thxthxthx

Quirky concepts catch my attention; visually engaging blogs hold my interest. Leah Dieterich’s blog, thxthxthx: a thank you note a day, is a quirky and visually entertaining concept that I enjoy immensely. Here’s the basic premise: “There’s always something to be thankful for. From the important things like Songs You’re Embarrassed to Like, and Heavy Eyelids that Tell You When You Need to Sleep, to friends and family, love and loneliness, light and darkness, Leah Dieterich sets out to acknowledge them all. thxthxthx is her daily exercise in gratitude.” I am thankful to Dieterich for this email interview and to Jason Bitner for putting me in contact with her.

Tim O’Shea: In the about category for the blog, you explain”Leah Dieterich’s mother always told her to write thank you notes. So she does.” What’s been her reaction to your blog?

Leah Dieterich: It’s funny, she told me after Christmas that she hadn’t written her thank you notes yet. I think it was almost February when she told me this. And she said “I guess you’ll have to take my name off your blog, huh?” That’s just silly. Other than that, she likes the site, but I don’t know that she reads it very often. She’s on the internet a lot less than I am, lucky woman.

O’Shea: How long does a typical entry take to create–and what all is involved (including taking a photograph of the note)?

Dieterich: Not very long, really. Maybe 15 minutes. I think of the note, I write it on the fancy card, and then I scan it, size it down and post it. I really enjoy the “boring” parts of the posting actually. The methodical, kind of mindless part of the formatting, after I’ve written the note. Some days I write more than one if I’m inspired.

O’Shea: The actual act of writing is also an element that shows up in your short film Prioritaire, “about a series of confessional letters that form a relationship of sorts, was an official selection at the AFI Dallas Film Festival“. Where did the allure of writing on (its core level) originate?

Dieterich: My father is an almost compulsive note-writer. Growing up, there were always instructional notes for each family member on the kitchen table, because he was often out of the house before we were up. So I think from an early age, I was comfortable with writing as a convenient means of communication. But beyond those kinds of utilitarian notes, there were lots of creative ones. My mom and he always stressed card-making over card-buying for holidays. And I still remember notes he wrote to me that were from the Tooth-Fairy and ones my mom wrote me that were from Santa. I’ve always written notes. In fact, I used to get in trouble a lot in school for note-passing. It runs deep, needless to say. I think the core allure comes from the chance to really think out what you are going to say. I think I have always had a fear of saying the wrong thing, or what I might blurt out in conversation. When you write, you get to say what you want to say in simplest way possible. You also get to hide a little bit, which I like. Writing allows for reflection and then of course, for better or worse, revision. I try not to revise the notes I put on thxthxthx too much because I don’t want to compromise the authenticity.

O’Shea: Do you find you now notice other people’s appreciation or acts of gratitude since starting this project?

Dieterich: I’m not sure, but do I know that in talking about the project, everyone I know has concurred that appreciation and gratitude are important and something they want to incorporate into their own lives more.

O’Shea: Looking at the categories, other than being struck by the fact there are two separate Guns n Roses entries, are there any trends or patterns that have have caught your attention? From an outsider’s perspective, I enjoyed the musical entries and the fact you appreciated the musical qualities of broken glass.

Dieterich: In looking at the categories myself, I notice that the category “People” has almost twice as any out there. I guess that just goes to show that even though I thank a lot of things, when it comes down to it, the world really is: people. So it makes sense there would be a lot of them to thank. Food factors in quite a bit. You know, the basics. I’m struck that there are are more notes to fear and pain than to love. I have a lot of love in my life, but I think part of this project involves being thankful for the things that seem unthankable. There are more notes in the category labeled “writing” than almost any other. Nothing like thanking the thing you do all the time, I guess. I’m kind of glad to see that.

O’Shea: Did you adopt a certain style of handwriting for thxthxthx or has it always been that distinctive?

Dieterich: What you see is what you get. I’m a lefty, so I’m proud that my handwriting is even legible, considering.

