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Twisted Dark Matter

Published Sat, 21 Jun 2014 13:00:02 -0500

Neil Gibson writes,

Like many people I read comics as a kid. I really enjoyed them, but with no comic book shops near me I didn't have the opportunity to buy many. Then in my early teens I borrowed a Spider-Man comic off a friend and I was hooked. I still remember the story – it guest featured the X-Men and at the end of the issue I was so excited to find out what happened next. Even the comic's owner was surprised at my reaction. I began collecting Spider-Man. I couldn't wait for the each issue and, because of cross-overs, I bought The Amazing Spider-Man, The Web of Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099. I liked them all, but noticed that the titles varied in quality (I only realised later on that the difference between the titles was due to the different creative teams). Nonetheless I kept reading and reading and reading, and then…

I got bored.

After a while, all the adventures seemed to be essentially the same. The hero would defeat a villain, but at the end of the arc a new bad guy would take his place. Each time the new threat was bigger and more dangerous than the old. The hero would be tested. He'd be in real danger. He wouldn't know if he'd survive or not, but in the end he'd snatch victory. And then of course another bad guy would take his place.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I realised I had grown up and was no longer interested in comics. But years later I was backpacking around the world. I was in Vancouver and the film X-Men had just come out. I happened to pass by a comic book store and they had a cheap Wolverine toy in the window. On a whim I went in thinking I'd buy it as a joke present. It ended up changing my life.

I hadn't read any comics in years, so I thought I would just browse and revisit my childhood. I started chatting to an attendant and after telling her that I hadn't read comics in a while I asked her what she recommended. She pointed out the standard superhero comics like Spider-Man, Superman and Batman and told me that those were the big sellers, but that she personally preferred the independent publishers. I had no idea what she was talking about and said so. She seemed surprised and quizzed me about Garth Ennis, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. Puzzled she asked me if I had read Watchmen. When I told her I hadn't and she grabbed a copy and literally forced me to buy it. I remember walking home and feeling slightly weak that an attendant had forced me into a $30 purchase, solely by the sheer passion she had for the book. But it turned out to be one of the best purchases I have ever made.

What so astounded me about it, was that it worked on so many levels. Superficially, it's a murder mystery. However, it also asks many big questions like, how much do our jobs affect who we are? Who makes the world what it is? Who is responsible for things that happen? Is everything planned out or is it all up to chance? I read that it was designed to be read at least twice, and I agree – there is no way a reader could get the most out of this in one reading and often there are clues which are only noticed on the second reading. There is huge interplay between the images and the words, with double meanings referencing what the characters are doing and what is going on in the background. Every cut in the action is linked to the next scene, often with overlapping dialogue and meaning. Symbols pervade the artwork and piecing everything together is a challenge to the reader. I realised that the medium of comics can be used to tell any story and tell it well. Once again I was hooked on the genre.

This time I no longer follow characters, I followed creators, especially writers. And I now preach the value of comics with all the zeal of a convert, because I know how much fun they can be. For the next ten years I built up my collection of comics (this time around I only bought trades because they are easier to handle). Though I loved comics, I never thought I could write them. And then in 2010, I was sent on a consulting project to Qatar and everything changed.

Unlike most consulting projects, this one was quite easy and I was done with work by 7 in the evening. I had no idea what to do with all this free time! My friends and family were back in the UK and rather than just watch TV, I thought I would try writing comics and to my delight, people liked what I had done. I put my first book out in 2011. Looking back Twisted Dark (version 1.0) was a bit of a mess. Wrong sized paper, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, poor lettering, some questionable art and far too much narrative.

But it was made. People bought it. And people liked it.

The latest version went to number 1 in the UK Amazon Kindle charts and number 1 worldwide on Lulu. I took a gamble to pursue my passion and now make comics full time and I can't remember being happier. And all of this is because I gave comics a second look. If you still think comics are just for kids, perhaps you could give them a second chance too. It might not change your life like it did for me, but I'm pretty sure it'll bring you more joy than you think.

Twisted Dark Vol. 1 is listed in this month's Diamond Previews magazine (pg. 380). If you'd like to order a copy for your local comic book store, remember to quote the code JUN141417.

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