Geek Syndicate
the profit?” Disagreeing with these unfair terms he decided to go solo with his work, forming his own little publisher and setting up printing and distribution himself. Neil in many ways defies convention with his work. “I offer royalties to everyone that we work with because I believe that’s the right thing to do,” he says. “My lawyer said this is not the industry norm but [I feel] this is the right thing to do in a creative industry based on collaboration. They deserve it.” He continues, “A lot of people send in scripts and want artists to work for free. That’s crap. You should not expect someone to work for free. You should respect them and pay them. I’m not paying Marvel or DC rates but I am paying a fair amount and I think that is the right thing to do.” His creative process doesn’t stick to the traditional scripting norm either. “I have a very specific script that no one else apparently uses,” he confesses. “I use Microsoft Excel. I use three columns. The first column tells [the artist] which panel and page it is, the second column is directions for the artist, the third column is the dialogue being spoken or the captions. That way it is very easy for me to go back afterwards and see if there are too many panels on one page or if there is not enough for the pacing. Originally I tried to do it how other people would make it but it wasn’t as logical for me or as efficient. So I invented my own system.” The feedback for his Twisted Dark series, as well as his other projects like Tortured Life or the more recent Tabitha have been incredibly positive and further work on his stories comes quite easily for Neil. The decision last year to make it his full-time occupation, however, was a difficult one. “I actually really liked consulting,” he says. “I still get emails to this day from previous clients who are still using the things I taught them and that’s very rewarding. The problem was yo RG&fV????E??B?v?fRv26?6??b?RG&fV???r6??V6??6?R7GV??V?B?W"??"F???fRv?F??RF?????vR *??V??v?'6??Gv?7FVB6???&?&F?'3??V??v?'6???B?V?R0??C???