O’Shea: thxthxthx has a Facebook fan page, where people sometimes share their own thank you notes–do you intentionally avoid using their thank yous as inspiration for your own?

Dieterich: In general, it’s hard not to be inspired by other people when they are doing something they feel passionate about, but I don’t ever find it a problem. This whole gratitude thing, and the expression of it, is über personal, so it’s not really an issue.

O’Shea: Some of the Facebook fans consider thxthxthx to be inspirational for them, had you hoped to touch folks on that level or was that never part of your thinking when you started the project?

Dieterich: I never imagined people would react to it that way, but it makes me smile. Makes me blush. It’s a little bewildering, but I like it. I’ve always done the notes for myself though, even before I had the site for them. That’s what it’s all about, the personal expression of what matters to me that day.

O’Shea: A thank you note a day is a tough pace, how do you avoid burnout? Do you see a finite end to thxthxthx or not?

Dieterich: Nah. I’ve got endurance, man. And when you love doing something, it’s not really an effort.

Tim O’Shea: Beige is partially inspired by your initial move to Los Angeles. While the novel is not your story, of course, I’m wondering if when writing a novel like this do you find you learn a little about yourself in the process?

Cecil Castellucci: While no novel is biography, there are always elements of myself and where I’m at or where I’ve been. Sometimes it’s a look back, sometimes it’s a reflection of now, sometimes an imagined path not taken. So, I think that I learn a little bit about myself from every novel I write. For Beige, I was inspired by moving to my particular neighborhood in Los Angeles, Silverlake, and dealing with all the punk in Los Angeles. Everything was so punk rock here and I felt like an outsider looking in, even though I had moved here to put out my first CD on No Life Records. I was working at Epitaph Records and I was this little indie rock girl who sang Twee music. I suppose in this case I learned about the essential roots of punk, which are pretty much the essential roots of being an artist in the world. Ask questions. Pay attention. Think for yourself. When you do that, it’s all good.

O’Shea: One of the main characters in Beige, Katy’s dad (The Rat) is a recovering addict. In writing a young adult novel, how hard is it to touch upon subjects like that (addiction/recovery/impact on the family) without either getting too adult with the topic or talking down to the audience?

Castellucci: I don’t think it’s too hard to talk about anything in Young Adult literature. That’s the great thing about it. There’s room for all kinds of stories, all kinds of conversations. I think you can touch on anything, any subject, as long as you do it with empathy, heart and honesty. In this book, it was important to me to talk about recovery and redemption, rather than the more typical way that drugs and addiction are presented in YA. A lot of times there are very grave consequences, characters end up dead, lives ruined and don’t get me wrong, I’m not condoning drug use or abuse, I am just saying that once you’ve made that mistake, there is life after that. The Rat and Sam Suck all paid dearly for their choices. It ruined their lives and the lives of Katy and Lake’s moms and greatly affected how Katy and Lake are brought up. In the end, they got through it. Well, most of them. In my life, along the way, I have met many people, who are in recovery for drug or alcohol abuse and they were (are) amazing people. Talented, brilliant, kind, generous, human. I feel privileged to have met the ones that I call friends and acquaintances at that time in their life, while in recovery, after they had gone through all of that dark stuff and come out the other side. I got the best of them. With The Rat and Sam Suck and Katy’s Mom, I wanted to write a book that reflected those people who got sober and gave themselves a second chance.

O’Shea: Who was your editor on Beige? After writing a novel, how painful (or painless) is it to endure the editorial process?

Castellucci: I’m so glad you asked! Kara LaReau was my editor. She had edited my two previous novels Boy Proof and The Queen of Cool so we already had a shorthand. I would say that the editorial process with her is a fantastic experience. Not that I don’t get frustrated and beaten down by the process of making a novel. I weep sometimes. I curse my clumsy sentences. I eat bon bons in despair and beat my chest dramatically. But she makes it a lot easier. She’s a big cheerleader and a great sounding board. She also sometimes says one thing about the story, one sentence that just blows my mind and clicks everything together in the story for me. Basically, in our process together, we have long talks about the heart of the book. This book was a bit more layered than my other books, there were more words! So there was a plot chart that was made so we could quickly look at the beats of the narrative broken down chapter by chapter. I love when I give my book to Kara and then we talk. She pulls the best stuff out of me, she has this magical way of just tweaking things just so and then I’m off and running. I love when I get her notes and then I revise. Revising is fun. First drafts are hard.

