And Where Will It All End? The Secret History of Comics

A Sneak Preview

Hey everyone, 

Here’s a sneak preview of the intro to my latest project.

I’m launching it in a couple of weeks, along with Pageturners. I’ll drop a new chapter or section every week and will take on board your questions and observations - the good stuff might make it into a future chapter!

I’d love to hear your thoughts - leave a comment!

But first – talking of Marshal Law: I’m selling signed copies of the D.C. Comics deluxe edition. There’s a limited supply, so head over to my Gumroad store to check them out.

AND WHERE WILL IT ALL END? THE SECRET HISTORY OF COMICS 

Having lifted the lid on the world of 2000AD, Judge Dredd and Sláine in my two previous Secret Histories, Be Pure! Be Vigilant! Behave! and Kiss My Axe!, it’s now time to write And Where Will It All End? – the secret history of my other comic characters here on Iconoblast every week. Starting with Marshal Law, Misty, then Charley’s War, Requiem Vampire Knight, Girls Comics, Doctor Who Comics, Accident Man and Spacewarp.

So why The Secret History of Comics? 

Because we all of us like to know the inside story, what really went on behind the scenes of creating our favourite story or comic and how they’re actually produced, rather than a soulless, guarded,  detached, even dismissive version of events. So, finally, here are the ‘warts and all’ versions.

But they’re also written because I like to hang out with readers, tell them what was going on with my stories, what to expect or not expect in future, and hear what you have to say.  

But that’s not so easy anymore. 

At comic conventions or book signings, successful creators often have their heads down all the time, endlessly drawing or signing books, barely pausing to look up and draw breath instead of drawing Judge Dredd. Because it’s the only way to supplement their income and make a living in these perilous times. It can be quite painful to watch. At such events, I’d also find if I lingered to chat to a fan for more than 30 seconds, someone would come along and tell them, ‘Move along. Move along.’ And I would get told off, too!  ‘We’re closing in half an hour and you’ve still got a queue, so can you speed it up please?’ 

Books that aren’t being sold by the event organiser or comics from my past are likely to be excluded from the signing. But I don’t mind the fan with their huge carrier bag full of yellowing comics they wants signed. If there’s enough time to talk and sign ‘em, as long as the fan is not then planning to rush off to flog them on Ebay. But I do realise it’s difficult for everyone and sometimes it’s just not economically possible. 

I was never among the legendary artists and writers who would get drunk at the bar or smoke dope with fans; that’s not really my style.  But I really do like to hang out with an audience, as we once used to, and get into passionate debates. So sharing And Where Will It All End? The Secret History of Comics on Substack is one way to do so and get some of that old magic back. Because you are very welcome to write in and share your thoughts on what I have to say. I think it’s a better forum than any other: it doesn’t have the brevity of Twitter or the messages don’t roll out of sight as on on Facebook.  You’ve got plenty of time to say what you want and no one is going to tell you ‘we’re closing in thirty minutes.’

What will you discover in The Secret History? 

Here’s how Kevin O’Neill and I recently described Marshal Law:

BEHIND THE MASK…

Secrets.

Secret identities.

Secret lusts.

Secret hates.

The dark and sordid world of Superheroes.

Pull down the trunks.

You won't like what you see.

When Supermen go rogue, you call on the Court of Last Resort.

MARSHAL LAW

So you’ll definitely get some of those Secret Hates revealed in all my stories. And not everyone will like what they see. Usually the publisher! You’ll feel some of the anger, the passion, the injustice and the truth which drove me to write  my stories in the first place. And you’ll see the inner workings of my fairly unique writing signature, which is to put everything into reverse. Thereby challenging the status quo. So that heroes become villains. Villains become heroes. It’s a writing technique that is so hardwired into me that, in the case of Requiem Vampire Knight, even the world itself is turned inside out, with land where there is sea, sea where there is land, and time runs backwards.

You’ll also see comic life behind the scenes and what really goes on. Why hugely successful stories came to a premature ending. Why, for instance, John Wagner and I stopped writing Doctor Who comics, even though our stories were phenomenally successful. How Requiem Vampire Knight is suddenly awoken from his coffin and is back with a vengeance! And so on. What I got right. And also what I got wrong. 

