Happy Thanksgiving from iFanboy (and Our Favorite Comic Creators)

EDITOR’S NOTE: iFanboy will be taking the holiday off and so should you! We’ll see you back here on Sunday with a new episode of the Pick of the Week Podcast. Until then, sit down with a big ol’ plate of food and enjoy Sonia’s column.

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Today is Thanksgiving, so before I get started, everyone at iFanboy would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

As a Brit, despite living here for 12 year I still don’t really understand this holiday (and as much as I’d like to pretend, deep down I do know that this isn’t a holiday to celebrate the day preceding my birthday). But over time I’ve come to dearly appreciate the opportunity to stop, take stock, and give thanks. With that in mind, I asked a few people who make comics:

What are you thankful for?

 

 

Jonathan Luna (The Sword, Girls, & Ultra from Image Comics)
I’m thankful for being able to create and tell stories and not having to compromise our vision. Much of that is due to our publisher, Image Comics. This artistic freedom and our very supportive fans is what I’m most thankful for in my life.

 

Ben Templesmith (Fell from Image Comics, 30 Days of Night, Wormwood: Gentlemen Corpse & Welcome to Hoxford from IDW)
I guess if I had to be thankful on just one day ( though I think about how lucky I am quite a lot considering how I earn a crust…) I’d have to say I’m thankful enough people pick up my small & rather odd little books. That a book like Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse can have such success, being into it’s 4th printing now is something I’ll never really understand but never stop being thankful for. Which is why at cons I’m still astounded to meet people who dig my stuff and I never want to take that for granted.

 

Mark Waid (Editor-In-Chief, BOOM! Studios, The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel)
When I was seven years old, I sat in front of a black-and-white TV in a motel room with my grandparents and watched a man set foot on the moon. I woke up the next morning in a world that had — in one hard-earned moment — clearly, palpably, defiantly changed everything. I woke up in a world that was better — not for one moment, but forever.

I am grateful that as of November 4, I got to experience that feeling not once but twice in a lifetime. And I am thankful that, for the first time in ten years, maybe more, I can say that I am genuinely proud to be an American.

Mark Sable (Hazed from Image Comics)
What I’m most thankful for, during these dreadful economic times, is that I’m still finding work in comics. Many if not most of my college peers went into the financial service industry upon graduation. At the time, being an I-Banker was considered the job to have. During the many ideas I spent toiling in obscurity, I was often jealous of their paychecks and job security. While I’m sad that so many of them are having such a rough year, I’m extremely thankful for the fact that I’m able to get paid to do what I love, despite taking the “riskier” career path.

I’m also quite thankful for the results of this past presidential election. Not only because I think he’s the best bet to get out of the aforementioned economic crisis, but because he’s elicited something I haven’t felt in a very long time: hope. Much of the great comics writing of the past decade was inspired by the misery of the past eight years, from The Authority to Ex Machina to Civil War etc.

Writing about some very dark, politically charged material in my upcoming BOOM! book, Unthinkable, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit worried about whether it will be as relevant during an Obama presidency than a Bush or McCain administration. But it’s hard to be anything but grateful when the biggest thing I have to worry about as a comics creator is whether living in a potentially much better, brighter world might affect how my work resonates with a more optimistic readership.

 

David LaFuente (Patsy Walker: Hellcat and Ultimate Spider-Man Annual from Marvel Comics)
I’m caught a bit off-guard here, I’m Spanish and I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving. For me is that nice MacGuffin in Pieces of April and loads of other movies with people eating turkey. Though if you twist my arm a bit and I have to say what I’m thankful for this year, I would say that for the marvelous job I have that makes me a happy bunny and allows me to meet so many cool people. I would put first enormous thanks to GF, family and friends, but that would be extremely cheesy and personal.

