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CURTIS "SPECKS" THOMPSON
Words of Wisdom
What inspired you to create your comic?
What inspired me? Really just growing up watching super hero shows and reading comics and manga. Then over time I started writing my own characters to fit inside their world; like creating my own X-Men students, Jedi, and even my own Dragonball characters. But all that took place back in middle school/high school. What really got me into writing the legacy of the view was my fiancée. My fiancée and I were talking one day about writing stories back in the day and she thought I should try to write for a comic book company. I did my research and seen that main stream barely takes fresh writers and typically steals submitted storylines from new writers without paying them. I also read an article that said, “It's better to write your own character like Batman than to write a story for Batman.” I took that concept and started creating my own comic world based on storylines and characters of my own creation.
What is your writing/drawing process like?
First I come up with the key points and the details I want inside the story then I write the beginning and ending. After I have done that I write the story in novel form then once its completed I break down each part into the panels for the pages.
How many hours a day do you write/draw?
Whenever I get time really. It's hard drawing or writing with two kids in diapers.
What does success look like to you?
Getting profit from your work everyday, not having to rely on someone else to write you a paycheck. None or at least only a little bit of stress in your life.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Making something people will gravitate towards.
Does writing/drawing energize or exhaust you?
It energizes me, because I’m doing something I enjoy doing and seeing people enjoying the same thing I have created.
If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be?
Save money, don’t stop drawing, go away to college and don’t stay in town those four years for college.
What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a comic/graphic novel?
For the legacy of the view, I try to make it as urban as possible without it being too Black campy like UPN, BET, or Centric TV shows. I want it like Black Lightening and Atlanta. Those two tv shows really capture the culture in their writing and I research those shows just to mimic some of that in my writing.
What advice do you have for other Black comic creators?
Be yourself and stop trying to write the next Superman, Batman, or Goku because the world needs more realistic Black heroes and characters that your sons and daughters can relate too.
You can follow Curtis "Specks" Thompson on
Instagram: @specks706
Website: legacyoftheview.com