Motorcycle Riding Demons Can Help You
How does a guy go from a warehouse worker to Architect without extra schooling? The answer is: a motorcycle riding demon from Hell, a Canadian, Indian Casinos and some hard work.
What is in a name? We see it all the time in ads, “Millar. Gibbons. 2012″ was the add for The Secret Service in last weeks Superior issue. The names alone are expected to sell readers on the book, and they will. But how can a creator become so powerful? What makes their name stand above other creators who are struggling to get work? There are a few things you can and have to do, to become a name in the industry. Take Jason Aaron for example.
Aaron has gained a lot of ground at Marvel in recent years, starting out on Ghost Rider and a short run on Black Panther he has been able to step into the forefront of Marvel, named one of their Architects. Working on Wolverine, Wolverine and the X-Men and Punisher MAX as well as X-Men: Schism and something tying into the “It’s Coming” event in 2012 as well as The Incredible Hulk relaunch. All this came from some small Vertigo work and a run on a B-List character. Aaron has been able to make a name for himself using what he was given and has been rewarded for it.
Aaron is one of the new batch of writers that every publisher is looking for, a smaller character focused writer, who can handle the direction of a title and then rise to the next level to be a recognizable name that can sell titles itself. I have not bought a Hulk book in 6 yrs but Aaron’s name alone on the title is enough to get me interested. With Ghost Rider and Wolverine he has shown that he can create sprawling action epics with a character and build a supporting cast that will let the title shine when compared to similar books on the stands. That is Aaron’s style and what he has built his name upon.
Marvel offered Aaron work after only his 2 issue Hellblazer run and The Otherside with Cameron Stewart for Vertigo, going so far as to let him have the reigns of Ghost Rider and it’s mythos. Aaron was allowed to build up the mythos with some crazy ideas that make the title interesting and new. To do that with Ghost Rider turned more than a few heads in the industry.
In interviews and even the introduction to his Wolverine Omnibus Aaron has talked about how he started as a guy who wanted to write, but little idea as to what. He worked in a warehouse and wrote random things until he submitted some comic pitches and eventually entered a contest Marvel was throwing at conventions. This won him a short Wolverine story and Aaron hasn’t looked back since. It’s kind of funny to think one of Marvel’s key writers is only in comics due to a contest thousands entered over a summer. He was a no-name with no published work and now he’s working as a bankable name for the industry as a writer, and a success story.
The ability to work with the company toys and what they allow you to play with a key step writers have to meet before they are allowed the big assignments. After working the trenches with small characters, a few failed pitches and his creator owned work, Aaron is now able to be a little more choosey with his assignments and can tell some stories he wants without editorial mandates.
Marvel is reaping the rewards of their risk on Aaron, and between him and the other architects, they are creating events and stories that are driving the universe forward. One of the reasons writers like Aaron stay with the big publishers, is they can craft stories that will outlast them. Hulk, Wolverine, the X-Men will be around for a long time, while Scalped and The Otherside are great stories, Scalped in particular being a great modern noir drama, they will not have the long lasting appeal of the event that split the X-Men in two.
Not to say creator owned work isn’t key to many writers successes, getting work of any kind out there is the only way to get your name known in the industry. Scouts read a lot of small works looking for that next big name to join the big leagues. Work is work, and it builds your talents up. Creators need experience if they want to last in this industry because the fans rarely forget if you ruin a character for them.
Fans are fickle and mean, but they also buy the books, you need them to help your career.
There are always going to be the fans who buy Y book or anything with X character, but if you have a following who will pick up a book when you start on it, you are going to have a leg up behind the scenes. Sales matter, we all know it and if your name attached to a book will sell 2,000+ more copies, then you’re considered a name.
The question of what is in a name is one every publisher has to ask, names sell books and they know it. DC, Marvel, Image and more all fight for a name to attach to books, this is why there are creator exclusive wars that ruled the late 90’s and early 00’s. But what is a name? What makes Aaron, Hickman, Bendis, Brubaker and Fraction so key in Marvel’s eyes? There seem to be a few criteria for a creator to really be a “name.”
You need fans. Simple, buy you need readers who will follow you from book to book that will help that title grow. You also need a body fo work that shows your skills as a writer, plotter and outside thinker. For example, Bendis has a body of work that could sink the Titanic, Aaron? Not so much, but the quality of the work and the crazy ideas of multicultural Ghost Riders (one who rides a shark!!!) showed editorial he has skills, and gained him fans. Name creators also need to be able to pitch ideas that can be adapted to the wider universe, events sell books and if you can come up with one that matters, you may get to write it.
The last thing that I think really makes a name is accepting your style. Bendis knows he writes dialogue, Hickman wild long term ideas, Brubaker writes mystery superhero noir type books, Fraction makes character moments the focus, and Aaron writes action. The writers know what they excel at and they make their work reflect around their strengths which builds their style into a brand of its own. When Bendis goes on a book you expect dialogue, look at his Avengers or Ultimate Spider-Man. Hickman a crazy long term plot like Fantastic Four or Secret Warriors. These are what cement a name, they go everywhere with the creator. Aaron is writing Wolverine and Hulk, Marvel books usually dont get much more violent and action packed than those two. He is playing to his strengths.
Creators are the life blood of the industry, they come and go with the decades, some getting better, others overstaying their welcome, but all of them working to tell some powerful and moving stories. New blood is pumped in to keep the industry afloat, and some new writers rise up as Aaron has, or fall to the wayside and leave the industry for video games or hollywood story rooms. But it’s those who stay and stick with the industry that the readers support the most, following them onto new titles and stories as comrades in arms.
Knowing a name and what they can do is how readers plan what books to try out, its how editors decide who to offer a book, its how writers themselves know what books to try for. Names are the blood of the industry and they keep the books selling, few people will try a new book with some no-name on it. Creators need to accept this and work on as many projects as they can, get your work out there and make a name for yourself and the industry.