In April, Vertigo launched Vertigo Quarterly: CMYK, their latest anthology series featuring some of today’s hottest, and most talented creators. Each issue references the colors that compromise the four-color printing process: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. So far, the two issues released have kept up the quality I’d expect in any Vertigo comic, two more issues await to hit shelves.
We got to talk to four of the creators involved Rachel Deering, and Jody Houser who had contributions to Vertigo Quarterly: Magenta, and Matt Miner and Steve Orlando who will have contributions in the upcoming Vertigo Quarterly: Yellow.
We decided to ask all four creators the same questions about their experience, and history in comics, allowing you the reader to see how all four answered. We’ll be posting each interview one a day over four days (we’ll skip the weekend). A big thanks to Steve Orlando who helped set this up!
Two days ago was our first interview with writer Matt Miner, and second was yesterday with Jody Houser. Up next is Rachel Deering!
Graphic Policy: How did you get started in the comic industry?
Rachel Deering: I kicked things off with a local rock and roll/horror anthology here in Columbus, OH called Nix Comics Quarterly. I wrote a few stories for them before going on to write, edit, and letter on Womanthology: Heroic and Womanthology: Space. After that, I was off on my own with my creator-owned series, Anathema, and the rest is history.
GP: How did you get to be a part of Vertigo Quarterly: Magneta?
RD: I’m pretty good friends with a fella who works over there at Vertigo. Snappy dresser by the name of Will Dennis. He asked me if I would be interested in pitching to one of the four volumes. I was stoked pretty hard on the idea so I chose to contribute to Magenta, because I figured it was probably the least likely to contain a horror story. I like doing the opposite of what’s expected of me.
GP: When you signed up for the project, what were you told as far as what you could do with your entry?
RD: There were no cages for this songbird, baby. I was told to go crazy and the only limit to my interpretation of the theme was my own imagination. My kinda guidelines.
GP: Did you talk to any of the other creators at all? Make sure you weren’t going to do similar things?
RD: I talked to James Tynion IV about what he was doing for Cyan, but that was more to get an idea for how loosely people were interpreting the theme than to make sure nobody was going to write a story similar to mine. I’m probably too weird for that to happen anyway. I talked to Jody Houser a bit after I had already written my story, but that was just because I was snoopy and I wanted to see what she had written.
GP: Did you go and look at the previous Vertigo Quarterly issues before coming up with your entry?
RD: Nope. I didn’t read Cyan until after I had written my story. I didn’t want the structure and flow of those stories to have an effect on how I approached my own tale. I knew there would have been some kind of subconscious influence going on where I would compare the pacing of my story to what everyone else had written. I don’t dig any kind of gnawing feeling going on in the back of my mind when I’m trying to create.
GP: What’s it like working with Vertigo? That publishing name has certain panache when it comes to what they produce.
RD: Easy peasy. I had known and talked to Will for a while before he asked me to pitch a story, so it was really like working with one of my pals. He let me tell the story I wanted to tell, got stoked when he read it, made a few suggestions, and things went off without a hitch. It was honestly probably the easiest publishing experience I’ve ever had while working in comics.
GP: Did it being a “Vertigo” comic change the approach to what you put together for the issue?
RD: A little bit, yeah. I knew that it being a Vertigo book, I could choose just about any artist I wanted. As soon as I had Matteo attached, I knew that I could let loose and have as much fun as I wanted, and not worry about the artist being able to interpret my ideas in an effective way. I knew Will would make sure that the storytelling was spot on, so I let loose and had a great time.
GP: It seems anthologies have been a constant in comics, though never at the forefront. What do you think an anthology brings to the table that might be different from other comics? Why do you think we don’t see more of them, especially to highlight new talent?
RD: You kiddin’ me?! Horror anthologies were the cool thing in comics for decades! Even the big publishers had multiple horror anthologies hitting the shelves every month during the 60s and 70s. It was the greatest period in comics history. Ever. As for what they bring to the table, I’d say foremost is the incredible storytelling. A writer has to be on top of their game to craft a well-told tale in the span of just a few pages. You know that every story is going to be to the point, hard-hitting, and fun. You don’t have to worry yourself with a bunch of continuity and boring details. It’s straight to the action! I don’t have an answer for why there aren’t more anthologies on the shelves today. Since I don’t have an answer, I will make one up for you. It’s because too many people are on Ritalin, and they have the opposite of ADHD. Their attention spans are freakishly long, and they blow a gasket if a story is anything under 114 issues. How’s that?
GP: What’s the difference between going about creating a short comic like this than a normal full issue?
RD: You don’t have to write as many words. You have to make every single panel count. No throwaways for the sake of making it pretty or giving the crowd an ‘ooo-ahhh’ moment. You get straight to the point, deliver the goods, and get out without much fuss.
GP: What advice would you give to those wanting to get started in comic industry?
RD: Marry into some money. Read a lot (not just comics) to sharpen your mind. Write or draw or color or whatever it is you do every day. Make your own comics with whatever budget you can muster. Get out to conventions to meet people. Grow your social networks. Don’t be a friggin’ a-hole to people. Get good at dealing with rejection. Eat. Sleep. Exercise. If you’re going to sleep around, use protection. Waffles are better than pancakes. Kickstarter is harder than it looks. Veronica is prettier than Betty.
GP: What else do you have on tap?
RD: Right now I’m doing a lot of editing and lettering work to focus my efforts on paying down some debt. Outside of comics, I’m writing a horror novella, to be released in 2015, and a children’s book. Yes, a children’s book.
