- The word "hack," used to describe a writer or artist is sometimes intended to suggest that there is something seriously wrong with the person's attitude towards their work and in that sense is usually really wrong and really insulting.
- The word "nerd" used to describe a reader of comic books is sometimes used as a term of affection and sometimes as a genuine insult. To avoid confusion as to which I mean, I've stopped using it.
- In the history of comics, way too many people got their jobs not because they were suited for them but because they were related to someone with hiring power…and that person may well have gotten his or her job because they were related to someone with hiring power.
- Some of the people who did poor work in comics may not have been very talented but they were the best person the editor could get at the time…and better than the alternative.
- When a cover was drawn and rejected, 95% of the time it wasn't because the artist did a poor job drawing it but because someone (possibly not that artist) did a poor job deciding what scene or arrangement of elements should be on that cover.
- Many writers in comics do their best work on a book where at the moment, they are the only writer handling the characters in it.
- When there are too many different interpretations of a character out there, none of them is the "right" one, especially when it's Batman.
- If the writer of a comic has trouble figuring out what's happening on a finished page, it's poor artwork no matter how exciting some of the individual images are.
- If the artist of a comic doesn't understand the story he's drawing, it's a poor script no matter how exciting some of the copy is.
- The best editors are the ones who understand going in that if the finished comic is great, no one's going to give a whole lot of credit to the editor.
- If the comic you're working on is done in "assembly line" manner where the next person can't do his or her work until you do yours, being late is a really awful thing to do to the others on that "assembly line."
- When a comic is deemed uncommercial and canceled, everyone should remember that once upon a time, the publisher of Marvel Comics made that decision about Spider-Man, The Hulk and The X-Men.
- When you first hold in your hand a copy of a printed, for-real comic book that you worked on, you will have a little tingle of thrill that you will never again experience on anything else you do for the rest of your life.
- Too often, to get a great cover or a sensational special storyline, the makers of a comic will violate the "reality" of that comic — for example, inserting outer space aliens into a world where there are no outer space aliens — and while that might boost sales for a time, eventually that comic will pay for it.
- One of the worst ways you can resolve a super-hero story is to give the super-hero a power or strength he or she never had before.
- Often, an artist will complain that the scripts they've been given are "too wordy" and when that artist is later given the chance to write his or her own scripts, that artist will be "wordier" than anyone they ever worked with.
- Often, the best compliment you can get out of your editor is "Get to work on the next issue" and you should not take that lightly.
- If your character wears a cape, it should be more or less the same length in every panel and it should not get shredded more than twice a year.
- When working on a comic you don't own, be cautious when infusing characters with experiences from your own life. Remember that someone else will probably be writing those characters some day and they may just decide to change that character who to you represented your father into a psychotic serial killer and pedophile.
- If you work a lot in comics, you will encounter many, many people who think the work of which you're least proud was the best thing you ever did and who couldn't care less about what you think is the best thing you ever did. Learn to say "Thank you" instead of gritting your teeth.
- At least one writer or artist whose work you admired as a reader will turn out to be a colossal jerk when you finally meet them. But it may not be much more than one.
- Anyone who puts you down for what you do is probably jealous of what you do.
- If the main reason you love going to conventions is having people praise you and ask for your autograph, you might need to reassess your sense of security in this world.
- And be honest with yourself about how many of the people who ask you to autograph your work only care about enhancing that book's resale value.
- Lastly: It can be a wonderful thing to be a Comic Book Writer or a Comic Book Artist but it's always better to be a Writer or Artist who does many things, one of which is comic books.
This concludes a list I started here long ago. The full list of 100, including the ones you just read, can be found here.