GUEST BLOG: Bobby Curnow on Learning, Inspiration, and Comics Experience

In this guest blog, Bobby Curnow, IDW Editor, Comics Experience alum, and Creators Workshop member, shares his thoughts on learning and Comics Experience.

Bobby's creator-owned miniseries, Night of 1,000 Wolves, which he produced in collaboration with Eisner-nominated artist Dave Wachter is solicited for pre-order in the current March 2012 Diamond PREVIEWS catalog and will be in stores in May.

Bobby also wrote Godzilla Legends #5, which hit comic shops last week! On Godzilla, Bobby collaborated with Eisner-nominated artist Dean Haspiel. Both books are being published by IDW. Here's what Bobby had to say:

I've just spent the past five minutes staring at a blank page, trying to think of a smart or funny opening to this guest blog. As you can tell from this sentence, I wasn't successful.

This is one of my biggest weaknesses as a writer--waiting for inspiration to hit. Which is stupid, because inspiration won't come to you. You have to go out and find inspiration and then throw rocks at it until you piss it off. Then inspiration will start throwing rocks at YOU. And those rocks will have a gooey center of good ideas. So when you get hit in the head, the rock breaks and the ideas seep into your brain via head wound and...

Holy crap, this is a terrible introduction. I'm talking about inspiration rocks and head wounds. Okay.

But you know what? That's fine. Because this is a key technique I've learned from Comics Experience. Just start. Don't worry about the terrible, terrible drivel that comes out. Start typing on that blank page. Get going and don't stop. You can always go back and edit. Just start.

Seven years ago, I knew I wanted to make comics but I didn't know where to start. I lived a couple blocks from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in NYC, and saw that some guy named Andy was teaching classes there about how to write for comics. Intrigued, I signed up. The first thing I learned? I didn't know ANYTHING about what goes into writing comics.

But I started to learn. I learned that you can't show two different actions in one panel. I learned what editors look for in a pitch (unmarked bills, ideally). I learned that creating comics is a genuine collaboration between everyone involved and if you don't respect your co-creators you will crash and burn.

From there, I learned that I wanted to learn more. So I did. I took the writing class. Again. I took the advanced writing class. And so on.

Each step I learned more. Learning about making comics is an addiction. There's ALWAYS more to learn. This is what I tell aspiring creators... your first goal should be to just get better. Don't worry about being published. You won't, not for a while. Just start. Learn. Get better. Keep on getting better. Fail a bunch (that's key!). Get so good you can't be ignored. But keep learning.

I started interning at IDW Publishing so I could learn more, first-hand, from people who lived and breathed comics. Now I'm a full-time editor and a published writer. Well, almost published. Godzilla Legends #5 comes out this month! My creator-owned project, Night of 1000 Wolves with artist Dave Wachter comes out in May!

I may not have learned how to plug subtly yet.

But maybe I'll be better a year from now. I'll keep trying, keep learning.

I started learning about the comic book industry with Comics Experience. In the time since that first class with Andy, Comics Experience has grown leaps and bounds. Want to know how to letter your own comics? Take the Production class. Want to get your script workshopped immediately? Go to the Creators Workshop. Want to ask Scott Snyder a question? Book Club. There is a staggering wealth of knowledge at Comics Experience, ripe for the plucking. If you want to learn how to make comics, you are living in a golden age.

So go ahead, get started. Who knows what awful rock-throwing metaphor awaits?

-- Bobby Curnow

COMMUNITY NEWS: CE Alum Bobby Curnow's Godzilla Legends #5 on Stands Today!

Writer Bobby Curnow has a new book on the stands today: Godzilla Legends #5!

Bobby is both a Comics Experience alum and a member of the Creators Workshop, where he offers members pro critiques on their work.

Godzilla Legends #5 has a story written by Bobby with art by comics great Dean Haspiel. In the story, an old adventurer comes out of retirement to climb Godzilla!

The issue is on stands right now with covers by both Art Adams and Bob Eggleton.

Bobby's new creator-owned miniseries, Night of 1,000 Wolves, is solicited for pre-orders in the current March Diamond PREVIEWS catalog and will be in stores in May. That title features artwork by Eisner-nominated artist Dave Wachter.

Bobby is also an editor at IDW where he began by editing titles like Robert Bloch's That Hellbound Train and John Layman and Alberto Ponticelli's Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths before moving on to his current position working on both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Godzilla franchises.

Congrats on your Godzilla tale hitting the stands, Bobby!

Pro Editor Bobby Curnow Offers Critiques on the Creators Workshop!

Comic book editor and writer Bobby Curnow is yet another professional providing critiques to members of the Creators Workshop. The Creators Workshop is an on-going community of writers, artists, colorists, and letterers all dedicated to getting published and improving their craft.

Workshop members are already familiar with Bobby's detailed, helpful script critiques, as well as his posts that give insight into the industry, from pitching to the development of major projects.

But not everyone may know that Bobby is also a Comics Experience alum!

Bobby graduated from the film program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, after which he spent time focused on script writing. After school, but while still living in NYC, Bobby took one of Andy Schmidt's early Intro to Comic Book Writing classes, followed by the Advanced Writing class, before they were offered online. Eventually, this led to an internship at IDW (in San Diego), which developed into his current gig at IDW.

At IDW, Bobby began by editing titles like Robert Bloch's That Hellbound Train and John Layman and Alberto Ponticelli's Godzilla: Gangsters and Goliaths before moving on to his current position working on both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Godzilla franchises.

But Bobby has also continued to write comics!

In the current Diamond Previews March catalog, his new creator-owned IDW series, Night of 1,000 Wolves is available for pre-order, with art by the Eisner-nominated Dave Wachter. Wolves is a classic horror tale, set in the Dark Ages, about a family with dark secrets who find themselves under siege by hordes of wolves.

Bobby also wrote the upcoming Godzilla Legends #5 with art by comics great Dean Haspiel, in a story in which -- get this -- an old adventurer comes out of retirement to climb Godzilla! That issue will be on stands in March.

As busy as Bobby is, he still takes the time to help fellow creators in the Workshop. As Bobby put it himself:

"Comics Experience was the first step on a long road that ultimately led to a rewarding career in the industry. I learned a lot in the classes I took, met some great people, and had tons of fun. I continue to be a part of the forums because I think it is a truly unique and amazing resource--a fantastic place to hone your skills in any part of comics creation, as well as gain insight from professionals on how the industry really works. Truly a place where the more effort you put in, the more you get out of it."

Thanks for being part of the Workshop, Bobby! We'll see you on the forums!

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If you want to make comics, write or draw comics, or improve as a comics creator, you'll find like-minded friends and colleagues in our online workshops and courses. We hope to see you there!

Posted by Rob Anderson
rob@ComicsExperience.com
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