O’Shea: Who was your favorite character to write in Beige? Now that it’s been a few years since you wrote the book, have you gained a greater affection for other characters in the book?

Castellucci: Oh, picking favorites is always difficult! But in writing the book I loved writing The Rat! He is so fragile and great. He’s trying so hard! He’s really making a go at his second chance. These few years later, I now have a super soft spot for Garth Skater, who wears his helmet all the time because he’s so beautiful, who makes Katy the punk primer cd mix that make up the chapter headings. And of course Katy and Lake, well, their hard blossoming friendship was a treat to write.

O’Shea: When you do a book like Beige, with a certain set of characters–do you ever have the temptation to revisit the characters in another novel?

Castellucci: Beige is the only book where I knew what would happen if I ever got to write a sequel. I knew where I wanted it to go. As a matter of fact, the first draft took place over the summer with the rat and then continued through the whole next school year. Kara LaReau, my editor and I had a long talk and decided to cut out the second half of that draft and just concentrate on the summer. Other than that, except for the Plain Janes, I haven’t really had the temptation to revisit characters. My books are usually pretty stand alone.

O’Shea: Back in 2007, when Beige first came out, you started a blog discussing favorite punk songs in honor of the book’s release. At the blog you run a photo of yourself giving the one-finger salute. The book finds its roots in punk music and the punk attitude, so the picture (in the right sidebar under “This is Cecil”) makes sense to me (and is funny). But do you ever worry that as a contemporary YA writer some potential consumers might be turned off by the photo?

Castellucci: Oh, the one finger salute! I try not worry about stuff like that. I think that as long as you are an excellent adult, honest, true to yourself, full of heart and good deeds, then it’s all good. That is the most important thing to show kids. How to be an excellent person. I try to be an excellent person. It’s a process. I would say that a better way to think of people being turned off by the photo or other things that make consumers (I’m going to venture that would be parents) uncomfortable, whether it be my smiling punk picture or the content of a book, any book, is that those are great opportunities to engage in an open conversation with kids. My feeling is that any entry into dialogue with kids is great. I bet if they sat down and talked with their kids about that picture, Why am I giving the finger? What is punk? then they would likely come to the same conclusion that you do, that in context, the book Beige finds its roots in punk music and the punk attitude. That’s a good dinner table conversation. I’m all about good dinner conversations. So I’m not going to worry about being shown with the finger as a YA author because I know that pretty much every single person has given the finger at some point. And I’ll probably give the finger at some point in the future about something. It happens.

O’Shea: With the Beige is Punk blog, what’s been some of your favorite songs that you’ve been introduced to through the blog?

Castellucci: Well, I finally watched the movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. Which is FANTASTIC! Also, I rediscovered a bunch of songs. I was actually surprised at how many songs I had known already and adored. But pretty much everything Douglas Wolk picked! He’s got such great eclectic, underground, wonderful taste and I hardly knew any of them.

O’Shea: Did anyone punk veterans happen to read the book (albeit not your target audience) and give you feedback on the book?

Castellucci: I wish!

O’Shea: When your career expanded into the world of graphic novels, did you find that coverage helped to expand consumer interest in your YA novels?

Castellucci: I think so! I think everybody finds out about you and your work different ways. I mean, I have some people who read a book of mine because they used to like my band. Or some people read their first graphic novel because they liked my YA novels and vice versa. I’m sure it all goes around. I think some people will like all of what I do with my different ways of telling stories, and some will only like one part. That’s cool. I’m going to keep telling my stories in all kinds of different ways and I’m sure people will come and go.

