Brian Michael Bendis Quotes & Sayings

I see this with experienced writers, too: They worry so much about the plot that they lose sight of the characters. They lose sight of why they are telling the story. They don't let the characters actually speak. Characters will start to dictate the story in sometimes surprising, emotional, and funny ways. If the writers are not open to those surprises, they're going to strangle the life, spark, or spirit out of their work. — Brian Michael Bendis

I was listening to the inclusiveness of Spider-Man, and why he's so appealing to so many people, but I didn't connect it all at first. — Brian Michael Bendis

With every script, I write a note to my collaborator that says: 'I write full script. But see it as a guide. You take us where we need to go any way you see fit. I tried to write something specifically for you. If you agree with my choices, fine. If not, you do what you have to do.' — Brian Michael Bendis

I never look at things again once they're done. — Brian Michael Bendis

I want to know what the hell made you think this was your job to do? Who made YOU the moral compass of us? How could you lay down with the people you've laid down with?? Tell me, 'Director Stark', was it worth it??

Was it WORTH it?!

TELL ME! — Brian Michael Bendis

If you're not falling, you're not really trying hard enough. JOE QUESADA Joe Quesada is an award-winning comics creator and the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, who served as editor-in chief of Marvel for over a decade. — Brian Michael Bendis

God gave me these hands for a reason!

With great powers come great handjobs! — Brian Michael Bendis

And I had worked at the comic-book store almost by accident, because I was deciding to make a living as an artist, be it as an art tutor or illustrator, and that's how I wanted to make my living. — Brian Michael Bendis

You can't just have a fight scene. In my opinion, it has to be a character moment or story moment. — Brian Michael Bendis

You're as good as the people you're with. — Brian Michael Bendis

Well it's been about 100 years and every attempt at a comics writers' union has failed miserably. There is, sadly, a long history of short-term thinking and self-destructive behavior among my fellow comic book creators. No matter how many horror stories they have heard they won't even go so far as to hire themselves a lawyer when they need it. It breaks my heart. I am a very proud union member of the Writers Guild. And I can't imagine my fellow comic creators being able to pull something like this together. — Brian Michael Bendis

Luke Cage: "It's my house! I paid for it with my own money!"
Iron Fist: "My money."
Luke Cage: "His money, but it's still my house! — Brian Michael Bendis

But you have to look at your work with an honest critical eye. Work on the things that you need work on. Scare yourself. Surprise yourself. If you don't like the way it's going, you have complete control over changing the course. That's one of the best things about doing this. — Brian Michael Bendis

Please don't be dead. Because then I'd have to be the Sorcerer Supreme and there's no way I could rock the 'stache. — Brian Michael Bendis

I love meeting fans. The people who are fans of my books are really smart and dedicated, because some independent comics are hard to get. I will drive all the way to Pittsburgh or Detroit to put it in their hands. — Brian Michael Bendis

I'll never get sick of raising my children, but other people might get sick of them. — Brian Michael Bendis

The only damn thing I ever learned in all my years in art school was a piece is never done, it is just finished. You have to trust your inner voice, your instincts, when they tell you pencils down. And you roll up your sleeves and you start over again. — Brian Michael Bendis

Ah, man, when Wolverine grows his face back, he's really gonna be pretty upset. — Brian Michael Bendis

It was a very excellent day over there at HBO/Cinemax when they bought 'Powers' . I felt like I graduated television college, because they make amazing television. The person who said yes to Veep said yes to us, which made me feel very good about myself for five seconds. Which my self-loathing doesn't usually allow me to feel. Even I could not say that that wasn't a fun day. — Brian Michael Bendis

Artists are not your art monkeys. They are your collaborators. They should be given all due consideration to follow their journey. — Brian Michael Bendis

When it was announced that Spider-Man was going to be in Captain America: Civil War, "Miles Morales" was trending on Twitter for like a week. More people than I ever thought had heard of it. Listen, people go to Build-a-Bear and make your Miles Morales Build-a-Bears and tell everybody that's what we want! — Brian Michael Bendis

I couldn't take my eyes off of Stan [Lee]! As good as the movie is, all I could think about is, "What's he thinking?" So the movie ended, and then he, very whimsically, expressed all of his feelings about how long he waited, and how the TV shows in the '70s were all, "If only they could do this," and now they could. And he didn't get choked up and blubbery, but he was moved. Like, "Ohmigod, it happened while I was alive." And I can't believe I got to see that. He was very raw. It was quite beautiful. — Brian Michael Bendis

