Why Comics?

The three Cs that make comics the best art form

Hello from Castrum Lusitania, my fortress in northern Portugal. Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter.

First of all: HAPPY 2025!

I know, I know, it’s already beyond the 15th of January, where I believe we all must stop wishing happy new year left and right. But this is the first newsletter of 2025, it would be weird if I didn’t mention it. So, to all of you, have an amazing year.

Over the past few weeks, between talks with friends and my own ruminations, I’ve been reminding myself of Why Comics?

Why is it that this remains to me the most appealing art form for storytelling? And in the end, between the various conversations and thoughts, it has all converged into 3 Cs: Creativity. Control. Community.

Let’s break it down and see why creator owned comics are the top of the food chain when it comes to original stories.

Why Comics

For many years, my answer to Why Comics? was quite ready and it was about 2 of the 3 Cs: Creativity and Control. But as signings, presence in conventions and my own footprint as a creator enlarges, so does the audience. And between this, talks and thoughts, it became clear that something else was part of the deal. Which brings us to Community.

Therefore, one by one, this is why, to me, nothing beats creator owned comics.

1. Creativity

You can do whatever you want.

Again, louder for the back: YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!

You’re completely free to choose the story you wanna tell. The themes, the plot, the characters, the genre, the place, the influences, the vibe, the tone, the approach, the length, the structure, the format, the style, the publishing.

The old adage says that there is no budget in comics, they all cost the same. That’s only partially true, because the budget in comics is directly linked to the length of the project - i.e. how long it takes to make it. Thus its complexity can dictate extra costs. But it’s certainly true that the budget is unrelated to content: a story with two characters in a room can cost exactly the same as big sci-fi epic. In no other visual art form is this true. Hence why you can basically do whatever you want. No budgetary constraints will ever be applied to diminish your idea.

Dream big. Dream small. Choose your dreams.

Do whatever you want.

2. Control

Just as important as how free comics can be is the amount of control you can find over your creation.

If you’re a visual storyteller, you have many possible paths: Movies, TV, videogames, comics, etc. But most of them require working with dozens or sometimes hundreds of people. Very talented people in some cases, which can make for riveting creative experiences. But in no other place other than creator owned comics you’ll find yourself in absolute control of your work.

Comics are the only place you can find pure visual ideas distilled from the mind of the creator(s) directly into the hands of a reader.

You can pretty much do it alone and call all the shots or partner up with a (very) few people. And even in the latter, most likely two people (writer and artist) will be making all the decisions. There is a chance of editorial guidance, but in creator owned comics is usually more to keep the machine rolling and the project organized than to interfere creatively.

For Righteous Thirst and my current work (codenamed Project Red) - both with Rick Remender - and all three Phenomena books - with Brian Michael Bendis - we made all the decisions between us without any interference.

And that control can extend well beyond the contents of the book. With the right publisher, it goes all the way to the management of the creation, including if/when/how/to who we want to sell its rights.

3. Community

Apart from the actual process of making it, the biggest joy of creating something is to share it. And in comics you have a straight path to your readers. Be it online or in person, you’ll find yourself in direct touch with your audience. Interacting with people who read your book and made the effort to tell you how much they liked it and make questions about it and offer encouragement and excitement for future projects is rewarding beyond words.

And then there’s the other creators and the immediate bond generated by the simple fact that you do the same thing.

Every signing or convention I’ve done has energized me immensely. I always leave eager to get back to work thanks to the feeling of community present in comics. It might be smaller than other forms of entertainment but that gives it a special feeling of proximity.

The Future

I want to keep trying new things. I’ve written two ideas that are for different mediums and I’d love to have them made. One of them has already generated some interest (fingers crossed). But I can’t see a future for me without comics.

Not only are me and Rick going to be working on Project Red for a good while but I also keep working on and off in a big epic comic book written and drawn by me, which I cannot see happening in any other medium.

Creativity. Control. Community.

Comics.

Nothing tops it.

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See you soon,

André