Brian Michael Bendis Quotes
-
But you have to look at your work with an honest critical eye. Work on the things that you need work on. Scare yourself. Surprise yourself. If you don't like the way it's going, you have complete control over changing the course. That's one of the best things about doing this.
→ -
One similarity I see between peers and some of the people who read my books is that comics were definitely an outlet for us.
→ -
From my personal taste, it needed more of a visual style. It's so hard when you're adapting something that's so visually scrumptious like Mike Oeming's drawings. They're so unique to comics, but they're a voice.
→ -
This is something I learned when I was working at a newspaper: when you put something on paper, whether it's words or pictures, and it's staring back at the reader, they are now alone in the room with them for as long as it takes them to turn the page. Whereas on television, the images fly by.
→ -
In the history of comics and movies and music too, it's always when things are at their bottomed-out, either creatively or financially, there's more chance-taking going on.
→ -
I looked at Tank Girl, which is the coolest comic, ever. The movie didn't make the comic book any less cool. The comic is still the comic.
→ -
One of the things I like to do is people's hearts are on their sleeve, whether it's a good or a bad heart. And I think that's one of the things living in a world with Powers would do: it's too theatrical not to express yourself constantly. It would change them socially and sexually, everything would be altered because of superheroes.
→ -
With every script, I write a note to my collaborator that says: 'I write full script. But see it as a guide. You take us where we need to go any way you see fit. I tried to write something specifically for you. If you agree with my choices, fine. If not, you do what you have to do.'
→ -
When it was announced that Spider-Man was going to be in Captain America: Civil War, "Miles Morales" was trending on Twitter for like a week. More people than I ever thought had heard of it. Listen, people go to Build-a-Bear and make your Miles Morales Build-a-Bears and tell everybody that's what we want!
→ -
Reading Homicide by David Simon was the first time I said, "What if this was in a world of superheroes?" That was a very good idea. What if Chinatown took place in a world of superheroes, that became Jessica Jones. Just things that I love, you can match up the genres and have fun with it, those moments.
→ -
The trick is not caring what EVERYBODY thinks of you and just caring about what the RIGHT people think of you.
→ -
Lettering should be invisible. You shouldn't notice it, unless it is a determined piece of storytelling in graphic design. Whether handmade or digital, the lettering should be easy on the eye and well placed. It should help tell the story and do nothing to get in the way of it.
→ -
I see this with experienced writers, too: They worry so much about the plot that they lose sight of the characters. They lose sight of why they are telling the story. They don't let the characters actually speak. Characters will start to dictate the story in sometimes surprising, emotional, and funny ways. If the writers are not open to those surprises, they're going to strangle the life, spark, or spirit out of their work.
→ -
I'm wired with a little bit of self-loathing, not that kind of self-loathing that paralyzes me, but it's there. The things I'm most loved for are sometimes the things that annoy me, not my favorite stuff, but those flashes of genius moments, they're called, I rarely see them as a one eureka light bulb idea.
→ -
Write. Write every day. Write honestly. Write something that doesn’t exist, and you wish did. Read. Learn. Study. Watch people. Listen to what they say, listen to how they say it and listen to what they do not say. Surprise yourself. Scare yourself.
→ -
I was on the set of the first Powers pilot, and an actor of color came up to me and said, "When I was a kid, my friends wouldn't let me play Batman or Superman, because I wasn't their color. But they would let me play Spider-Man. And that's the difference." And I realized I had heard this story a hundred times from different people, but I wasn't there in my head yet.
→ -
I've been reading Ed Brubaker comics since the first appearance of Ed Brubaker comics and every single time he announces a new title I mutter to myself: ugh! I wish I would've thought of that!
→ -
The books are the books, and a lot of the stuff is some version of your id or your ego.
→ -
I didn't write superheroes for the first 10 years of my comic career. I was just doing fan fiction. I wasn't thinking about superheroes at all, even though I loved them. I was raised by Watchmen and Dark Knight, so I was raised in with it's all been done, they don't worry about that.
→ -
If you like Powers, you'll love The Victories!
→ -
Artists are not your art monkeys. They are your collaborators. They should be given all due consideration to follow their journey.
→ -
I have a very strong color theory, for instance, where in 'Powers,' green means powerless, and red means power.The story was all there, but I was desperate to make sure that extra level was the case.
→ -
It also helps that what Dan Slott is doing with Peter Parker in the comics has elevated him to something else, so that Miles Morales at the moment is the more traditional Spider-Man figure in the universe: the high school student trying to balance high school and superheroics, and he can't catch a break. That was Peter's role, but it's not his role anymore, and it's Miles' role. That was given to me, and it's pretty cool.
→ -
If you loved everything you were writing, you would be deluding yourself or a complete and absolute narcissist. It's not about liking what you write, it's about improving with every word, little by little, exploring your craft, becoming the artist you hope to be one day. And you can only do that by working at it every day. It doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't happen over a weekend, it is a lifelong pursuit.
→ -
I was there when Sam Raimi showed Stan Lee the first cut of the first Spider-Man movie. I was on a couch next to Stan, watching how special effects had finally caught up to his imagination. It was insane. And I'm thinking, "He had to wait until he was 80 years old for that to happen." When they announced 'Powers' and 'Jessica Jones,' I thought, "Oh, that's nice!"
→ -
One of the things I'm most proud of over the years, is time management and balancing family and work. Everyday, you just look at what needs to be done and do that, what needs to be done. That includes the idea that family is first, kids are first and when you're with the family, put the phone down, look them right in the eye.
→ -
One of the things I like to do is people's hearts are on their sleeve, whether it's a good or a bad heart.
→ -
You're as good as the people you're with.
→ -
Bike riding is where I go to solve all the problems. I know you can't tell from looking at me, but I'm a long distance bike rider, I'll ride my bike and by the time I get back I will have solved whatever problem I had creatively or found that other thing that I was looking for. That's a big part of it.
→ -
I'll never get sick of raising my children, but other people might get sick of them.
→
Related Authors
-
Tom Brevoort Comic Book Editor -
Geoff Johns Comic Book Writer -
Warren Ellis Author -
Mark Waid Writer -
Joe Quesada Comic Book Editor -
Rick Remender Comic book writer -
J. Michael Straczynski Writer -
Brian K. Vaughan Writer -
Jeph Loeb Film writer -
Grant Morrison Comic Book Writer -
Ed Brubaker Comic Book Writer -
Kieron Gillen Comic book writer -
Matt Fraction Comic Book Writer -
Kelly Sue DeConnick Writer -
Jonathan Hickman Comic book writer -
Stan Lee Comic Book Writer -
Mark Millar Comic Book Writer -
David Finch Artist -
Dan Slott Comic book writer -
Jason Aaron Writer