The sad truth about working in comics
#ComicsBrokeMe, RIP John Romita Sr., Ultimate Rebirth
Editor’s Note: It’s Wednesday, so that means it’s New Comic Book Day and another edition of Amazing Journey!
The Amazing Journey column will touch on a comics-related topic, such as writing the first issue of a series, what it’s like to run a comic book store, working with artists, and how writing comics is different from writing prose.
Amazing Journey back issues
True believers unite (#1) | My comics origin story (#2) | Comic event series (#3) | The comics of Kickstarter (#4) | Single issues or trades? (#5) | From prose to comics (#6) | Adapting a celebrated fantasy series into a comic (#7) | Charting a career in comics (#8) | Comic book spoilers (#9) | Lessons from Kieron Gillen’s masterclass (#10)
I’m kicking around some ideas for longer posts, such as a look at WebToon and its fun and addicting stories, advice on writing a first issue with insight from a variety of creators, and more. But today, I wanted to do a round-up of some major stories from the comics world.
#ComicsBrokeMe trended hard on Twitter, after the sad and untimely passing of artist Ian McGinty at age 38. Artists and writers shared some of the horrific working conditions, deadlines, and pay that they had been subjected to over the years, with Bleeding Cool doing a journalistic service for once (instead of spoiling plot points) and collecting the noteworthy tweets. Anyone who is interested in working in comics would do well to read them, so that you go into the industry with eyes wide open.
RIP to artist legend John Romita Sr., who passed away at 93. Here is a great thread from Marvel writer Dan Slott about meeting Romita as a Marvel intern.
Finally, on a lighter note, it turns out that the four-issue miniseries from Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch Ultimate Invasion is only the prelude to something that’s been teased for awhile: the rebirth of the Ultimate universe, with a new one-shot from Hickman and Stefano Casselli coming in November, and on the heels of that, a brand-new set of titles set on Earth-1610. I thoroughly enjoyed Hickman’s Ultimates but never really read any of the other books, as they were before my time in comics, so I’m interested to see, from both a story and marketing perspective, how these books are going to sit beside the mainline Marvel universe books.
That brings me to the Question of the Week and our June giveaway. The giveaway will be going on all month long. To enter, simply leave a comment with your answer to any of the Questions of the Week in June.
If you read any of the original Ultimate books, what was your favorite? And if you didn’t, what character/team would you like to see featured in one of the new Ultimate books? Finally, if you have absolutely no interest in this topic, what’s one comic you loved as a kid that you would bring back if given the chance?
This month, I’m offering two prizes, both from indie comics creator Curtis Clow. First, for U.S. residents only, you can win a copy of Clow’s Beastlands Volume 1.
Second, if you’re outside of the U.S., you can win a digital copy of issue #1 of Slightly Exaggerated (please indicate in your answer if you are ex-U.S.).
What I’m reading this week
Another big week on the new release front, as the X-line jogs somewhat slowly to the Hellfire Gala and the Fall of X!
X-Men Red #12: One of the best things about the X of Swords X-crossover event was the introduction of Arakko and its Omega Mutant society. Today we see the return of the White Sword, an Omega-level healer who brings his 100 warriors back to life after every battle. And when one remaining warrior flees to Arakko with a warning of the return of a certain Arakki couple, you know that things are about to get insane.
Void Rivals #1: A new Robert Kirkman comic is always worth picking up and this sci-fi series promises a new shared universe. But what does that mean? Theories were posited, but I had managed to avoid them until the dam broke yesterday when my favorite-not-favorite site Bleeding Cool decided to reveal the secret in the headline of an article. I don’t know what any of it means or the implications, so I will just have to see as I read the issue!
Something Epic #2: What if the imaginary world that you pictured as a kid was a real, populated by the combined subconscious creations of everyone on earth (both amazing and horrific), and only you could see it? That’s the premise of this new series written and illustrated by Szymon Kudranski. While the first issue spent its pages setting up the concept, I’m excited to see the story hit the ground running in issue 2.
What are you picking up this week?