SXSWORLD

SXSW.COM | M A R C H 8 , 2 0 1 8 | SXS W O R L D 2 5 "You have to go from being a fan to an actual creator," Coates says of the comic-writing learning curve. "You have to understand why things work — and they're not the obvious reasons. There's a lot of time spent going from the initial impulse of 'I like this' to 'Why did I like it?' and 'Why did it make me feel this way?' " Coates acknowledges that he is still figuring all of that out, and he name-drops some of the industry's biggest figures —, Ed Brubaker, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Matt Fraction — who have helped him talk through craft as he gets into the nuts- and-bolts of issues like caption placement. And because he is still very much in the process of figuring all of that out as a comic book writer, he is hesitant to get too far into the other opportunities, like film and television. Right now, he is still not sure that he is ready for them. "For me, being good is extremely important, and the way you get good is to focus on a particular thing," Coates says. "If you're sensing any hesitancy in me, it's because one could very easily spread themselves across several platforms and be mediocre at it. And it's okay to be mediocre while you're learning, but — there's a lot of TV out there. There's a lot of great TV. So unless you're going to be a part of a show that you're going to make great, why do it?" Questions like that occupy a lot of Coates' waking life. His work schedule is busy — he'll put in long hours, and admits that, outside of work and family, he hasn't got much of a social life — and he's focused on making sure that the things that go out under his name are projects that he's proud of. "I just turned in a book of fiction to my editor, and I told him before we even turned it in, back when we got the contract signed — 'You can't let me embarrass myself,' " he recalls. At the same time, all of those opportunities are enticing — an author's money, fame, and influence are greater than a journalist's, and the platform of Hollywood is potentially bigger than either. So is it hard for Coates to temper his ambitions in a way that ensures he only pursues the oppor- tunities he is comfortable taking on? "Nah, it's not hard," he explains. "There is a long record of people in my business — journalists, or academics, or intel- lectuals — and when they try to go and do something else, even if it makes money, they are clearly not operating at the same level. And it's one thing to not operate at that level while you're learning. As a comic book writer, I'm definitely not operating at the same level that I do as a non-fiction jour- nalist. But I hope I'm getting better." Ta-Nehisi Coates will be a Convergence Keynote speaker on Saturday, March 10 at 2pm, in Ballroom D at the Austin Convention Center.

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