For my comic creator followers: In the late 1980s, after a decade of pursuing a second, relatively successful career as a screenwriter with writing partner Roy Thomas, I had to reinvent myself as a solo act. I sought advice from professional colleagues.

I won't bother you with their creative advice, which was relevant mostly to me, but one friend, an industry lawyer, asked me a question that I think applies to all creatives who work in a "creative industry"-- like, comics.

"Do you want to be independent, or do you want a career?"

He told me, screenwriting is independent; television writing (at that time anyway) is a career. Screenwriters have to recreate themselves with every script. TV writers can follow a career path.

Coming from comics, where, at the time, there was no such thing as an "independent creator" in the late '80s, obviously I saw the value in a TV career. So that's the way I went, and it worked out great.

But.

But if I were to face the same choice today, specifically in comics, between independence through ownership of my creations and pursuing a career as a Big Two hired gun...

...oh, hell, with my insecurities and need for semi-reliable income, I'd probably choose the Big Two...

...but you shouldn't.

The opportunities for creators to create independently are everywhere today. And the idea of a pro career in comics that lasts for more than, say, a decade, is illusory, despite those of us who managed it. The reality is harsher.

Most of the fellow professionals I started out with in comics struggled in the later part of their careers as tastes changed. I hit a dead spot myself in the mid-80s (which ironically helped motivate my move into TV).

And today, in film and TV, despite the flood of new scripted television, the career of a TV writer is less secure than ever before, and far less financially rewarding.

So it's a case of do what I say, not what I did (or might still do, damnit).

Create for yourself. Choose independence over a career.

These days, in my view, independence has a much better retirement plan.