Broken Frontier

You know, when I was asked to write a guest column for Devil’s Due week here at Broken Frontier, I was hesitant. I’m a fairly quiet person, and I’ve always preferred to let the material I work on speak for itself, for good or ill. And on top of that, I have to follow Tim Seeley? That’s just not fair.

But, just indulging my own insecurities, I started thinking about the many story meetings I’ve shared with Tim, and my other DD colleagues, and I immediately knew what the subject of my column should be. My favorite part of working in the comic book medium? Its collaborative nature.

In all likelihood, anyone frequenting a comic book-focused site like BF has some sense of how closely creators and editorial staff must work in order to produce the comics they read. Whether you’ve been exposed to the idea via old stories about the Marvel Bullpen, and especially its mainstays – Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita to name the most famous – or more recent features that highlight the major creative conferences convened by Marvel and DC with their creators, you probably picture a bunch people bursting with ideas locked in a room together, batting around anything that comes to mind, trying to plan the next step of a major storyline, looking for the next big event that’ll get readers hanging on the edge of their collective seat.

And that picture is an accurate one. It’s the point at which more concrete concerns – deadlines, budgets, rising or falling sales – cease to exist. It’s the point where professionals turn into twelve year old kids playing the “what if” game in some corner of the school playground. It’s the realm of pure inspiration, where the unpredictable mix of circumstance, divergent viewpoints, personalities, and beliefs can create magic.

That’s what happened – or, at least, that’s what I hope has happened with both DRAFTED and G.I. JOE, the two books I’m currently writing for DD. Both assignments are examples of the happy accidents that occur when a group of people works very closely together in a creative environment.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of these types of scenarios at Marvel, where the big creative retreats were always, far and away, the most enjoyable part of the job. Because of the sheer number of people involved, and the financial expectations attached to their outcomes, these retreats were simultaneously thrilling, pressure-packed, and draining. Eventually, they were also rare, as the budget for them virtually disappeared until Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas came aboard.

Because Devil’s Due is a much smaller company than Marvel – we were all within ten or fifteen feet of each other at all times – any day can end up being a creative retreat. DRAFTED is certainly the result of this unique dynamic, having been borne out of a fairly impromptu meeting between me, Josh, Tim, and I believe Mike O’Sullivan.
We were trying to create a DD-owned project for a particular artist we had under contract.

In the midst of our meeting, I blurted out the germ of an idea I’d had rattling around for a while, which I figured I’d probably never have the gumption to pursue on my own: “What if everyone on Earth was drafted?” The bunch of us really got behind the concept and began to generate ideas and approaches we could use to make it a reality.

Unfortunately, the artist we were trying to work with just wasn’t into the concept, and he soon left for greener pastures. The concept languished in limbo for a year or so, until Josh expressed an interest in pursuing the project again. Since I’d generated the original idea, he asked if I’d write it. We soon lucked into bringing Chris Lie aboard as our artist – and the rest, as they say, is history. Or more accurately – I hope it’ll be history!

Certainly, DRAFTED remains a team effort. In addition to the contributions Chris and I make, Josh oversees the book, making sure we keep the big picture in mind; Mike O’Sullivan adds his always-insightful editorial point of view; Sean Dove, our Art Director, has provided superb direction in terms of the book’s overall design and especially the approach to covers. Susan Bishop has continually pushed to market the project in innovative ways, including an exclusive feature at MySpace.

G.I. Joe is another example of what can happen when creative people develop a bond and ideas become intertwined. Mike O’Sullivan approached me about doing four issues of the book while he took his time finding a new writer. I agreed, all the while constantly e-mailing him all kinds of suggestions as to who the new writer could be – never dreaming that the new writer would end up being me.

At the end of the day, Mike and I, having collaborated for so long on so many things, have an innate understanding of what the other is thinking. It makes for a consistently engaging, and challenging, assignment.

Actually, “assignment” isn’t quite the right word. Getting to collaborate with so many talented people, G.I. JOE and DRAFTED aren’t assignments – they’re labors of love.

Yes, I’m corny.