O’Shea: 2009 is the year of short stories for you. How did this creative decision come about? And while it’s only March, how is 2009 going so far–any pleasant or unpleasant creative surprises?

Castellucci: The fact that I only have short stories coming out in 2009 is a weird fluke! First, I co-edited an anthology about Geeks and the Geek Observed called Geektastic with Holly Black. Then I was asked to be in a Vampire anthology, The Eternal Kiss and that was so fun to write. The story is called Wet Teeth and it’s totally creepy and wretched! Yeah! Then I have a story called The Long and Short of Long Term Memory coming out on the Interstital Arts Foundation anthology Interfictions II. That story is special to me because it’s my first story that is not a young adult story, although it’s perfectly suitable for teens. The most interesting thing is that I feel like these short stories have given me a chance to explore a new literary voice. The stories have informed the new work in progress that I’m working on, which is a novel, which is going to be something very, very different for me. So it’s been enormously wonderful and completely surprising to write these short stories. I feel very lucky that these new pieces in this new voice have been so warmly received and that my efforts to grow as a writer are going to be published. It’s encouraging me to be braver in my work. I love that!

O’Shea: Given that The Long and Short of Long Term Memory (A quite engaging title, I must say) is allowing you to explore “a new literary voice”–I’m curious to hear in what ways has the new voice allowed you to venture into new territory–and how soon into the writing process did you discover you’d tapped into this new voice? Was it in the midst of writing it, or later–when you were revising it?

Castellucci: The new voice question is tricky. I think I had been starting to toy with a new voice, but it wasn’t really fully present yet. Previously I had written a novel (unpublished) (and totally secret cause it was so different from anything else I’d done) called The Cherry Tree, which I am going to finish now that the new voice has sort of settled in my body and I feel stronger about what I’m doing. My editor, Kara read it and remarked at how different it was for me. She encouraged me and even said that she thought that this was the voice I was meant to write in. But I was so nervous, so unconfident and I didn’t know what it was. It seemed that maybe because I had written more contemporary YA that people would think my new ideas would be too weird or something. Then, through a stroke of luck, my new editor at Candlewick, Deborah Noyes was editing an anthology of weird stories called Sideshow. When I found out, I was bummed that I wasn’t the kind of author that would be asked to be in weird anthologies like that. I mentioned to her that I would like to try to write something like that one day. A week later, one of the authors in the anthology had dropped out and Deb asked if I wanted to take a stab at a story. I wrote this story called The Bread Box and she was surprised at what I had done. That gave me a little boost, but I was still feeling too nervous to really try something like a novel or something for adults. The Long and Short of Long Term Memory came from watching my dad, a neurobiologist give a lecture on memory while I was in Montreal recovering from a psychological trauma. I came home that afternoon and wanted to write a story about someone who was trying to remove a specific memory from their mind. That day the new voice really took hold of me. I’m really proud of the story and now, hopefully, it’s more like I’ve just added some kind of je ne sais quoi to my work. I suppose it’s opened me up to even more kinds of story telling, and more possibilities for myself as an artist, which is a bonus. I am working on a novel now that is combining what I hope will be the best of my old voice and elements of the new, so fingers crossed that it blends beautifully.

O’Shea: Are your days of playing in band in your rearview mirror–or do you see yourself doing some musical projects at some point down the road?

Castellucci: Like Cher. There is always room for a musical comeback.

Enjoy this interview? Please subscribe to my RSS feed. 

Tim O’Shea: When you found out Waid was stepping down from the Flash, what was it mainly that attracted you to the assignment?

Tom Peyer: I’ve loved The Flash since I was a kid, so that’s all I needed right there. I also really enjoy writing characters people outside of comics have heard of. I hope you never have to explain R.E.B.E.L.S. ’94 to your dental hygienist, because it’s a pain. So thanks, Flash, for being pretty well-known.

