Catching a Vision Interview 001: Jeff Loew
Catching a Vision, the weekly column on Comic Related from C. Edward Sellner, Founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, provides practical guidance on how to break into the comics industry, as well as insights into this medium we all love. With resources you can order online, interviews and debates with comic professionals, and online workshops, this is your best introduction into the wonders of creating comics!
As promised, Catching a Vision is going to generously sprinkle in bonus columns featuring in-depth interviews with a wide variety of comic industry professionals, ranging from creators, to retailers and from new, up and coming talent to industry legends. Part of the goal of these interviews will be to give room for others to share their journey in the world of comics and with it, their wisdom and wit.
Welcome back all you Visioneers! We're going to kick off our BONUS Column interviews with a rising name on the comic book horizon, up and coming writer Jeff Loew. Jeff's name has gotten its first round of publicity buzz with the announcement of his upcoming creator-owned, hardcover graphic novel, The Frog Princess, coming in March from eigoManga and Visionary Comics Studio. I'm happy to have him join us to share his story of his journey in comics!
CES: Jeff, first thanks for being willing to do this interview. So, since you're still something of a new kid on the block, let's first find out about Jeff Loew, the writer...
When did you first think about becoming a writer and at what point did you decide you wanted to write for comics specifically?
Jeff: I've been a writer as long as I've been able to read. In second grade I wrote and drew comic strips featuring the enigmatic Dr. Weird, and short stories featuring "Davy Crockett and the Savage Indians." (I'm afraid I wasn't too PC back then.) I had some poems published in the school newspaper in third grade, and after that I was addicted to writing.
When I was eleven I began buying and reading dozens of comics a month, and from then on I always believed I would write them someday.
CES: When did you think you were ready to actually start submitting?
Jeff: I started working with a group of creators in 2002 - which included another member of the Comic Related team, Brant Fowler. My first job was editing other writers' stories. The stories were good, but they persuaded me that I could do it, too.
CES: When did submissions pay off in your first published work?
Jeff: It took about two years to find the right project and the right publisher. But I kept writing throughout that period. I suppose an earlier version of my graphic novel The Frog Princess was my first comic book publication credit. The first chapter appeared in late 2004 in a convention edition of eigoMANGA's anthology Sakura Pakk. Earlier versions of chapters 2-4 appeared in the next three issues of Sakura Pakk, which features stories written and drawn in the shojo manga style, meaning comics aimed at girls and young women. Another thrill was having a story accepted for the June 2006 issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine. I'd been reading Judge Dredd since I was eleven years old, so this really felt like I'd made it.
CES: Did you think each step in the process from trying, to being published would take as long or be as involved?
Jeff: The first two years definitely involved some near misses. I printed ashcans of my science fiction book, Regulators, and my supernatural noir book, then called Criminal Minds (now called The Dark Places), and brought them to WizardWorld LA in 2004. It was difficult to get publishers interested. My dark superhero book, Maskers, had a change of artists, and still didn't quite come together. I'm currently in talks to resurrect it.
CES: Give us an overview of what you have had published?
Jeff: As I mentioned, I had four chapters of The Frog Princess appear in Sakura Pakk. I also created a column for Broken Frontier, the comics news site, called Crossing Borders, which I wrote for about a year.
A short story from the Maskers universe called "I Married Ghost Girl!" appeared in Judge Dredd Megazine and Arcana's Dark Horrors. I've also included it as a backup in my forthcoming OGN, The Frog Princess.
Another short story called "Goatspell," featuring my characters Grynn & Barrett, Dark Arts Detectives, was a finalist in a contest sponsored by Visionary Comics and AAM/Markosia. It's being featured as a back-up story in The Frog Princess.
I've had a few other near misses, too - "Night and Day," featuring my character Ranger Rilke, was to appear in volume II of the Fablewood Anthology for Ape Entertainment. But unfortunately volume II was cancelled. It will also appear in The Frog Princess.
CES: Tell us about some of the highlights for you, what paid off, what made you feel good about things, what helped?
Jeff: The highlights have mostly been the excitement of getting finished pages back from the artists and seeing my words become images. It's been great to work with artists from Argentina, Spain, Indonesia, Toronto, Puerto Rico, and Chile, as well as getting to meet so many other creators from around the world.
CES: Since we want to be honest and this column focuses on helping aspiring creators, can you also share some of the trials and challenges you've faced? What mistakes or missteps do you regret? What were some of the biggest stumbling blocks or challenges for you to overcome?
