Sometimes I want to wear a cape.
by marjoriemliu on Aug.03, 2010, under Kelley Armstrong and Marjorie M. Liu
“We’re on our way to rescue a queen, overthrow an evil wizard, and win back a country. Care to join us?” - Wolverine (from Marvel Comics, X-Men, etc)
It’s been mentioned more than once that I’m nuts to write so many different things, but as I like to joke, I’ve got a black belt in crazy — so that makes it all okay.
In addition to novels, I write comic books. I didn’t grow up reading comics. In fact, I remember being less than impressed when my friends would drag their latest haul to school and flip through them with a sort of wide-eyed wonderment that I just didn’t get. The pictures were pretty, but what else was there?
Fast forward a couple years. I started watching the X-Men cartoon on FOX, and that sealed the deal. I loved that show. It was gritty and kind of grown-up, and the characters had actual story-arcs that played out through each successive episode. It was really good stuff. But I still wasn’t reading comics. I was interested, but I didn’t have access to them.
Until I went to college. Powerhouse Comics was just down the street, and one day I wandered in. No one else was there. Just me and the man who ran the place, and who was happy to let me browse on my own. I picked up the X-Men that day, and Batman, Deadpool…a lot of books. And then I went back the next week, and the week after that. I began collecting issues. I spent real money. What was I thinking?
I was thinking that I loved this stuff! It was pure soap opera. A gruff man with claws getting his heart broken; a woman who could never touch another living being (not even the sexy thief who loved her); space battles and cosmic powers; and kids saving the world. I wanted to write those characters! I wanted to play in that universe!
So, fast forward another couple years. I’d sold my first novel, and was seated with my agent. It was Halloween. Her adorable son ran up wearing a Spiderman costume, and I said, “Wow, that is so cute. And by the way, I read comics and love them.”
And my agent said, “Well, it just so happens that Marvel signed a licensing agreement with Pocket to publish novels based on certain characters…and I know the editor who is looking for writers.”
That caught my attention. I submitted a proposal and ended up writing X-Men: Dark Mirror. And that, friends, was my foot in the door. The folks at Marvel liked the work I did on the novel, and after three years of discussion, they invited me to write NYX: No Way Home. That led to my current run on Dark Wolverine, which led to Black Widow, and the upcoming X-23. I’ve been blessed with the chance to work with wonderful artists, editors, and writers in a completely different genre than the one I began in, and it’s been a fantastic experience.
Kelley Armstrong, who had a wonderful run on Angel, is joining us tomorrow — and I’d love to know how she got her start in comics. Kelley? How did that happen for you?
In the meantime, I’m giving away a copy of NYX: No Way Home, Dark Wolverine: The Prince, Masked (an anthology of superhero fiction), and X-Men: Dark Mirror to one lucky person who leaves their name in the comments. Chime in with some of your favorite superheroes and comic books!
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- Hello and Goodbye I have really enjoyed reading what Marjorie & Kelley have had to say about comics, writing, and climbing over (or pushing through) writer’s block, but it is once again time to pass the torch. Anything you want to add, Marjorie or Kelley, before we hand things over to . ....
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August 3rd, 2010 on 8:46 am[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Marjorie Liu, Marjorie Liu, Bella Pagan, Melissa, Melissa and others. Melissa said: RT @marjoriemliu: I'm blogging today (and for the next two weeks) at Babel Clash, and giving away A LOT of stuff: http://shar.es/01c2u [...]
August 3rd, 2010 on 6:05 am
My real introduction to Marvel superheroes was the “Secret Wars” back in the 80’s. As the various heroes and villains gathered together, quarreled and fought, I learned about the various characters and started picking favorites to read. Spiderman. Iron Man. The X-Men.
And of course there were Saturday morning cartoons–Spiderman and Friends, reruns of the old 60’s version of Spiderman…
And I liked the Iron Man movie much more than the Dark Knight movie.
You can say, then, “Make Mine Marvel.”
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:27 am
My introduction to the comic books was the same as yours - watching X-Men on TV. While it hasn’t led me quite in the same direction (I enjoy anime and RPG video games a bit more than US superheroes), it was the point where one could sit down and say, ‘just because it’s a cartoon doesn’t mean it’s made only for children.’ Love the story line in Full Metal Alchemist and Bleach, and I’ve only logged 80+ hours in Final Fantasy XIII
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:42 am
Great post! My brother was always the comic collector and artist growing up, still is actually. You don’t think there is much in language in comics, but let me tell you ~ that is a line of mush. My brother was better with his language than any other his age. He used words that he had to have pulled out of a dictionary, right!?! Nope, he got them from the comics he read and collected.
I was always amazed with them, but never really got into them when I was younger. But, now with really getting into books and such I have started to enjoy the comics and graphic novels as well.
I think the character I enjoyed, and there are a few of them, but I remember Spawn. Wild character.
August 3rd, 2010 on 8:46 am
Hi, Marjorie. I can remember reading the Archie comics when I was young. The other day I was sorting through some of my dads old stuff and found a Dell Comic from 1952! The Lone Ranger, Vol 1, No. 45, it cost .10 cents. My daughter loves mangas..she have several series she is collecting. She also is an art major and loves drawing anime.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:12 am
My introduction to comics came from a gift of assorted comic books an elementary friend gave me for my birthday one year. Among them was a reprint of Jean Grey’s rebirth as Phoenix (”I am life! I am Phoenix!!!”) and Uncanny X-Men 260, starring Dazzler, who would later become my favorite character. Soon after I devoured Dazzler’s solo series (a closeted superhero who was trying to balance her own dreams/desires with responsibility to family and a sense of justice, all the while coping with impossible situations through a self-deprecating sense of humor!). So began my affinity for strong women in the X-universe in general and the gay/mutant metaphor couldn’t have resonated with me more as I came to terms with my own sexuality.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:23 am
I am pretty sure this one was before your time on campus here, but a UW artist started a Madison based character called The Badger. He was just your average guy (who was a veteran with multiple personality disorder). One of his personalities was the masked hero The Badger. It was very tongue in cheek with lots of martial arts. I picked it up every time a new one came out (along with others) from the small comic shop on campus and somewhere hidden at my parents house there is a picture of me working a high school Halloween dance dressed up as him. Lucky for me my TKD outfit was the right colors.
