COMICS : Comics writers, artists finding independence online
Posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Style/188501/
For most writers and artists trying to break into the world of comics, a successful career means working on books like X-Men or Batman.
There are those, however, who carve out a place in the wilds of comics, working on creator-owned books and titles for small publishers. It’s a tough living without the glamour or pay of a gig at Marvel or DC Comics. But, for many, it’s the best way to tell very personal stories and have complete creative control.
Recent evolutions in printing, art and design software and Internet publication have made it easier to create books and find readers. So it should come as no surprise that some of the most interesting work in comics is going on far from major publishers.
A shining example is Dean Haspiel, a 40-year-old artist and writer from New York. He’s done superhero work for DC Comics, but the majority of his effort goes to the online comics (or “comix” ) outlet Acti-vate at www. act-i-vate. com, where he and friends publish their works.
Haspiel’s output includes Immortal and Fear, My Dear, both featuring his alter-ego, Billy Dogma. They are actionheavy stories that take questions of identity and the search for love and warp them into epic storytelling.
“It had been several years since I’d illustrated a comic that I wrote, and I was itching to publish a solo effort,” Haspiel says. “Rather than go through the dreaded process of selling a pitch to a publisher in hopes to get my stories in print, I decided to reverse the development process and test my stuff at a comix-friendly blog community where I could receive instantaneous responses while grooming a fan base. And, because I know many great cartoonists who felt the same way, I decided to launch Act-i-vate as a virtual studio that delivers free daily comix. So far, the experiment has worked quite well.”
The popularity garnered by his Web efforts and the continued growth of the comics industry have given Haspiel the opportunity to jump into a more typical career.
“I’m getting a lot more calls from traditional book publishers and start-ups offering me big jobs,” Haspiel says. “And, for the first time since I started working in this racket, I’m turning those big jobs down. However, never one to let a good thing slide, I get to play the altruistic agent and hook many of my comix pals up with those big jobs, and it gives me a good feeling to know the industry is expanding horizons and becoming less insular.”
Haspiel’s most mainstream effort of late is a collaboration with indie comics author Harvey Pekar. After illustrating all of The Quitter (Vertigo, $ 12. 99 ), he also contributed to American Splendor: Another Day, which is out in trade paperback (Vertigo, $ 14. 99 ).
MADMAN Another well-known creator who has resisted the urge to move full-on into mainstream titles is Mike Allred, creator of Madman. Like Haspiel, Allred also has worked for large publishers, but most of his focus has gone to very personal projects, such as his ongoing Madman series (Image, $ 2. 99 ). Of the various books he’s worked on, Allred says, “I love them all, but there’s no question that I flat enjoy Madman the most. It flows easy and is a crazy good time. It satisfies all my creative juices without any stress or fear or concern with how it will be received.” Madman tells the story of Frank Einstein, a former hit man who died and was reanimated with superpowers and burning questions about his past. It’s the only deeply existential book that features robots, aliens and beatniks as villains.
Allred says the many resources available to fledgling creators and new computer programs have made the process easier, but he stressed that anyone looking to jump into comics still needs to put in a lot of work.
“Prepare to produce at least 100 pages of crummy work before really clicking,” he says. “Always look for ways to improve. Be your harshest critic, but also never lose the desire to keep going. Do everything you can to maintain the joy of the process. As long as you love the work, it won’t be work — you’ll keep going and get better and build audience as you go.”
Just beginning on that path are Chris Gumprich and Dennis Culver, creators of Undercard ($ 5 ), a self-published quarterly series about a has-been boxer. Artist Culver says they’re hoping to use the book as a toehold into the industry.
“A lot of people think a comic is done once it’s printed, but that’s only half,” he says. “The other half is making sure people know about the work. [Writer ] Chris and I have both had different backgrounds doing promotion. He’s been involved in politics, while I’ve spent a few years in sales. I think the attention we’ve gotten has been a direct result of that experience.”
Self-published books range from Undercard to the far more elaborate (and brilliantly printed ) God the Dyslexic doG ($ 15 ). Created by father-son team Philip and Brian Phillipson (who work full time in animation ), the book is a psychological and mythological romp centered on a bad pun.
The two enlisted famed indie artist Alex Nino, and his wild designs instill an epic air to the story. While the book feels like the creation of full-time comics creators, Brian Phillipson stressed how difficult it was to produce amid all of his other responsibilities.
“The book takes itself seriously in the sense that Alex, Phil and myself take our work to heart and believe in the story,” he says. “A lot of blood and time was spent bringing it to life, the very independent route.”
The latest indie book I’ve encountered that’s well worth a look is Bizarre New World (Ape Entertainment, $ 3. 50 ). Like the above books, it’s a vision directly from its writer, Skipper Martin in this case.
He explained that he’d always dreamed of flight, and his book imagines what would happen if a man suddenly gained the ability to fly. As with most new indie books, Bizarre New World features surprising quality in art, writing and printing. It’s a story with a lot of heart and personality. For anyone looking to buy some of these books, you probably won’t have much luck at a comic book shop or bookstore. But all of the books have Web sites with online stores.
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY While it’s not going to unseat Cinco de Mayo as the premier holiday of May 5 anytime soon, Free Comic Book Day is in its sixth year. The idea is simple: On May 5, go to a comic book store and pick up some of the free offerings specially produced by publishers. Among the participating shops in central Arkansas are: Alternate Worlds Cards & Comics, 3212 Central Ave., Hot Springs; Collector’s Edition, 3217 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock; The Comic Book Store, 9307 Treasure Hill Road, Little Rock, and KAPOW ! Comics, 4047 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood. E-mail: vjensen@arkansasonline. com