Comics and Freedom Go Hand in Hand

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s 4^th of July weekend or perhaps simply that I heard Bobby McGee on the Starbucks sound system the other day when I was getting my daily java, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the notion of freedom. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about the idea of creative freedom as it relates to comics. As someone who spends time on creative pursuits as a career, I’m constantly faced with the reality that what I do (writing for TV) has a unique set of limitations, most of which limit if not stifle creativity. Sure, I can write a script about anything I want to, but the odds of seeing it ever come to fruition decrease the further I push a concept away from mainstream expectations. There are simply things you’re never going to see on television because it’s cost prohibitive for the companies making shows to experiment with the absurd, the offbeat and the over-the-top. Try pitching the idea of cop who is also a dragon to the networks and I can guarantee you’ll be met with blank stares. Comics as an art form are different. Comics offer freedom.

Comics as a visual storytelling platform offer creators the chance to tell stories about really anything they can conjure up. That’s unique. If you can visualize it and you have a pencil and a piece of paper, you can make comics. That’s all you need. You don’t need a crew of people or expensive equipment. You don’t need network approval of your ideas or suggestions from producers on how to make something more realistic or more “cost effective.” One need not spend a lot of time casting actors or exploring directorial options to bring a comic to life. Grandly ridiculous ideas can be brought to life with the stroke of the pen or pencil. Whether anyone sees said comic is another issue, of course, but if you can think it up, it can become a comic.

There’s a little shelf at my comic shop that’s dedicated to what are essentially handmade indie comics by local folks. Now I don’t know if those books sell at all. They probably don’t. They don’t look particularly flashy, nor do they have much going for them in the way of production value. Some are little more than barely bound books of drawn images. But I hold a special place in my heart for the books on that shelf. They represent people who took the time to put the visual stories in their heads onto paper. That’s a kind of creative freedom in action. And while maybe just two or three people will ever read them, there’s something to be said for an art form that puts all potential creators on such equal footing. You want to make comics? Do it. Have a strange idea about a strange guy who does strange things? Draw it up. That’s the beauty of comics.

There’s a part of me that’s excited about the fact that we’ll be seeing an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show in the near future. Any time comics make the transition to TV or film, I’m at least somewhat intrigued. But I’m also wary. Simply stated, an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comic can take the characters anywhere or make them face any sort of larger than life threat. Want to have our heroes face a villain on the moon? Not a problem in comics. The only limits are imagination. Unfortunately, the limitations inherent to TV production are numerous, so Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. will have to conform (give up its freedom, in essence) to fit the constraining parameters of a different medium. In this case, I suspect the show is going to be essentially a crime procedural that just happens to use Marvel characters. The final product may very well be a good one (Whedon’s track record is pretty darn solid), but if you think it’s going to be a “comic book come to life” experience, my sense is that you’re likely to be disappointed. The limitless medium that spawned Agents of S.H.I.EL.D. will take a backseat to a medium where the big ideas are likely to be met with talk of budget and scheduling concerns. Shooting for the moon isn’t likely to happen too often.

I hear a lot of people talking about how the technology of moviemaking has finally reached a place where we can do comic book movies right. And I’d agree with that for the most part. Simply put, bringing to life the dynamism and inventiveness of comics was previously limited by cost and technology. And with computer-generated images, you can bring the grand imagination of comics to reality like never before. Spider-Man can swing freely through the streets of New York and it looks right. A very realistic Hulk can smash with abandon; no painted bodybuilder necessary. One only has to look back a couple of decades to previous comic book movie efforts (I’m thinking Howard the Duck and Corman’s Fantastic Four here) to realize we’ve come a long way. And yet with comics (and videogames) bringing our beloved comic books to life in ways we never thought possible, there’s still that pesky little issue of cost. Bringing Spidey to life in a realistic way ain’t cheap, people. I’d like to think it’s not true, but I still have the sneaking suspicion that for each and every tent-pole comic book movie being made, there’s a suited studio executive whose main job is to say “No, that’ll cost too much” or “That idea didn’t test well.”

People sometimes ask me: Why comics? And I’ve often found it hard to offer a coherent answer. Maybe it is that comics offer a special kind of freedom that affords the writer/creator a chance to dream big. But it’s also that the medium affords creators the ability to think smaller, too. Sure, comics are great when it comes to depicting a couple of dudes battling it out on the surface of the sun. But for the creator who wants to tell the story of a working stiff from Cleveland, the art form accommodates that pretty well too. Where should I take these characters today? Beyond the stars…or Cleveland? Now that’s creative freedom.

Gabe Roth is free to do what he wants any ol’ time. @gaberoth on Twitter.