David Walliams piggybacking on the hard work of others

[noblegiraffe]

David Walliams has decided to release a comic book.

I’ve noticed that comic book authors on Twitter are really pissed off that they have spent years working hard to have their comic books taken seriously by publishers, to be promoted in book shops, and to be sold in supermarkets (the last one is key to children’s book sales).

And now Walliams will, on the strength of his celebrity name (rather then talent) have his book push out their offerings.

They are of the opinion that it is a cynical targeting of a burgeoning market rather than any love for the art form,

So I’m going to use his name to start a thread to recommend better modern fun children’s authors and comic book artists.

Put down the Walliams and pick up:

Jamie Smart (obviously) - his Looshkin and Bunny vs Monkey comic books have played a huge part in publishers starting to take comic books seriously

Laura Ellen Anderson - Evil Emperor Penguin comics and the Rainbow Grey books

Neill Cameron - Mega Robo Bros comics and Awesome Robot books

Dav Pilkey - Dogman and Captain Underpants

Any others?

Yabu, there’s room for all. And the people giving out are not his competition. We sell David Walliams already in book form and the same kids buy the books you’ve listed. Anything that gets kids reading is good and I’ve listened to him talk about his writing process- he doesn’t just get a ghost writer and throw his name on! (Btw I work in a book shop and am an author blogger, avid reader and have 4kids, two of which are avid readers).

Yabu, there’s room for all.

Look at how many celebrity-authored children’s books there are on the shelves of your local supermarket compared to non-celebrity authors and tell me again that there’s room for all, or that a celebrity like Walliams got there on talent rather than name.

My 7 year old daughter loves all Jamie Smart’s books and they have inspired her to do more drawing. She rereads them over and over and still laughs at every page.

The Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey is also very popular.
She gets the Phoenix weekly comic and there are so many talented artists in there.

I'm not sure.

I'd like to agree with you. But my DD2 was a reluctant reader when younger and got stuck at Horrid Henry level. We tried her with loads of different authors/books. The David Walliams books engaged her enough to help move her on. He became one author she was keen to read.

So yes, he got publicity and probably shelf space for being famous already, and yes his books aren't high quality, but they helped her on with her reading.

Back to the suggested authors. Not a comic strip but Guy Bass's 'Stitchhead' series is good for age 6-8yos.

Phoenix comics. Weekly subscription but also available in shops. Does some Looshkin and Bunny Vs Monkey as well as others. And there's drawing workshops advertised which DS loves too.

Laura Ellen Anderson - will Def look out for her for DS

We love the 13 Storey House books too, not comics but similar feel.

I need to buy the rest of the Bunny Vs Monkey books and Kitty Quest.

There is in theory space for all, but there isn't money for all. We can't afford to buy every author. Parents are clearly attracted to names they know.

But I agree his books have got lots of kids reading, and as long as they're not ghostwritten I think it's fair enough but wish there could be fairness of talent

Tom Gauld!

People take opportunities given to them, most people would do the same in David Walliams position, given that opportunity. Publishers know they’ll sell so it’s less risk that an unknown author. It happens in all industries, not everything is fair.

My kids liked his books when they were younger as well as other authors.

I would think significantly less of the comic artists that are complaining about someone else and would avoid their work intentionally.

Personally, I think David Walliams is a bit of a twat and I don’t like his childrens books, but he does at least have many successful books that no doubt he has worked on for years and have been enjoyed by many children. If after his success as a childrens author he moves sideways a little into comic strips, so what? Other artists that are good enough will still be good enough. Walliams is taking nothing away from the bitter and jealous types that shout their mouths off on twitter.

I don't know the figures, but I could imagine that having a 'banker' author on the books of a publishers / supermarket might allow a business some leeway to take on a more risk unknown one.

Anything that gets kids reading is good
spot on @stayathomer

I wish people would instead put their rage and energy into helping their local libraries stay open in these times of council cuts. There’s a real risk that people of all ages will have no access to ANY reading material by David Williams or anyone else. Support libraries and all bookshops who support all authors, illustrators, etc.

