Chatter Part II: The Conclusion

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE:

Brandon Thomas, Barb Lien, and Park Cooper got together at SBC's AMBI to discuss their secret plan to fight inflation, but instead the talk instantly turned to comics and creating comics and stayed there. Suddenly, Brandon mentioned that Barb's dream series GUN STREET GIRL was about to debut at Modern Tales' sub-site GRAPHIC SMASH. Then The Bookworm showed up and trapped Brandon, Barb and Park inside a giant cookbook.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

ARE BRANDON'S IMING DAYS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END?

IS THE DOMINOED DAREDOLL SOON TO MEET THE GREAT IRON CHEF IN THE SKY?

WILL WE EVER GET OUT OF THIS NOSTALGIA-RIDDEN, MESSED-UP INTRODUCTION?

STAY TUNED! THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

Mr. Thomas: I don't know about you, but I'm at the age where everyone is just completely clueless about what they want to do, or what they're here for, and I know. Least I think I do. That's a good feeling, to believe that you've found yourself in a way

Park: Yeah well they're often pretty stupid at 30 these days, let me tell you…

Barb: Something that you feel totally fulfilled by, something that's important for some reason, something that you add to, something that you can make better, because you're the first YOU in this world...

Park: Which doesn't mean anyone can do it.

Park: Specifically you, not just any old you.

Mr. Thomas: Right, no one is going to do it like YOU can.

Park: Like the Authority's A Finer World, only A Finer Medium?

Barb: Yes.

Mr. Thomas: The thing that gets me is the complete lack of respect and disregard people have of us, among modern pop culture. We live in the world of reality television, and clear thinking adults have a problem with comic books. What's that about??

Barb: You've got to give the world your own unique combination of experiences that make you you. EXCEPT, as Park is bugging me so much to add... it also takes talent. He doesn't like that it sounds like I'm saying anyone should be able to do it because we all know they can't, not at all.

Barb: That lack of respect has bothered me for a while too, believe me... that's part of what I do with Tart. A big part, maybe.

Mr. Thomas: Not everyone can no. I see this book almost everytime I go to work that says, "Anyone can write," and I'm always like fuck that. And that isn't an ego stroke, but everybody can't do long division mentally, so what is it about writing that people seem to think everybody can do it.

Barb: Well they don't understand that writing is a CRAFT. And it's a craft that takes time and effort and determination and obsession.

Mr. Thomas: And more obsession...

Barb: And it also takes intelligence, insight into characters, imagination, an ear for dialogue... Organization... the ability to organize your ideas clearly... Passion, empathy... and something to say. It also takes the ability to make the reader suspend his or her disbelief

Mr. Thomas: At this point in my development, organization is the most important thing of my process really. I make notes and beat sheets and all kinds of nonsense to keep me focused on telling the story, and from becoming lost in the story, because that can happen pretty easily.

Barb: You also have to know about people, and yourself. It takes a stern internal editor and internal critic.

Park: Or it should, anyway.

Barb: Mm. I'm a ruthless editor of my own work. If it doesn't serve the story, it's not in... not for long, anyway.

Mr. Thomas: Me too, I have this process I think to call justification that basically dissects everything and asks, "Why is this here??"

Barb: I mean my talents are for dialog an characterization, so I've had to work like a mofo on making my plots as tightly paced as humanly possible.

Park: She's got it now, though.

Barb: A lot of people in comics, their weakness is pacing. There's a craft to it.

Barb on Justification: Mm-hm! Mm-hm!

Barb: I've seen a lot of comics, some by famous authors, where they tell a story in 22 pages that really is a 10 page story with big-ass art…

Mr. Thomas: That's something that stands out about any writer I grow attached to. There's a rhythm and flow to their stories that's natural and almost effortless. Good writing is when everything looks easy.

Barb: Yeah, I'd agree with that. I love when you can read a story and you just recognize the authorial voice because it's unique

Mr. Thomas: Hell yeah, but even if you choose to expand a story like that, only a very skilled writer can show you the reason they did it that way

Barb: So many people write WITHOUT an authorial voice, and that drives me crazy

Mr. Thomas: With bad writers, it just looks lazy

Barb: Yeah, I'm with you, but sometimes I think it's just Get the story for a paycheck.

Mr. Thomas: Here's one. Do you think with the increased importance of the graphic novel market that story "padding" has taken over the industry??

Barb: A problem I have with reviewing comics now is that I want to EDIT them and SCRIPT DOCTOR them and REWRITE them to be GOOD and that's not what a reviewer should do...

Park: It's not really what a reviewer should WANT to do...

Barb: Yeah

Barb on Story padding: To an extent… It'd explain a lot...

Mr. Thomas: Do you think that's the perspective that most people write reviews under? Like, "Now, how would I do this?"

Barb: No. Definitely no. You don't see a good critic like Johanna Draper-Carlson doing it,
anyway...

Park: But then Barb finds it slightly difficult to grasp that Johanna just likes to review comics.

Mr. Thomas: I'd hope not, I don't think that was my slant when I was writing them, but sometimes it's hard to really find and explain our motivations for things.

