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toptwothreefilms.com > Films > Don Glut Interview
Don Glut
August 26, 2005
A discussion related to Adventures Into Digital Comics.
"I’ve been in the “arts & entertainment” business virtually all my life. As a kid I made amateur movies, wrote and drew my own comics, played a variety of musical instruments, was a member of a 1950s teenage gang and also played in numerous rock & roll bands, wrote, did magic, you name it -- and had a serious aversion to spending my life working in any kind of “normal” day job. My Father died when I was a baby and I was raised by my Mother, who never discouraged me from my ambitions and dreams. So, upon getting out of college (USC), I have various careers as a musician, actor, writer and finally (?) motion picture director and producer. ANYTHING to avoid regular work!"
Each writer and artist has a specific idea of what a comic book is. "Comic books are fun, escapist entertainment that can be read fast. Some of the comics I read as a kid -- particularly Joe Kubert’s “Tor” and Dick Briefer’s “Frankenstein” -- influenced me profoundly, however. “Tor" especially fueled my growing interest in paleontology as a kid."
The only place where comics can be bought in the US is comic book stores. Many people have questioned the ability of comic stores to be good ambassadors for the medium. "Yes. They give both fans and pros a place to hang out. At least they did at one time. Now, when I go into a comic book store, I’m usually one of the only people -- if not the only person, not counting the clerk -- in the store, a sign that this industry is dying."
We wanted to know for Don what his perception of the situation in the 90s is. Some people qualify the events as as boom followed by a crash, others as an aberration followed by a return to normalcy. "Comic books -- really, just about the only carry-over from the days of Big Little Books, pulp magazines, movie serials, dramatic radio shows, etc. -- used to provide what the movies could not. Now, with advances in special effects, the movies can now do super-heroics better than what comic book artists draw. Kids no longer read comic books as did children of the same age; they’re at the movies or playing videogames. Most of the people I now see in comic book shops seem to be middle-aged or older males with wanting social lives."
In the film, Chris Gossett says it is a very tough gig to try to make an original graphic novel and sell it on the American market. How difficult is it nowadays to sell an original graphic novel in the US if you’re not Alex Ross or Neil Gaiman? "Don’t know. I’m not in that business any longer. The last book I tried to sell -- a revival, with artist Brian Thomas, of the 1950s Dick Briefer “Frankenstein” -- never found a publisher."
Like the pamphlet format, some writers and artists think that storytelling tools like captions and thought balloons are another stigma attached to comics. "I think most comic book writers simply copy the style that’s in vogue. I did most of my comics scripting during the 1970s, when captions were trendy -- hence, except when working for Russ Manning, I used a lot of them, too."
Do you think that the tactile experience of holding a book in your hands is necessary to the comic book reading experience? "I think the tactile experience of holding ANY kind of book is important -- at least it is to me."
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