How Do You Know and Updates!

From Young Avengers #3 by Heinberg and Cheung

How do you know when you’ve read too many comics?

When you hear the U.S. Senate panel passes repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and you can only think—yay, Wiccan and Hulkling!

Apparently, I post How-Do-You-Knows and updates recently.

What’s up, down the pike!

I’ve put in an eight-page story (“Life’s Question”)  to an anthology, so I should here back on that before the new year. If it’s accepted, it’ll be drawn and published in Journeymen by ICG Publishing. If not, then I’ll probably get 122476 to draw it next year. He was supposed to draw this one, but I didn’t find out the contest until the last moment. He was kind enough to switch projects for me. Oh, and what’s his new project? Thanks for asking!

122476 is working on The Wards of Man, the sequel to my novel Destiny’s Fate (Told ya I’d get a better title). The Council of Order doesn’t approve of Kainoa’s decision to bring back Draven, the previous Destiny, and now they want to choose a new bearer of the time-altering power—Edge. Will Kainoa concede to his maniac older brother, or will he fight to death to keep that power that has been the Starbucks’s since time immortal?

122476 has currently agreed on the first six/nine pages of the first issue, so if nothing else, those will be uploaded here once they’re done. If there’s another enough interest, the entire five-book miniseries might reach fruition. We’ll see!

False Dawn #23 will be posted within in the next week, with the cover by—you guessed it! 122476! I do have Addy and Connor’s profile with art by Emily L’Orange to be posted soon, and Wolfram has also offered to do another piece for me. Both of those should be up sometime this month.

Thanks for reading!

Devin Leigh Michaels

How Do You Know 029

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When you think the movie The Thing should be about Ben Grimm, not some really scary person in a robe.

"Cursed"

There are some things you’ll never get over, my mom told me back in April 2009. I had an interview with DC Comics in the production department, and it couldn’t have gone better. “If I could make my decision today…” and “you’ll definitely hear from us” were just key indicators. Three weeks later, I received a very nice letter from H.R. telling me I didn’t receive the job, but they’d keep me in mind for other positions.

I was devastated, so devastated I went to see the Hannah Montana movie. Apparently, I felt the need to be masochistic.

After a few weeks and a million boxes of tissues later, my mom said, “There are some things you’ll never get over.” But that didn’t mean I couldn’t move on. If I wanted to work in comic books, I needed to keep moving forward, continue to write, continue to improve, and I’ve done that. The Break-Out Comic Book Experiment was born later that year, and in its thesis, I gave myself three years to break-in comics in any way—as a sales coordinator, as an elevator button pusher, as a writer on Batman. It’s been twenty-two months.

I don’t know where to go from here.

Stan Lee and MTV Comics’s sweepstakes with The Seekers was a prime opportunity to showcase my talent on a large scale and hopefully break into the comic industry. I awoke every morning at two A.M. to work on this script, to foster it, to make sure it was damn near perfect, and I submitted it a good two days early. I missed one key element, though, one that a teacher in grade school drills into her students’ heads every day.

READ THE DIRECTIONS.

Despite implied nudity in the supplied treatment, there was to be no nudity. Well, I added it with a line, “Please use discretion. Tweens might read this!” I also added links to desert and cave references for the artist. Apparently, that was another no-no. It’s my fault. I should have read the complete contract. I just assumed that it would read, “Any likeness to your script is coincidental…etc.”

So what happens when you are your own worst enemy? What can you do?

Phil Hester tweeted not too long ago that if you work hard enough, a job is there in the comic book industry, but you MUST work hard enough. I wake up every day at three the latest to write before going to my seven A.M. to five P.M. job. I’m taking Saturday art courses at the Kubert School to get some artistic background for an editorial gig. I’m on Twitter trying to learn from the great creators of our time.

What if your “hard enough” isn’t “good enough?”

For the brief time Tony Daniel had a Tumblr account, I asked him if he always knew he was going to make it when he as a child. Was his career, in fact, destiny? He said he had always been a pretty confident kid, so he knew if he worked hard enough, he’d make it. (Spoiler: He did!)