Also: the writers before me–particularly Mark Waid and Geoff Johns–made him such a fully-realized character. It’s impossible not to love Wally once you get to know him, and we know him very well.

O’Shea: Reading the solicitations for upcoming issues, the current storyline creates a rift between Jay and Wally. From your perspective how important is the Jay/Wally dynamics to the book?

Peyer: Jay is such a good character, I want to use him as often as I can. I love the idea that he and Wally are both named The Flash and they both patrol the same city. It’s like Starbucks. One on every corner. The dynamic: Wally knows a whole lot but Jay knows even more. While he’s nice and charming about it, Jay doesn’t hesitate to give unasked-for advice. Which isn’t always the best idea. But when you get old, you’ll do it, too.

O’Shea: More than superpowers, supervillains and the average overall spandex challenges, you seem interested in exploring the fears and hurdles of Wally West the parent–am I correct?

Peyer: Yeah. We’ve known him since he was a kid, and now he has kids of his own. His whole trip through life, all of that growth, really makes him human (what’s that, Spidey? Change the subject? No!). So I won’t walk away from that. You know how some new parents seem to experience every little thing as an emergency? Wally and Linda are like that. But they have a good reason. Their kids could super-speed into adulthood tomorrow. Or die of old age. At the beginning of my first story their stress level was already at nine. It’s going to be at ten for awhile.

Having said all of that, I plan on more solo Flash action than you might expect. The twins are still very important, but it won’t be quite the team book that had been envisioned.

O’Shea: What inspired the new character, Spin? Is it, perchance, Bill O’Reilly? And speaking of spin, how did you end up collaborating on Colbert’s Tek Jansen?

Peyer: Not O’Reilly so much; I was thinking more about the straight news segments that are simply there to scare us into staying tuned. Although in Flash #238 I poked a little fun at O’Reilly’s enemy Keith Olbermann, a TV news guy I actually sort of like.

I got into the Colbert project via my co-writer, John Layman, who had been invited to submit a pitch. He thought it would be fun to work together, and it certainly has been for me. He’s the funniest guy in the world. To look at, I mean. Not very witty, though.

Did you know John is a dedicated animal rights activist? Well, he isn’t. But I slipped that into his Wikipedia entry last year. I wrote that he ends all of his comics with “Have your pet spayed or neutered.” Someone eventually deleted that from his entry. Sadly.

O’Shea: Would you like to have a long run (pardon the pun) on Flash, or are you satisfied with doing an arc or two?

Peyer: I’d love to stick around for as long as they’ll have me. Everyone: buy two copies!

O’Shea: Each artist brings a unique vibe or talent to the character of Flash–from your perspective what does Freddie Williams II bring to the Flash with his approach?

Peyer: A lot more energy than I have. He’s a kinetic wonder. Just like The Flash. And he’s in that beautiful career phase in which every issue looks better than the previous. I love following artists when they’re growing (and I sometimes lose interest once they’ve arrived at the point they’re going to occupy forever).

O’Shea: This arc is an effort to comment on TV news–can you still find positive aspects of TV news or has it become a lost cause for you?

Peyer: TV news is the stupidest thing in the world. Bubble-headed, self-promoting, exploitative, manipulative, lazy, manic-depressive, racist. If there are any TV news people reading this: your job is important and you completely effed it up. My comics are more accurate. We don’t need you for anything.

Okay, I’m peeling the foil off my head now. But you asked.

O’Shea: I’ve always respected the work of editor Joan Hilty, how important is she to the creative process on Flash. As a former editor yourself, do you think you collaborate more effectively with editors (moreso) than other writers?

Peyer: I can’t speak to other writers, but I hope I do it well. When I was an assistant editor, I was going over a script with Jamie Delano, a better writer than I’ll ever be. I questioned some story point or other and he said something like, “as long as we can agree on what effect we want to achieve, there are a thousand ways to get there.” Perfect. Generally speaking, the writers who fought for every precious syllable had hacked it out in a single draft. Their defense of the work grew out of an insecurity. But the ones who really understood how to do it wanted to hear any suggestion that would make their stories better.