While strongly comedic, there were some definite characters there.
August 3rd, 2010 on 9:42 am
The first comic I can remember reading is an issue of Captain America after Steve Rogers had quit in the 80s. I think it was US Agent who took over for him at that time and in this issue he was being trained by Taskmaster to mimic Steve so the public wouldn’t know it was a different man under the mask. I was too young to know exactly what was going on, but this sticks in my head solely because I couldn’t figure out why the hero was working with the villain.
Oh, and there was a new Falcon, too, but I have no clue who that actually was. Wikipedia is no help (maybe it was a guy named Roscoe?). Now that will be bugging me for the rest of the day.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:18 am
I am SO thrilled that you’re going to be wqriting the X-23 on-going. I’ve been in love with her since I picked up her 6 issue story, then I had to go buy the NYX stuff (where I discovered your writing) with her in it and loved the whole NYX story too.
I’ve been interested in comics pretty much since I could read, but hadn’t really gotten into them untill the past couple of years (due to money and time constraints). Since money is still a bit of an issue, I’ve found that my Marvel Digital Comics subscription birthday present to myself last year has been a fantastic value!
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:42 am
I remember watching the old 70s Spider-man repeats and Spider-Man and his amazing friends - I think I liked Iceman better (I still wish more would be done with him). And I think my first comics were Flash and Justice International, when I was ill or visiting a hospital.
In the 90s I watched a lot of X-Men, Fantastic 4 and Iron Man cartoon and started collecting Marvel comic, I think I started with Spider-man and it was Ben Riley… That was confusing!
So my favourites are Iceman, Deadpool, Spider-man, Multiple Man, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, as of recently, and more but those come to mind first.
August 3rd, 2010 on 10:50 am
I loved the Rogue/Gambit storyline in the Fox cartoon series! With all the X-Men movies coming out, I’m really hoping they’ll do one on those two.
August 3rd, 2010 on 11:24 am
I’ve always wanted to get into comics, but I had no idea where to start. As far as I knew, I didn’t know any comic book readers as a kid, or as an adult. My very first comic was actually the Lex Luthor series a couple of years back, and only because I was watching Smallville at the time, and Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor was my favorite character.
August 3rd, 2010 on 12:57 pm
The first comics I remember receiving were a few of the old Marvel G.I. Joe comics (had to have been mid - ’80s.), New Mutants, and…ALF. Kind of shows my age and maturity level I guess.
When I actually started buying comics, the one that stuck out the most to me was a Captain America arc with lots of blood and violence. I didn’t quite expect to see that. Granted, I got the comic from a gas station on vacation, so I wasn’t really involved with comics just yet. I actually think it was around the same time as the US Agent stuff Chris mentioned above.
The first comics I actually went out and specifically started collecting were Daredevil, Lobo, Batman, and Punisher. Shortly after, I discovered Wolverine and X-Men (during Jim Lee’s reign), but to this day, I hold a special place in my heart for my fantastic four of Batman, Lobo, Daredevil, and Punisher.
Congrats on all your success. I’m very jealous as I have “write a Batman story arc” on my Bucket List.
Great to hear about X-23. She’s one of the reasons I read X-Force!
August 3rd, 2010 on 4:10 pm
I also came late to comics and have since plunged in neck deep. My first comic was Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, actually. I picked it up in high school and I fell so in love with Dream and his siblings, that I began haunting the local comic shop whenever I had extra money - Batman, Spawn, Punisher those were (are still are) some of my favorites. What can I say? I like the dark stuff.
Right now, I’m loving Walking Dead, Chew, Haunt, Unwritten, Gantz, and Pandora Hearts.
August 4th, 2010 on 11:40 am
I like Wolverine and the Xmen comics. I also like Wonder Woman and Hawk Girl. We need to see some female superhero movies soon.
August 4th, 2010 on 1:35 pm
I’ve always been a comics fan and loved reading X-Men. My favourite was a toss up between Rogue and Storm. I also read Wonder Woman, Superman, Spiderman, The Fantastic Four and many others.
I also read all sorts of others kinds like The Unexpected, Dark Mysteries (if I could find old copies), Tarzan of the Apes, WW2 comics and Western comics too.
August 4th, 2010 on 1:55 pm
I didn’t really read US comics as a kid except maybe borrowed Archie comics. What I read was Tintin and the Fantastic Five (a comic based on Enid Blyton books), but I did watch the X-Men cartoons and I loved those. When I came to the states I got sucked into manga and anime over American comics, but I’ve been exposed to them now because of my husband’s love for Wolverine.
August 5th, 2010 on 12:01 am
My introduction to comics began with Herge’s Tintin books, as well as the Asterix series. Not exactly X-Men, but it was the beginning…
August 8th, 2010 on 4:04 pm
I love Wolverine
jellybelly82158 at gmail dot com
October 1st, 2010 on 8:45 pm
Who would have thought about this.