Babel Clash

“Writing comics? Still the best job in the world. I sit around all day making shit up and see it illustrated, in 99% of cases, exactly as I imagined it — if not better. I’ve been doing this a long time now, and I’m going to do it until I die. Which probably won’t be long, given the constant insane deadline pressure.” — Warren Ellis

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Congrats to Tamar bat Avraham, whose name I pulled from the hat! Contact me at marjoriemliu (at) gowebway (dot) com with your shipping information!

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I’m a novelist, first and foremost. I adore writing comics, though it’s my natural inclination to write prose. Still, I love trying new things and telling different kinds of stories, so I wasn’t put off by the challenge of trying my hand at the comic-style of storytelling — which is in script format. I’ve attached the first page of Dark Wolverine 84, so you can get a sense of what this looks like (though everyone has a different way of doing things).

I learned from example. When I first started at Marvel, editor John Barber gave me several sample scripts to study for format and style. I was already familiar with the characters I was supposed to be writing — Kiden, Bobby, from NYX — and once I sat down to write, the story flowed. That’s the thing about comics and novels — it’s all storytelling. You just have to shift your focus a bit. I did need a corrective hand when it came to pacing — visually, it’s better to end certain scenes at the end of the page, for example — and, visually, there were some things I’d written that were difficult for artist Kalman Andrasofszky to portray. But it all worked out in the end, thanks to my wonderful editors.

Yesterday, Kelley posed the question of whether or not working in comics had helped her writing. I can say, with certainty, that it has helped me. For one thing, you have to keep your stories tight. You only have twenty-two pages to play with. Sharp dialogue is incredibly important. You can’t be loose with your words, and every little bit of space counts. You also have to hone your sense of visual content. I’ve been lucky enough to work with brilliant artists, inkers, and colorists, really extraordinary people who bring tremendous life to everything they touch. When I shape an issue, I give some indication for how a panel should look — but it’s the artist who gives the story its soul.

I don’t have an artist to work with when I write my novels (oh, I would love for them to be illustrated), but working in comics has helped me develop a better instinct for what visuals are essential to a scene, what you need to progress the story without dumping in a lot of unnecessary extras. I haven’t gone completely barebones yet, but it’s something I’ve begun to think about more as I write.

Finally, I’ve learned a lot about plotting stories. I am not, and never will be, an outliner. I’ve said that so many times, in so many different ways, it’s practically part of my author identity. But, I happen to co-write Dark Wolverine with a fantastic outliner. Daniel Way can plot a story in one breath, and make it sound brilliant. I still don’t know how he does it, but I’ve learned so much from working with him; specifically, that plotting a story does not have to be some insurmountable burden. It’s an incredibly useful tool, and I’ve been attempting — in small doses — to plan out my books, tiny sections at a time. Not so far in advance that I lose the thrill of discovering the story, but just enough to help me think about the plot, instead of hurling myself headfirst and blind into it.

That mindset has been helping me as I work on my new novel (a paranormal chick-lit mystery), and it helped as I wrote A WILD LIGHT, which took several major detours, plot-wise — but each one was well-thought out!

When you read novels or comics — or newspapers, or anything at all — are you ever struck with a sense that you’re learning something? Is there one book or author in particular that you feel as though you learned something from, after reading his or her work?

“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!

The short answer is that I’d love to if the opportunity arises!  Not so much screenplays.  I tried writing a screenplay once at the urging of friend Kris Meyer.  He liked a horror short story of mine called “The Harlequin and the Train” (4200 words) and thought I should try adapting it into a movie-length screenplay.  The resulting script didn’t entirely work, I don’t think, but I liked what I’d added in terms of story, so I took the adapted screenplay and adapted it again into an experimental horror novella where the reader is asked to highlight certain words of the text yellow.  Heh.

The 37K word novella was published as a limited edition by Necropolitan Press earlier this year.  Now, I’d love to adapt this one more time: for comics.  My agent and I have discussed submitting or pitching this to comic publishers (knowing it would be a long shot), but have yet to act.  Soon, though, I think.  I hope.

Would I be any good at writing comics?  Have I done enough to prepare to write comics?  I don’t know.  I’ve done enough research this year to know that writing a comic script would be an enormous challenge for me.  Learning another medium’s language and rules and nuances is daunting.  One can dream,  though.

To add to comic/fiction crossover folks, there is Warren Ellis, and the tireless Brian Keene (horror novelist who has also written Devil Slayer comics for Marvel and is doing an original comic The Last Zombie for next summer).

Mike Carey's take on the X-Men

We’re talking about genre hopping, but we also have medium or format hopping.  We have authors such as Mike Carey and Dan Abnett writing comics.  Jim Butcher wrote a Dresden Files comic.  Neil Gaiman is writing screenplays.  George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones and Charlaine Harris’ True Blood are connected to HBO.

Bill Willingham, a highly regarded comics writer, recently took his stab at writing comics.  So comics writers are coming over to the traditional book format, too.

Dan, Paul and Jeff, have you ever had an itch to write comics?  If you had the chance, would you adapt your own work, work with an estished brand name or try something totally different?  If not, is there another medium in which you’d like to tell your tales?  Would you tackle a screenplay for your own books?