MSU director finds niche in comic books

Michael Frizell’s comics maintain a journalistic feel.

Michael Frizell is working on a dozen comic books for StormFront Publishing.

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The heavyweight 2016 presidential campaign has created a stir even in the world of comic books. And a Missouri State University director is right in the thick of it.

Michael Frizell, MSU’s director of student learning services, is utilizing his own skills off campus as a comic book writer and editor.

Released last month by Oregon-based publisher StormFront Publishing, “Political Power: Jeb Bush-Legacy,” is one of some 40 books Frizell has written for the company for over the past two years.

“The first political one I wrote was a Chris Christie comic,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve also written one on Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton, of course, the Jeb Bush one, and there’s a few others in the works the publisher said not to say anything about.”

The political biography series started in 2008 with books on Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, and StormFront Publishing President Darren Davis said about 50 books have been produced to date. He plans to publish another eight to 10 books before the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Jeb Bush comic draws on tensions in the politically charged family, with scenes of patriarch Prescott Bush’s ambitions after World War II when he became a U.S. senator, energetic father George H.W. Bush skydiving and brother George W. Bush learning of the Sept. 11 attacks. At one point, Barbara Bush speculates Jeb was more qualified for the presidency, and it leaves the family’s political future in the Florida governor’s hands.

“We’ve done everybody from Colin Powell to Barack Obama to [John F.] Kennedy,” Davis said, adding the books strive to be objective and maintain a journalistic feel. “I don’t want anyone to know who I vote for, and that’s one of the good things about Michael … he keeps everything very middle of the road.”

StormFront’s biography comic books have been featured on CNN, “The Today Show,” Fox News, People Magazine, USA Today and The New York Times, and Davis said Frizell has become a key part of it all.

The breakthrough
Breaking into comic writing was tough, Frizell said. He didn’t even know how to begin writing for the industry giants that are widely known to decline unsolicited submissions.

Even StormFront typically won’t take unsolicited submissions, but Frizell said after exchanging emails with Davis, he was encouraged to share his ideas.

“He suggested I pitch him a few script ideas for my first two scripts. One of them was a biography of Christopher Reeves,” he said.

Davis considers Frizell a key talent in his publishing business. “He does a majority of the biography books now,” Davis said.

For Frizell, the work is rewarding, even if he is largely not producing the kind of works the “Star Wars” fan dreamed about writing as a child. Comics he’s written about Rand Paul and Metallica have prompted stories from Politico, Bloomberg and Billboard.

“Comics are a tough market to break into, for sure. Is it worth it? Something I always wanted to do? Yeah,” he said. “Did I ever imagine I would be writing about Jeb Bush? No.”

Davis said Frizell typically earns about $100 per page for his work, plus a percentage of sales if an undisclosed volume target is reached.

Frizell isn’t the only one in the family to work for StormFront, which formerly operated as Bluewater Comics. Springfield freelance artist David Frizell – Michael’s younger brother – has drawn a handful of covers, including one of Donald Trump.  

“We did a couple of rock ‘n’ roll books, and David did some of the covers, so it’s nice to have the family working,” Davis said, adding the younger Frizell, who is known for his work with bands such as Sevendust, has drawn StormFront book covers on Bono, Jerry Garcia and Metallica.

Sales trajectory
Copies in the StormFront political series run $3.99 apiece, and while Davis declined to disclose early sales, he said most books sell between 5,000 and 75,000 copies across all formats. The Jeb Bush book is being printed on demand.

“The marketplace is changing. It’s becoming more an e-book world,” Davis said, noting the digital versions are available on Kindle, Nook and iTunes.

U.S. sales of print comics, paperbacks and magazines generated $540 million in 2014, up 4.4 percent compared to 2013, according to industry research by ComiChron.com, which cited Diamond Comic Distributors Inc. Combining print and digital formats, sales totaled $935 million last year, which includes data from another industry tracker, ICv2.com.

Total unit sales last year of 82.65 million copies are up 19 percent from 2010, but still are well below the 100 million-plus sold in 1997. Last year, copies sold were down 2.25 percent compared to 2013. Year-to-date comic book sales, however, are up nearly 13 percent through July to $205 million, according to ComiChron.com.

Beyond traditional comic book publishing, Michael Frizell’s work is receiving attention from moviemakers. A comic fiction book he recently finished called “Aether, Prologue,” is part of movie promotion efforts by Directors Drew Hall and Horst Sarubin at WeAreSkyBourne.com. The prologue comic is connected to “Aether, the Rise of Specter” that the directors are trying to get into the Cannes Film Festival.

“It’s a steam-punk kind of thing,” Frizell said of the genre that typically features steam-powered machinery instead of modern technology. “They are trying to get the film in Cannes and use the book to get people in seats.”