3. Strange Attractors Digital!
As I’ve discussed here and there in the past, Strange Attractors is getting a Digital First release from Archaia, which means that it will be serialized in roughly four chapters leading up to the release of the hardcover. It’s set up to be read on your digital devices – e-readers, ipads, etc. The first chapter is available now, right here. Totally affordable, too – $2.99 for 26 full-color, gorgeous pages! Treat yourself – it’s the holidays!
We even got our first review, from the cool folks at Comicosity. They gave it a 9.0/10, and here’s a representative quote:
“I highly recommend this first chapter in Strange Attractors.”
Whaddya want? If you need more, click over – I’d love to send them the hits. Suffice it to say, they dug it, which is incredibly encouraging and gratifying. Getting something new out into the world is always nerve-wracking, and it’s wonderful to be able to think that the time and effort we’ve put in might connect with readers.
3. Mankind: the Story of All of Us
Over the summer, I wrote a story for the second volume of the graphic novel series the History Channel put together to be released in conjunction with their epic miniseries Mankind: The Story of All of Us. It’s the biggest production they’ve ever done, a multi-part series covering the evolution of human society over the millennia. Super cool, and I was thrilled to have a part in it. I wrote a 16-page story entitled “The Gun,” which deals with the invention and innovation surrounding firearms, mostly in China, and it’s really great stuff. The art’s wonderful, and the other stories are all amazing too. You can get it here – I think it might be a great gift for teen readers, if you know any young folks into history (not bad for adults, either!) Here’s the kickass Neal Adams cover:
And there you have it. I’m sure we’ll have a lot more to talk about soon – 2013 is looking like a really big year, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
- Nov 29, 12
A few days ago, a very close friend of mine in the comics world put up a post on his blog that’s getting a lot of attention. The fellow’s Jim Zub, and you’ve probably seen him mentioned on this blog quite a bit – he writes the fantastic action fantasy series Skullkickers for Image, as well as many other great titles both online and for print. Very talented writer and great guy. If you don’t know his stuff, you should.
Anyway, apart from the writing side of things, Jim is also a very canny businessman. He consistently finds unique approaches to marketing and promoting his work – for example, his latest arc of Skullkickers is relaunching with a “new #1″ titled “Uncanny Skullkickers” – it’s funny, it’s getting him press and chances are it’ll move him some additional books. That’s the way you have to be in indie comics (and I’m firmly considering Image to be indie – some people debate this, but while Image does take some of the burden off a creator, really the lion’s share of making the book and making sure people find and care about it rests on the people making the book.) It’s really not enough to be talented, although that’s where it all starts. You also need to be a master huckster, smart businessman and be fairly tireless. Getting a comics career up and running is a full-time job.
The problem, of course, is that while working in comics can take as much time as any other job, it doesn’t necessarily pay like one. In that recent post I mentioned up above, Jim goes through the nuts and bolts (nickels and dimes, rather) of getting an indie book out the door, and what sort of return you can actually expect. He uses a mid-range book from an Image-type publisher (so that’s lumping in publishers like IDW, Boom, etc.) as his test case, selling around 5,000 copies per month. That’s actually a VERY successful monthly run for an indie book these days. The biggies like Saga and Walking Dead do much more, of course, but they’re the white whales of indie comics – it’s not unusual for an indie book not to crack a thousand. His model comes to the conclusion that after everyone takes their slice, the creators are left with a page rate that’s well under $100 – to be split between everyone – writer, artist(s), letterer, cover artist, design, etc. The article is here, and you should really go give it a read – but then come back, because there’s more to be said about it!
Now that you’re up to speed, let me say that I don’t disagree with Jim’s conclusions in the least. I’ve had books that have sold above the 5,000 number, and books that have sold below (sometimes WELL below), and the basic gloss of what he’s saying is correct – there’s not a ton of cash in comics at the indie book level, and it can be hard to make back your investment … if money is all you’re going for.
Jim’s post is important and really useful, in part because it covers an area that people don’t often talk about, at least not to that level of detail. But money isn’t all comics is about. I think there are three reasons people want to do comics: money (not necessarily getting rich, but being able to make a living from telling stories), fame or creative freedom.