The Secret History should also encourage others to write and draw comics. That’s part of hanging out with readers, too. I may not be able to physically look through your portfolio, but I can still give you some strong hints on how comics should be created. And to encourage you to write and draw comics and point you in the direction of the good guys. And away from the kind of jerks who, all too often, will stand in your way. 

It’s the democracy of comics that appeals to me. I despise elitism in any form and I don’t like it when I see it manifest itself in our popular culture. I’ll get more into that and the craft of writing in my other series Pageturners also up on Substack but let me still say this much here:

I passionately believe that writing is as much a universal talent as painting, singing or playing a musical instrument. Of course, there will be some who don’t have it in them and never will. But that goes for art and music, too – I sing flat, for instance, and my attempts to do something about it, attending workshops and taking private lessons, failed dismally. But many more writers could make it with the right encouragement.  I discovered this when I regularly went out of my way to work with new, completely unknown writers often with significant commercial success. Tony Skinner, for example, who I wrote Accident Man with.  The second Accident Man movie, starring Scott Adkins appeared in 2022 with excellent reviews. Tony had expert knowledge on martial arts I could only dream of.  So writing with Tony was writing from the heart rather than from Wikipedia. But at least one publisher still put a stop to my approach by firmly insisting that I was a ‘brand name’ and if I kept working with unknowns I would be ‘diluting the brand’. Another publisher complained bitterly that I was causing him massive contract headaches by wanting the names on the by-line changed to include my newcomer. I’ll never forget his sustained and bitter tirade, but I stood my ground and insisted on a dual credit on a story. He was most unhappy about me letting in someone new. I’ve seen that happen again and again.

And that’s also what The Secret History are about – challenging the establishment. I guess because ultimately most publishers are motivated by a desire for power and control rather than a love of storytelling as art.  If they have to choose, they will go for power every time.  

I also miss those days of ‘creative jamming’ with new writers. Not something you’ll see very often in some conventions with creators keeping their heads down, like they’re working in a sweatshop. To me, it should be like musicians spontaneously jamming in a pub or club – there’s no egos involved and something exciting and unpredictable emerges.  Why shouldn’t storytelling have the same boozy, sexy, improvised atmosphere beloved of musicians? Does it really have to always come down to one guy in his lonely room with his laptop? Wasn’t storytelling originally an art form told around a fire, as the audience stared into its glowing embers? I think we’ve lost something with today’s sometimes cold and clinical modern methods. And the emotionless, sweatshop, fast food way of producing comics is most definitely back.

With your feedback on Secret History and on Pageturners, it’s not just about hanging out, it can also be about creative jamming.

But, like those guys at conventions endlessly signing away, I’ve still got to make a living. So I’ll put as much material as I can on Substack for free – like my novels, Pageturners and more. And Where Will It All End? The Secret History of Comics, like Serial Killer, will be serialised on a weekly basis, and we’ll feature excerpts for free, so you can see whether it’s worth a paid subscription to read the rest and join in the conversation. I hope that works for you. I’m still finalising the details of the Subscription but the monthly rate will be the equivalent of a couple of cups of coffee.

When I wrote the original version of Read ‘em and Weep with Kevin O’Neill he liked to work on it in a crowded London pub. Because the energy level was so high, it inspired his best work. So he’d be shouting absolute gems of dialogue across a crowded and noisy bar to me and I’d be laughing my head off as I hastily scribbled them down, often on serviettes or scraps of paper. Then desperately trying to decipher my handwriting the next morning. Yes, I’m one of those people who can’t always read his own handwriting. The end result is in Read ‘em and Weep Book One: Serial Killer (start reading it for free here) and Book Two: Goodnight, John-Boy. 

When I wrote Accident Man with Tony Skinner, we were often lying in a wilderness amongst the bluebells and congratulating ourselves that we didn’t have a ‘real job’.

The Secret History of Comics is also a way of sharing such great moments with you as I describe similar chaotic creative processes that prove, above all, that writing is and should always be fun! I hope you’ll join me for some creative jamming in the Iconoblast bar.

We’ll begin with Marshal Law and then onto Misty.

EDIT: Part 1 is now up!

The Secret History of Comics: Marshal Law 1

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Don’t miss And Where Will It All End? The Secret History of Comics and Pageturners when they drop! And your weekly fix of Serial Killer!