YANBU! Writers know how the publishing industry works. Some poor comic writers/artists will be creating his book for a small fee that Walliams will take credit for.

The whole celebrity ghost writing thing is appalling. Fine if you want a ghost writer to interview you and then write an autobiography, no one really thinks Katie Price writes her own books...but people DO believe that David Walliams and Marcus Rashford are actually writing the books they have their names on.

Louie Stowell’s Loki books are cracking, there are currently three of them.

You say “celebrity” like he’s a nepo baby or reality star. You may not like the man or his work (I don’t particularly) but the fact is they David Walliams is a successful and prolific writer. Why shouldn’t he branch out into a different genre? Of course an author with a history of selling millions of books is going to get more space on the bookstore shelf. If you don’t think he is deserving then don’t buy his books. I don’t.

We have a local bookshop with a mystery book section.

Books wrapped in brown paper with a few clues as to the suitable age, genre, setting. This has really got DS into reading.

Local independent stores are amazing.

I was listening to a podcast with a publisher a while back, and they said that it's true, it's likely that a celebrity will get a book deal on the strength of their name. That might be a 1-book deal, or possibly 3. But... if the sales and the reviews don't hit the target, they're certainly not going to get the next deal.

With David Walliams in particular, his books are very divisive among adults. But kids bloody love them! He picks some very tricky themes, and brings them down to a kids' level. They're gruesome, with exaggerated characters etc but anything that keeps kids reading has got to be a good thing.
I don't believe he has a ghost writer, but in all honesty, I couldn't give a shit who wrote it as long as it's getting kids into reading.

It's not just Walliams though...the children's book market is saturated with "celeb" authors. Its sad to see

My eight year old is currently loving the Mr Gum books. They are weird and they make us laugh.

Why is it sad if it’s work that people enjoy?

No industry is immune to competition. People will support the business they enjoy. Writers have to create material that people will enjoy and come back to. Many of the well known and much loved children’s books were written by people no one had heard of before. The problem for writers of children’s books is that the good ones remain popular for decades and children aren’t children for very long. It’s a saturated market with or without people like David Walliams.

It's unfair competition and it's crowding out actual writers.

There have always been celebrity children't authors, it's nothing new at all.

Of all the things negatively affecting other author's sales, that is going to be pretty low on the list. People are not avoiding other authors to read that instead, if anything it might draw a few into an interest in graphic novels.

It just makes these authors look like jealous petty snobs.

David Walliams creeps me out but I see no reason he shouldn't write a comic book. He writes books for children, lots of children prefer a comic format...it makes sense. Other authors don't have the right to exclude him.

My ds loved DW's books when he was younger. I wasn't mightily impressed with the literary quality but was glad ds was reading and giggling.

I think it's possible that a celebrity name could raise the visibility and popularity of the genre as a whole and thus benefit other authors.

Plus there are bound to be some young people who discover a liking for the format via DW and then progress onto other writers and illustrators.

Having said all that, you definitely do have a point here, but sadly that's probably how commercial markets work.

Look at how many celebrity-authored children’s books there are on the shelves of your local supermarket compared to non-celebrity authors and tell me again that there’s room for all, or that a celebrity like Walliams got there on talent rather than name.
Sorry yes, it was a silly statement in that of course there isn’t, but celebrity authors aren’t really pushing out other authors, there’s always going to be dominant authors and authors that are invisible unfortunately. Before the celebrity authors of you asked what kids read it was a resounding Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, babysitters club, saddle club, sweet valley high. All books cannot and do not unfortunately get equal visibility. And I always think most celebrities started out in art and culture in some way- they went to drama classes etc, we’re probably avid readers. So they got lucky but they still have the same foundation

Just because something existed before does not make it a good thing. My local library bookshelves are full of celeb authors, in a way it wasnt say 20 years ago. Few of which got there based on the quality of their writing. We seem to think that because they are aim3d at children the quality doesn't matter. In 30 years Walliams books will not feature on the shelves of libraries.

Sadly this mediocrity shuffles slowly onto the adult shelves...James Patterson, Richard osman, Dawn French, ruth Jones et al