RICHARD: Well, many see you as comics' last great hope - a popular writer with a desire to bring back what the industry once had for today's audiences. Yet you clearly see a lot of promise and quality in other work around you right now. How can other work of comparative quality find the kind of audience that you're currently gaining?

GEOFF: I'm certainly not the last great hope. You're either over-rated or under-rated in this business and that would be over-rating me. There are way too many creators out there that are working their asses off to make the best comics they can because they love comics. There are so many talented artists and writers today, you just need to let them do their thing.

Don't shove them into a mold that works somewhere else and make them work a certain way. It doesn't make anyone happy.

 

FLASH: BLOOD WILL RUN TRADE PAPER BACK

RICHARD: Okay then. The internet appears to have radically changed the creator-reader dynamic. Instant feedback, in all its forms is the norm. And as you've become more high profile, you've collected your fair share. How do you deal with the... let's go with 'extremes' shall we? What are the issues this new relationship has raised for you?

GEOFF: How often can you work on OS X and have a problem or suggestion or compliment and talk with the designer responsible directly? Never.

Comics are small enough where the creators and fans can interact like this. We're lucky for it. You forget how cool this really is! Look at how much Bob Wayne interacts with retailers on CBIA. Brian Bendis and Mark Millar with all of their readers. I've never had a real problem with the internet. Sure you get readers or reviewers that don't like your stuff, rude and less-than-constructive comments, but that cliche saying is true. You can't please everyone. And trying to won't let you do your best work. For some, I'm not what they want in a comic. Okay, by me. Everyone has their own opinion. I do really like getting instant feedback and meeting people and reading other creators get interviewed. It's fun. At the same time, there are negatives, like spoilers. I hate spoilers. A lot of people will dog a book without even reading it, or follow a book by reading the 4 preview pages and then the Previews text. Personally, I'd rather not see those preview pages on the internet. I'd rather keep Previews to a minimum. However, at the same time everyone wants to know now what's coming up next and retailers need that info.

Overall, I've met way too many interesting people, seen books like the Flash and JSA find an audience because people recommended them, and found comics that I would've never found due to recommendations because of the internet. At the end of the day, you can't let negatives outweigh the positives of the internet world, because it's not THE world it's A world. You can spend as much or as little time in it as you want.

Of course, getting a higher profile means getting more feedback and being put into one of the spotlights at times, even if you don't want it, but being critiqued comes with the job. Roll with the punches, learn if you can, and keep trying to be a better writer.

In all honesty, there are so many review sites out there and message boards, you really don't have time to sit there and search the internet much when you're working on four books a month so I try to hit the major ones for me like Newsarama, Wizard Universe, CBR, Aint-It-Cool-News and my site. I also like Millar's site. Very well put together. A few others here and there

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