What's Wrong With A Commercial Graphic Novel?

Based on the conversations I've had with aspiring comics creators, there's the common underlying fear when it comes to creative control. They say that they're not sure that a publishing company will honor their creative integrity, and suggest that "a publisher just wants to make money" as something inherently evil. This is the reason why they choose to produce their books independently, using their own money, with a small print run and limited distribution. To them, it's okay that they don't sell a lot, as long as they get their work out.

My question, then, is: why spend all that time and money to get a book out in the first place if you're okay with mediocre sales?

Independent comics creators should worry about the bottom line as much as publishers do. Why? Because a good bottom line ensures the creator of a future in the field. If my graphic novel sold well, I would make enough to produce another book, and another. If I made a graphic novel and it hardly made a sales dent, then what's going to stop me from shifting gears towards another career altogether? What's going to stop me from throwing in the towel?

That's why publishers want to make sure a book sells. They want to keep at the business over the long run. As much as they would want to honor your creative integrity, they also wish that you'd honor their desire to make a decent buck.

This brings up the issue of the "commercial" work, which many seem to translate as "dumb." As we've seen in other media, this isn't entirely the case. In the fiction world, there are literary gems (like those of Murakami and Garcia Marquez) and throwaway fare (fill-in-the-blanks romance novellas), but there are also the commercial and readable works (by Sparks, Patterson, Grisham, etc.) . Same goes for film and television. Each medium has a spectrum that covers general demographic and psychographic preferences.

Question is: can the same be said for comics and graphic novels? Think about it. On one end, you have the highly specialized superhero niche, dominated by Marvel and DC. Note that superhero comics isn't commercial mainstream, because while it caters to a certain age group, it focuses specifically on those who like superheroes.

On the other end, you have the comics-as-literature types like Maus, Persepolis, Ghost World, American Splendor, and others. These are the "art house" denizens of the comics world.

So where are the "middle ground" comics? Where are the comics equivalent of CSI, West Wing, Devil Wears Prada, Desperate Housewives, The Bourne Identity, Meet The Fockers, The Sixth Sense, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Twilight Saga, Gossip Girl, etc.? The kind of comics that have a strong commercial potential (read: are meant to sell) and yet doesn't insult the intelligence of an audience? If there are such comics, why aren't there a lot of them?

As an exercise, think about those commercial movies, novels, and television shows that you love. Now isolate those based mostly on the story--tough, but it can be done. Then ask yourself, are there any comics out there that have similar stories? If there aren't, it might be a good idea to develop one, with the bonus of your adding your unique spin to it. The key here is to develop story ideas that can cater to a commercial audience, but at the same time, allow you to practice your creative integrity.

Your Graphic Novel Career

Here's the deal. Below is a a simple project schedule that can help you put together one graphic novel every year for the next four years. This assumes that you do both writing and art chores, and the finished graphic novel will be in black and white, with at least 100 pages. (Though to me, a graphic novel should be at least 120 pages, but that's my personal preference.) This schedule can be followed during your off hours, especially if you have a day job.

Some of the items outlined are self-explanatory, but I will go through each item over the next blog entries.

PRIOR TO YEAR ONE

STAGE 1: EDUCATION

March to May (Three months) - Reorienting Yourself With the Craft and Technicals
June to July (Two months) - Keeping In Touch with the Marketplace

STAGE 2: PLANNING YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY

August (One month) - Developing Your Plot and Theme List; Self-Discovery
September (One month) - Premeditating Your Body of Work
October to November (Two months) - Churning Out Plot Summaries; Reflecting On Your Brand
December - Take a Break! Your deserve it!

YEAR ONE (YOUR FIRST BOOK)

STAGE 1: WRITING

January to February (Two months) - Plot Cleaning and Story Development
March to May (Three months) - Script Development and Editing

STAGE 2: ART

June (One month) - Production Design
July to November (Five months) - Artwork and Lettering. (For a 100-page graphic novel, five months allows you one and a half days to do one page. That shouldn't be so hard.)

STAGE 3: PRE-PRODUCTION (Congratulations! Your first graphic novel is done.)

December (One month) - Art Scanning and Cleaning; Book Design and Pre-Production

That's it. After four years, you would have four short graphic novels to boast about. If you feel time isn't on your side, you can go for three graphic novels in four years. On the fifth year, take a break while at the same time, plan for your releases for the next four years.

You might be wondering why a lot of time is focused on story development and writing. In my opinion, even though comics is a visual medium, no amount of art can elevate a so-so story to the heights of greatness. The idea is that the reader has to see your effort from both story and art vantage points. To the non-comics reader, art may just be a secondary consideration. To me, it's those two areas where a graphic novelist ought to excel.

Cover Matters 2

If you want to earn the favor of someone, you have to speak their language. You have to present to them what they expect of you, whether they be your parents, your friends, a lover, or an employer. This is a crucial part of the marketing mix. To be able to connect to what your audience is looking for is a foot in the door towards making a sale.

So far, in the comics industry, you know a comic book when you see one. The covers are pretty standard, pretty traditional in execution. There's a whole culture surrounding it. Despite the innovations we've seen over the past decade, the overall sensibility remains the same. And this sensibility has been successful in drawing the comic book crowd in.

However, it's possible that these covers reinforce the stigma surrounding the medium. If we're looking to attract a non-comics reading crowd to our work, we need to speak their language. Our closest point of reference is the bookstore.

With that, the graphic novel covers shown above aren't real. I cooked them up as an experiment. (Trademarks belonging to Marvel.)

