Today we’d like to introduce you to Roland Mann.
Hi Roland, 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?
Comic books are what taught me to read. I wasn’t much of a reader until comic books were introduced into my life (thanks, Mom!). I continued to read them through high school and even made my own–they were pretty terrible. But I took a creative writing class as a senior and found that I really enjoyed telling stories and how cool would it be to be able to work for a company like Marvel. But I’m a first-generation college student and no one could really tell me how I could make a living as a writer…so I entered college as a computer science major…and hated it. I enjoyed computers but hated the math.
Still not knowing exactly what to do, I changed my major to creative writing as a junior and immediately started sending out stories. As luck would have it, I met artist Steven Butler, and the two of us had similar goals: make comics. He introduced me to his suitemate, who was also an artist, and we decided to do our own thing. Keep in mind, this was right after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became popular. We thought if they can do it, we can do it.
Long story short is that we didn’t, but what our efforts gained us was a publisher. I began to work as a freelance writer and was eventually hired by Malibu Comics (Men in Black) to be an editor. A few years later, Marvel Comics bought Malibu, and I became a Marvel editor.
So I went back to school, got an advanced degree, and started teaching at the university level—which is what I still do today.
But, several years ago I started writing comics again and remembered that I absolutely love doing it. My creative collaborators and my wife convinced me that the time was right to become a publisher again…so I relaunched Silverline Comics.
As of today, we’ve crowdfunded and published 28 comic books—that is a bunch! Some of those titles include Cat & Mouse, a comic I wrote in the late 80s and early 90s that was in the Top 10 Black & White titles and that fans have been asking for again. Divinity, a recent indy award-winning title about a young girl discovering superpowers…and all kinds of nefarious people want to get their hands on her. Kayless, the story of Scott Anders who was sent into space in the 1960s by the CIA…and then they lost him, until he fell to earth yesterday…completely unhurt. And there are other titles like Teen Beetle, a kid superhero; Wolf Hunter, a WW2 era spy story; Twilight Grimm, a vampire hunter; and Beah, the story of a bunch of toys whose kid has gone missing.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not smooth at all. The big struggles have always been financial.
Marvel declared bankruptcy and then fired around 400 people. I was one of them. I decided to start my own small press company, but unfortunately, Marvel was struggling because the comic industry had crashed. I lost a lot of money. A. Lot.
There’s so much we want to do that cost money to do…and we simply don’t have that kind of money.
Current struggles are distribution and reach. Distribution has been in a state of flux for the last several years.
Finding a way to connect to readers and comic fans through all the social media noise is tough, too.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While I’ve written a lot of things, comic books/graphic novels are what most folks know me for. As any creative will tell you, I’m most proud of my most recent thing. Most people probably know me for writing CAT & MOUSE. A good number of people know me because of the time I spent as an editor at Malibu and Marvel. I’d rather they know me for my writing than my editing!
One of the things about Silverline is that we are working not just with new talent, but with long time veterans of the comic industry. We have creators who have worked for Marvel, DC, Image, Innovation, Comico, Now, Caliber, Antarctic Press, Alterna, Gallant, and a host of other publishers.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I have a lot, but I’ll keep it related to comics. I grew up in the rural suburbs, not close to anything else but other houses and some farming land. Since I was a kid when I first started reading comics, I had to rely on my mom to get me to the places that sold comics. I can remember my mom patiently waiting on me as I ran into multiple shops to flip through the comic racks searching for comics that I wanted and needed. She would even make stops especially for me so that I could run in and look.
Pricing:
- Comics are $5
- Graphic novels range from $15 up
Contact Info:
- Website: www.silverlinecomics.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silverline_comics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilverlineComics
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilverlineComic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/silverlinecomics
- Other: www.rolandmann.me
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rolandmann/
