Just yesterday I was speaking with a friend who’s adapting a comic into a screenplay, and learning from that something about the world of negotiation and the things that people will try and get you to do.  He maintained his stance about what he was prepared to do, and what wasn’t on the table, and that attitude served him well.

Today, a producer I’ve been speaking with mentioned her plans to develop intellectual property in the form of comics, using the expression ‘IP cubed’ which she’d been introduced to as a way of getting across why production companies and financiers are excited about seeing proposals in a graphic format.  It means you have in a comic what amounts to a storyboard that can be read in less time than a screenplay, and convey more of the visual qualities of what’s happening than Courier 12 and a few choice adjectives ever could.

That’s the creative side sewn up then, and means that the producer in question will take a bunch of concept artwork to Cannes with her, possibly in the form of a Flash animation with accompanying music.  Which is a few notches above the elevator pitches that people are supposed to be ready to perform at a moment’s notice when someone with a wallet appears.

The other useful angle of having the work there in comic form is that many of the potentially thorny issues about rights and the like are dealt with ahead of time, reducing the chance of being stitched up by a sharky outfit.  And that’s well worth taking into consideration: you won’t get rich scripting a comic that’ll likely not have massive sales, but if it establishes you as a co-creator of a film, or even a franchise, then that’s a deal to be pondered seriously.

So, colour me interested. What with being a lifelong comics reader, this is an opportunity that excites me.  I’ve skirted round the industry before, but my experiences were not encouraging: I was asked by a Marvel UK editor to come up with a pitch derived in part from a Dr Who comic series proposal he’d read of mine.  This was at the time when Marvel UK were starting to originate work of their own rather than just reprinting the likes of Hulk and X-Men.  I bust my balls over the next week creating about 20 pages of material that I sent in to the editor in question…and never heard back despite the fact that he’d specifically asked for it.  Nice.

Not a good experience, then.  But on the other hand, looking back, I was ill-prepared at that point for the realities of being a professional writer.  I had good ideas, but lacked the ability to write consistent scripts, and suspect I’d have fallen at the hurdle I and so many other wannabes were looking to get over, the one that got you to the offices of Vertigo.  The DC imprint had welcomed Alan Moore, Pete Milligan, Grant Morrison and other Brit creators, but no way was I ready for an opportunity like that: those who made it over all had a grounding in 2000AD that had honed their professional as well as creative capabilities, and 2000AD showed zero interest in my submissions.

That was then.  This is now.  And I feel very much on top of my game, and if the opportunity to develop comics that I own or co-own is one that’s open to me, believe me I’m going to make the most of it.  The producer in question is already working on some interesting projects with credible artists, and I’d love the opportunity to bring some of my stories to life.  Watch this space?  Let’s hope so…