Let me handle that last one first: having worked in a number of creative mediums, I can say that creating a comic is one of the purest, least-liable-to-be-fucked-with ways of telling a story out there. The comics audience is incredibly open to new expression, and if your idea and execution are good, you’ll absolutely get eyeballs. You also don’t have to compromise your work for financial reasons – because there really are no financial reasons. That’s the upside. It’s rare that someone’s going to tell you not to give your character antennae because a focus group said antennae aren’t playing well in Peoria right now. Because nothing makes a ton of money, nothing HAS to make a ton of money, and that’s freeing. So no matter how much money or acclaim you get, you can count on that freedom, and for many people that’s enough.
Cash and fame are more problematic. You can get a certain level of notoriety just by continuing to put work out – there are people with long, storied careers in comics who never really have a “hit,” just like there are plenty of awesome cult bands who never break through in a big way. But to get famous, even comics famous, you need that big book, and that’s directly linked to the money question, too. Fortunately, I have an approach to recommend that I’ve seen succeed again and again! Check it out:
If you want the big dough and the big name out of your indie comics career, I think you need to consider it sort of like you might approach investing in the stock market. When investing in high-risk companies (basically new, unproven companies – just like your indie comics ideas no one’s heard of yet!) you really don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. The reason for this is that most companies fail. So, you spread your capital around and hope that perhaps one of the ten (or the hundred) companies you invest in pays off in a big way. Same principle can work for comics. The chances are low that if you find a way to put out one book, then you’ll all of the sudden be on the map. But if you put out five, and all of them are great – even if they appeal to different audiences – it accumulates into an overall greater probability that you might get that brass ring. (If you don’t like the stock market analogy, swap that out for Powerball tickets – works the same way.) Look at the early careers of guys like Josh Fialkov, Sam Humphries, Nick Spencer, Brian Michael Bendis and I’m sure a bunch more that I’m forgetting. It wasn’t about one book, it was about all the books.
You might be thinking, “Great. It’s hard enough to get ONE book out, and now this ass is telling me to do ten?” Well, yeah, it’s hard. It’s INCREDIBLY HARD. It’s not easy to get famous, and it’s not easy to get rich. Fortunately, making comics is easy to love, and that’ll get you through.
In my opinion, all you should NEED when you start to make comics is the freedom to create. Comics will give that back to you in spades. If you decide you need ducats or standing ovations, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. It’s okay to want those things, and work really hard for them, just don’t need them. If you can.
- Nov 08, 12
I fondly remember my original intention to have this entire series – a breakdown on contracts and agreements for creators – done over the course of a few weeks. Fortunately for me, and perhaps unfortunately for those waiting with bated breath for each chapter, I ended up getting so busy with non-blog writing that it was difficult to carve out the time to finish it up. However, I’ve gotten enough comments, Twitter mentions and so on to know that people are actually finding this series to be pretty useful, so I’ll redouble my efforts to get it done. Assuming things go as planned, there will be six chapters total, plus a seventh that will be composed mainly of a sample agreement or two for creators to use.
The previous four installments covered contracts in general, rights, term/termination provisions and work-for-hire. While it’s not essential, I would suggest reading those before going through this chapter, which will discuss scary language in contracts – the sort of things you want to think twice about before agreeing to.
Before I get into those, let me first say that the “goodness” or “badness” of a contract, or any specific provision in it, is very much context-dependent. To illustrate, let me tell you a story: in the early days of Saturday Night Live, the agreements with the performers were much like the contracts on any television show. The actors showed up, helped to write sketches, performed, took a day to sleep and then did it all again the next week. Anything they did outside the scope of that job wasn’t covered under the contract. As some of those early actors started to get famous (Belushi, Murray, Chase, Radner, etc.), they began to appear in movies during the SNL summer hiatus. Some of them went on to lucrative sitcom careers. Others didn’t (Where Art Thou, Charlie Rocket?), but by and large, it started to become clear that SNL was a major launching pad for a career in entertainment. Eventually, Lorne Michaels and his people realized that if they were going to be picking comedians out of obscurity and essentially handing them (some of them, anyway) multi-million dollar movie careers, then they should participate in some of that. So these days, if you sign on at SNL, you agree to cut them in to a portion of entertainment projects you are able to get going for a specified period – even after you no longer work at the show.
