Writers, Blocked...

By Tony Lee

It’s Friday afternoon and I’m working hard, as ever. What’s that you say? How hectic is my workload? Well, I’m currently working on four projects this week. A fifteen part, five page a week story for the UK comic 2000 A.D. , two four-page weekly tales for another publisher, both with different artists and the six part 22-page a month comic Doctor Who: The Forgotten for IDW.

Wow. That’s a lot of pages. On the weeklies alone, that’s thirteen pages a week. That’s about fifty to sixty pages a month, and that’s not including the Doctor Who, which’ll put it to eighty. I must be putting in some serious hours here, as well you know I do. So, what am I doing at the moment?

Well, I’m designing a new business card. Oh, and I’m working out a letterhead design. Oh, and of course I’m hunting hotels for a quick break in Prague before the New York Comic Con, which is in just over two weeks.

I know. You’re reading paragraphs one and two and then scratching your head as you read paragraph three. What the fuck am I thinking? I have a ton of work going on here! Why the hell would I be pissing about designing cards? (Well, apart from the obvious fact that I need to.)

Hey, I hear you. But you see this break? It’s not my fault. I’m caught in a limbo – I’m waiting for Editor feedback.

And that noise just there? That’s the collective groan of thousands of creators, all sighing as they nod in agreement. Editors. Can’t live without them, can’t stuff them in a freezer and wait for the authorities to arrive.

Now I’m very lucky at the moment I have to say – because I’m working with some of the nicest editors in the business. Matt, the erstwhile editor of 2000 A.D. and The Megazine is an absolute star, and works as many hours as I do if not more – and I can usually send in a script and just move onto the next, safe in the knowledge that the changes that I’ll have to do will be valid and easy to sort out, mainly as we worked all the tough stuff out in the plotting stages. But currently? I have three scripts, #5, #6 and #7 in waiting for the yea or nay, and I don’t really want to progress any more, in case there’s a serious re-write required in #6 – which of course means that I have to change everything that follows. And the more I write before the change comes through? The more I have to edit after the change. So although I still have another eight issues to go on this story, I need to hold off until next week.

And then you have Ben, my hard pushed editor for The Prince Of Baghdad and St Spookys – he’s not just dealing with me, he’s dealing with countless other creators, each one bringing a host of new problems to the table. And last week he was off on holiday, and this week he’s off with the flu. So, until I hear back on script revisions for the next couple of issues he has (as well as art issues) I’m caught between the rock and a hard place here as well.

And of course we have Doctor Who: The Forgotten, which I’m waiting for a response from the BBC on whether it’s okay. #1 had a major rewrite required, so I’m waiting and holding my breath, made more difficult when, in the middle of March the Script Editor (and BBC liason) asked for #2 even though he’d had it a month earlier. Which meant that the clock started all over again. So, although I can put together the next issue, block it out and all that, I don’t really want to start on #3 until I know for sure that it’s clear to go from #2. So I’ll wait until next week.

So there you have it. I have four hectic, close to the deadline projects and all four are held while I wait for approval. And so I wait patiently while I work out the next couple of weeks worth of scripts, play God Of War on my PSP and watch West Wing re runs.

Now please don’t think that I’m bitching about editors here however, as to be honest? An editor is the best friend that a writer can have. Ever. They see the flaws in your work that you’re too close to see. They see the holes you’ve left because you know the story too well, holes that someone new to the tale, like the average reader will find confusing and strange. They’ll see clunky dialogue, contradictory character actions and, more importantly? They can look at your baby, the thing that you have given life to, your very being, and they can calmly and rationally tell you to amputate.

I’ve been edited, and I’ve written comics where I wasn’t edited. And whether I like it or not, the former titles are always better. Midnight Kiss wasn’t edited – well, in the technical sense it was, but to be perfectly honest bar maybe one word change it went through as is, and there were points when the story really got away. And there were glaring errors found in proofing that meant that we were racing the publishing deadline to get things right. Hope Falls? Was edited. And the ease that it went through showed this. Every time Matt asks me to change something? There’s a reason. And every time I’ve changed it? It’s been better. Much better in some places. A writer needs an editor, not only do they rein them in when the writer’s gone off on one; they also push that writer to soar higher with their work. A good editor makes a good writer. And I’m lucky to have worked with and be working with some of the best in the industry; learning lessons that have been taught to me that have also helped me when I have edited others, titles like Starship Troopers.

And so I’m happy to wait as long as it takes for changes, because it means that the editor isn’t just rushing my work, they’re doing their job. And the changes they make will make my work look and read better. They make me look good.

And that, my friend is why you never leave an editor in a freezer while you wait for the authorities.

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Well! Isn’t it exciting! Ol’ Tony is going to be across the pond in a couple of weeks and I’ll be storming my way through NYC from the 15th to the 21st of April. And as well as signing at the New York Comic Con from the 18th to the 20th, I’ll be performing live at Comic Book Club with Robbi Rodriguez and Christos Gage. So it should be a giggle. There’s even a rumour that I’m the first Brit they’ve ever had on the show, so they’ll probably be giving me an award or throwing me a party or something. They’d better.