If, the moment you first laid eyes on these make-believe covers, you've been hit by at least squint-level curiosity, then what does this say about the power of a cover to get the attention of a passerby?

Granted, the Scarlet Witch and the X-Men are somehow familiar to comics fans, but what these covers seek to do is to rip these characters out of context and present them in a different light--one that doesn't scream superhero. To the comics person, these covers may seem baffling. There's no image of any character on the covers. There's no dynamic pose, no speed lines, nothing to suggest a superhero story.

But I'll go back to what I said in the first installment of Cover Matters. The cover is a promise, and the promise can be as fundamental as red shoes. To some of you, the Scarlet Witch cover can be mistaken for a piece of "chick lit." Think "Devil Wears Prada" or "Shopaholic," in a genre that I'd suppose could inspire an interesting superhero-drama story involving Wanda Maximoff.

Wanda: "You don't understand how I feel! You're incapable of feeling anything!"
Vision: [attempting to compute]

The X-Men cover moves the mutant superhero story well into the sci-fi realm. This cover can may as well fit in the science fiction section of a bookstore. The story can contain the usual flashiness of an X-Men tale, but the cover envelops the story in a non-superhero context. For these two covers, the only thing that gives them away is the tag "A Graphic Novel." There's no deception involved.

So will these covers really attract a non-comics reading audience? I honestly don't know. But what I do know is that if you want your graphic novel to reach a new audience, you need to think out of the box. And a good place to start is finding out what your target audience is looking for in a book cover.

Making Your Story Stick 2

No, my projects aren't done yet, but I feel the need to continue blogging here, even if only on a sporadic basis. There may have been a few who have repeatedly visited despite my previous post, and I can only express my sincerest gratitude for your patience.

With that said, on we go...

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In the first installment of "Making Your Story Stick," I outlined three of the six factors comics creators can use in developing their stories. These six factors are based on Chip and Dan Heath's book, "Made To Stick." The first three factors are simplicity, unexpectedness and concreteness. Let's move forward to the latter three.

1) Credibility. By far one of the more difficult to achieve, credibility is one of the more crucial. In a crowded industry where many comics creators hope to find their place in the sun, levels of credibility set them apart. Do you know how to piece together a compelling plot? Can you write memorable dialogue? Is your research extensive? If you're a writer/artist, are your skills balanced? Can you maximize the unique qualities of the medium?

Applying Credibility: To be able to enhance your credibility, you only need to do one thing: Hone Your Skills. If you feel you need a workshop, invest in joining one. If you can find a mentor, do so. If you can post samples on your personal website or blog, present your best work and take criticism objectively. If you get encouraging feedback, don't rest on your laurels. Push yourself to do better.

The strange thing about credibility is that you can create the illusion of credibility through deep insight. You don't have to have years of concrete artistic experience to be credible, but a unique viewpoint, and a novel manner of delivering that viewpoint. The best example I can think of right now is Diablo Cody, the lauded screenwriter of the equally lauded film Juno. Not a seasoned writer by any means, Cody put herself in an enviable position with an Academy Award nomination--and she's just in her mid-twenties. Her weapon? Honesty.

2) Emotional. Over the course of this blog, you've read about creating a central character that should speak to the reader. The emotional factor is that part of your story that effectively places the reader in the shoes of the central character. You may have heard of comic book plots that harp on concept and action, rarely touching on the protagonist's emotional base. While concept-driven stories can be cool, these stories can only sustain themselves for so long. What's cool today may not be cool tomorrow.

That's why the emotional base is important. Emotional struggles are timeless.

Applying Emotions: When you're developing your story, you would most probably start with defining what your story is about in a sentence. It's the overall plot that states who wanting what against something--that's what's your story is about. But what is your story really about? Where is your lead character coming from? Why is he or she doing all this? As an exercise, take your lead character into a room and post the question, "Why?" If your character says, "Someone's gotta do it," or "Justice must be served," then give your character a good whacking on the head. As a creator, you made the character--you have every right to probe.

So while you're plotting out the way your story physically unfolds, do involve your character's emotional journey as well. The whole essence of the emotional factor is answering the reader's need: "What's In It For Me?" Use your story to tickle something within the reader--fear, anxiety, sorrow, enthusiasm, lust, longing, celebration, etc.--and offer a payoff your reader seeks. This trumps "cool" anytime.

3) Stories. Stories not only convey ideas. Stories reinforce ideas. In almost any social setting, we use stories to drive a point across, to strengthen or dispel notions, even to manipulate. In our daily lives, stories figure into how we view our circumstances as well as those of others--whether these stories come from the evening news, or through banter over a billiard game.

Have you ever been in on a fence wherein your thoughts are conflicted because of two or more opposing takes on a situation? Your girlfriend says one thing and you best bud says another? The conflict sucks you in, and you're caught in the struggle for not just the truth, but the absolute truth. The truth that you would eventually choose to believe in, and suffer for. (Political thrillers have a lot of these little stories, since most characters are allied with an ideology which they will defend, tooth and nail. These characters believe they're right--it's the writer who decides who will win.)

Applying Stories: When you develop your story, every character you have has a story to tell, and many of these stories-within-your-story are meant to place your lead character in that tight situation of determining what's right or wrong. Some stories will have more weight than others. Some stories will be irrelevant, but will add color to the overall narrative. The idea is to make your big story a living, breathing thing. A straight line, yes, but with many coils in between, tight knots your lead character has to unravel or leave alone.

Your comments, criticism, and insight will be most appreciated.