The Troubles in Creating a Super Hero: Why Superman Continues to Sell and Bad Guys Don't

Comic writing is something new to me, something I've explored for over a decade. Just about everyone who picks up a comic book wants to join in on the storytelling abilities inherent in writing a piece with static pictures and words.

Writing super heroes is the best way to break into a field that hasn't known a new major hero break through in a while. There will be the epics occasionally, or Todd McFarlane's Spawn, maybe titles from Boom! Studios like Jeremiah Harm, or a character created to play a minor role in on comic who gets his own series. John Constantine was a character created by Alan Moore in the pages of Swamp Thing who got his own series called Hellblazer; this was one example of a minor, imperfect character getting his own successful series and, later, a movie.

For the most part, older titles like X-Men and Batman control most of the market. How does one create a super hero to compete with these?

It can be done, but there are plenty of tricks every comic writer should know. Most comic books are intended for people of all ages; you won't find sex in an issue of Iron Man, or nudity in Batman - those titles are intended for a broad audience.

Some of the best heroes - like Rorschach in Watchmen - come from titles too deep to be read by most younger readers.

The point I'm trying to make is, if you really want to break into comics, write as broadly as you can. Wait until you've gotten some success to try a Watchmen type of story with an anti-hero like Rorscach. You better your odds if you write for everyone; you better your chance of getting real money.

And what is an anti-hero? A hero who doesn't fall into the realm of a traditional hero, who doesn't have the ethics most heroes do. Beyond Rorscach there is Punisher, which is a good to note as both these characters are willing to kill.

What is a traditional hero? This is obvious, but for sake of conversation is a hero is someone like Spider Man or Batman who isn't willing to kill, only breaks the law when its right, never cheats on their wife or lover, just lives a life of justice.

Comics are known for the regular heroes. Sometimes an anti-hero like the Punisher or, a personal favorite of mine, Deadpool will sell a bunch of copies.

Yet I would advise that a writer of comics should try traditional heroes first, ones who don't kill, and who play a sort of Robin Hood in terms of right and wrong.

Some villains are even given their own titles - like Dr. Doom from the pages of Fantastic 4 - but it never lasts as long as a traditional hero. Even Superman, who is a good hero but one-sided, will sell more copies in the long run.

A hero doesn't have to be completely fictional or perfect, in truth it should be the opposite in many cases; Wolverine rarely has low self-esteem, but the young Peter Parker sure does. Clark Kent waited decades to actually propose to Lois Lane. Many times personal experiences can become the core of background for your hero. Imperfect characters sell copies. Some heroes can be villains in another life, like Todd McFarlane's Spawn, as well as Gambit and Wolverine from the pages of X-Men. Even Darth Vader from Star Wars turned back and, for a moment, was the hero all the fans were looking for.

As long as your character fights on the side of good, if children and adults can both see its obvious that he or she is truly just, then the more readers you will have. When you want to be bad, to have a character be evil, think up a villain, or a side character like Huntress or Batgirl (the newer Batgirl), people with dark pasts, who maybe act in evil ways at times.

The point of all this is real super heroes sell in quantity and, while Deadpool may sell some in the short run with his black humor and low morals, comics like Batman and Superman will always sell many more copies than a anti-hero who fights with darkness.

This point can be argued to no end, Punisher has had major success, even several series at one point, but watch, writers will run out of stories and readers faster while working on an anti-hero than they will a regular hero.

It all goes to show you that, when writing a comic, think of terms of your audience. Many say to write for yourself. I think you should write for others if you want to get published in the field of comic books. Spider Man may not be up your alley, but the more experience you get in putting together good heroes the higher your chances of success in the tide of the comics business will be.