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Another look at the whole artist-versus-writer question? In a June 2002 interview with The Comics Journal, artist Jill Thompson says:

But that was always one of my biggest fears of drawing comics: cars, and then cities. An overhead shot of Manhattan is daunting. Eventually it becomes fun, but on a deadline basis it can get way too time consuming. It’s not fair that a writer gets to say, “We see Superman flying over Metropolis from above. He’s… ” And you know, “Oh, my god. I have to draw all of those windows. If I want to be really accurate, there’re a billion people and cars down on the street.” And the writer got paid for writing one page and it’s one sentence. It took me three days to draw this thing! It’s not fair!

It’s strange. I agree with Peter David that drawing is usually seen as a more respectable craft than writing and that a lot of people assume the latter is an absurdly easy thing to do, that anybody could write a book if he or she wasn’t so busy doing real work. For comic books, I think it’s typically assumed by most people that the artist does all of the work. And yet, there are some books like The Sandman (which is where I was first introduced to Thompson’s wonderful artwork), where I think the exact opposite is assumed: yes, of course, somebody had to draw the nice pictures for Mr. Gaiman, but it’s not as if they actually did anything, is it?

Maybe it’s celebrity. Maybe most people aren’t interested in meeting writers unless they’re famous writers… Or maybe it’s as Peter David suggests, that it boils down to the simple fact that Neil Gaiman is British. David writes:

Certainly there are comics writers who are respected by fans and industry, although by and large they have to fit one of two categories: either they’re artists, as well, or they’re from England (thereby proving that comics fans are no different than theater-goers or viewers of PBS in their adoration of all things British).

I don’t know. I buy comics primarily for the writers; good story is good story, as far as I’m concerned. But I don’t kid myself that I’m the norm. As Neil Gaiman makes abundantly clear in his post earlier today — dear god, when will the man get permalinks? — comics are still predominantly viewed as a medium for children. If you draw Spiderman or Captain America, well, at least it looks pretty and pays the bills. But to actually write something like that? Surely no self-respecting person would do that as their life’s work.

Once again, because I have a couple of minutes, the Friday Five. I’m not terrifically impressed with this week’s questions. Or maybe I just don’t have any decent answers. Either way, here they are:

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? My mother’s parents were both Irish immigrants (I think the story is my grandmother was Irish but lived in Scotland, or something along those lines). My father’s parents were both born in this country, second or third generation from Italy (my grandmother) and Germany (my grandfather), respectively. Recently, my father and his sister traced the family tree back a number of years and generations, but I don’t remember much of what they discovered. I’m reasonably certain the name “Coppersmith” was Americanized somewhere along the way, and that no one in the family ever actually made copper pots.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit? Of the three, probably Ireland most of all.

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why? Germany, maybe, of the three — although if someone said we’re sending you an all-expense-paid trip to Germany for a couple of weeks, I certainly wouldn’t turn them down.

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage? I once got a little drunk with friends on St. Patrick’s Day. That’s about it.

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)? My father’s grandparents or, possibly, great-grandparents. I’m not entirely sure who came over from Europe when.

I have the feeling that today is going to be a very bad day. I’m posting this in the hope that, sometime around five o’clock, I’ll look at it, laugh, and wonder what I was so worried about. But I doubt it.

Peter David has some interesting thoughts on what it means to be a comic book writer and why they get so little respect:

I’ll never forget the fan letter we got when I was writing Spec Spidey, from the kid who asked, “Dear Marvel: Does Peter David write Spider-Man’s jokes, or are they ad libs?”

Personally, it’s the writers who keep bringing me back to comic books. I can name a handful of writers artists — Glenn Fabry (warning, evil pop-ups), Jill Thompson, Dave Gibbons, Dave McKean, Alex Ross, et cetera — but it’s usually because of the writers they’ve worked with more than anything else.

Peter David’s website found through Boing Boing.