And on the Friday at 7 p.m. I’m doing a panel on breaking in hosted by ex-Marvel Editor and now Marvel writer Andy Schmidt, which I should have more information on next week.

But mainly? I’m going to be wandering around. Expect to see me in a variety of bars and swanky after show parties.

At the window, pathetically clawing at it.

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Well, we promised you the list today, and here it is. We've finally announced the 2008 Golden Champagne Glass Awards nominations, for the best of the best of 2007. These will be announced, guerrilla style in the Ramada Bar on the Saturday night of the Bristol Comic Expo.

For those of you who don't understand what the GSGA are, they were created a couple of years back as a satire on the UK Comic con awards scene, where small press comics were hit badly in an award ceremony that pandered quite visibly to the larger, more news stand magazines. And mainly, me and Dan wanted to give our friends amusing little gifts. It was a joke, something to push the Two Drunk Guys in a Bar branding that teeny tiny bit higher.

But then it snowballed out of control—for Steve Saunders, then of All The Rage posted it in his column and then suddenly we received hundreds of emails, all suggesting their own thoughts. Some of them could be used, some were discredited out of hand due to logistics. me and Dan like to think of this less as a democracy and more of a tyranny—the Judges decision is final. And influenced by votes and blatant bribery.

So on to this year—and below are the nominations—let us know who you think should win each category by replying here or by emailing itsonlyacomic@gmail.com with your votes. Or, offer us bribes.

Note 2—Dan and I? We don't nominate these. Not one of the below were suggested by us. We're the award givers, we don't need to. So there's no point emailing us and asking us why we didn’t nominate you – always do it yourself!

These are the top five most nominated people in each category – and yes, Bevis Musson had enough nominations from people to give him a healthy lead already in every single one of these awards... So much so that we’ve sorted an award especially for him...

Best Comic Created By A Friend

• Surburban Glamour (Jamie McKelvie)


• Wasteland (Antony Johnston)


• Starship Troopers (Cy Dethan/Paul Green)


• Hamlet (Emma Vieceli)


• Queen Of Diamonds (Bevis Musson)


Hardest Drinker

• Mamtor


• Tony Lee & Dan Boultwood


• Jamie Boardman


• Jock


• Bevis Musson


Best Journalist (US)

• Heidi MacDonald


• Chris Arrant


• Matt Brady


• Jen Contino


• Bevis Musson (apparently)


Best Journalist (UK)

• Rich Johnston


• Mike Conroy


• Paul Gravett


• Craig McGill


• Bevis Musson (again?)


Gayest Gay Creator In Comics (Also known as the Bevis Musson award)

• Bevis Musson


• Bevis Musson


• Bevis Musson


• Bevis Musson


• Bevis Musson

(Note—the creators don't have to actually be gay to get this—last year Kev Sutherland almost won it...)

The James Redington Memorial Award
Suggested to be posthumously awarded to James Redington for the first year. No vote required.

Hottest Creator

• Jamie McKelvie


• Emma Vieceli


• Bevis Musson


• David Monteith


• Sonia Leong


Best Online Podcast

• Quiet! Panelologists At Work


• Geek Syndicate


• Birds Of Geek


• Comics Racks


• Bevis Musson and a microphone


Scariest Fan

• Cher


• James Murphy


• Derek Hartley


• Bevis Musson


• Jesse Baker


Breakout Award For Best New Talent

• Cy Dethan (Starship Troopers)


• Sonia Leong


• Chris Lynch


• Dave Gibbons


• Bevis bloody Musson


Favourite Writer

• Tony Lee


• Peter David


• Mike Carey


• Paul Cornell


• Bevis Musson


Favourite Artist

• Jamie McKelvie


• Dan Boultwood


• Mike Collins


• Liam Sharp


• Bevis Musson


Favourite 'Other' (Letterer, Colourist, Editor)

• Rob Levin (Top Cow VP, Editorial)


• Budgie Barnett (Hope Falls Editor)


• Thomas Mauer (Letterer)


• Ian Sharman (Colourist)


• Bevis Musson


Lifetime Achievement Award

• Bryan Talbot


• Dave Gibbons


• Warren Ellis


• Neil Gaiman


• Bevis Musson


Best Website

• Comic Book Resources


• Comics Bulletin


• Newsarama


• Whatever Comics Forum


• Bevis Musson’s Livejournal


Best 'YoYo' (person who bounces back from adversity)

• Richard Emms (ex APC/Markosia, now Publisher of Ardden)


• Tony Lee


• Rob Leifield


• John Byrne


• Bevis Musson


Best Shameless Promoter

• Rich Johnston


• Tony Lee & Dan Boultwood


• Warren Ellis


• Richard Emms


• Bevis Musson

Remember guys, these are purely given on votes and bribery. Awards will be given after the Eagle Awards on the Saturday night at the Ramada Plaza hotel.

And on that note, I’m gone for another week. Be good, and don’t have too many loud parties. Me? I’ll be waiting to start my next scripts, and moving my freezer...

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Discuss this column at the Only A Forum forum.
© 2008, Tony Lee

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