If you missed part 1 you can read it here http://comicbuzz.com/neal-adams-talks-to-comicbuzz-part1
CB: Can I ask about your writing process, do you write a full script before you start to draw?
I write a full synopsis and then I try to write a full script, but very often, the project begins and I work ongoing. That is why a very tight synopsis is tremendously important. A writer cannot afford to get lost along the way. So everything must be nailed down. The problems that come up are: How do you stick to a page count? If you’re working in chapters, how do you have a semi-climax at the end of each chapter? Standard problems that we’re all used to. All of this comes down to doing the job right, and getting to it. I’m sure any other writer will tell you, once you have the idea, it’s just working out the details. And God forbid you don’t love what you started with.
CB: How long does it take you to draw a page for Blood?
Half a day.
CB: Neal you have been in the industry for a long time, can I ask what you think of the current state of the industry?
A long time? You must be talking about my father, Neal Adams, Sr. Just kidding. The industry itself is incredibly wonderful. The competition for the reader’s time is devastating. Mere survival, as it has always been in comics, is the big question. We were driven off of the newsstands, partially because our prices didn’t stay up with the expected norm, and partially because of the corruption of the newsstands. And now, comic books present an economic contradiction to readers, in that although they love to read the product, they cannot afford to buy it all, and so they must pick and choose. Well, if you have a giant crossover, how do you pick and choose? When I was doing Green Lantern/Green Arrow, if you could only afford one comic book that month, you remained a fan of comic books because of that one comic book. That can’t happen today. There’s too much going on.
There is also this: a kid…
Of course, that was a joke. We’re losing kids like crazy. Okay, the 30 year old reader plays video games, watches television, and can get access to his reading material faster and easier than ever before in history. He or she must make a decision as to what they’re going to do with their 2 or 3 or 4 hours of free time. We can’t make them read comic books if they’re playing a great computer game. Or if Dr. Who has just become fantastic to watch on TV. Then there’s House, Smallville, Human Target, Lost, The Event, Fringe. What do you say to your audience? Don’t watch these programs? Kids still have homework, dates, sports, and a life to live. It’s not that comic books aren’t good. They’re great. It’s just that there’s too much competition out there for the hours in the day. Then, of course, we cut our own throats. We promised the reader that, “don’t worry, you don’t have to read the whole series, we’re going to collect it in a graphic novel.” And then, eventually, you’ll be able to read it on your iPad, iPhone, or whatever. So unless you have an insane, voracious fan, who has got to read it on the exact day that it comes out, people put off reading the series. If you’re asking me about comic books and the talent involved, it is totally fabulous. If you’re asking me about the world, it’s very rough. And very competitive. And what do I say to all of this? So what?! Let’s play!
CB: When you are working on creator-owned characters do you have a different approach than working with company-owned characters?
Yes. One is much more lazy working on creator owned characters. You have to make your own deadlines. You have to find a publisher that’s willing to put up with your baloney. And you become your own editor. There’s something very secure about having an outside person hocking you about deadlines and editing your stuff. So yes, it is different. That’s why there are so many really crappy independent projects. On the other hand, how many times have we seen a crappy independent project turned into a good movie because it had a good title or a good basic idea. Or because someone just thought they could do something with it. Of course, I think that is about to change. And that the independent project has to come in with just a little bit more than it did in the past. Then, of course, you have great independent projects like Sin City, 300, Wanted and Kick Ass that are based on quality independent work.
CB: Do you enjoy writing or drawing more?
When I’m writing, I enjoy writing more. When I’m drawing, I enjoy writing more. Just kidding. I have done a lot more writing than people know, and I love the process of writing. But you don’t get that immediate appreciation that you get from doing artwork. Writing is also much, much, much more subjective. And also, much more unknown. For example, I did the majority of the Deadman stories. People are generally, totally unaware of that because Neal Adams is illustrating the story, so they expect it to be good. There’s also something else to be aware of here, for those of you who may not be, there’s such a thing as good art and such a thing as art that tells the story. Art that tells the story to that extent is writing. You can see this distinction in film directors who take a hand in the writing of their stories. Steven Spielberg, for example, is said to be a director, but in fact, he is a writer, storyteller, director. The great thing about comic books is that it is a medium that sustains all mixes of storytellers and creators. What, for example, is Frank Miller? A writer or an artist? Obviously he is both. But which is he mostly? I think the answer is he is a storyteller.
CB: What advice would you give to an artist or writer who would like to work in the comics industry?
Avoid it, if possible. But if you truly do like it, like it for the right reasons, be aware that the best writers and artists in the world are competing for any small bit of work that you may get. And they will kill you if they can. They will smile at you while they do it, but do not doubt, they will kill you. And God forbid you’re an artist who also writes. Every gun in the room is cocked for you. But of course, that’s the most fun.
CB: What comics are you reading at the moment?
I’m reading Fear Itself. Thor, on and off. Batman, on and off. I’m trying to keep up with Green Lantern. I was hot on The Punisher for a while, because that’s just pure mayhem, and who can resist that? Anything that Immonen and Bachelo does. Anything that Koeppel does. Anything that Frank does, of course. And Batman Odyssey.
CB: Do you read comics digitally or do you prefer paper?
So far, I prefer paper. Will that change? I have to believe that eventually I will read a lot of stuff digitally. It’s sort of inevitable, isn’t it?
CB: What other projects are you working on?
I’m finishing up Batman Odyssey. I’m finishing an Avengers title written by Brian Michael Bendis. I’m about to start a Wolverine series, co-written by myself and one of Marvel’s up coming young star writers, who I can’t tell you about at this moment, because I never know what I’ve sworn myself to secrecy about on any given day. There’s a lot of that. We’re also revitalizing our comic book line digitally through http://graphicly.com/, and we are talking to Dark Horse about some of our titles from our line of Continuity comics.
CB: Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
I think we are moving into a new age that has been a long time coming. For myself, I have learned a lot of new skills and ways of doing things, and I am not slow in presenting these. I am back, and I think it might be a good idea for everybody to run just a little faster.
We would like to thank Neal Adams and the nice people at Darkhorse Comics
Good read. Nice one.