R.J. Ryan and Daniel Quantz first collaborated at Marvel comics, where Ryan was a writer recruiter for the West Coast and Quantz wrote Marvel Age Spider-Man. The duo then went on to write Syndrome published by Archaia, about a scientist who thinks he’s discovered the root of all evil. I talked with Ryan and Quantz about working for the biggest name in the comic book world, writing for one of its most iconic characters, and about graphic novels in general.
Daniel, What was it like writing Spider-Man, one of the most famous comic book heroes of all time?
DANIEL QUANTZ: I had a blast writing the first several issues of Marvel Age Spider-Man. How could you not? I was rewriting and adapting some of the earliest Spider-Man stories, dating to the early '60s, so besides the fun of writing such an iconic character, I got the opportunity to walk through the creative process of Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.
I gained a whole new appreciation for them both and unlocked a playful spirit in my own work as a result. Then, of course, there’s the fun of going out and meeting all the young kids who are just discovering the character and being a part of something so fantastic.
Marvel was initially very skeptical that they’d be able to attract young readers to comics again, but I never doubted.
Turned out, there was a huge demand in comic shops for a Spidey book for kids that didn’t pander. We had 2 million copies handed out to school kids by Scholastic as a young readers’ initiative and another million given away for Free Comics Day. With the help of artists Mark Brooks and Jonboy Meyers we built the foundation for what would eventually become one of Marvel’s bestselling books and showed that kids will, in fact, read comics. Seems crazy to think that was ever a debate in the first place.
As a former Spidey scribe what would you like to see in the upcoming movie?
DQ: I like that they’re keeping him young. To me, as a fan, the character works best as an allegory for male adolescence. I hope that they keep the number of villains down to one or two so that they can have more room to tell a meaningful story (would be great to see the Lizard or the Vulture as well). I don’t know, just keep it fun and have something to say. Seems like an easy task, but filmmakers often forget.
What was it like being a writer recruiter for Marvel comics?
R.J. RYAN: Well, going back seven years, it was a genuinely exciting time on the publishing side of that company. Marvel had only escaped bankruptcy a few years earlier, and in 2003 it felt almost like a startup or a new company — there was a real sense of experimentation and a hunger to inject new voices into the comic book line. It seemed like no idea was off limits.
I was asked by Ike Perlmutter, who is still the CEO of Marvel, and Bill Jemas, who was the head of publishing at the time, to help introduce some of those new voices into the company. They were very interested in tapping into writing talent on the West Coast from the worlds of TV and film, and it was a challenging and energizing initiative to be part of for a couple of years.
In addition to bringing Dan to Marvel's attention, I helped launch some other careers in comics, like that of JT Krul, who is now writing "Teen Titans" and "Green Arrow" at DC, which are two of the more recognizable monthly comics franchises.
A lot of people would love to write for Marvel comics, what advice would you give them?
RJR: First of all, you're right about that. If you were exposed to these stories and characters as a young person, it's hard to get them out of your system, which explains, I think, the broad popularity of Marvel- and DC-based films. But the monthly comics is really where the rubber meets the road in terms of cool, new ideas for these ultra-recognizable characters. I totally get why there are literally thousands upon thousands of people out there looking for a shot to write even the smallest or most inconsequential Marvel comic.
Working on something everybody has heard of has a clear, irresistible attraction. It's not easy to break into any aspect of the comics business but if you really have an itch and the only way you can scratch it is to write one of those characters, Spider-Man, Wolverine, or what have you, you probably need to get work of your own published or produced that will get the attention of Marvel's editorial — and these are pretty smart, sophisticated people who in their personal lives are into all kinds of things besides mask-and-cape heroics.
Daniel had written a somewhat experimental short film with fairly adult themes that several of the editors there really liked, and that's what got him a shot at writing the all-ages Spidey book. Generally, a Marvel or DC is going to be much more interested in original and daring published material by new writers than elaborate paper pitches or proposals for one of the characters they own. Trust me, they've seen every version of an X-Men or Daredevil or Luke Cage proposal you can possibly imagine. More, even.
This is just my opinion, but the way to get noticed is to do something fresh and interesting. If you look at the writers who are succeeding there right now, they're almost all veterans of the indie comics scene, where they could do whatever they wanted, and did. I don't read superhero comics exclusively, and the stuff I want to make going forward is entirely original material.
I love alternative and underground and foreign comics a lot, but there's no question some of the most creative people in entertainment work in Marvel's publishing and studio divisions. It's awesome how far that company has come in the last twelve years, and people will study that success story in business schools decades from now.
