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First Books - David Schwartz's Meltdown |
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Written by Caleb Monroe
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Tuesday, 09 January 2007 |
This week I interview David Schwartz, writer/creator of the two-part series Meltdown from Image comics. If you missed part one, it's still in stores, and part two will be on stands tomorrow.
When did you first start writing comics?
Meltdown’s my first real comics work.
I had a few very minor forays with comic writing in the past (a page in New Mutants Annual #6, and some Major League Baseball comics where pro baseball players had superpowers), but nothing at this level. I also had a few film and TV credits, but this has really been my sequential coming out party.
So, I guess you could say that I’ve only started writing comics in the last year or so, and it’s been incredibly gratifying and humbling to have my first serious comics work be so incredibly well received.
What were some of your early influences, and what are some of your current influences?
I think the Claremont/Byrne X-Men and the Wolfoman/Perez Teen Titans really shaped my view of what comics should be. Both were series where character development was paramount. I was wrapped up in both series not because the stories were great (which they were, of course), but more because I truly cared about the characters. I’ve tried to bring that same level of characterization and depth to my own work on Meltdown.
As far as current influences, I think that [Kurt] Busiek really helped inspire my work on Meltdown, and [Brian K.] Vaughan will no doubt influence my future work. I love how Busiek can really draw you into a character’s head, and I’m always impressed by Vaughan’s ability to take real-world issues and translate them into compelling comic book tales.
How did Meltdown come to be?
It’s a long and convoluted tale, but I’ll try and condense it for you:
a.) Lifelong Comics Fan wants to write comics. He and friend/comic artist Bernard Chang plan to pitch some ideas to Marvel.
b.) Marvel passes.
c.) Lifelong Comics Fan re-tools the pitches, and comes up with a bunch more. Bernard agrees to be attached to some, mutual friend John-Paul Leon agrees to be attached to provide art for several others.
d.) Lifelong Comics Fan goes to San Diego Comic-Con, meets as many editors as possible, then follows up by sending them the pitches.
e.) Image loves several of the pitches, and decides to start with one entitled Last Days of the Flare, which would later be changed to Meltdown.
After the book was approved through Image, Chang and Leon had to back out. How did you end up with Sean Wang as series artist?
Getting Meltdown completed has been a long and tremendously arduous process, and there were many points where it felt like the whole project - and my comics writing dreams - would completely fall apart. One of those points was when the original artists - Bernard Chang and John-Paul Leon - backed out. I spent months searching for a replacement but, thanks to my budgetary limitations, lack of a writing track-record, etc., I came up empty-handed at every turn.
When I went to Comic-Con in July of ‘05, I was at the end of my proverbial rope. If I didn’t find a great artist there, I would’ve been out of options; in fact, any reasonably sane person probably would’ve given up long ago.
As I was walking through Artist Alley, I passed a booth with a sign that read “Sean Wang’s Runners”. I stopped in my tracks, turned to my wife and said, “Hey, didn’t we go to junior high school with a guy named Sean Wang?” Turns out the my junior high classmate Sean Wang was, in fact, the same Sean Wang that now stood before me. I hadn’t seen him in 20 years, and had no idea that he had gone into comics. I read his self-published series Runners and absolutely loved it. He read the pitch for Meltdown and was equally blown away. So, we decided to work together and I couldn’t possibly be happier with how it turned out. Not only is his artwork in Meltdown absolutely incredible, but he’s also been an absolute joy to collaborate with.
How did the change in artists affect your script?
When Sean came on board, I already had a very rough draft script, and it incorporated some of Bernard’s input and editorial suggestions, but it was far from complete. Sean came on board with some great ideas of his own, and they really helped to shape the book.
Before Sean came on board, I had been playing with a few different framing sequences: one with Cal confessing to Priest in his final hours, another with Cal seeking counseling from a psychiatrist at his life’s end, and a third with the Maelstrom battle framing the story. Sean and I batted it around a bit and landed on the Maelstrom version. Who knows, without Sean, this might have been a very different book.
