I dislike sticking with something too long, not even the surreal experience I had a couple of weeks ago on the KLC Press Stream. Because as Tony Stark said, part of the journey is the end, so I need to move on. But before that, I wanted to share something else. Why the mention of these four gentlemen means so much to me.
Everyone knows I love comic books. But I can’t read them all, it is practically impossible to keep up with everything. Which is a good thing because you have a lot of variety to choose from. Like everything in life, you need to choose your favorites. And these four creators are among my favorites.
Scott Snyder
Scott is a legend. He’s been at the top of the industry for the past ten years and he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. In addition, he loves teaching and his valuable lessons have influenced and shaped many great writers in comics, including the best writer of 2021, James Tynion IV, and myself. Yes, this is my Substack so I can put my name next to James’.
I believe Scott is a genius. He has written so many unique stories and currently, he is writing 8 NEW books at the same time. Not only are these 100% different from each other, but also completely different from anything he has done before, which amazes me. His creative capacity is unbelievable. I don’t comprehend how his mind works.
Scott was written about vampires, marine biology, witches, dystopian futures, giant comic book crossovers, heroes, villains, demons, and horror. Not to mention he is one of the best writers of this indie book about an egotistical sociopath that beats up mentally unstable people during the night, aka Batman. And next year he is publishing stories about love, history, psychopaths, young adult action-adventure, and post-apocalyptic futures. I believe he is covering all the genres. It’s like he is trying to get EVERYONE to read his books. You don’t like heroes? He writes books about powerless people. Don’t like horror? He writes sci-fi and dystopian futures. Don’t like fiction? He is writing about historical facts. This guy is EVERYWHERE. And he doesn’t miss!
Scott is the best. And the reason he is the best is that he probably doesn’t consider himself the best, even when he is writing eight books simultaneously. He is a down-to-earth guy, really grateful for his fans, even though he deserves the love for putting in such amazing work. I’ve heard him say that if he can write, so can everyone else. I always think about this because it means that someone as talented as Scott is a product of hard work and dedication, as described by himself. His attitude regarding success inspires me and pushes me to be better.
Here is a picture of Scott, his partner in crime Greg Capullo, my father and me, during Comic-Con 2019:
Chip Zdarsky (real name Steve Murray)
I believe I discovered Chip on one of Ryan’s podcasts a while back. He was irreverent, extravagant, unpredictable. I quickly realized that he is a comic book character.
For those who don’t know, there is a comic book series called Crossover1 where characters from comic books come to the real world, and the comic book creators are being hunted, most dead or missing. The comic book universe comprises every comic book character and world created, no matter the publisher.
Chip wrote Issue #7. There, he wrote two versions of himself: the one from the real world, Steve Murray (his real name), and another from the comic book world, Chip Zdarsky. This is possible because, five years ago, he wrote himself in his comic book series Sex Criminals, published by Image Comics. Therefore, Chip is a writer and a character of comic books.
In the story, we see Chip Zdarsky - the comic book character - interact with Steve Murray - the real person. They are opposites, yet two sides of the same person. One is an extrovert, a confident, self-centered person, and the other is a pessimist, tired, and kind of sad human. Two sides to the same coin. I believe this duality shows why Chip is so interesting as a creator and as a person.
Like all great creators, he is entertaining to listen to. One minute he can talk shit and nonsense, and the next one he is spitting knowledge about the industry and his creative process. He can be angry or calm. He can take his shirt off or start dancing out of nowhere. He is a wild card. I want to think he is himself all the time but I’m not sure if it is a persona instead. But he is one hell of a writer! You can see all this creativity in his work.
Both his Daredevil and his Spider-Man are some of the best versions of these characters because he focuses so much on proper characterization. His writing makes you care. His characters have so many layers and he understands them so well that it is amazing to read. I remember this Tweet from Spider-Man day:
Pure knowledge, pure wisdom, from the man in the Garfield costume in the next picture.
The same man that has won not one, not two but THREE Eisner Awards for being an outstanding writer.
The same man that took this excelent picture with me in Comic-Con 2019.
Chip Zdarsky and Steve Murray are both amazing people.
Donny and Ryan ft The Supple Boiz
My first post here was about the time I met Donny. The title of my Substack is an homage to Thanos Wins, a story by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw. He has been my favorite writer for a while now. What I like about him is that he is not only a writer but a fan whose dreams come true each time he writes a comic book. In addition, he cares about giving a product that is worth the fans' money. Therefore his comics have heart.
But I believe the person who cares the most is Ryan. Even though on his podcasts and streams it can seem that he doesn’t want to be there, or he is distracted/sleeping, or he doesn’t care about what his co-hosts - the Supple Boiz- are saying, he cares about his fans. At NYCC I met him and saw him promote his Substack with every fan that went to his table. When I told him I was already a subscriber he was happy. He seemed proud of KLC Press.
Ryan creates content regularly, connecting with the people. He draws and giveaways his own art and comics for free. He is a guy that shout-outs creators like me on his streams because he knows that would make us happy. It feels great to follow and support this kind of people. Because, even if Donny and Ryan sucked at making comics (which is completely not the case), I know they are giving their 100% to produce great content.
On a lighter note, these guys are entertaining as fuck. I could listen to them for days talking about comics, movies, opinions, life tips, parenthood, fun shenanigans like which comic creator would win in a battle royale or why Harry Potter is bad. They are excellent communicators and I have learned a lot from them.
For these reasons, I was first in line to their panel in NYCC 2021 and I took this picture from the first row of the KLC Press Panel:
Good times!
I respect and like every comic book creator, as I’m aware of how hard it is to make it in this industry. It is not easy to chase your dreams. Many people are afraid of success. Not these guys. So I believe every creator deserves respect and admiration. But I have my favorites.
In another article, I mentioned that when talking about preference, there is no reasoning behind it. I can’t explain why these four people are among my favorites in an industry with so many talented and hard-working people publishing great stuff. But they are, and hearing them mention my writing in such a positive way was amazing.
Having accomplished this dream, I move on. With confidence that I’m going in the right direction. With the motivation to achieve big things and get more people to fall in love with comics and their creators. With the support of four geniuses and role models to me. Thank you, guys!
Housekeeping!
Last one of the year guys! Thank you for your support! The start of this month was great, the second half not so much because of some health issues but I’ll be back and better next year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Oh and please go watch Hawkeye! Easily Top 5 of the Marvel Disney+ shows!
Created by Donny Cates, Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe and John J. Hill.