Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rich Douek. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rich, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

I’ve been a longtime reader and fan of comic books, from before I even had the thought of writing my own. One of my favorite writers, then and now, is Grant Morrison – their writing has been inspirational to me, and I felt that professionally, they were one of my heroes. So when I finally wrote and produced my first comic, I was happy to see they were appearing at a panel discussion at my local convention. I sat and listened to the panel, which I really enjoyed, but lingered at the end as Grant and the other writers participating signed books for fans that were bringing them up. I was near the back of the line, but when I got up there, instead of asking Grant to sign one of my copies of his work, I handed him a copy of Gutter Magic, my first comic. I managed to mumble something about how inspired I was to create thanks to their work, and that this was the first book I had ever written. They looked down at it and smiled, then handed it back to me. For a heartbeat, I was crushed, thinking that I had just made a stupid, presumptious gesture, but then Grant said “You forgot to sign it for me.” and handed me the sharpie he had been using.
It meant a lot to me that someone who I idolized could show so much care and support with a simple gesture – in essence making me feel, for a moment, that my work was important to him, too. I’ve cherished that moment for years, and I hope I’ll meet them again someday and let them know just how deeply it touched me.

Rich, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve loved comic books since I was a kid, and wanted to be a writer for almost as long. For some reason, though, it never occured to me that I could actually write comic books, instead of the several failed attempts at a novel I seemed to start every year. But I decided to give it a try, with a short, 5-page story. I figured that I could work with an artist to get it drawn, and if it was good, then it was good, and if it was bad, I could just chalk it up to an experiment.

But when those first drawn pages hit my inbox, something just clicked, and I knew I was hooked. Seeing the script I wrote come to life on a page was an amazing feeling, which gave me the confidence to do another short story, and another. I would self publish these in small runs, and hand them out or sell them at comic conventions, online, and anywhere else I could think of.

Eventually, I had enough experience and a following to approach some comic publishers about working on longer projects, and after many tries, I completed my first full length miniseries. And now, 12 series later, I haven’t looked back. I’ve gotten to put so many of my own ideas out in the world, and also gotten chances to work on characters I never would have dreamed of, like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. There’s a good bit of luck involved in that, but I’m also really proud of the work I’ve put in over the years to not only have a strong grasp of my craft, but an audience that keeps coming back to read my work.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I wish more non-creatives could understand that the creative process is messy, inefficient, and time consuming, but that those are the things that actually make it work and make it worthwhile. The drive to commoditize creativity, whether it’s adhering to what your online data is telling you is the most effective advertising message, or AI bros telling you they can automate the whole thing with a couple of prompts, is exactly the thing that makes our media landscape so dull, flat, and uninspiring. Everything sounds the same, everything feels the same, because it all needs to fit into neat little boxes on a spreadsheet. And really, the only way to stand out is to take a risk and do something different – but that requires the courage to set aside the data, set aside everything you know and forge new territory – which very few companies are willing to do. Companies, corporations, executives, all feel comfortable when there’s a playbook to follow, when they can predict success. But the thing is, you can’t predict success – at best, you can predict not failing, which is a subtle, but meaningful distinction. If I could boil it all down to one axiom, it’s this – forget the rules. There are no rules. But there is one law – don’t be boring. And the more you cleave to data, and focus groups, and projections, the more boring you’ll be.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I’ve come close to quitting so many times, it seems like a yearly ritual. In comics, as in all entertainment industries, there’s more talent than there are jobs, and it’s punishingly hard to stand out, much less work consistently. But I’ve been stubborn and resolute in my faith that I have something to say that’s worth it for people to hear, and that has always brought me back from the brink. One of my books, Road of Bones, was rejected or ignored by every publisher I sent it to. When I got the 7th or 8th rejection letter, I was sure that was it, and it was time to quit, or at least take a break. But I decided to sleep on it, and the very next day, I got an acceptance letter. That book went on to 3 printings, and a finalist for the Bram Stoker Awards for Excellence in Horror Writing. And again, this is one of those things where luck played a part – I got lucky, someone said yes. You can’t plan for that – but I’ve found that persistence, and faith in yourself are the keys to hanging in there long enough for the wheel to turn your way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rdouek.com
• Instagram: @rdouek
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rdouek
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-douek-4b89977/
• Twitter: @rdouek
• Other: Bluesky:
  https://bsky.app/profile/rdouek.bsky.social