Working with Sean has been an absolute joy. In one of our first conversations about the book we agreed to put our egos aside and be completely open to the other's creative ideas, criticisms and input. And I think that our free and open exchange of constructive criticism has really tremendously benefited the book. If there are any editors out there looking for talented, incredibly professional and dependable artists, I can't recommend him highly enough.
Did you pitch Meltdown to Image in person at all at the convention, or was it all through the mail?
Both, actually. I went to the San Diego Comic Con determined to meet as many editors as possible, but I knew just enough to realize that it’d be a horrible place to actually pitch to them. So, I met them there, then followed up with pitches via mail or e-mail.
What materials, exactly, did you include in your submission?
Some pitches had a sketch or two from Bernard or Jean-Paul, others were just text. My pitches usually start off with a one or two sentence log-line, and then the pitch itself. I try to limit my pitches to a page or two at most; short, sweet and to the point.
What’s the best part about having a book of your own in stores? Is it like you expected?
It’s all been amazing. Who could’ve imagined all the big money, gorgeous groupies throwing bras, paparazzi banging down my door? Ah, the fruits of comic book stardom!
But, all facetiousness aside, I've been absolutely blown away by it.
As you know, this is a book with an unknown superhero, by relatively unknown creators, and with a fairly high price-point, so I really didn't know if anyone would even pick it up, much less read it and like it. The fact that our initial print run is nearly sold out, that every review has been so incredibly glowing, that Ain't It Cool News is touting Sean and I as the next big thing in comics, it's all just amazing and truly humbling.
Most importantly, I've been really touched by the letters from readers who say that they really related to Cal's story, that it truly spoke to them, and inspired them to make changes in their lives. The fact that our little comic may have really helped to move readers to make positive moves in life is a pretty astounding thing.
Now, I just hope that I can parlay all of this into an actual career in comics, and that my future books can live up to all of the scary new post-Meltdown expectations.
Has Meltdown opened any other doors for you? Can you give an example?
I’ve actually had several editors from other publishers contact me, gotten signed by a top-notch Hollywood lit manager, and more. Plus, hopefully it’ll mean more work with the great folks at Image. It’s still a bit early to see where it all will lead, but it’s certainly a very promising start.
For creators who are like you and have their first or second project already out there, being published, what advice can you share about promoting their work and getting it into the hands of readers?
We had a two-pronged approach, targeting both retailers on the one hand, and readers on the other.
For retailers, we sent ashcans, posters, shelf-talkers, posted on the CBIA forums, and even made some cold-calls.
For readers, the posters also worked, plus all of the articles, interviews, weekly press releases, and video trailers on various websites and in magazines.
Basically, we just hustled as much as we possibly could, trying anything and everything that made sense and that Image thought would be helpful.
I think the reviews were really what put us over the top, though. It’s rare that any comic gets such uniformly positive reviews from so many sources, and I think that added a tremendous air of legitimacy to the series. We had book 1 finished way early, months before it was actually solicited, and that allowed us to start sending out review copes early enough to really use the reviews to push the needle on our sales.
Would you say you spend more time creating Meltdown, or promoting it?
It’s probably about equal. We spent a tremendous amount of time promoting the book, but creating the book, for me, wasn’t just about the actual writing. I also had to secure an artist, a colorist, the deal with Image, handle all of the editorial functions, make sure everything happened on time and on budget, etc. So, that all took a lot of energy and effort.
Have you learned any lessons on Meltdown that will affect the way you write or create on future projects?
I wish there was an easy way to answer that. Honestly, every step of this process was a tremendous learning experience, so I’m not sure how to pin it down to any specific items I can talk about. I know
that’s not very helpful, so my apologies for not being more forthcoming on this one.
Can you describe your creative process, from first idea to completed pages?
I start off with the pitch, then build an outline based on that pitch. Some of my outlines are fairly bare-bones, but most includes bits of detail, notes, lines of dialogue, etc. Whatever I happen to think of at that stage. I then go back and flesh out the outline, expanding it into an actual rough draft script. From there, it’s all about tweaking and revising, adding in atmosphere, making sure that the characters have sufficient depth and a proper emotional arc, that the dialogue rings true, etc.
