So far in my comic scripting dabblings I've had two stories published ("War of the Worlds" with George Coleman (A) and Bolt-01 (L) in FutureQuake #15 and "Jikan: Second Sun" with Dave Candlish (A) and Matt Brown (L)in Paragon #6), so I thought I'd give a n00b's perspective on the old "it's just shit" debate.
I'm guessing I'm like most creators in that I'm not going to submit a script that I'm not proud of to anybody. I don't mean that in an arrogant way. There are many scripts I write that I am not proud of, most of which just get deleted. If my inner critic is proud of what I've rote, then I'll submit it. Just because I'm proud of something, though, doesn't mean it isn't rhubarb. Here then comes the second critic, the editor.
I have been very lucky so far with my editors at FQP and Paragon in that their criticisms have been both supportive and instructive. This kind of criticism, from people with a wider experience and greater skill than myself, is invaluable to me. As part of the collaborative process, I feel this editorial criticism is vital to making the script as good as it can possibly be.
After this come criticisms from the artist which, again, are vital to the processes of both honing the strip itself and also my continued learning and, hopefully, improvement. (I find that in the best collaborations criticisms go both ways twixt writer and artist at this stage.)
I've never yet had any critical discourse with a letterer, which I think is odd. Lettering is often overlooked in this medium, which I think is a crying shame, and I think that discussions about lettering style are equally as important as discussions about art style or dialogue.
So, you've had all this criticism before your story even sees print. This is purely from a n00b viewpoint, remember, but I'd imagine that in the professional world this criticism is just as useful/stressful. The next criticism, however, is the most important of all: The readers' reviews.
When "War of the Worlds" was published in FutureQuake 15, I was ecstatic. The art was beautiful, the lettering perfect and, apart from a few globs of clumsy writing, it's one of the things in my life of which I am most proud. Not necessarily for the story itself, which could have been written better, but because it's my First Published Strip. Once I'd received my precious Contributor's Copy, I waited by the 'phone with a big smile on my face, fully expecting to hear from Tharg or Stan Lee who would be sending a helicopter for me with unseemly haste. There would be adoring fans and Eagle nominations, tickertape parades and ribbon-cutting ceremonies at supermarkets.
Of course, none of that happened. In fact, nobody said anything much. My friends all told me they enjoyed it, and a few people in the Yap Shop, which was kind of them and much appreciated. I will admit to being disappointed at not having that strip reviewed by readers as I wanted to hear their opinions (good and bad) about it. Praise is enjoyable for the soul and criticism is nourishing for the mind. We all want to be praised, except maybe Roger, it's a basic human desire to be accepted and loved. I'm not too far removed from my humanity to admit that I want my work to be praised too. Of course I do, but I want it to be praised for being good. If it isn't good, I want the criticism so I can work on getting praise for the future. All very selfish, I know, but people don't praise rhubarb, do they? And who wants to write rhubarb?
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes...
Paragon #6 came out a couple of weeks ago and the Emperor pointed me to a couple of actual reviews in little out-of-the-way web-nooks. These two reviews, though short, were generally quite positive about both the comic and its contributors. I was so proud of my first review, even though it was less than a dozen words, that I posted a link to it on my Facebook page! I was happy because "quite positive" means "not shit," and "not shit" is realistically the best thing I can hope for at this early stage in my comic scripting forays.
What comes next for me (if you are still awake and reading this rambling essay with your sanity intact) is the Big One. I have written "Flesh: Extinction Book I: Myths, Legends and Lies" for the imminent issue of Zarjaz. Chris Geary's art is stunning and I think the story and characters are strong. Fans of the movie "True Grit" may get something a little extra out of it. Bolt-01 writes, "this is the longest single story ever presented in Zarjaz- a whopping 24 pages." So, no pressure then. Gulp.
So, dragging myself kicking and screaming back to the actual point, what do I want for "Flesh: Extinction," criticism wise? Well, of course I want as many people as possible to like it. I know some won't, but I guess that's inevitable. If more people like it than dislike it, I'll be happy. But that's only one side of the equation. Even the people who like it won't like it all. Constructive reader criticism at this time will be both nerve-wracking and, hopefully, informative. The better my critics, the better my writing, the greater the enjoyment for the reader, the more praise I get. Everybody wins!
However, given the stages of criticism I mentioned earlier added to the reasoned criticisms of thoughtful readers I think there's enough meat to feed both ego and experience. That said, the "it's just shit" comment can also be useful. Many people aren't aware that stories have definite shapes (Jaws, Alien, Predator and Cape Fear are all roughly the same story told in different ways) and characters (Merlin providing King Arthur with magical weapons is entirely similar to Q giving Bond his laser watch and invisible Aston Martin). If these shapes or characters are somehow mishandled, the reader may instinctively grasp this malformation without necessarily understanding it. "It's just shit" is possibly a very fundamental and useful lay-criticism, especially if taken alongside more forensic opinions. So, in my view, it's all useful - even angry rantings betray a deep nerve being pinched in the reader, which can also be useful feedback.
The next issue of Zarjaz is debuting at BICS, I believe, so maybe my attitude to criticism will change soon after!