 

Tom Peyer (The Flash from DC Comics)
This year I’m thankful for:
• The election of Barack Obama (and it feels really strange, uncomfortable and possibly foolish to feel anything positive about an authority figure — but have to say I, like, love him);
• The people in my life, of course (including some very good friends I made just this year);
• The “Scott Malkinson” gag on South Park (at which I’m still laughing);
• November’s nationwide demonstrations in support of gay marriage;
• Twitter;
• Every minute I got to spend writing The Flash and those ridiculous Marvel Apes back-ups;
• The near no-hitter I saw on September 5th at Seattle’s Safeco Field;
• My belated discoveries of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim and the novelist Haruki Murakami;
• The Emerald City ComiCon of a lifetime;
• And a lot of great new music, notably the album “The Golden Hour” by the incomparable Firewater.

Matt Fraction (Invincible Iron Man & Uncanny X-Men from Marvel Comics)
I’m thankful that comics keep me employed making insane bullshit up all day long, telling stories and making myself laugh, in my own house, where I get to hang out with my wife and kid instead of having to wear a name tag and, like, do things other people tell me to do. I’m insanely lucky. I  deserve to be punched in the face.

 

Kieron Gillen (Phonogram from Image Comics)
Pretty much everything.

 

Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex from DC Comics & Back to Brooklyn from Image Comics)
I am thankful to be surround by so many good friends, able to have a chance to be able to express myself daily in my writing and most of all thankful to have Amanda Conner in my life.

It’s as simple as that.

 

Gail Simone (Wonder Woman from DC Comics)
I’m happy to hear a president say they are against torture and actually mean it.

 

Fred Van Lente (Marvel Zombies 3, The Incredible Hercules & Wolverine: First Class from Marvel Comics)
Frankly, given the current economic outlook in the U.S., I’m honestly thankful I’ve got my first half of 2009 already locked-in, projects-wise!

I suppose that’s very provincial of me, but it’s also the truth. 😉

 

Jeffrey Brown (The Incredible Change-Bots from Top Shelf Comix, Little Things from Touchstone)
I’m thankful for my family, both the family I grew up with and the family I have now with my partner Jennifer and our son. I’m thankful that Obama was elected President, and I can have hope again that this country will get back on track for the sake of my two year. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to make enough of a living from my art that I can continue to make art and still spend a lot of time with my son as well, so I’m thankful for the people supporting my work. I think I’d be making art in some form no matter what, but to be able to make the art I want to and have people responding to it makes me thankful I’ve ended up where I am now.

Riley Rossmo (Proof from Image Comics)
I’m thankful for, my wife, family, tiger tiger ice cream, my new Huey Hut Rod model kit, and zipitone.

(And Call of Duty World at War for PS3)

 

Rick Remender (Fear Agent, The End League, & Gigantic from Dark Horse Comics, Punisher: War Journal from Marvel Comics)
I’m thankful that I get to tell stories and that people actually want to read them. I basically sit around all day and tell some of the best artists in the world what to draw. I have a house, a beautiful wife, three cats, two dogs and a baby on the way. My family is healthy and even when my job is hard, it’s the best job in the world.

 

Mike Norton (Green Arrow/Black Canary & Trinity from DC Comics)
I’m thankful that I’m lucky enough to be doing what I love for a living and I’ve managed to stay pretty busy at it since I went full time at it 5 years ago. I’m thankful that I’ve been so lucky to work with the people that I have. I’m lucky that I’ve made lots of smart, interesting, talented friends in the comics business. And most of all, I’m thankful that I stopped reading the comments following each Green Arrow/Black Canary review that goes up on iFanboy 🙂

Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards from Marvel Comics, Misery Loves Sherman)
What I am thankful for.

I am thankful for the small kernels of popcorn that are barely popped.
I am thankful for warm, fuzzy blankets on cold, wet nights.
I am thankful for hot coffee on a cold morning.
I am thankful for the people who actually buy the work I do.
I am thankful for the sound of a dishwasher running.
I am thankful for the sounds of my kids playing a video game and laughing.
I am thankful for pre-cut fruit in supermarkets.
I am thankful for Orbit Bubblemint gum.
I am thankful for indoor plumbing.
I am thankful for friends who understand I’m an agoraphobic freak.
I am thankful for blood pressure medication.
I am thankful for king-sized beds.
I am thankful for bookstores.
I am thankful for Walt Disney World.
I am thankful for Mexican food.
I am thankful for Pepto-Bismal.
I am thankful for understanding in a misunderstood world.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful for my kids.
I am thankful for can-shaped cranberry sauce.
I am thankful for football on Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for the Tryptophan coma turkey sends me into.
I am thankful that anyone actually read this far.
I am thankful this is over.

