Comics are an interesting medium. It’s a medium that seems to inspire some sort of creative inspiration into everyone who reads them. If you were to log onto any message board, everyone seems to have a story want out there or they have some level of artistic talent.
I couldn’t begin to explain why this only happens in comic books. With film and television while people can point out faults and lines they would of done differently, it’s very rare you’d ever find someone who would be inspired enough to pick up a pen and try and write down a movie script or a pilot for a television programme. It just doesn't happen.
Am I included in that list of dreamers? Of course I am. My bookshelf is increasingly filling with books on the craft of writing from all sorts of mediums and my laptop’s hard drive is diminishing as more and more scripts are being saved.
Will I ever get published? Probably not.
So why keep doing it? I have no idea.
The only possible reasons I can think of is that the people drawn to comics are generally more inclined to go a little over the top and get attached to the characters. I think I would be included in that list, when I was 7 or 8 and saw Toy Story I wrote 8 sequel stories. If you think Disney milk their franchise, they’ve got nothing on me. They weren't just short 10 page stories either, they filled notepads.
The other reason could be that these characters have been around for so many years, longer then most readers have been alive. To be able to write these characters would be a privilege. With television and film, they air and it’s over. You can get them on DVD sure, but Spider-Man and Batman come at you every single month for so long that it’s hard not to let them into your hearts when reading them.
Do I have a fitting ending? No (See why I am not a writer?) but I’d be interested in hearing from you lot reading. Do you have hopes of being involved in the creative process in some form, or do you have views on why the majority of fans seem to want to? It really is a fascinating phenomenon that only happens in comics.
3 comments:
If you ever go to LA, visit as many Starbucks as you can in a day. The vast majority of the people sitting around in there are probably working on a script. And those are just the posers. There's thousands more who sit at home and write. Trust me, WAY more people are working on movie or tv scripts than will ever work on comics.
That said, I think you're right on the money that the average comics fan is way more likely to want to write comics than the average moviegoer.
I realized I didn't even answer your question. What a jerk I am.
I'm probably not typical as far as comics readers go, because I review comics professionally and focus on creative writing. I'm nearly finished with my first graphic novel (waiting on the artist) and am developing the next one.
Oh I know there are alot of wannabe writers out there... but it'd be a lie to say the majority of film goers and TV watchers want to write or director a film/show themselves.
Van Doom, when you get it published let me know and I'll make sure to get my hands on a copy.
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