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Day dreaming is not bad, that is how you get most of your stories. So go ahead and day dream.” This was the advice given by Tony Lee, eminent comic writer, graphic novelist and journalist to the children who gathered for a drawing competition recently.
Some of Lee’s works are X-Men, Spiderman, Starship, Troopers, Hope Falls, Midnight Kiss and many more. He was in the City to take part in Lit Sutra, a programme of cultural relations through reading and writing, organised by the British Council.
Lee started his conversation by saying how he was inspired to become a writer. His desire to become a Ninja or a Batman eventually lead him to start writing in order to bring out all his desires and give it a form. He also advised the children to quickly write down whatever comes to their mind and to keep writing.
He advised, “Become a writer only if you want to be one. Not for making money and to gain fame. To be a writer is the best job in the world. It is a great way to tell stories.”
When asked if he would write adventurous stories to the Indian audience, he said, “I would not be able to do justice to Indian stories and I would not be able to give it the right kind of honour which needs to be given.”
When Lee writes, he sees that he has cliff-hangers which leaves his readers wanting for more. He also believes in retaining the originality of his script when it becomes a comic book. “I make panos and I decide and tell the cartoonists as to what should go in each pano. This way I don’t lose out on what exactly I am trying to tell my readers.”
Lee also picked up three best drawings after the drawing competition. The first place was given to Ankit A, a student of Parachute Regiment School, who drew the bird Robin with a hood and called it Robin Hood. He says, “I am very happy that I won this prize, I had come prepared from home itself. I feel more confident after I won this prize.” He also a had a small interaction with the children and answered some questions like who is his famous comic hero, comic book and many other questions.