 

J.H. Williams III (Jonah Hex & Crossing Midnight from DC Comics)
I’m thankful for the simple things really.  Our home, food on the table, and a creative career that provides those things. And certainly all the love in my life. Beyond that it’s all just decoration.

 

Stephen Wacker (Editor, The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel Comics)
I’m thankful that it looks like we managed to ship 36 issues of Spider-Man in row during the year and hit every date we promised. The creators and production people worked their fingers tot he bone getting these books out this year and I couldn’t be more grateful to them.

I’m also thankful for Marvel’s new “No Flip Flops” policy. I hate seeing people’s bare feet at work.

 

Terry Moore (Echo from Abstract Studios, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane & Runaways from Marvel Comics)
I’m thankful to be here. Oh, and I’m thankful the rest of you are here, too, because otherwise, y’know… The Twilight Zone.

 

Jay Faerber (Dynamo5, Noble Causes, & Gemini from Image Comics)
What am I thankful for this year? The answer’s easy — my collaborators. Just this week I finished the script for the final issue of Noble Causes. I wrote the first issue over 7 years ago, so this has given me the opportunity to reflect back on my work in between now and then. It strikes me how lucky I am to be able to work with such talented individuals. Mahmud Asrar co-created and draws Dynamo 5 with me, and I couldn’t ask for a better co-pilot. Yildiray Cinar drew the final leg of Noble Causes, and he and I are preparing to create a brand new title to take its place. Yildiray breathed new life into Noble Causes, and I can’t wait to see what he does with something he helped to build from the ground up. Ron Riley started out coloring Noble Causes and has been with Dynamo 5 since day one, and I couldn’t imagine that book without him. Letterer Charles Pritchett is the unsung hero of both Dynamo 5 and Noble Causes, lettering not only those two books, but also any back-up stories I throw at him. Plus, he designed and maintains the Dynamo 5 online apparel store (which you can find at www.dynamo5.com). Colorist Jacob Baake just joined Noble Causes, and he’s brought a really fresh perspective to the book.

Then there’s Gemini, which is a real labor of love for both myself and co-creator Jon Sommariva, whose pages are so filled with energy. Our original colorist, Fco Plascencia, has since moved on to bigger and better things (like Invincible!) and I can’t wait for you guys to see Edward Bola, his replacement. And the always superb Rus Wooton puts up with all of the special requests that Jon and I throw at him when it comes to lettering Gemini.

And those are just the guys I’m working with NOW. That’s to say nothing of the guys I’ve worked with in the past, and the guys I’m already planning to work with on upcoming projects.

I know this sounds like one of those annoying acceptance speeches where the winner thanks every single person he’s ever met, but too often these guys go unnoticed or unappreciated, and I just wanted to make sure that on this day, they know how thankful I am to be working with each and every one of them.

Mike and Laura Allred (Madman from Image Comics)
We constantly jump around like lottery winners when we realize that everyday we get to roll out of bed, run into the studio, and make stories and art for a living.  For that alone we like to pretend that we’re rich.  But even above that, we’re thankful for having so much family nearby to share our lives with.   Even in the most difficult times we can never deny how wonderful life is as long as we always have the opportunity to make it better.

 

Dustin Nguyen (Detective Comics from DC Comics)
I am thankful for my wife, kids, family, friends, life in general, and also making iFanboy’s Pick of the Week!

 

Philip Bond (Vimanarama & Kill Your Boyfriend from Vertigo/DC Comics)
To keep it short and sweet and as specific as it is all-encompassing; Mr. Bond is thankful for the past, the present and the future, and The Shangri-Las.

 

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Sonia Harris is thankful for the really basic stuff; friends, family, comics, food, drink, and reasonably good health. Thank you for reading these articles. If you’d like to, please mail me at sonia@ifanboy.com.