Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Ryall.
Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’d always wanted to be a comic-book writer and had submitted – unsuccessfully – a handful of pitches over the years. So I pivoted to writing advertising copy, technical video scripts, automotive brochures and billboards, and corporate speeches. None of which were my true passion, so I started writing comic-related content online in the early 2000s to have a more creative outlet alongside the bill-paying work.
Through that online work, I struck up a conversation with filmmaker/comic writer-turned-podcaster Kevin Smith, and the conversation eventually became a job offer- to turn a parody website from one of his movies into a legit pop-culture portal. I immediately said yes, and then immediately realized I had no idea how to do that. So I Tom Sawyer’d it a bit and got some talented friends to help me get it going, and then I was off and running. I wrote for and ran that site for nearly four years, and in that time, I met many comic industry folk. One of whom, Steve Niles, introduced me to the owners at San Diego-based comic publisher IDW, and a short time later, I joined them as their second editor-in-chief. In the 16+ years since then, I wrote 100+ comics for the company, published exponentially more, and eventually took over as Chief Creative Officer, and then President and Publisher, too.
One of the comics I co-created, Zombies vs. Robots, was first optioned and then purchased by Sony; I also published a non-fiction book about comics through a separate publisher and have recently struck out on my own to build a new publishing venture. Since leaving, I sold a new TV show idea to a major studio and have been writing (and re-writing) the pilot in hopes that it will become more than a pilot script. I also serve as an EP on Netflix’s adaptation of one of the titles I oversaw at IDW, Locke & Key, recently optioned another existing comic property to an international studio, and have new comic and prose projects in various stages of development.
Most of this came about despite, not because of, day jobs I held in the past (and all of which came about through a support network of helpful and talented people. The thing you learn first and foremost is that no one is lucky on their own, and we all owe many people for helping us along the way). The new publishing venture, called Syzygy, is more of a gamble than anything I’ve done in the past two decades, which is what makes it so exciting to see where it all might lead from here.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the only truly smooth roads are those where you’re carried on the shoulders of others who walk the rocky paths for you. One thing about having worked for two decades in and around an industry and storytelling format I’ve loved my entire life is that you realize how many people not only paved the way for the path to be less rocky but you also have a great appreciation for the people who helped along the way.
The past few years, with more corporate dictates determining the company’s direction to just trying to find ways to stay relevant in an ever-changing business, have certainly brought a. number of challenges, frustrations, and harder times. But all of that has also added to my sense of determination to not only find new paths in this business but also keep developing ways to not be so reliant on any one path. Instead, I’ve diversified my skills to take on numerous roles at the same time- consultant, writer, editor, producer, publisher- to ensure that no matter what happens on any one path, enough additional roads will stay open and accessible to me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
When I first entered the comic industry, it was as IDW’s Editor in Chief. Which largely meant I edited all the titles the company published and hired creative talent, developed directions for the titles we published and recruited new talent, ideas, and partners. I also wrote a good number of comics, which meant collaborating with artists, and colorists, letterers, production folk, and others involved in all the stages of a title’s assembly.
It’s this collaboration that I’ve always specialized in more than anything else- whereas writer, editor, publisher, or other roles, the way creative projects truly come to life is through collaboration, and the more fruitful the partnerships, the better the end result. Working well with others across all these different areas and more besides, has always been the best part of the jobs and thing I most value.
I have always done my best to set examples and transcend some of the negative comments people have in any creative pursuit- namely, getting a response and proper feedback in a timely fashion. And I know how hard it is to provide that since my own inbox usually topped 100+ new emails every single day (maybe half of that on Christmas or Thanksgiving), but it always felt important not to leave people, many of whom toil in a vacuum anyway, waiting on a response that might never come.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
In an industry where there is no single pathway into it, the most valuable things any aspiring creator can do are A) create – and that means finishing a thought, a story, a script, a drawing, not starting something and then moving onto the next big idea before completing the previous. A portfolio of half-baked ideas or sketches shows anyone who looks at it that you don’t feel strongly about your skills and that you may not see a project through even if hired.
B) network, make connections and build a support system to give you feedback and encouragement (and sober truths) along the way. Also, never be so reliant on any one idea getting you work but instead, after completing something, always be onto the next thing. That way, if a prior idea/effort does get rejected, you’ll be well into your next attempt and therefore not as affected by decisions that aren’t in your power to control.
Contact Info:
- Email: ryall.syz@gmail.com
- Instagram: @chris_ryall
- Twitter: @chris_ryall
Image Credits:
Personal photo: Art by Tommy Lee Edwards Tie/glasses photo: (c) Chris Wojdak Comic Books 101 cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez Unnamed cover art by Ashley Wood