So I try not to be insecure. Which is good, because Joan is fussy. Which is also good. She thinks about the work very carefully and there’s always a lot of back-and-forth between us over scripts. And we always end up with a better book for it.

O’Shea: How did the gig editing O Holy Cow: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto come about?

Peyer: For the uninitated, it was a book of verse, the contents of which we appropriated from the late Yankee legend/shortstop/broadcaster’s play-by-play. It started as a weekly column in the Village Voice, and that led to the book. The whole thing was my partner Hart Seely‘s idea and it must have been a good one, because Harper just published a new, expanded edition.

O’Shea: As a Yankees fan, do you think Hank Steinbrenner’s mouth/attitude will ever approach the unique level of absurdity his father could reach at times/ How much do you miss Joe Torere?

Peyer: As anyone who follows the White House has learned, the boss’ son is always a worse boss than the boss. Hank is behaving fairly well right now. But as his years and prescriptions increase, he will find a way to run the Yankees into the ground. Maybe forever.

Tim O’Shea: At present, the main classes are Introduction to Comics Writing, Introduction to Comic Book Art, as well as advance versions of both classes. Based on response and interest, are there any other classes you might consider offering down the road?

Andy Schmidt: Oh, definitely, I’ve been talking about doing an inking class and a coloring class and even more recently a Manga class. The response to what I’m offering has been incredibly positive from students and creators alike. So, I’m hoping to grow this out a bit.

My hurdles with inking and coloring are more logistical than anything else. That and finding the right person to teach them who is both at the top of their craft and a great teacher, but I’ve got my eye on a a couple of talented people.

O’Shea: While I know there’s currently a round of classes already under way, can you give me a timeframe for when the next round of classes will be held?

Schmidt: We’re starting up the Introduction to Art and Introduction to Writing for Comics courses in the beginning of May–mark your calendars!

O’Shea: What’s your cutoff in terms of class size?

Schmidt: It’s different for each class. The writing course I can take a few more people than the art course, but I do keep them both pretty small, just to make sure each student is getting his or her money’s worth.

O’Shea: Who have you been able to garner as class lecturers in the immediate term?

Schmidt: Peter David and Walter Simonson just spoke. Marvel X-MEN editor Nick Lowe is coming in this week, I’ve got Klaus Janson, Sean Chen, and Fabian Nicieza lined up for a couple weeks from now and finally Dan Slott, Jae Lee, and Chris Sotomayor (Color Artist) are all lined up for the Advanced courses. They’re all a great bunch of guys and have been tremendous so far.

O’Shea: In terms of enrolling for the class, do interested students have to submit writing or art samples before applying?

Schmidt: Not at all. The Introduction classes are exactly that. They’re for anyone who is interested in comics. Not everyone who wants to take the class wants to make comics for a living, that’s part of the reason that I broke the courses into Intro and Advanced. Not everyone’s going to want to take the advanced class.

So, really, the Intro classes are designed for people with little or no experience all the way up to people who are currently working in the industry. I’ve had all kinds of creators and fans come into the class, and everyone seems to get their money’s worth.

O’Shea: I was curious if there are any examples (without using names or characters) of personal consulting jobs you’ve been able to do.

Schmidt: I just recently started the personal consulting, so that ball is just getting rolling. Right now, I’m helping a few independent creators figure out how to better market their characters and books and I’m helping a few younger artists and pencilers get out their and meet the right people. Breaking into comics is a slow process for most of us. It took me five years to get hired at Marvel, so results will vary.

O’Shea: During your time as an editor (given your previous experience as a teacher), did you ever find yourself in the situation of teaching an established writer of certain writing “no-nos” that he did not realize he or she was committing?

