7. Writers And Artists Don't Hang Out
SkypeIt's nice to imagine that the creation of a comic book is just like hanging out with a group of friends. You sit around, shoot the breeze, make jokes, and maybe - just maybe - come up with some cracking ideas. We might also like to think of it as like the writer's rooms we're getting more access to, in interviews and the like, for hit television shows. They're actual rooms full of creative people who will "break" a story together and remain truly collaborative throughout the process. For a certain type, spending all your time in a room full of similarly creative people sounds like nirvana. Yeah, comics don't work like that, and they haven't for a long time. Even in the heyday of Marvel and DC it wasn't really how it worked. Sure, their bullpens had a few house artists and writers who shared an office, but for the most part the freelance nature of the industry meant that precious floor space was reserved for the editors and publishers, whilst writers and artists had to go sort their own studios, or else work from home. Which is still how most creative teams in the industry work, and rarely in the same studios or homes. In fact sometimes you get people who don't even work on the same continent, and in mainstream comics especially it can be rare for a writer to even meet the artists they work with. They will talk over email, Skype or phone, sure, but meeting face to face and hanging out? Doesn't really happen, my friend. Oh, except in one instance.