You know what, though? That’s really not such a bad deal. SNL is a proven commodity as a talent launcher. Getting a spot on that show is like winning the lottery as far as national exposure. So, what would have been a terrible agreement for Bill Murray to sign (because when he started on SNL it was just a scrappy variety show that no one could have predicted would go as far as it did) turns out to be pretty darn okay for a guy like Jason Sudeikis. The point is that context is really important when dealing with contracts. The most important thing is to understand what’s in front of you. If you understand it, and how it might affect you, then you know what you’re going to object to.
So, some things to watch for – first, tread carefully any time you see the word “perpetual” in a contract, or you see a term that doesn’t seem to ever end. Perpetual means, of course, forever. If you’re granting a perpetual right, license or anything like that, it means that it’s basically gone forever absent a lawsuit alleging that the contract was invalid for some reason. I see this a lot – people assume a contract will last for, say, the length the book’s being published, when in fact it might go on forever. Perpetual provisions can be hidden inside other terms, and they might not be immediately obvious. There are only a few specific reasons why a term in a contract might need to be perpetual: (1) you’re being paid money specifically to give up a right perpetually, such as in a work-for-hire agreement (see the last installment for more on that); (2) the person you’re contracting with has a valid reason for needing to be able to have that right forever (like if they’re incorporating your work into something bigger that will have a life of its own, and you’re cool with that); or (3) the person you’re contracting with needs to know that they can rely on you not doing something forever (I often see this with confidentiality clauses, where you’ll get to see specific secret information as part of the contract, and they need to know you’ll keep it secret forever). Otherwise, it’s hard to see why any term needs to last forever – even those SNL contracts probably have a point where the show stops participating in an ex-player’s career. There can be exceptions to every rule. Just pay attention if you see something that’s supposed to last forever.
Next thing to watch for: deferred compensation, aka “I’ll pay you later.” As I’ve discussed in previous chapters, there’s nothing wrong with not getting paid up front if you’re sure that’s what you want to do, but it’s an area to make sure is handled in a crystal-clear fashion in the agreement. If you’re taking a piece of the overall revenues from a project, you want to know exactly how much you’re getting, and exactly when you’re supposed to get them. Watch for the terms “gross” and “net” when applied to deferred pay. If the contract says you get a share of the gross, it generally means that you get your percentage from the first dollar earned by the project. If it’s net, it means that you get paid out of what’s left after a bunch of other expenses are paid (printing, marketing, maybe even other creators). There are no absolutes here, and again, the most important thing is to understand what you’re agreeing to. Anything dealing with what you’re supposed to get paid should NOT BE VAGUE.
In fact, that’s another biggie – vagueness. A good contract is perfectly clear. There shouldn’t be anything to hide. Legalese has its place, but it’s not always necessary. Watch for a contractual partner who says something like, “well, it’s not in the contract, but if this happens, then we’ll definitely do this – you’ll be fine.” Incorrect – if something goes wrong and you end up in court, it’s almost always the contract that rules the day. (That’s called the “four corners” rule, as in “unless it’s inside the four corners of the paper that the contract’s printed on, then whatever.”) If someone is telling you something verbally that isn’t in the agreement, it doesn’t count. If they mean to stick by what they’re saying, they should be happy to put it in the agreement, in writing.
Alternative dispute resolution – this is a fancy term, also called ADR, for any way of solving a disagreement in a contract besides going to court. It primarily covers things like arbitration and mediation. The intention is to streamline disputes, so everyone can get an answer quickly and move on with their lives. These provisions are usually structured so that both sides waive their right to a jury trial or other court proceeding, and instead they have to do something else, like arbitrate. In many cases, arbitration and mediation are awesome – they really do speed things up, and they can reduce some of the uncertainty and expense connected with jury trials. However, that’s mostly true when the parties on both sides of a contract are either corporations or moneyed individuals. The thing about ADR is that it’s still pretty expensive. Filing an arbitration claim usually costs thousands of dollars. In addition, if you give up your right to a standard trial, it also means you give up one of the most powerful tools for freelance creators when they need to get paid: small claims court. In every state, you can go to small claims if you’re owed less than some threshold amount (usually $5,000-$10,000) and get a quick resolution, from a judge, that costs you almost no money. You don’t need a lawyer, you just have to show up and present your case in plain language. However, if you agree to an ADR clause, this right goes bye-bye.