I didn't know why I was coming to this room. Someone just told me to go to Sam Raimi's office. I knew that I uniquely had the comics version of his job, which was to take Spider-Man and put him into the modern day. But I thought, "Maybe he wants to tell me to cut it out." So I come in, it's in his office, and then Stan Lee comes in, and I'd only ever met Stan as a fan, not as a professional. And then they sit us down on a couch, and roll in an AV cart with a TV on it and go, "We're going to show you the first cut of Spider-Man." — Brian Michael Bendis

I looked at Tank Girl, which is the coolest comic, ever. The movie didn't make the comic book any less cool. The comic is still the comic. — Brian Michael Bendis

The other cool thing is, even with Jessica [Johnson], or Daredevil, I had taken a break from those characters for a while in the comics, so I can enjoy the shows without the agita. I completely love the Daredevil show. I feel no physical connection to it, because it was 10 years ago since I wrote that comic, so I can just enjoy it. And when people connect it in a positive way to me, I go, "Well, that's very f - king flattering!" — Brian Michael Bendis

You better fucking tell us where your little buddies are, or I am going to kick your uterus out, you fucking cunt. — Brian Michael Bendis

It also helps that what Dan Slott is doing with Peter Parker in the comics has elevated him to something else, so that Miles [Morales] at the moment is the more traditional Spider-Man figure in the universe: the high school student trying to balance high school and superheroics, and he can't catch a break. That was Peter's role, but it's not his role anymore, and it's Miles' role. That was given to me, and it's pretty cool. — Brian Michael Bendis

A man once said, "There are only two questions man can ask himself that mean anything. Why did God create the world? And what do I do next?" ... — Brian Michael Bendis

And each ripple builds and builds into the tidal wave of anarchy to which we are now doomed. — Brian Michael Bendis

If you try to be everything to everybody, you will end up being nothing to no one. If you write something you think people will want just to be the person who gives them things they want, you will always fail. Let's say that everyone loves blue this year - blue is all the rage. So you sit down and write something blue. Well, by the time you get your blue out for people to see, people will have moved on to pink and won't want blue anymore. Now you're stuck with this blue thing that no one wants, including you. — Brian Michael Bendis

The books are the books, and a lot of the stuff is some version of your id or your ego. — Brian Michael Bendis

Charlie Huston, who showran the first season [of Powers], is a novelist, and likes to internalize fiction as a novelist does. — Brian Michael Bendis

If you like Powers, you'll love The Victories! — Brian Michael Bendis

Before the TV show of Jessica Jones, the response to Miles [Morales] is so overwhelming, and so constant, and it's been five years now. I can't even express to you how powerful it is on my end. It's overwhelming how much it was needed, that I didn't know that's what was needed. — Brian Michael Bendis

I was on the set of the first Powers pilot, and an actor of color came up to me and said, "When I was a kid, my friends wouldn't let me play Batman or Superman, because I wasn't their color. But they would let me play Spider-Man. And that's the difference." And I realized I had heard this story a hundred times from different people, but I wasn't there in my head yet. — Brian Michael Bendis

Write. Write every day. Write honestly. Write something that doesn't exist, and you wish did. Read. Learn. Study. Watch people. Listen to what they say, listen to how they say it and listen to what they do not say. Surprise yourself. Scare yourself. — Brian Michael Bendis

You know your father, God rest his soul... Your father had a philosophy the he held to pretty strongly. And it's one that served him very, very well... He believed that if there were things in this world that you had to offer, things that you did well - better than anyone else... things that you could do that helped people feel better about themselves... well, he believed that it wasn't just a good idea to do those things... he believed it was your responsibility to do those things. Don't try to be something else. Don't try to be less. Great things are going to happen to you and your life Peter. Great things. And with that will come great responsibility. Do you understand? Great responsibility. — Brian Michael Bendis

While talent will certainly open the door for you, it's about failing and knowing how to do so properly. — Brian Michael Bendis

This is something I learned when I was working at a newspaper: when you put something on paper, whether it's words or pictures, and it's staring back at the reader, they are now alone in the room with them for as long as it takes them to turn the page. Whereas on television, the images fly by. — Brian Michael Bendis

The one thing that Jessica [Johnson] and Miles[Morales] have in common is that there's a great many people in the audience who were desperate for that kind of material. They didn't say anything, didn't tell anybody. — Brian Michael Bendis

