The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#220) -- Lettering For Yourself

What prompted you to learn how to letter comics instead of just writing them? 

There are several reasons I took up lettering, though poverty is the most prominent of them.

I was working for Shooting Star Comics at the time, and I was already paying fantastic artists to draw my stories for little more than peanuts (even I admit that), and even that meager sum had devastated my miniscule budget (the rest of you indie creators know this all too well, I'm sure). That left me on my own when it came to putting all those words on the comic book pages.

I also learned for more altruistic reasons though. I didn't want to stop at just writing. I wanted to know what it was like to have my hands in the process beyond merely turning in my script and kicking back while everyone did all the heavy lifting. So I lettered my first story in Paint Shop Pro (I DO NOT recommend that. Ever.). After that nightmare, I purchased a copy of Illustrator and hit the 'Net to discover the right (or at least better) way to digitally letter a comic book.

I wanted to be a part of the process of hitting a deadline with a team. I wanted to understand the same pressure that the artists were going through.

And boy, did I... but that's a discussion for another time. Move along, kids. Nothing to see here.