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Nick Spencer – Politics, Business… Oh, And Comics Too
Nick Spencer is the writer of Morning Glories, Existence 2.0/3.0, Action Comics and upcoming Infinite Vacation and Supergirl.
At the Image Writers Panel at NYCC he talked about working in politics, and when pressed by Robert Kirkman, that he'd worked for a Democrat politician previously. But the full story is even more intriguing. Because, prior to his move to New York, Nick Spencer was rather a polarising figure in Cincinnati society.
It's such a different story compared to the current Nick Spencer that we know that I had to get confirmation in person that these two Nick Spencers are one and the same. And they are.
Cincinnati is one of the few places in the US that runs a real three party system. And Spencer was a member of the Charterite Party. He stood unsuccessfully for the City Council as their representative. His election blog has been taken by domain snatchers, but can still be recovered by the Wayback Machine.
Nick talks at length about crime, local businesses and his connection with the area. He also ran the bar, alchemize in Cincinnati that failed eventually, but any observer could see just how much Spencer put into his business. He also launched the Desdemona music festival in 2006, that was popular but ultimately too expensive. The website gone but there's plenty of reference online.
He left Cincinnati after a wave of court judgments against him for debts. Evicted and frozen out. Even his advertising billboard went unpaid. And ended up on the street of New York, pitching comics to Image… and the rest is history.
I heard some panel advice being given out to wannabe comics writers at NYCC. That before you write, you must have something to say. You must have lived, experienced as much as you can, or your work will sound hollow.
From a few trips on Google, even at such a young age, no wonder Nick Spencer is doing so well right now…