The CEO of a giant company wants a Zoom meeting with me. I've worked on two previous projects with the company. They seem to trust my sensibilities and they pay very well. The CEO is professional and nice. He wants to make a comic book about his company's unique philosophy for potential clients to see and read. Something to add to their website. And he wants me to draw it. This job will take some time and probably pay even better than the last two I did for them. I'm excited because I always dig a new challenge, crafting comix out of my comfort zone, and I could really use the bread.
We start to discuss the scope of the project when he tells me he wants to show me something. He opens up a window on our Zoom and I figure it'll be some talking points. Something for me to help shape his idea. But what pops up on the screen immediately confuses me. It's a black & white comic book. He starts to scroll through the pages and panels, advising that the script is a little rough around the edges but we could edit that for the final piece. Meanwhile, I can't help but notice that his idea is, for all intents and purposes, FULLY ILLUSTRATED. Some of it is a little inconsistent, and he acknowledges that, but it's basically the tone and attitude of what he wants the comic book to look like.
I feel a pit in my stomach. Something doesn't feel right. I ask him, "Did you generate this comic through Artificial Intelligence?" He says "Yes," and defends it by saying he just wanted to plug in his script into a AI generator and come up with some loose interpretations for us to discuss. I hesitate to say what I feel but I say it anyway.
"Shame on you."
The CEO is taken back a little. I, too, was startled by my response. A knee-jerk reaction. Emotional Tourette's. I kinda laughed after I said it. He back-peddles and says he meant no harm and I believe him. He considered this AI comic a proposal. A first draft. I understood his reasoning but then I had to let him know something else.
"Seeing this comic takes the creative wind out of my sails."
The CEO was confused. I explain that I'm used to working out my ideas on a blank canvas. I prefer to take a first stab sans influence. Interpret the concept with my own imagination before I start to lean on reference and other sources. And because this project was going to rely on a philosophical approach, I was interested in figuring that out on my own. It's what made an otherwise basic job fascinating for me. Something for me to add my own sensibilities. I mean, that's why he was hiring me, no? Otherwise, I'm just a technician for his ideas. And, honestly, the AI comic is actually better than anything I could draw.
The CEO apologized and said we didn't need to look at the AI comic anymore. That he liked my art. And this is probably where I lost the high paying job. Money I desperately needed. I said, "You already made your comic. Make some little tweaks and you're done. You've got your comic." He refuted my claim and said he wanted to work with me. He liked what I did, what I brought to the table, and wanted a human touch. I appreciated his olive branch but I knew the gig was over. He said he'd get back to me once they finalized a script. I never heard back from him or the company.
Two months later I launch my first comix Kickstarter.
There is a thread on social media asking comix makers how long they've been in the business.
In 1985 I was 17 going on 18 (my senior year of high school) and getting a modest pay but priceless comix mentorship from cartoonists Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Chaykin and Walter Simonson, while assisting them on their comic books (alongside Larry O'Neil). My first co-created comic book, The Verdict (written by Martin Powell and lettered by Patrick Brosseau), came out in 1987, published by Eternity Comics (and Brian David-Marshall). Of course, I’m not counting the comix I created in high school alongside pals like Josh Neufeld (and whatever I was writing & drawing before then). It’s 2024 and I’ve been working professionally in comix for 39 years.
And, with that, I helped weigh in on the comic book industry at The Comics Beat!
Excerpts:
What will be the biggest story of 2024?
This may sound controversial but I think there may be a downsizing of memoir aka “trauma porn,” as dubbed and declared by some editors I’ve had personal parlays with. True life stories are super important but authenticity can also be found in emotionally true genre-oriented comix. And, believe it or not, a creator has more latitude to “be seen” through the guise of fiction. Also, Young Adult comix may rule supreme but I think a robust effort to produce more comix for “mature readers only” will equally match adult interests.
What do you want to see change the most in the comics industry in 2024?
Better pay and stronger incentives (and participation) for franchise work. More independent creators unifying into like-minded posses; sharing business concerns and burdens. A monetized version of ACT-I-VATE, the webcomics collective I founded in 2006 (RIP) but with 2024 savvy and hindsight.
You can read the rest of my answers to industry questions, and a whole bunch of other comix makers weighing in, right HERE.
When I was asked to write about Heavy Metal music I was vexed because I don't really listen to Heavy Metal. And then I remembered my late brother, Mike, and suddenly I had something to say about Heavy Metal.
Big Ups to Heather Quinlan for inviting me to write a piece for her new HiLobrow series, MÖSH YOUR ENTHUSIASM. I wrote about MÖTLEY CRÜE'S "Home Sweet Home."
You can read it HERE.
Wednesday, January 17, 7:30 PM
Greenlight Bookstore, 686 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
New York Cartoonists in Conversation: Creating Stories for Our World
Featuring Jon Allen, Dean Haspiel, Ellen Lindner, Peter Rostovsky, Bishakh Som, and James Otis Smith
Greenlight is excited to host an intimate conversation with a diverse group of New York’s accomplished cartoonists as these artist-writers talk about their art, craft, and experience. With creators specializing in genres from superheroes to memoir to history, this evening offers a chance to hear artists talk to each other, revealing their respective approaches as they engage sequential art and narrative in a time marked by enormous promise as well as instability. Join us for this special conversation about the singular ways comix helps these creators -- and us -- navigate the complexities of our world.
RSVP for this event HERE or HERE.
See you soon!
—love, Dean
Instagram / Twitter / Website/Blog / Nightwork Studio / Etsy
Here's hoping your 2024 predictions come true.
Took balls to tell that CEO how it was. Props.