Questionable Comics is a series where Dan Hill surveys professionals from every corner of the comics industry about their methods and experience. This week we kick things off with Dark Horse writer Michael May.
What current projects are you working on?
Kill All Monsters, a graphic novel coming in July of 2017 from me, artist Jason Copland, and Dark Horse Comics.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Sporadically.
What’s your workspace like?
I have a library/office that’s mine all mine. It’s also a cluttered mess. There’s a year’s worth of unread comics on the desk, for example, but at least I have a door I can close if I need to work.
What do you listen to when you work?
Just the sound of me typing. I can’t listen to anything with lyrics and stay focused. If there’s a soundtrack or instrumental piece that I know will set a cool mood for the current project, I’ll sometimes throw that on, but mostly I work in silence.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time. One writer described the first draft as making mud. It’s gross and messy and you don’t want to show it to anyone, but it’s necessary for the bricks that you’ll eventually build your story from.
How do you get into writing mode?
I don’t wait until I’m in front of the keyboard. When I’m in the car, the shower, or in bed waiting to fall asleep, I’m going over my story and making mental notes. That way, by the time I’m working, I already know what I’m going to do and have been itching to do it for a while.
A page from Michael May and Jason Copland’s Kill All Monsters
Full script or Marvel Method?
Full script, so far, because I feel that’s kinder to the artist. At least for the artists I’ve worked with so far, that level of detail has been appreciated. But I’d be totally up for Marvel Method if that fit best with a particular artist’s process.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
I wish I was funnier. It’s something I’m working on.
When’s the best time to work?
For me, right now, it’s in the evening after dinner and I’ve had the chance to unwind with my family.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
John Byrne is the writer who made a serious comics reader out of me. He had a great balance between wild imagination and really grounded characters. His stuff was always fun without ever feeling silly.
I have a lot of modern inspirations, but one of my biggest is Jeff Parker. Like Byrne, he’s imaginative and writes action really well, but he’s also taught me the importance of humor. His comics just radiate with fun.
James Maddox is an indie comics creator whose work has appeared at Image, Broken Icon and more.
What current projects are you working on?
After my last book (The Dead) was finished, I wanted to tell a story that was based more in realism and less in, well… a surrealistic afterlife of interconnected rooms and monsters.
With this in mind, I wrote what is now titled The Art of the Kill, in which a couple of artistic serial killers accidentally murder a high-ranking member of organized crime. I asked Jen [Hickman] if she would want to collaborate again, and she said yes, so we went back and forth with the first three scripts and now she’s working on illustrating the pages.
We’re bringing the first full issue to ECCC, and so far, it’s shaping up to be one hell of a ride.
Outside of that, Rob Dumo and I are creating more of our book Eccentrix, and I’ve got a number of short stories getting ready to be released through various outlets. It’s a busy time.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Constantly.
What’s your workspace like?
I have a study filled half with comics and half with novels and reference books. I try to stay away from computers when working up the foundation of a story, so usually there are notebooks and steno pads all covering the desktop. Once I get a good amount down, I’ll switch over to a laptop and type the rest of whatever it is I’m creating.
I also have a section of my bookshelf dedicated to different Batman toys.
I don’t know if this helps in the writing at all, but I like to think that it does.
What do you listen to when you work?
Nothing. I get easily distracted by outside influences.
I need quiet to work.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t get attached to a story you’re writing. It’s not The One. There’ll always be another tale on its heels once you’re finished.
How do you get into writing mode?
I usually start off with a conversation on paper.
I find that asking / answering questions tends to be a good way to break past blocks.
A page from James Maddox and Brandon Lauhon’s comic Clown
Full script or Marvel Method?
Full script, all the way. Though I love to collaborate, I definitely want the people I’m working with to know what’s going on in my imagination. The only way that happens is if I put those ideas on paper with as much detail as I can muster.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
Way too many improvements to narrow down to just one, but I always try to focus on dialogue improvements more than anything else while I’m writing.
When’s the best time to work?
Because I tend to stay busy, I work whenever and as often as I can.
I actually sleep with a laptop in my hand. Just kidding. That sounds potentially disastrous and expensive.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
I love reading novels, so a lot of my inspirations come from that medium, usually consisting of a bunch of names that would make me sound just as pretentious as I probably am.
As far as comics go, I’m an indie reader. While I enjoy a lot of the stand-alone stories from mainstream comic characters (and creators), I’d rather sit down with Transmetropolitan or We Can Never Go Home than with the X-Men.
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