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Topic: Comics Should Not Be A Stepping Stone Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 11 March 2018 at 5:25pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

I'm a fairly passive, non-angry person (except about religion and guns!), but it annoys me that people exist who want to treat comics as a stepping stone to Hollywood glory:


If I had an iota of writing or art talent, I'd find it a privilege to work on a comic. I just hope such people are a minority.
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John Byrne
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Posted: 11 March 2018 at 5:29pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

When I was getting started, there were several people at Marvel who claimed working in comics was only a "stepping stone". My response was "So STEP!"
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 11 March 2018 at 5:39pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

I'd have said the same!

Personally, I'd find it insulting if I worked in comics and someone approached me as a "stepping stone". What that writer describes, well I'm surprised someone would be so brazen!
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Rebecca Jansen
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Posted: 11 March 2018 at 11:57pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

I think there were people who could not make (much of) a living doing comic books in the past, that went on to find they could make more doing a lot less in other areas or story-boarding. If someone actually looked down on the form I can't understand that. Some people used to aim to work in newspaper strips because it usually paid better and I guess it had a higher profile at one time and sometimes a wider international reach. Plus they might have seen it as the place comic books were born out of. That hasn't been true for awhile, now it's film and tv.
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 3:34am | IP Logged | 5 post reply

It's a mindset I don't appreciate, nor do I expect a comic professional appreciates.

And I suspect other sectors would say the same. Very hypothetical, I know, but imagine someone telling an NYPD cop that he wanted to join as a cop and have a very brief stint on the beat because his real ambition was to be a federal agent. The NYPD cop may well say, "Why not just join as a federal agent, then?"

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John Byrne
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 7:53am | IP Logged | 6 post reply

One annoying aspect was that many of those people who "stepped", having declared comics a sinking ship no longer worthy of their talent, came BACK when the royalties were introduced.

(A recurrent theme when I joined the industry back in the mid Seventies was that "comics will be gone in five years." That was forty plus years ago, and while we are not still going strong, we are still going!)

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Eric Sofer
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 7:54am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

Go to ANY employer and tell them, "Yeah, I want a job here. I'm really good, but I'm just using this as a stepping stone." See how fast you're shown the door.

So such comments are probably best kept to oneself (unless you really like the person handling your unemployment...) 

Let's say that works and you, Joe Dumbass,  get hired. All of your product, as far as you're concerned, is just PRACTICE. Because if you're just on a stepping stone - why, you wouldn't use your BEST stuff, now would you? Which is a disservice to YOU and almost criminally negligent to the employer. 

And perhaps a miracle occurs, and you get an offer from your target industry (for the sake of discussion, let's say an advertising agency.) How do you leave? No employer wants to hear "I'm quitting in two weeks" - and in comics, two weeks is NOTHING.

Further, with all certainty, this is the surest case of burning your bridges behind you. And in today's market, NO job is assured of permanence...

My opinion is, you do the best you can where you're at. If you intend to leave, then leave a good reputation behind at the least. Or hell, who knows... you might really LIKE where you're at, and stay on with comics!.
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 10:21am | IP Logged | 8 post reply

 Eric Sofer wrote:
Because if you're just on a stepping stone - why, you wouldn't use your BEST stuff, now would you?

Good point, Eric.

I feel I can apply that to anything. Like my police example. If someone is using a short NYPD tenure as a "stepping stone" to working for a federal law enforcement agency, what will his/her commitment be like? He/she won't be building bridges, acquiring contacts, building up a rapport. He/she will be looking ahead to dumping the cap and uniform in order to become a federal agent.

Insert your own example here. 

It doesn't even have to apply solely to skilled jobs. I have done non-skilled jobs in locations where someone is "phoning in" and waiting for their better job. I believe in giving something your all.
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Robert Shepherd
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 12:56pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

I'm on the side of wanna-be comic creators....I wanna be a comic creator myself "when I grow up" because I think creating comic books is the best job anywhere...;-)

But I don't understand why this is striking the nerves of folks. Publishing a comic book or graphic novel is the right of every single person. If someone wants to market their story and get exposure by first creating a comic book or graphic novel, so be it. 

Hopefully, it'll be a great story and accomplish the goal. If it is not a great story, publishing it as a comic book or graphic novel isn't going to save the day.

So the goal should be to make a great comic book or graphic novel and see if you get noticed.

The world has changed and independent comic book stories, if the rumors are true, are being bought for TV or movie rights. I recall one fellow who was making graphic novels for Scholastic and claiming he made 100K off selling the rights to one of his graphic novels. And this is a low profile story by an unknown (in the comics industry) person. I haven't read the story, but I hope it's well made and written/drawn well.

What really matters, is do your best no matter where you are. Life will (usually) take care of the rest.


Edited by Robert Shepherd on 12 March 2018 at 1:10pm
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 1:26pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

 Robert Shepherd wrote:
But I don't understand why this is striking the nerves of folks.

Robert, for me, it's because I don't want someone half-heartedly creating comics. And that's what it feels like if he considers it a stepping stone.

I am not asking for passion in every profession. If a McDonalds employee serves me good French Fries and a burger, I don't care if he has a passion for fast food/aspiration towards a fast food career or is simply doing an entry-level job before he moves on to something else.

Provided a taxi driver can get me from A to B, I don't care if he has a passion for taxi driving, and wants it to be his lifelong career, or is simply driving cabs until he does something else.

So it can be nuanced.

But there are some professions where I do want passion and sincerity.

If I had kids, I would want their teacher to be committed to and passionate about teaching. I wouldn't want it to be a role to them (until another profession comes along), I would want their heart to 100% be into teaching.

I wouldn't want to see a nurse or doctor or cop to serve me if they are not committed to medicine/policing.

If I'm going to support a comic, I would prefer it to be someone who wants to be in the industry, is passionate about comics, etc. I don't want someone who looks down on the industry and treats it as a stepping stone.
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John Byrne
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 1:33pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

Most of those who "stepped" to Hollywood were in for a rude awakening. More money, sure, but they found themselves transformed from big fish in a small pond, to minnows in an ocean.
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Robert Shepherd
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Posted: 12 March 2018 at 1:58pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

Ok Robbie, let's debate this (a good clean debate).

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I understand the emotion in what you are saying, and I agree with you. I want people to do what they love and that, in turn, should elevate the quality of their work.

But you are also saying, whether you realize it or not, is that comic book creators are only legitimate if they follow your rules for entry. A person can only have one goal in life, according to your parameters. Is it then wrong for a comic book writer to transition to a novel writer? Would that make all their comic book writing insincere or irrelevant? Of course not.

I see some assumptions made and I don't see where they came from. Why assume the work is going to be sub par? Why assume there will be no passion in the project? For all we know, the fellow asking the original question may be and should be hyper passionate about his/her project. Why assume anyone is treating the comic book industry as a sub-par career in the first place?

With all that, I ask again - why is it not ok to leverage comic book style publishing to promote your story and your vision, even if you hope to get noticed by Hollywood? If the story is good, maybe it should get noticed by Hollywood. And if the story is good, it helps build the comic book industry as well as any other offering out there.

If it is good.

Now, crap is crap no matter where it is. And I would not want anyone in an industry where they thought the industry was sub par. So for the sake of the debate, I am assuming that anyone who bothers to invest in making a comic book or graphic novel is putting their best efforts into the project.


Edited by Robert Shepherd on 12 March 2018 at 2:00pm
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