MikeC wrote: Just an idea. And I know a few comics workers, and they're as mixed a bunch as you'll find in any other workplace. Some are keen, some see it as a job, others you wonder why they don't go and find another career if they're so miserable.
Very true. I think some comics creators are miserable because either they've never worked on the project they wanted to, or they feel what's been offered to them is beneath them.
Me, I achieved my comics ambitions early. I always wanted to a) work on a regular humour strip in a traditional comic (and achieved that with Tom Thug in Buster) and I wanted to produce a comedy-adventure serial like the beloved I-Spy and Cloak strips of my youth (and I achieved that with Combat Colin in Transformers).
With that out of the way I was game for any aspect of comics, from writing nursery photo-strips for CiTV TellyTots to doing adult humour for Viz, or writing licensed comics like Lego Adventures and Sonic the Comic. I still put the same amount of energy and imagination into it as I did with Tom Thug and Combat Colin, and hopefully it all finds its audience.
The way I see it is that no comic is "beneath" me to work for. One thing I've learned is that every comic is someone's favourite. We're in the entertainment industry, so as far as I'm concerned, providing entertainment for any age group is a worthwhile profession.
Why any artist or writer would get grumpy about his part in the industry is a mystery to me. We have a fantastic job! Sure, it can be lonely and it can have its anxious times, but turning a hobby into a career is one of the best things in the world.
I'll get off me soapbox now!
Lew
