Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Wagner
Hi Doug, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For me, my path was a winding and twisting road. I decided I wanted to be a comic book writer when I was 17, much to the chagrin of my parents. I worked all kinds of jobs for the next several years and wrote during any free time I had. I got my first writing job at Malibu Comics when I was 25. Yes, that was 7 years of pursuit and about 200 rejection letters later. Two months after being hired to write a new series for Malibu and given short runs on the comic book ULTRAFORCE, Malibu was purchased by another company and shut down. Only one of the issues I’d written actually made it to print. I was devastated. I was back to square one. It only took me 9 more years to get back into writing comics professionally. Again, hundreds of rejection letters along the way. After talking with a friend of many years, we decided we were tired of asking for permission and published our own work ourselves. That pivotal moment and subsequent publication was the foundation that has now seen me work for a multitude of comic book and movie companies.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was most definitely NOT a smooth road. You have to keep in mind the comic book industry is relatively a small one. There are maybe 200 paying gigs, most professional comic book writers write multiples of those a month, and there are thousands of people competing for the few jobs that are left over. It’s difficult to stand out when the editors you’re submitting to are getting 30 pitches a day. Probably the toughest part was pouring your heart into a story for a pitch only to receive a rejection letter. I always tell aspiring writers the primary reason I made it to where I am is because I’m extremely hard-headed. That’s my secret.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a comic book writer. I’m probably best known for my dark comedy/horror creator-owned work through Image Comics. We affectionately call it the “Plastic-verse” based on the first book PLASTIC that started us down this whole series. The books are filled with quirky serial killers and cannibalistic furries. Yeah, I write some weird stuff, and you know what, I’m proud of that.
I think what sets me apart is just my sense of humor. It’s dark, twisted, and whimsical all at the same time. Lucky for me, there are others out there that enjoy this kind of story as much as I do.
How do you think about happiness?
Writing. I absolutely LOVE writing stories. It’s not the easiest thing to explain, but there’s nothing like being completely enveloped in a completely different world and having the muses whisper story in your ears that make you laugh, cry, giggle, and shiver. It’s simply magical to experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shocknoggin.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doug.wagner13
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Doug.Wagner13
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougwagner13/
