I’m the one who started spreading that particular factoid, about Bendis, Azz and me all being bald Brian’s from Cleveland, just to get my name mentioned in the same sentence as two much-better writers, and it’s worked like a goddamn charm.
I like being around teenagers. It’s good for drama; they feel everything much more intensely than adults do, their lives are much more interesting than ours. They’re mutants. They have these weird bodies that are rebelling against them and changing every day. Teenagers always equal good drama.
I’m 40 now, and I have children of my own. Before I forget my own childhood completely, I want to take some time to take a look at the ’80s and think back.
I know I’m a grumpy old man, but I’m always more delighted by readers talking about the actual comics than people talking about how eager they are to have their favorite comics be “elevated” into another medium.
We’ve all seen lots of stories about a young protagonist having adventures, and usually they’re all boys, [and] there is sometimes a token female, or two.
To try and imagine that I’m another person is always going to be hard – whether I’m writing about a truck driver or someone who is gay, who’s trans, who is of a different ethnicity or creed. But it would be boring if I always had to write about myself and my limited viewpoint.
The longer I’ve been writing scripts, the more I find that you have to give the artist more leeway or else you’ll just be disappointed. You can’t force them to draw every image that’s in your head.
I write the book for one person – for Fiona [Staples, the artist]. I spend a lot of time just thinking how she’ll react to things and manipulating her into drawing perverse, horrific things. It’s a really weird job but I enjoy it.
I remember seeing Stand by Me, when I was around 12, and just feeling like, “This is so refreshing to see kids swear and smoke cigarettes like my friends.” It just felt much more real than the Sesame Street version of childhood that I’d been spoon-fed.
No. No, first comes boyhood. You get to play with soldiers and spacemen, cowboys and ninjas, pirates and robots. But before you know it, all that comes to an end. And then, Remo Williams, is when the adventure begins.
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - We’ve all seen lots of stories about a young protagonist having adventures, and usually they’re all boys, [and] there is sometimes a token female, or two.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/weve-all-seen-lots-of-stories-about-a-young-protag.jpg)
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - I love that the book [Paper Girls ] gets to kind of evolve and change in each era. Our third storyline is our best so far.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/i-love-that-the-book-paper-girls-gets-to-kind-of-e-683x1024.jpg)
![Brian K. Vaughan Quote - I write the book for one person – for Fiona [Staples, the artist]. I spend a lot of time just thinking how she’ll react to things and manipulating her into drawing perverse, horrific things. It’s a really weird job but I enjoy it.](https://minimalistquotes.com/images/i-write-the-book-for-one-person-for-fiona-staples-.jpg)