One of the things I like to do is people's hearts are on their sleeve, whether it's a good or a bad heart. And I think that's one of the things living in a world with Powers would do: it's too theatrical not to express yourself constantly. It would change them socially and sexually, everything would be altered because of superheroes. — Brian Michael Bendis

IRVING: Flowery prose. Verbosity. Some folks think they're Neil Gaiman, and have ambitions of their scripts being reprinted for their adoring fans to pore over, when in reality, scripts are working documents designed to provide the narrative framework for their collaborators to decorate and embellish with imagery. — Brian Michael Bendis

One similarity I see between peers and some of the people who read my books is that comics were definitely an outlet for us. — Brian Michael Bendis

I've been reading Ed Brubaker comics since the first appearance of Ed Brubaker comics and every single time he announces a new title I mutter to myself: ugh! I wish I would've thought of that! — Brian Michael Bendis

The costumes aren't costumes they're uniforms. Uniforms mean something. At least to me. And while we wear them we represent something bigger. Something that symbolizes. We stand up.

- Captain America — Brian Michael Bendis

I don't take it for granted, because I saw the fruits of Stan's [Lee] 50-year labor, and I didn't have to wait 50 years myself. — Brian Michael Bendis

Lettering should be invisible. You shouldn't notice it, unless it is a determined piece of storytelling in graphic design. Whether handmade or digital, the lettering should be easy on the eye and well placed. It should help tell the story and do nothing to get in the way of it. — Brian Michael Bendis

In the history of comics and movies and music too, it's always when things are at their bottomed-out, either creatively or financially, there's more chance-taking going on. — Brian Michael Bendis

If you loved everything you were writing, you would be deluding yourself or a complete and absolute narcissist. It's not about liking what you write, it's about improving with every word, little by little, exploring your craft, becoming the artist you hope to be one day. And you can only do that by working at it every day. It doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't happen over a weekend, it is a lifelong pursuit. — Brian Michael Bendis

I was into comics because these were my real male role models, even though at the time, I didn't know it. — Brian Michael Bendis

I respect the shit out of you. — Brian Michael Bendis

From my personal taste, it needed more of a visual style. It's so hard when you're adapting something that's so visually scrumptious like Mike Oeming's drawings. They're so unique to comics, but they're a voice. — Brian Michael Bendis

Dr. Strange: 'That was--agh--smart of you, Logan.'
Wolverine: 'Yeah? Which part?'
Dr. Strange: 'You knew that severe physical trauma to the host body could--sss--cease a demonic possession.'
Wolverine: 'Oh, uh, sure.'
Spider-Man: 'He didn't know that. He stabbed you just to stab you.'
Dr. Strange: 'Well, *argh* either way. — Brian Michael Bendis

The drawing and the crafting of the story are fun, but it's the overall meaning that matters to me. It might escape some people who just want to read a comic, and that's fine. The overall meaning is what matters. — Brian Michael Bendis

There, there are no chicken wings — Brian Michael Bendis

...And that, my friend, is why Brendan Fraser sucks. — Brian Michael Bendis

I obviously love those characters [Avengers] with my whole heart. I was on a one-man "Luke Cage is cool" campaign for most of the Aughts. When we announced the New Avengers line-up, and Luke Cage and Spider-Woman were there, a lot of fans went, "WHAT?!?!?! Bulls - t!" And I had to prove myself. They were right: I can't just announce they're cool. What's less cool than that? I have to show that they're cool! But this is way farther than I ever thought it would go. — Brian Michael Bendis

I have a very strong color theory, for instance, where in Powers, green means powerless, and red means power.The story was all there, but I was desperate to make sure that extra level was the case. — Brian Michael Bendis

Jeph [Loeb] will call me with updates, and I'll go, "Are you f - king with me?" I never saw this coming, and certainly never saw it coming while I was still coherent and in the game. That's the difference between me and the previous generations. (Legendary X-Men writer) Chris Claremont had to wait decades before his s - t was on the screen. — Brian Michael Bendis

I was there when Sam Raimi showed Stan Lee the first cut of the first Spider-Man movie. I was on a couch next to Stan, watching how special effects had finally caught up to his imagination. It was insane. And I'm thinking, "He had to wait until he was 80 years old for that to happen." When they announced Powers and Jessica Jones, I thought, "Oh, that's nice!" — Brian Michael Bendis