Author James Patterson Talks Comics
May 20, 2010
When first announced, news of the partnership between IDW Publishing and author James Patterson generated coverage by numerous mainstream sources, including USA TODAY, The New York Times, and Reuters, and with good reason. Patterson consistently gives readers characters they love to follow, and as a result, his books regularly appear on bestseller lists around the world.
With this partnership producing comic series like James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland, The Murder of King Tut, and more to come, retailers will finally have the means of appealing to Patterson’s fans.
Patterson was kind enough to give an interview to provide his thoughts on working with IDW and bringing his stories to comics.
You have entered into a partnership with IDW where you will be both adapting existing stories into comics and also creating new, original stories. Can you tell us about some of these projects?
James Patterson: I’m first and foremost a storyteller. I write and talk to a big audience and in the last five years, I started to write books that could interest my son (he now has read Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird), age 11. These young adult books have had a very good response… Maximum Ride, Dangerous Days of Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, and a new one I’m not ready to talk about. They are probably the stories I have the most fun with and the characters in them have really connected with many readers. As a storyteller, I love to use every medium available and comics are a wonderful way to look at images and simultaneously read. They are an amazing canvas for the worlds that I love to create.
When I worked in advertising, we used to storyboard TV commercials that we were presenting to clients and the process was always exciting. I have met various comic book companies… all great and with great traditions… and the guys at IDW had the right energy and seemed to work in a way I appreciate.
What comics or graphic novels have inspired you? What do you like to read now?
Patterson: I grew up on Superman, I love Batman’s nemeses and all the bad guys that exist to enable the good guys to fight crime. It’s the ultimate human drama. One of my most successful characters is Alex Cross, who is a great detective just like Batman. And my Women’s Murder Club is a very successful series... it’s like my Fantastic Four. With the young adult novels, I have kids that fly, magic, aliens, teenage angst, self-discovery… everything that exists in the world of comics. So now and then, when I’m at a bookstore, I still find pleasure in looking at some of the graphic novels.
You are well known for your crime thrillers, but you also write to a younger audience with stories like Maximum Ride and Daniel X; how does this differ from writing for adults? How might these differences be conveyed when adapted for comics?
Patterson: I don’t really think they are different. They are just younger characters living in their worlds. In the end, with good storytelling, the kind of thing I do, I like my audience to have a really great time. From the moment they open a book or a comic, I want them to have a rush. I want the images in their imagination to explode in a positive way. Like the author Michael Connelly said once about my stories… “Patterson’s books turn on the movie projector in your head…”
I have written in every possible genre and I think I still have in me an endless supply of characters and stories really bursting out… like criminals jumping out of Arkham Asylum… that will power comics as well as books.
How do you think young readers will be able to relate to the problems of your protagonists in stories like Witch and Wizard?
Patterson: The fundamental problems that kids experience come from real observation of problems that everyone can face. Just go to Google and check out the Maximum Ride fans. I love to see that they make videos, artwork, adapt stories, etc. on the lives and stories of my characters… it’s kind of the ultimate compliment. These are thousands of young readers that have spent quite a bit of time working on their adaptations of my stories…. Recently we even found an animated Lego version of Daniel X – it’s just awesome.
What is it like working with other writers and artists to help bring your vision to life? How does it feel to see your own story laid out visually?
Patterson: I write all of my stories and I always begin with an outline. My outlines are 50 or 60 pages long and they are very detailed, chapter by chapter. Some books I write entirely by myself and others I do with collaborators. I love doing that… I come from a very collaborative past and I just have too many ideas to be able to do them all on my own. I usually re-write 5 or 6 drafts of my books and I feel in the end we get a very good result out of two different minds. I think some of the greatest writers have had very involved editors, but they don’t necessarily give them credit…. I love to share the credit. I do it all the time
In terms of visual presentation, I’m a naturally visual person so it’s a very cool process. Working with the talent that goes into penciling, inking, and coloring comics is a UNIQUE experience that I recommend to anyone who likes to create stories. It’s literally like working in a different dimension.
Are there parts of the story that have to be left out in the adaptation? How do you determine what to cut and what to keep?
Patterson: More than adaptations, I like to see them as great remixes such as the classic Danger Mouse with his “The Grey Album,” where he remixed the Beatles. I love the expansion on the world of my books because, even if we take something directly from the novels, it exists in a different format so it will be processed by different sides of the brain.
What might a story gain when adapted into a comic? How do the adaptations complement the original prose versions?
Patterson: The worlds I create are already taking many forms: we are creating videogames, movies, and television. In the comics, it’s just a wonderful visual experience that expands these worlds with endless possibilities… it adds perspective to the worlds I write.
