Tom Peyer walks into Uptown Espresso on Queen Anne Avenue on an 85-degree afternoon and orders a steaming cup of drip coffee. In a sky-blue T-shirt and sweat pants, he holds a Simpsons comic book in one hand and his own cup of smoldering-heat cure in the other.
"I heard an old wives' tale that hot liquid on a hot day is supposed to cool you off," Peyer says.
At age 51, Peyer is working his childhood dream job. Instead of being held in a briefcase or displayed in some sophisticated report, his professional work can be seen on the shelves of the local comic-book store.
His name adorns the covers of such illustrious and long-running comics as Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men and Justice League of America. As a child, he frequently read the storylines he now sustains as an adult.
"It's a dream job - it's fun to spend your adult life thinking about space aliens and monsters," Peyer says with a laugh.
He has written scripts for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. In fact, he's quite well known in the comic-book industry, having written more than 200 comic books since he started in the business in 1988.
Peyer grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., the youngest of four offspring. As a child, he read comics voraciously, and his mother and father never discouraged his addiction. "My parents were happy about all of the comic books because they made me happy," he explains. "They really overindulged me."
Eventually, his immersion in this genre of literature prompted Peyer to begin writing and even drawing pieces of his own. He taught himself how to write by reading books such as "The Elements of Style" and, of course, by emulating his favorite comic books.
Peyer has no college degree. He "attended" Syracuse University for movies and parties but never officially enrolled in a class. In fact, he didn't even graduate from high school (though he did obtain his GED); his participation in demonstrations against the Nixon administration prompted him to drop out of high school in the 10th grade.
"We were all hippies back then," Peyer says with a laugh. Then, switching to a more serious tone: "I honestly felt like [school] was trying to prepare me for a society that would never exist... I guess I was wrong."
During all this time, his passion for comics remained constant. Before he officially began to write comic books, he created a comic strip for the Syracuse News Times and kept it going for 12 years, all while working in daycares and assisted-living homes and snatching up the occasional department-store Santa Claus gig.
"I was not ambitious... I took undemanding jobs so that I could focus on comics," Peyer says.
By "keeping his hands in the game" with his newspaper comic strip, Peyer was able to meet Robert Stern, a famous comic-book writer for DC and Marvel comics. Stern became too busy to write all of his own material for stories and secretly employed Peyer as a ghostwriter; then he felt guilty about it and told the truth, opening a gateway to multiple cartoon assignments for Peyer and a position as an assistant editor at DC Comics.
Unfortunately, working as a comic-book editor was the only thing that could stifle Peyer's love of them. Through professional overdose, the stories he used to enjoy turned into dry text peppered with mistakes.
"I was reading comic books not for pleasure but for professional obligation," Peyer says.
Despite the occasional monotony, he still considers working as an editor the "best part of his education." However, after a few years he resigned his editorial position and went to work as a freelance writer - an occupation he has continued ever since.
His favorite project was a two-year run of a comic called "Hourman." It was a happy experience, Peyer says, because he was able to collaborate with a crew of people who worked together well and who were all extremely talented. Unfortunately, due to low circulation, "Hourman" was discontinued.
Currently, Peyer's main publications are for the Spider-Man and Simpsons franchises. He enjoys writing both of these comics, though for different reasons.
The appeal of Spider-Man is that it requires extensive research and knowledge of the history of the story. It also appeals to Peyer's "comic-book geek" side. He explains that because readers of superhero comics know the story incredibly well, a mistake could be disastrous.
"Being a comic-book writer is like being a reporter. The difference," Peyer says, raising his eyebrows ironically, "is that comic-book writers have to be accurate."
The Simpsons comic book, as an extension of the well-known Fox television show, allows him to focus purely on being entertaining and exercising his verging-on-satiric sense of humor. Peyer is especially enthusiastic about one issue he wrote, in which Bart gives lessons to kids about how to fake sickness well enough to stay home from school.
"You don't get many chances to do public service in this business, but advice for kids on how to skip school is important," Peyer says. "For example, no adult can ever prove you don't have an earache. When I was in school, I was the earache king."
Although children may very well take Peyer's advice, not many of them read comic books today. Instead, they follow the well-known stories through television and movies. Peyer explains that the comic book's shift in popularity is due to high comic-book prices (the average issue costs about $3) and the ever-increasing complexity of the stories. In general, he says he believes that comics have become "less for children and less about life."
Despite decreasing child readership, Peyer believes the younger set are naturally attracted to comic books. "The appeal [of comic books] to children has never gone away. I give away comics on Halloween, and they love it!"
Peyer has lived "all over the place," but he really likes living in Queen Anne, where he shares a small apartment with his girlfriend, Kelly. He moved here about two years ago and says he likes Seattle - but wishes it was "about 2,500 miles closer to New York."
Outside of comics, Peyer has published articles in Slate magazine, The New Yorker, Harper's and the Village Voice. With his friend Hart Seely he also co-authored "O Holy Cow," a book about baseball play-by-play announcer Phil Rizzuto.
In the future, Peyer says he hopes to shift to more straight humor writing, although he would be perfectly happy to continue writing freelance comics until he retires.
"I had my life, and now it's sort of winding down," he says.
Although Peyer can be rather self-deprecating, not many people have the guts and determination to pursue a career that doesn't materialize until so late in life. His dedication has brought joy to countless comic enthusiasts worldwide.
As parting advice for those aspiring to write comic books, Peyer says, "If you're exceptional, they'll want you." He strongly advises never to turn down a chance to be published, because it can lead to something unexpected.
For Tom Peyer, the key to being a successful comic-book writer is simply being passionate about comics.
"Don't do it unless you really love it," he warns. "Don't do it to be the coolest person in the comic-book store. You should do it because you are to a point where you'd do it anyway."
Mikki Choman is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.[[In-content Ad]]
