Reviewed by Ian Wheeler
The name Pat Mills means different things to different people. Many comics fans remember his 2000AD and Starlord period with great fondness, whilst others look back with nostalgia at the classic Battle story, “Charley’s War”. Others remember later titles Pat was involved with, such as Crisis and Toxic!, or the more recent Spacewarp. To me, he’s the writer who created arguably the strongest run of “Dan Dare” for the 1980s Eagle, strips which are still regarded as classics today.
Pat is, of course, well known for writing a number of classic Doctor Who comic strips. Until now, however, creating a Doctor Who story for television has eluded him (despite a near miss with “The Space Whale”, which was developed during Eric Saward’s tenure as script editor and was later adapted as an audio story for Big Finish). This year, however, many Doctor Who fans were delighted when one of Pat’s most iconic Doctor Who strips, “The Star Beast” (brought to life by the equally legendary artist Dave Gibbons) formed the basis of the first of the 60th anniversary specials starring David Tennant.
On the face of it, Pageturners is a pretty bold title for a book. It could be an open invitation to an unsympathetic reviewer to write something along the lines of ‘This book is anything but a page turner.’ But this is Pat Mills we’re talking about and the chances of Pat turning in a dud are pretty remote. And I’m pleased to report that the book won’t disappoint his legion of fans.
Pat sets out his mission statement on the first page: “Pageturners is about writing successful stories.” The book is more than a simple autobiography or memoir. It’s a book in which Pat passes on much of his accumulated wisdom and it should prove to be invaluable for anyone wanting to write comics or indeed stories in any medium. And he is keen to stress that writing should be fun.
Pat begins by reflecting on his early career working on IPC Magazines’ Tammy comic when he was in his 20s. He freely admits that in those days he did not feel that his work was of great value or likely to have any lasting worth and he was therefore surprised when he was asked to give a talk about creative writing to IPC trainees. By the time we get to the second chapter, he’s already imparting invaluable advice for new writers, explaining how he provides details in his scripts for the artist, often including separate notes for the heaviest descriptions or even including photographs. He then outlines the “twelve typical stages” which a comic strip must undergo between the initial idea and going to print and gives advice on handling exposition and dealing with editors. Pat has been on both sides of the fence, working both as an editor and writer, and gives a superb insight into both points of view, stressing that a good writer must be able to take criticism. He also talks about the importance of a writer finding their ‘Muse’ – it will all make sense when you read the book.
Pat continues by outlining the important characteristics of a hero and makes the very valid point that most classic heroes are either middle or upper-class but that he believes that the appetite for working class heroes exist, a view I wholeheartedly endorse. He offers equally interesting insights on villains, explaining that there must always be a logic behind their villainy.
Pat talks about the relative experiences of working on Action and 2000AD, expressing preference for the latter, and makes the very valid point that it is easier to get away with shocking and sensational stories in a science-fiction context because the stories are more divorced from the reality of more contemporary stories.
Further invaluable advice follows on devising finales and choosing a theme for your story. Pat talks with pride about how “Charley’s War” prevented many kids from military families from joining the army. He also writes with great affection about his friend and colleague John Wagner and explains that one of the advantages of having a writing partner is that you can edit each other’s work and that it leads to more polished material.
There’s a fascinating section about the emotional journey of comic characters. As Pat points out, it is usually characters in films and novels which undertake emotional journeys – comic readers often prefer characters who don’t really change – but Pat feels strongly that his characters should undergo an emotional journey and outlines examples such as Ro-Busters and ABC Warriors. This is followed by an excellent section in which Pat gives very specific guidance for developing characters and storylines, reminding the aspiring writer to listen to their inner voice – it’s all grist to the mill for an aspiring comics creator.
He then moves on to the subject of networking, pointing out, this is an area rarely covered in books of this type. I very much like his take on networking: “It’s too fake for my taste, but it’s unavoidable.” He points out that making good contacts is not in itself enough to make a career – you have to back it up with hard work. He also offers some useful insights on working with agents.
Pat offers interesting observations on both the British and American comics publishing markets. This is followed by a section on indie publishing with some invaluable advice from Pat’s own experiences of running Millsverse publishing. This includes tips on how to promote your own publications.
There are further sections on anthologies (Pat’s thoughts on what could work today and what wouldn’t), Pat’s experience of producing his Spacewarp comic and the story behind the launch of Toxic! in the 1990s.
More details follow on the ‘Muse’ and how it can help the writer to create villains. This is followed by a section in which Pat talks about ‘the Hero’, using John S Clarke ( a real historical figure, who Pat tried to develop as a comic character) as an example. “Ultimately, we couldn’t get the comic away,” says Pat, “but I still carry a torch for Clarke and hope his personal story can be told one day.”
There’s a very interesting chapter about Pat’s attempts with his girlfriend of the time, (Alora, not her real name), to find a castle in Canada that Alora had dreamt about. Pat then talks at length about his novel The M17 Assassin, an action thriller set in World War One. A lot of the story is set on a train and it’s fascinating to hear how much thought Pat has given to the layout of the train – who is in each carriage, who sleeps where etc. It proves Pat’s Agatha Christie-esque attention to detail.
We then get to a section likely to be of interest to many people reading this review – an in-depth look at Pat’s various involvements with Doctor Who. He talks about his early strips for Doctor Who Weekly, his attempts with writing partner John Wagner to write for Doctor Who on TV in the late 1970s and 80s and his audio work for Big Finish. Pat does make the (not uncommon) error of referring to Fifth Doctor Peter Davison as ‘Peter Davidson’ – it’s a rare slip-up in an otherwise very impressive book and I have to say that having edited and proof-read many publications myself, sometimes you can read and re-read a page numerous times and still miss these things.
Bringing it all up to date, Pat talks about the recent David Tennant special featuring the Meep, brought to life on television for the first time! Pat’s admiration for the sets and the way the story was brought to life is very evident and it’s clear that he and artist Dave Gibbons were treated with great respect by the Doctor Who production team. As a bonus for Who fans, the book also includes the outline of a fascinating-sounding Who story Pat never got around to writing called “No-Human’s Land”. It’s a cracking idea and one I hope he gets round to developing.
The book ends on a serious note with Pat’s reflections on some of his experiences with a teacher at school and how they affected him. Overall though, this is a book filled with much joy and invaluable, detailed advice for writers. The combination of useful information about the writer’s craft and fun anecdotes about Pat’s life make this an indispensable read. A page turner indeed.
Ian Wheeler
• Pageturners – How to write iconic stories from the creator of 2000AD: Doctor Who and the Star Beast Exclusive is available now as a paperback and digital edition from AmazonUK
• Pat Mills is online at millsverse.com | Iconoblast | X
Former Co-ordinator of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Publisher and Editor of comics-related fanzines. Contributor to books on Doctor Who from Virgin and Miwk Publishing. Contributor to cult TV fanzines and periodicals.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, Doctor Who, Features, Other Worlds, Reviews, Television