Two weeks ago, we ran an article written by Raffaele Ienco about his upcoming Image comic series, “Epic Kill.” In it, Raffaele broke down the five films that had heavily influenced him in creating the story and visual aspect of the comic, as well as provided us with an exclusive preview of the visuals of the book.
However, there’s another incredibly important element that goes hand in hand with a comic, and that is having a good manager to help. Today, Raffaele has written a second guest article for us, in which he explains his history as a comic book writer and artist, and where a manager fits into the spectrum of his work, both on a creative side and on a business side.
Take a look behind the cut for his article, as well as two small previews for “Epic Kill.”
I’m a comic book artist and writer, I write screenplays, and as a creator in the entertainment industry, I have a manager.
How did I get a manager? Well, before “Devoid of Life” was picked up and published by Image Comics, it was nothing except a pile of artwork with lettering. It was a story. It was a submission. A rejected submission. A multi-time rejected submission. Some creators give up there, rejected and dejected, but others struggle on and find a way; a way to see the work expand beyond what was created. In a sense, the comic is my child, and every parent, after raising their creation, wants to see their children flourish and become successful when the home ties are cut.
So… rejected, but still determined. I had my “Devoid” art and story printed up into a mock-up comic book. It looked exactly like a real comic, and I sent it out to Hollywood. I looked up who Frank Miller’s agent/manager was and I sent it to him. They got back to me later to say their client roster was full — a polite way of saying “No Thanks.” I looked up other parties and amassed a list of seven initial people in Hollywood who I thought would appreciate my comic, and I sent out a query letter asking them if they wanted to read my book. The query letter is important. It gets them curious and eliminates the parties that have zero interest. I got interest from most of the queries and sent out the comic, and the party that showed the most interest and enthusiasm eventually became my manager (and, five years later, is still my manager). He recognized in me a burgeoning talent that he could work with and help develop.
I’m not gonna name my manager because I don’t want him deluged with queries from out of the blue (you, reader, are going to have to do some research on your own if you want to find out), but let’s call him JM. JM worked his magic and through his contacts got Image Comics to pick up “Devoid of Life.” He also found a prominent TV writer (from one of television’s highest rated shows) to write a screenplay for it. Then, armed with the published graphic novel and the screenplay and the pedigree of the TV writer, he started shopping the book around in LA. Now, this process takes a long (long) time, but one day you may see a movie made from the comic I created, and in that sense you’ll also see how my child went from paper to cinema screen.
Continued belowI was able to provide notes to the TV writer on her screenplay for “Devoid,” and when the process was finished I was complimented on the quality of said notes. JM suggested to me that I should write a screenplay myself and he would show it around. That was a stunning turn of events. Ya’mean I didn’t have to draw anything? I could just write words? Sounded too good to be true. So, yeah, I wrote a screenplay. Four, actually. And I did draw something for them. Again, JM had a brilliant idea of including some color storyboards imbedded into the screenplay to help the reader visualize a particular dazzling scene (or ten), and it separated me from other screenplays. Studio readers could see I had some talent (I could draw at least), and the screenplays were a hit. Everyone who read one wanted to read whatever else I had written. In Hollywood that’s a good thing. Again, things take a long (long) time to happen in Hollywood, and one day hopefully one of those scripts will evolve to the next level.
On “Epic Kill,” my latest book from Image Comics (available May 2, 2012), JM made a crucial suggestion about the story which steered it away from one genre I over-use and kept it in the place it needed to be. Now “Epic Kill”, before even being published, is getting some movie interest, and JM is handling that front. He also looks over any contract that comes my way and advises me on it, and making important editing decisions on the current screenplay I’m working on with a high profile producer. Plus, sometimes he’s a buffer between me and Hollywood people so I don’t say anything harmful to myself.
One of the thing’s JM also does is help me decide what story I should do next. I’ll provide him with a list of, say, 5 ideas with title suggestions and a one paragraph description with each, then he’ll tell me which one he thinks has the most potential. I’ll usually follow his wise advice. Now, I’ve heard some bad stories about managers that provide ridiculous notes about story ideas where the writer thought the suggestions were terrible, but I’ve never personally encountered that. JM’s story sense is really pretty good, so I guess I got lucky.
One final thing: having a manager is a mark of a certain level of success. Since managers stake their reputation on the people and work they represent, they will not take on just anyone. The studio buyers know this and will usually not accept work unless you have representation, you see?
Now for those of you out there trying to create a comic — just concentrate on making it the best it can possibly be. That’s what you need to worry about, because with a great comic the rest will come: A publisher. A manager. And then… maybe more.
