The winners of this year’s DC Writers Workshop Class of 2017 have been announced and they are Sanya Anwar (1001), Ryan Cady (BIG MOOSE), Joey Esposito (PAWN SHOP, CAPTAIN ULTIMATE), Robert Jeffrey (ROUTE 3, RADIO FREE AMERIKA), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (LAST SONS OF AMERICA, WARLORDS OF APPALACHIA), and Magdalene Visaggio (KIM & KIM, QUANTUM TEENS ARE GO).
The six were chosen from over 1000 entries and will participate in a 13-week intensive course in comics writing, led by Scott Snyder.
“We are entering the third year of this program and I’m proud to say this year’s class is another group of top notch, aspiring talent,” stated DC’s Vice President and Executive Editor of Young Reader and Talent Development, Bobbie Chase. “It’s heartening to see past Workshop participants receive regular work at DC and I have no doubt that Scott will empower this new class to be at the forefront of writing great stories for comics.”
Writers Workshop teacher Scott Snyder added, “Teaching this workshop has been one of the real highlights of my time at DC and I can’t wait to get started again. It’s an honor and thrill to work with such inspired, and inspiring talent.”
The program began in 2015 wth a pilot program that included Adam Smith, Christopher Sebela, Emma Beeby, Erica Schultz, Hena Khan, Joëlle Jones, Matthew Rosenberg, Michael McMillan, Michael Moreci, Verónica Muñiz-Soto and Vita Ayala, most of whom have continued to make some strides in the comics world. Last year’s class included people whose backgrounds were mostly from outside comics; Erica Harrell, Desirée Proctor, Dave Accampo, Aaron Gillespie, Al Letson, Tony Patrick and Owl Goingback.
Their work will be seen in this year’s New Talent Showcase:
NEW TALENT SHOWCASE 2017 #1
Written by ERICA HARRELL, DESIRÉE PROCTOR, DAVE ACCAMPO, AARON GILLESPIE, AL LETSON, TONY PATRICK and OWL GOINGBACK
Art by SAM LOTFI, MINKYU JUNG, LYNNE YOSHII, SIYA OUM, MATT MERHOFF, LALIT SHARMA and JAGDISH KUMAR
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
That latest graduates from the DC Talent Development Workshops show off their skills in stories starring some of DC’s greatest characters. In these tales, Poison Ivy fights an ancient demon, Doctor Fate is confronted by the cost of magic, Red Hood and Duke Thomas face off in a training day simulation and so much more!
That listing and more quotes were revealed in a THR piece breaking the news, including Snyder on just what is being taught and reactions from past participants.
“It’s 13 weeks, and we meet for two, two-and-a-half hours online in a Brady Bunch-style box of windows. I teach it in such a way that it’s all superhero writing for DC. I try and make each week a lesson about a particular technique,” he explains. “My job is not to teach you how to write by formula for DC. It’s for you to come in and write the stuff you’re passionate about in your own way. I don’t care if that’s funny political, light-hearted, dark, whatever. Your job is to come in and have something to say. My job is to help you fit it into the rubric of superhero calculus and to help you maximize that story: look at where you should beef things up, slow it down, be aware of pacing. You need to come here and have something to say.”
Patrick agrees. “The aim is for us to contribute something new to the DC Universe and also, become part of this extended family,” he says. “The workshop gives you the space to look behind the curtains when it comes to the DC Universe, and the process, but there’s an equal opportunity to write in your voice — and to fine-tune and find your voice.”
The Artist Workshop winners will be announced soon, we expect; applications for the 2018 class open on Feb. 1.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson! He’s written music and some cool comics. And he served in the Army! Great to see him getting a little time in the sun.
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