This is from a Jeff Ross, who I assume is neither the TV producer Jeff Ross, nor the stand-up roastmaster Jeff Ross…
You've been in comics long enough to have worked with guys from comics' first generation like Jack Kirby and Dan Spiegle. You were part of the next generation like Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. And now you've seen one or two other generations of guys and gals who got into the field after you. I don't know how many generations you'd call that but I got to wondering what you see as the primary differences between them. And what do you think they all have in common?
Ooh. Good question, Jeff. I'll answer it but I reserve the right to amend or add-on to the following answer if I think more about it.
Off the top of my head, I would say that the thing they all have in common is or was the desire to create work that an audience might want. Creative people are motivated to create. Those of us who could draw wanted to draw and if we could make a decent living at it, great. Same with those of us who could write. That seems like a silly, obvious answer but in fifty-some-odd years of intermingling with other folks who create(d) comics, I have seen so many of us bond over this common motive.
What I think was unique about the First Generation of Comic Book Creators was that they were all Depression-era kids or they grew up in a family that had been severely impacted by the Depression. They were all about making a decent living. They did not for the most part* think it was possible to ever get really rich doing comic books but you could raise a family and live to a ripe old age. Even better, you'd be doing it by doing something you liked a lot better than the alternatives open to you. You would never become famous and most did not ever expect to hear any applause from their audience…but it would put food on the table for now. Maybe — and this was a Big Maybe — you could luck into another kind of writing or drawing that offered more in fame and/or fortune.
*The asterisk in the previous paragraph was to note that a few — and of course, Jack Kirby was one of them — envisioned that it would become possible to become really rich in comics. Jack just wasn't able to manage it for himself.
The Second Generation of Comic Book Creators — roughly anyone who got in between about '65 and '90 — got in because they loved comics by the First Generation and wanted to be part of that world. The guys in the First Generation had loved newspaper strips and most of them accepted comic books as a reasonable, albeit less lucrative alternative to becoming Chester Gould. Still, the "making a sufficient living" goal was more vital with them. The Second Generation, being well aware of how unrewarded Siegel and Shuster and others had been, didn't expect riches but more of them thought they'd do comics until something more rewarding came along. Unlike Generation 1 though, they started in an era of conventions and fan publications so they expected and maybe craved more in the way of celebrity.
The Third Generation — everyone since — saw the Image founders and certain others get really wealthy and well-known. For many who work in comics now, it's a dual profession: Do the comics and do the conventions. They have more alternatives because if you're good enough to work for Marvel, you're good enough to work in many different fields. Some view comics as an entryway to Hollywood, gaming, etc. Some love the form and the ultimate goal is to do more in it and ride it to new levels. To too many, telling a story is less important than being noticed — and what better way to get noticed than to take comics (or just some established properties) somewhere they've never been before? We'll be able to write a better, more accurate overview of this generation around the time the next one displaces it.
This is a fast answer to a question that deserves some slower ones. You could, natch, carve the generations into four or five or almost any number.
I got into comics in roughly 1970 so I should be solidly in Generation Dos. But in my case, I never expected to get in, never expected to stay, never allied with one publisher, nor stayed anywhere long enough to get invited to most of the Christmas parties. By '75, I was making less than a quarter of my annual income from comics and it's largely stayed that way. I feel privileged to have known and worked with so many in Generation 1 but most of my friends are in Generation 2 and I'm not sure where to apply for membership in 3. Maybe I need my own Generation but Jack Kirby deserves one more. And Stan Lee should be made an honorary member of all three.
