Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Writers on Comics Scriptwriting


Back in the early 90s, DC comics started its Vertigo imprint, which was aimed at 'mature readers' and mostly devoid of superheroes. A pack of British writers were brought over to script different titles in the series, and the results were pretty damned incredible: Neil Gaiman delving into classic myth with The Sandman; Grant Ennis exploding both the Western genre and Catholicism with The Preacher; Warren Ellis attacking cultural norms, and celebrating muck-raking journalism, with Transmetropolitan; Grant Morrison incorporating some of the most far-out mysticism and magic I've ever encountered into a secret-agent story. In my mind, the early Vertigo years rank as one of those golden eras in storytelling, with supremely talented authors and artists working together, feeding off each other, and pushing their arts to inspired levels.

A number of the old-school Vertigo authors, as well as other brilliant storytellers like Frank Miller (creator of Sin City and 300) and Jeph Loeb (one of the best writers to ever take on Batman), are interviewed in this book. It's a great peek into the minds of a group of very talented people, and it offers a lot of interesting thoughts on the nature of imagination and creativity. The book is out of print, but if you ever stumble across a copy, its definitely worth a read.

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