Similar to the preceding point, watch for “choice of venue” clauses that would force you to sue the other party only in one specified location (usually the home base of the person giving you the contract.) If you live in Miami, and the contract requires you to sue in Oregon, that can be troublesome.
Watch for the term “best efforts” – if a contract says you’ll use best efforts on a project, it seems like you’re just supposed to try really hard – do your best. Nope. “Best efforts” is a legal term that means you will use every ounce of energy you have to complete a project, to the exclusion of everything else in your life. If you don’t, and the other side can prove it, then they can say you’re in breach and refuse to pay you. Best efforts is a term that almost never has a place in a contract. If you see it, object, and ask it to either be deleted or, at worst, amended to the phrase “commercially reasonable best efforts.”
I think I’ll stop here – there are certainly other things that can be drafted into contracts that can be troublesome, but every contract is different, too. As I’ve tried to illustrate, one person’s horrible agreement can be fine to someone else. The most important thing, again, is to read the whole thing, every single word, and understand what all of those words mean. If you don’t know what you’re signing, then you deserve what you get. Ask the other side about anything unclear, or even better, ask your own lawyer. There are plenty of pro bono arts lawyer organizations out there that will help you for free: the biggest is Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, but they aren’t the only ones out there.
Still deciding what to cover for the final installment, but I’m leaning towards some general contract negotiation tips. See you then!
- Oct 15, 12
As many of you heard this past weekend at NYCC (or in other spots if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), a new 27 short story is coming very soon! We’ll start running it on the Shadowline website before Halloween – at some point – and then it should run something like a page a day until the BEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR (or one of ‘em, anyway.)
I gave you a little preview of some of Renzo Podesta’s layouts for the story a few posts back. Now I’ll give you a preview of some of his pencils – this is 4 panels, all in a row. In context in the story, ooooh… shiver.
-
Tweets
- I sometimes break off scripting while characters are in mid-peril. I assume the characters think I am a dick for doing this.May 24, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- RT @matthewpetz: I forgot to tweet the fact that World War Z was awesome!
- Bah. Just inadvertently soaked myself. It happens.
- I just backed SLG Publishing/Art Boutiki Relocation Project on @Kickstarter http://t.co/ktz8Hr1m2b AND YOU SHOULD TOO! Support indie comics!
- @Votiga_JM First two are one-shots, then a 5-issue arc, then probably a 3-parter, but we'll see.
- @Votiga_JM Yup!
- @MagnusAspli Thanks much, Magnus. My guess would be to get it direct from @Archaia here: http://t.co/gtSWlnH0t7.
- @matthewdowsmith Yeah. My first issue (12) is out pretty soon - late June, maybe? And thank you!
- The tone I'm finding for Thunderbolts is sort of surprising me. Not exactly what I expected, but still very fun.May 23, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Cheapo chicken fried rice with sriracha. Now there's a solid, healthy lunch.
- RT @fred42: "The reason the city still exists is because of the people who love it." Interview w @CharlesSoule #StrangeAttractors http://t.…May 23, 13 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- @Votiga_JM Usually just once per year around Christmas, but occasionally more often.
- Comic Review: Strange Attractors | Geeks of Doom http://t.co/zC31InzqbI via @geeksofdoom
- @Votiga_JM I don't know it, but I just looked it up and I know the area. Tell the owner I'll stop in next time I'm in GR.
- @Votiga_JM Too funny. I lived in GR for years. What shop?
- Still thinking about scenes from World War Z - I'm a sucker for post-apoc, and the film had some really well-realized end-of-world bits.
- @DeWayneFeenstra That's fine - that interpretation works for the movie.
- They're different animals, and you can see why they made the changes they did. That "swarm" zombie effect is explained & not overused, too.
-
Uploads