Jeff: I think the biggest challenge is to just keep at it, even when the publication opportunities dry up for a while. You definitely have to love writing, and love the medium, and constantly be seeking new projects and new forums for your writing.
CES: Looking at other parties now, publishers, co-creators, etc. who have been the highlights, who do you want to thank and praise for help on the journey and what did they do for you or with you to get such praise?
Sorry to turn this into an Academy Awards list, but I've got to thank the artists first - Oscar Capristo, or "Sensei," as he is rightfully called. A true institution in his native Argentina. Esdras in Spain, another master artist. Rie Ikaza and the folks at Komikers Studios in Indonesia. George Todorovski in Toronto. Amin Amat in Puerto Rico. President Nelson in my original home town of Minneapolis. Claudio Munoz in Chile. And I'm sure I'm leaving out still more artists. I've been spoiled by the caliber of artists who've been willing to help bring my visions to life.
Other folks who've given me a chance are Matt Smith at Titan UK, Aaron Nelson at Arcana, Austin Osueke at eigoMANGA, Frederik Hautain at Broken Frontier, C. Edward Sellner and the folks at Visionary, William Ward - editor of Ape Entertainment's Fablewood Anthology, Alex Segura, Jr., my collaborator who's now at DC, Chris Studabaker and Darren Davis at Bluewater, Ray Mason and Affinity Press ... the list just goes on.
CES: Without necessarily naming names, any stories of problems you hit with people in the industry? Any words of general caution or reflection to give to other aspiring writers out there to help them avoid the same pitfalls?
Jeff: Over the years I've run into a lot of dreamers who couldn't quite execute their dreams, so you definitely have to maintain a sense of realism and know when not to invest too much in a bad situation. Once you've invested time and creative energy in a project, your natural inclination will be to look beyond the problems. So I caution creators to maintain their sense of perspective.
I fell into an even more serious trap with a studio head who prides himself on assembling entire creative teams, including writers, to bring his ideas to life. He signed an agreement with me to give me a share of the work we were creating, then tried to take that share back, then tried to fire me without complying with the terms of the contract. He created a series of fraudulent back-dated emails to pretend he'd complied with the contract. He stole many of my ideas and now claims them as his own. All I can say to writers out there who think what he's offering is a good deal: beware. Desperation is not a good enough reason to work for free.
CES: You're about to have something of a highlight in your career aren't you? A certain 160 page, hardcover highlight? Why don't you tell us all about it?
The Frog Princess is a full-length graphic novel I created with Indonesian artist Rie Ikaza. It's inspired by true events, and tells the story of amphibian biologist Larissa Talcott, as she fights to save her research pond from real estate developers. At the same time, her new lawyer boyfriend Liam is secretly helping the developers turn the pond into a golf course. The story is in the tradition of the great romantic comedies of the 1940s, like The Shop Around the Corner and The Lady Eve.
The concept came about when I learned that a local university was scrambling to save its biology labs after a change in the water supply threatened every amphibian on campus. Starting from this basic conflict, the characters and situations just sprang to life. Of course, it didn't hurt that at the time I began work on the script, I was working as a securities litigator at a large mega-lawfirm and feeling some of the same dissatisfaction that Liam suffers from.
CES: Why should people buy this book?
Jeff: People should buy this book to be entertained. I think it's a compelling story, but I also think it's a contrast from most mainstream American comics. A lot of the top selling comics in the U.S. are driven by action. This book has action, but is also motivated by the characters' internal, emotional and romantic conflicts. And at its heart it's really a comedy, as the characters stumble from one ridiculous situation to another. It should challenge readers' views of what comics can be and what kind of stories they can tell. Plus you get 160 pages of story in an attractive hardbound book.
CES: Can you focus a bit on the manga aspect? I mean, this is a book without a single person in spandex, no epic saving of the universe and it's described as a romantic comedy? Help out our manga challenged mindset and tell us why you think this would work in today's market?
Jeff: I think it may still be a bit of a shock for the average comics reader to step into the manga section of their local bookstore. They'll see young people by the dozens, mostly girls, reading comics. The manga phenomenon is one of the few success stories in publishing over the past few years. And it's being driven by an influx of girls and young women who want to read about something other than spandex-types saving the world. These are books about relationships, but they're also full of comedy and conflict. There's also a strong influence of magical realism running throughout many of the stories.