Park: Johanna says she doesn't want into the industry and I believe her. And I like Johanna for that, because she's one of the few I know who don't... or so it feels sometimes

Mr. Thomas: I am so glad that I came out in the first Ambi I ever wrote and told people one of the reasons I was doing it, was to help me break in, anytime I get a compliant, I can always tell them to check the intro.

Park: And do you get that complaint often?

Barb: I didn't come out and say 'okay look I'm going to write comics and I want everyone to accept that' until last year and boy, it was a relief

Mr. Thomas: No, but there's a stigma to it I think. In a while, companies are going to stop even looking at websites because everybody is pitching, which was something that I'd planned for the column, but only did it on special occasions.

Park: Yes well... have you noticed that The Show doesn't have an SBC forum?

Mr. Thomas: Yeah, is there a reason for that??

Park: Um... the short answer is that it isn't that kind of Show, I guess... I knew from the second Jason asked me if I wanted one that the feedback I cared about would come straight to me, and that I couldn't be the sort of person who engaged in that... However, over time I think I feel that I was right for different reasons. No one really ever seems interested in commenting on what I have to say, whether I'm clever but serious or just being silly, whereas the second Barb takes up more than 55% of a column, people seem to fall over themselves rushing to agree or disagree with her... which is why she mostly sticks to doing that at Tart now, where the same phenomenon happens. My wife is a natural polarizer of fans, it seems...

Barb: This dumb industry keeps me up at night.

Park: It really does, folks, it's not just a figure of speech

Mr. Thomas: There was a period of time, where I was really afraid to even post on message boards, but by the time I got to SBC, I was good. I've made some mistakes on the forum, but I've learned from them I think.

Mr. Thomas: The first encounter me and ATR writer Ian Ungstad ever had, was this huge fight we got into on my board, because he accused me of swiping an idea from another writer, and like a child, I went absolutely apeshit. Now, we're buds, was just talking to him a minute ago

Park: Okay new question, the one I was going to start with originally: WILL all comics shops fail in the next... hmmmm... 4 years due to comics moving into bookstores due to the sales power of the graphics novel format? Future Comics won't do it, but I see Future Comics as a harbinger. Indie comics have already realized that that's where the cheese is...

Mr. Thomas: I wouldn't say four years, but unless we see a sudden upsurge in interest, I'd say the monthlies will probably turn into something down the road, but in a perfect industry, both could successfully co-exist.

Barb: I hope not, because it's like CDs. I'm willing to pay 3.50 or, hell, 4 bucks to try out something, but pay for a whole graphic novel every time I want to test some waters?

Park: In a Will Eisner Dropsie Avenue voice: And this looks like a perfect industry to you?

Mr. Thomas: Oh, of course not, nothing will ever really be perfect, but there's no sense in not trying.

Park: Indeed.

Barb: I'm just someone who likes to try out something with low risk, you know... I got less interest in music, my big love, after CDs made things so high... higher risk

Mr. Thomas: I think, okay, here's something recent, the just announced cancellation of The Crew. How many people were waiting for the trade??

Park: I saw Ian pointing out that someone was trying to cancel something all of a sudden before anyone had quite heard of it...

Mr. Thomas: Have we created the conditions with the recent and very valid fascination with the graphic novel, that can choke monthly titles before they can even get to that point??

Park: Hold on, I'm not dead yet, I feel fine. No, be a good chap, lie down with the other corpses. But I feel fine...

Park: Uh... yep, apparently.

Mr. Thomas: What do you personally enjoy more, the monthly or the graphic novel??

Barb: Monthly

Barb: Gives me the opportunity to go into the shop and snoop around and listen to what people are saying and be an impulse buyer.

Park: You never impulse buy.

Barb: No but I like the chance.

Mr. Thomas: I don't because I'm a Previews man. I can look at that book and tell almost instantly whether or not I'm throwing cash down, I'm one of those freaks that doesn't flip through anything in the store.

Park: Okay I'd like a Final Question but... hm... Okay wait, one's coming to me...

Park: Okay... best compliment you've ever gotten. Both of you. Writing-wise.

Park: Hmm, Barb's drawing a blank.

Park: Okay, we'll see if you can answer it, if you don't have the perfect answer we'll just give up

Mr. Thomas: When Mark Millar called us out in an interview and said that he thought we were the best writers that no one knew about it yet.

Park: Okay, that was it.

Mr. Thomas: That was dope.

Barb: Yah I enjoy the faith the Scottish contingency's had in me...

Mr. Thomas: But I've gotten a lot of really encouraging mail over the duration of the column, J. Hues is always good to me, Markisan, everybody at SBC. It's just one big orgy at that place...

Park: Okay I think we'll wrap it up...

Park: Any last thoughts?

Mr. Thomas: That Instant Messenger is one of the greatest inventions known to man. I haven't even gotten started yet. Hmm...what else, ah I've got it...don't be a hater.

Park: Tch… That was three separate thoughts, right?

Mr. Thomas: yes… three final thoughts :-D

Park: It sounded a bit like you haven't even gotten started IMing yet

Mr. Thomas: LOL

Mr. Thomas: we know that's not true

Your New Mantra: VISUALIZE MONKEY VS ROBOT PEACE