I've grown up in the comic book business. For those of you who don't know, my father is the late comic legend, Neal Adams. I've been surrounded by comics and steeped in the business throughout my entire life. Even before I began working professionally, I was able to draw upon a lot of experience. But none of that, none of it could give me the one piece of sacred knowledge that all creators seek: what reader's like.

I was at my local comic store last week checking out the new books and I took a moment to talk with the store staff and owner. "What was the best looking books on the shelf?" I asked. I am an artist first so I have a bias to that, admittedly. I was shown about a dozen books and I took some time to look through them, their styles, their layouts, the rendering, etc. I looked and I looked and frustratingly, I found no common thread. There was no quality among these books that unified their success as visually evoctive creations. Furthermore, none of them were the books I would have even expected to see as favorites!

That's the tricky part. There isn't a secret formula to great comics. Over the generations there have been artists who's styles defined a generation, and they would spawn immitators and publishers would cultivate that look, but it wasn't effective. Sure, some names would rise from that process but more often than not an artist who succeeded copying the style of someone else only succeeded by growing into their own unique self.

It's no easier for readers to understand either. Comics is a complicated form and to pinpoint a singular quality across a huge selection of periodicals is challenging for the experienced eye, much less so for someone who is egaging with it all on a entertainment level.

So what is a creator to do when trying to figure out what makes a reader want to pick up a book? Nothing. You won't figure it out. You won't find the Holy Grail of comic interest. But all hope is not lost. There is a way to get close to it. Trust yourself. Do the comic that makes you happy in a way that makes you happy and readers will feel it.

Keeping it short for this one. Just a little bit of inspiration from my last comic store visit. Have a lovely day!

-Josh Adams