The Frog Princess takes advantage of all of these qualities, and offers a story with romance, action, comedy, and an important message. Larissa's assistant in the book, Arye, serves as a bridge between the manga world and this world - when seen through her eyes, the world of the Frog Princess is often depicted as one of magic. The art is by Rie Ikaza, a genuine manga-ka - or accomplished manga artist in her home country of Indonesia. The audience is definitely out there for books like this - it's just a matter of getting the word out.
CES: I know the book deals with some all too real ecology challenges we're facing, can you tell us a bit about those issues and why you wanted to do something to help by bringing them to light in this tale?
Jeff: I've been interested in environmental issues for a long time, and the chance to bring these concerns to a wider audience was irresistible. The decline of frog populations around the world is particularly significant because amphibians are the "canary in a coal mine," the first part of an ecosystem to be affected by environmental changes. Over the past few decades, entire populations of amphibians have been dying out in nearly every ecosystem around the world. And it's not just in places like cities and suburbs, where human impacts are obvious. Some of the most serious declines are in "protected" areas like national parks.
The Frog Princess also includes supplemental material about where readers can go for more information, and what they can do to help.
CES: Tell us a bit more about the other stories included and your co-creators for this book.
Jeff: Two of the stories are illustrated by Oscar Capristo, who I first began working with on Maskers more than six years ago. "I Married Ghost Girl!" is told in the style of a 1950s horror comic, mixed with the conventions of a romance comic. It features a character from the Maskers universe, and includes cameos by many of the characters. Oscar is best known in this country for a few issues of Heavy Metal, but in Europe and South America his work is very well known. He's an associate of Eduardo Risso down in Argentina, who's best known in this country for 100 Bullets.
The two other stories, "Goatspell" and "Night & Day," are fantasy stories featuring my characters Grynn & Barrett and Ranger Rilke, respectively. Grynn & Barrett are known as the "Dark Arts Detectives." Grynn is secretly a dragon and Barrett is a witch, in a world where magic is effectively outlawed. Ranger Rilke is a mercenary who's paid to keep the worlds of men and magic apart. Oscar illustrated "Goatspell," while the Spanish artist Esdras illustrated "Night & Day."
CES: Okay, coming back to the main focus, what are your future aspirations? Do you want to continue to focus on creator-owned projects or looking more to be a freelance writer or a bit of both?
Jeff: I'm very happy with my creator-owned books, but I wouldn't turn away work from a major publisher, even if it was work for hire. It's important to get as much exposure as you can, and a publication credit with one of the top five or six publishers is a great way to establish yourself. It's also fun to play in someone else's sandbox for a while.
CES: 2008 saw a bit of controversy in the comics industry with the so-called Kirkman manifesto and Brian Michael Bendis' response, focusing around the question of Creator-Owned verses Work-for-Hire. What's your view on things as a new, up and coming writer who is still struggling to make a name for yourself?
Jeff: Kirkman insisted that creators should be working for themselves, creating their own characters and universes rather than being bound to the work-for-hire restraints of Marvel and DC. But he later admitted, after being challenged by Bendis, that it was really only a call to established creators - those in the "rarefied air," as Bendis called it. Bendis' view was that it's great to champion creator-owned comics, but that there are very few people who make a living from them.
At the end of the day, a creator trying to break in should be willing to pursue both kinds of work. Two of the breakout writers of the past few years, Matt Fraction and Tony Lee, each fit the model Bendis advocates - creating cutting-edge creator-owned stuff while also doing work-for-hire. I only wish I was in a position to have to make those kinds of choices.
CES: If you could give advice to any aspiring writer, what would be the most important thing you would tell them to do? What would be the most important thing you would tell them NOT to do?
Jeff: TO DO: Keep at it. NOT TO DO: Give up.
There are so many ways into the industry, but so many barriers to entry, that you really have to keep trying until you find a way that works for you. And be prepared to sacrifice a lot of time and energy to do it.
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Jeff, thanks for the time!
For those interested, The Frog Princess is available for order in the January Previews, out now, and has actually been honored with a spotlight in the catalog. Pre-Orders for the books should be put in to your favorite retailer NOW, using Diamond Order Code: JAN094212
Preview the main comic by clicking here.
Take A Look at Goatspell
C. Edward Sellner is the co-founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, a studio that within its first two years has drawn high praise from the media and attracted the attention of legendary creators in the comics industry. They have been digitally and print published in the mainstream market and their creators currently work with over a dozen different publishers. Their work has been featured on television news shows, radio programs and internet podcasts as well as featured in every major comics news site online.
Contact him directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com
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