(Note: This is all paraphrased by memory, so I apologize for misquotes or misunderstandings. Feel free to correct or add anything about the panel in the comments section.)
When we enter the meeting room...
- JP is already there, arranging the chairs and mic. "They make the guests do everything themselves here."
- DC arrives, and as they wait for BL ("He's an older man. It takes him longer."), they give brief introductions ("while they can still get a word in") before BL gets there.
- BL arrives a few minutes later (it's crowded out there). He thinks it's funny that JP said BL talks a lot ("He says that now. Wait and see who talks the most.")
- JP suggests a Q&A structure.
- BL: Does the audience ask questions, or do we ask them?
- JP: Either, both.
- BL: Okay, my first question is for the girl with the big furry ears, because I look out at the audience, that's all I see. *chuckles, looks & points in my direction* [omg He's talking about my sister M, who's sitting next to me!]
- M: Oh, me?
- BL: Yeah. What are they, cat ears?
- M: They're supposed to be fox ears?
- BL: Ha, they're so big.
- M: Sorry, should I take them off? (^^;)
- BL: *already moving on* [forgot what he said exactly, but it was just a good-natured teasing question, and he quickly went on to the next funny observation.]
They open the floor for questions...
Q: Have you ever felt like quitting because you couldn't succeed?
Q: Have you ever felt like quitting because you couldn't succeed?
- A: Yesterday! All the time. We all have those moments. But you have to keep trying.
- JP: I started as an inker. One time, I got a huge packet of messy pencil sketches with a note that said, "Can you fix these?" That's not my job. I sent it right back and said, "Don't send me any more ink jobs. I'm done." I ended up writing my own comic.
- DC: I used to make good money in advertising, but all that stress, I lost so much sleep. One time, I woke up late and rushed to get ready and go to an important meeting, but then the sky got darker, and I realized it was still evening, not the next morning. I'd only slept 2 hours. I had a nervous breakdown in the cab ride home and called and said I couldn't go back to work. I decided to do what I love. I worked with Bruce Timm on the animated Batman Adventures and Batman Beyond. It was really great, but so many people work on it, you can't get credit for your work, so I decided to make my own comic.
- BL: I started by doing fanzines. Right when Marvel was just about to cancel Iron Man, they let almost anyone take a shot at it. So I reinvented the character and the book, and it ended up being a big success.
- DC: Make what you like. When I wanted to make my own comic, at the time, everything was all dark-and-gritty. I felt there was a niche for a brighter, more hopeful comic, which is what I like, so I made The New Frontier, and it resonated with people.
- JP: There are always going to be lots of people making lots of stuff. But everybody makes different stuff. Look at how many TV shows are out now. All of them get made because they're each a little different. Just make sure you're making your own thing.
- BL: Google it. Check to see that someone else hasn't already used that title/name/character/idea.
- JP: You can't let the competition stop you from creating.
- JP: They just called me up, really.
- DC: Ironically, the comic book work I did after leaving animation ended up being adapted for animation. (BL: It's so incestuous, isn't it? XD) One day Bruce Timm called me up and said, "They tell me I have to turn your monster of a book into an animated movie. How the hell am I supposed to cram all of it into 60 minutes?" I had a hard time cutting up "my baby," so I got help and did some rewrites for it.
- BL: My "jump off the cliff" moment was when I had just made the big move to LA, only to find out that my project in development had lost its producers, writer, and director and was dead. I panicked, but decided to stay, and I've worked on all sorts of projects in different roles since then.
Q: How do you get people to notice your comic to get that phone call?
- JP: It's random. Sometimes they hear about it from others; sometimes they just happen to see it or pick it up off the shelf. There's a comic book store in LA where they put books up on a special wall section for producers to look at and consider. Titles get optioned often, but only about 10% of those actually get produced.
- BL: Sometimes companies will option a property with no intention of using it, just to keep it away from and block other, rival production companies. That's why I never accept options. Give me a contract and we'll talk.
- BL: But once you got a hit, your name will become known and they'll keep watch on whatever you make.
- BL: In my experience, every project in development gathers these hangers-on. They call themselves producers, but by the end, you have 10 "producers" but only 2 who actually do any work!
- BL: Sometimes a project can be in development for years. I have a sitcom that I'll need to rewrite by the time it gets to shooting because all the jokes will be too old.
- JP: You'll go to a lot of meetings, and they'll give you lots of bottled water. Every person you meet asks, "Can I get you a water?" Nothing may come from the meeting, but hey, I got 8 bottles of water!
- BL: It's true. They love giving out water bottles at these things. That's what's causing the drought in California!
- BL: Hollywood is full of geeks like us! Sometimes they'll ask you, "So, what are you working on now? Anything I can use?" But sometimes, they invite me over, and it's just a conference table of guys with stacks of comic books they want me to sign. They don't want to hear my pitch; they're having their own mini Comic-Con! And that's it.
- JP: Here, have a water bottle!
- DC: You don't realize it, but sound is half of any motion picture, film or animation, so you have to learn to work without it in comics.
- BL: Time is a big factor. Not just how much time it takes to produce comics/animation/film and the scheduling and budget, but the way time "passes" in different media. In a comic, you can't have 2 characters just casually chat for 5 minutes. It's literally just 2 talking heads for several pages, so boring, and you don't usually have room to fit it in a limited number of pages, too. But on film, a small scene can pass quickly. I found scriptwriting for TV/movies much freer.
On animation studios...
- DC: The overseas animation studios in Japan and Korea are amazing. We would send over scripts and sketches, and they'd animate it just from that. I think the Batman Adventures episode "Over the Edge" has some of the best animation... Sometimes my colleagues would ask, "How did you storyboard this? The movement came out so great." The answer: watch Pokemon! It used to be my favorite show. I loved the dynamic and efficient techniques they used to animate action.
Q: How do you keep the rights to your characters?
- A: You'll need to talk to a copyright lawyer for that. It depends...
- JP: That's why we started our own comic book publishing companies. That's why we're trying to change the system.
- BL: I've been trying to change the way the industry is run for decades. I've invested and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars for it.
- JP: We also try to help comic creators who aren't fairly paid for their work. Please check out and support the Hero Initiative.
On character rights and royalties...
- BL: It differs. For example, the movie version of Iron Man is closest to my comic version, but I don't see a dime of it, unlike when the Huntress shows up on Arrow.
- JP: That's the difference between those 2 companies...
- BL: Every month, for almost 30 years, I've been getting checks for Huntress. It's like, I'm a pimp, and she's a prostitute who never stops working and never, ever gets old! [(most of) the audience LOLs XD;]
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