Once that’s all done, I’ll send it to the artist, we’ll bat it around a bit and revise as necessary until we’re both happy. This is a great part of the process, and the collaboration makes the book infinitely better.
Once the artwork’s complete, I’ll make one last pass through the text. Having the actual artwork inevitably forces me to re-evaluate some of the dialogue and captions. Sometimes, they just don’t work as well on the artwork as I had expected, and I re-work them a bit to fit with the illustration. Often, I’ll choose to cut text entirely from some panels or pages, because the artwork is strong enough to speak for itself.
Then, the pages get finalized, I kiss ‘em goodbye, send ‘em off to the publisher, and keep my fingers crossed that my writing on them doesn’t completely suck.
Where would you like your comic career to be a year from now?
Ideally, I'd write a few mainstream books each month, and use the money from that work in order to fund the publication of one or two creator-owned stories a year. I'd love to write for some of the iconic characters that I grew up reading and admiring, but I've also got a great number of my own stories I'd still like to tell.
Five years from now?
I don’t think it’s really any different from the prior answer. As long as I’m getting to write consistently, and putting out some good, quality books that readers enjoy, I’ll be very happy indeed.
You mentioned doing some film and TV work. Would you
say your writing attentions are focused primarily on
comics right now? Are there still other mediums you
would like to work in as well?
Believe it or not, I'm also working on writing a Broadway musical. My wife (a very talented musical theater actress/writer) and I have teamed up with some incredibly funny members of The Groundlings comedy troupe to develop a new show that I think will really knock everyone's socks off.
What would you say is the #1 mistake you see aspiring comic creators making?
Another one I wish there was an easy answer to. I think I really just happened to get very lucky. I caught Image at the right time, with the right pitch, and then worked hard to make sure the project came to fruition. I’m not sure that any of that really translates into solid advice I can offer others on mistakes to avoid. I guess the main thing I see is folks who just aren't as professional as they could be in the way that they present themselves. Their work isn't proofread and clean, they miss deadlines, fail to respond to correspondence promptly, etc. Those types of little things can make a big difference.
What’s the best advice you could give someone looking to break into the industry?
Again, I’m just a schmo who happened to get lucky, so I don’t know how much my advice is really worth.
That being said, I guess I’d make just a few suggestions:
First, don’t give up. Work hard to make things happen, and, if you face rejection, just go back and work harder to improve your work and your approach.
Second, study up on marketing, both marketing yourself and your product. Both are a valuable commodity, but only if you market them well and consistently.
Third, be nice to people. No one wants to work with a pompous, egotistical jerk.
Like I said, I don’t know that my advice is worth all that much, but that’s my two cents.
What advice would you share with other aspiring comic creators about balancing comics with other aspects of their life, like family or friends?
Time management is really tough for me, and I still haven’t found exactly the right balance. I absolutely hate to sacrifice time with my wife and child, and I certainly can’t take time away from my day-job, since that pays the bills. So, I generally get up around 4 AM, which allows me a few hours to myself to write. It’s not a great solution, because I never get enough sleep, but it’s the best all-inclusive solution I’ve been able to manage so far.
Any final advice on the life or craft of writing in general?
My friend Scott Kirsner, a great journalist, once said, “writing is easy, you just open your veins and bleed a little.” I love that quote, because it’s very true. If you’re doing it right, then you’ll have left a little bit of your self, of your own blood, on every page.
And, stop procrastinating! Just find a way to sit down, away from all distractions, and get that blood on the paper!
Do you have any current or upcoming projects other than Meltdown that you’d like to plug?
Nothing I can announce quite yet, but I’m talking to several publishers about some pretty big projects, and hope to have some news for you soon!
Thank you, David!
Caleb Monroe bought Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #16 when he was 11 years old and it was all over after that. You can learn some more about him here.
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