I always thought that. I always thought if I gave it my all, I’d make it. I’d be the first female regular writer on Batman. I’d be an assistant editor, toiling under the great Axel Alonso or Bob Harras. Heck, I’d be the 1700 Broadway official elevator button pusher. (There isn’t one, guys.)

But now…after this…I really thought I had a great treatment and script for The Seekers. I really thought this was it.

And it’s not.

And it’s my fault.

“There are some things you’ll never get over,” my mom had said.

I can move on, though.

I feel like Ted on How I Met Your Mother when Lily tells him, “Maybe this is the architecture world kicking your ass out.” (Okay, that wasn’t the EXACT quote.)

Maybe this is the comic book industry kicking me out, telling me I’m not good enough and I never will be.

But then…I really don’t know what to do. This has been my dream since I bought my first comic book in Sam Goody’s when I was ten. I tell people my first comic was ‘Tec #698, but I lie. It was actually The Adventures of Batman and Robin #1. ‘Tec #698 was second, followed by Nightwing #1.

If I don’t do this, I don’t know what to do—or what to do with the notebook on my desk at work where I jot down bits of dialogue and plot, or the money that goes to comic books, or the Comic-Con tickets that just arrived on Friday. This has been my life for so long.

And just the thought of letting that go feeds the hungry in the pit of my stomach that knows what’s going to happen to Lance in False Dawn #22 and to Donnellie and Casia on that journey in Zenith’s Rise or to Bucky when he finally realizes his father is Ares. (Huh…that might not be possible now, anyway…)

The hungry eats away at me, and just like that, I’m reminded being a writer isn’t a gift. It’s a curse, and damnit. I have another year on the Experiment.

And letting go of this dream—I don’t think I could ever get over that.

Devin Leigh Michaels

How Do You Know 028

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER)

When you believe Captain America should drive a Dodge Avenger, not a motorcycle.

How Do You Know 027

How do you know when you’ve read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When Spider-Man cures you of arachnophobia.

(Okay, he honestly didn’t, but I can at least look at a spider for two seconds now without screaming like a little girl. Progress, people!)

How Do You Know 024

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When this is on your mind at three A.M.

Dudes, I so want(ed) to go to FanExpo! Of course, my bank account was all like, "No can doozville, Baby Doll. You went to Baltimore Comic Con and will be at NYCC!”

I was like, "But dude! Marcus To and Drake Tsui and Jonathan Hickman and Tony Daniel and David Finch and James Robinson and Francis Manapul and Dan Slott and Eddie Berganza and Agent M and ArtForStrangers and Jeanine Schaefer and Dale Eaglesham and Cameron Stewart are gonna be there! FanExpo might be better than NYCC!”

And Account was all like, "Dude, eating or FanExpo?"

Now, I was all set for FanExpo when this massive hurricane decided to butt its nose into Account and my conversation.

Irene howled, "Thou shall flood your granny’s basement!"

Now, what was I to say to that?

Account cheered, happy to be afloat and win the fight.

So I went to my LCS and bought anything and everything I wanted. And you know what I said? "In your face, Account!"

Have a great FanExpo, everyone, and see you in New York in October!

How Do You Know 023

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When you believe the model on the new Gillette commerical is actually Ghost Rider.

How Do You Know 020

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When every time you hear/think/dream about tacos, you think of Agent M!

How Do You Know 015

How do you know when you’ve read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When you see Golden Girls on the TV Guide Channel and immediately think of Deadpool and Bea Arthur.

*shivers*

How Do You Know 012

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

SPOILERS to Cap movie!

When you feel cheated that Bucky Barnes fell off a train and wasn't blown up.

How Do You Know 009

How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)

When you drop everything in your normal life, jump on a plane, fly two thousand miles, get off, drive another thousand and then stand on a four-hour line just to be inside SDCC for an hour. Just to buy a shirt. Just to get the buttons and posters. Just to be in the same room as Judd Winick, Marcus To, Francis Manapul, Eddie Berganza, Ian Sattler, Gail Simone, Tony Daniel, Dan Jurgens, Mike Marts, Grant Morrison, Fabian Nicieza, J.T. Krul, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Mike Perkins, Barry Kitson, Steve Epting, Peter Tomasi, Geoff Johns, Cup o' Joe, and so many others.

Just to be there.

And then you do it all again the following year.