Schmidt: Certainly, but not usually because the writer had never heard of the “rule.” Every once in a while, we’re all going to slip up. Part of an editor’s job is to be there when you do and help you catch it. It’s extremely difficult to see flaws in your own work. Most people get too close to what they’ve done and can’t see the big picture. An editor can do exactly that. It’s a really great relationship to have with someone. But it’s also kind of intimate. When you create something, it’s usually personal to you in some way. So to have an editor knock it around without at least being polite, can be painful.

But many editors, myself included, do a lot of mentoring in the sense of guiding artists and writers on what needs improving and how to tell their story better. It’s very common.

O’Shea: As an editor, you were proud of your ability to help establish a successful title with a female lead (Ms. Marvel). You have no control over who signs up for your class, but I was curious, given that the comics field have more male than female storytellers–are you seeing more men or women signing up for the classes?

Schmidt: More men, for now. But I suspect that will begin to change. I’ve held classes where up to a quarter of the attendees have been women, but never more than that. But I’m hoping that will change. There’s no good reason that comics are dominated by male readers and creators. I think that’s begining to shift in the industry.

O’Shea: You were a Marvel editor, so I was surprised to see a (mostly in recent years) DC creator, Walter Simonson, be listed as a potential lecturer in your class. How did you get Walt on board?

Schmidt: Walt and I have been friends for several years. i think the only Marvel work he’s done in years was in a week he had between his DC Exclusive contracts in which he did a cover for me (Captain Marvel #7, I think it was). That cover led to many an email, some follow up phone calls as I would periodically beg him to do just a limited series for me, and finally we started meeting for lunches every now and again.

He is a perfect choice for these courses because he’s not only a phenomenal creator, but he’s also a teacher, having taught at the School for Visual Arts for several years. Beyond that, he’s just a great guy.

O’Shea: It seems that there are a slew of “how to” books on comic book storytelling, but you narrow down the books to read as being Will Eisner’s Comics & Sequential Art and Writing for Comics with Peter David. What made those two books rise above the rest in your mind?

Schmidt: Well, I’ll be adding more books to that list in the future including my own book on penciling for comics (that’s due out at the end of 2008), but I figured that no one does it better and teaches it as well as Eisner. Hands down, he’s the best. And the book communicates so well, that I doubt there will ever be another book on comics storytelling that is as easy to digest and as informative at the same time.

Peter’s book is on writing, which Eisner’s doesn’t cover in detail and is a bit out of date on in terms of how the industry operates. Peter also writes with a very digestible style and he covers everything. DC Comics did a series of books, one on writing, one on penciling and inking, and one on coloring and lettering. I haven’t read the last one, but the first two were both very good and more super hero oriented.

And honestly, if you want to pencil super hero comics, Marvel’s How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by John Buscema is probably STILL the best book on super hero comics.

O’Shea: Given the endorsements you have (from students) the class attracts folks from all walks of life. Can you give a sampling of the variety of folks that have enrolled–and are all of them hoping to break into the industry–or are some just taking the class to improve their storytelling skills with no other particular goals in mind per se?

Schmidt: Sure, the students vary quite a bit. For the writers class, I’ve had TV writers, producers, novelists, playwrights, musical theater writers and composers. Comic fans are everywhere. And some people just want to learn in my class and then take something they hadn’t thought about and apply it elsewhere, which is great, and others may want to make a career change later down the road and work only in comics.

I’ve seen the same thing in my art students. Not everyone who comes in is a huge comics fan, or maybe they love Manga but not American comics as much. The courses are flexible enough to accommodate all kinds of artists and writers.

It’s really fun to watch a class full of different kinds of people with very different perspectives start to come together for a common goal. It’s really fantastic to watch and be a part of.

O’Shea: If the writers strike continues for much longer, do you expect you might see more TV writers wanting to take your class?

Schmidt: It wouldn’t surprise me, but I’m not counting on it. I hope the strike is resolved soon. I’ve got a lot of friends who work in the TV and film business and this strike, while vital to their continued career, is really painful in the short-term. I hope they come to a mutually acceptable agreement soon so that my friends are working again.

*****
IDs for photos in this article:
Peter David
Walter Simonson
*****