Garth Ennis has operated at the top of the comic book game for decades now, putting him in a unique position to give advice to give advice to newer generations of artists looking to carve out their own place in the industry – and in his characteristic style, Ennis refuses to equivocate on the approach younger creators should take to working with the major two companies, DC and Marvel.
Variety reported on Ennis’ comments to a crowd at the Lucca Comics & Games convention, where the author discussed the recipe for his success over the course of his enduring 35-year career. One of the most trusted voices in the industry, Ennis was recently tapped to write Dynamite Comics’ latest 007 series.
Dynamite was the home of what ultimately has become Ennis’ most successful series, The Boys. However, he has also had great success with DC and Marvel over the years; speaking about the mindset creators should bring to working for the major companies, he suggested a pragmatic viewpoint: “they use you, so you may as well use them.”
Ennis’ Advice For Creators: “Use” Marvel And DC For Career Advancement
“Own what you create, for as much of it as possible,” Variety reported the prolific creator telling the crowd at Lucca Comics & Games. “Make sure you retain ownership of as many of the characters you created as possible.” Ennis stressed the importance of creator-owned work; at the same time, the author has rarely hesitated to take opportunities to work on big IP – for Marvel, Ennis is most notable for his Punisher runs, but he has also written characters including Thor, Ghost Rider, Nick Fury, and Spider-Man. For DC, he has written Batman, and recently, Peacemaker. Ennis even wrote one of the best Star Wars comic stories of the Dark Horse, Legenda-era continuity.
The reason for this, as he explained at Lucca, is he recognizes the value of working on these properties, something he encouraged other writers to be aware of. “By all means, do work for hire too,” Ennis said. “If you see something that can be creatively rewarding, use DC and Marvel to advance your career.” While many authors, both successful and fledgling, have been alienated by how creators are treated at the major companies, Ennis has been able to maintain a balanced perspective in dealing with them. “They use you, so you may as well use them.” In other words, despite the relationship being transactional, it doesn’t have to be one-sided.
Garth Ennis Has Earned His Clout In The Industry
Ennis has written iconic, established characters like Judge Dredd, and John Constantine, while also creating a stable of his own, from the characters in Preacher and The Boys, which has gone on to be a major hit at Amazon. This has enabled him to produce even more boundary-pushing independent titles, such as the horror book Crossed and the World War II title Battlefields. He has become such a major voice in the industry by having a keen awareness – almost a superpower in its own right – of when to work for the big publishers, and when to pursue his own passion projects.
His career, naturally, has not been without its bumps in the road. Famously, The Boys started out at DC Comics, under their Wildstorm imprint, but the series proved too confrontational, too directly aimed at the heart of superhero storytelling – the series was canceled after the completion of its first arc, but saved by Dynamite Entertainment, where it ran successfully from The Boys #7 to #72. Dynamite has subsequently been home to many of Garth Ennis‘ titles, and now he will be the creative force behind their take on the iconic James Bond series, continuing to prove the writer knows how to pick his projects wisely.
