J.M. DeMatteis is among the world’s most accomplished writers of comic books and graphic novels. Along with stories about Spider-man, Superman and Batman for industry giants DC and Marvel comics, he has also written several graphic novels, including Brooklyn Dreams and the Abadazad series.

On Tuesday May 3rd, DeMatteis and Mike Carey, author of Felix Castor novels and one of the architects of Marvel’s X-Men line, will present World Within Worlds, a master class on their work as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival.

DeMatteis spoke to Metro News about graphic novels.

What will people learn from your presentation at the Writers Festival?
I think it will be up to the audience. Mike Carey and I are both experienced writers who love what we do and aren’t afraid to describe how we do it. Every writer has his or her own inspirations, methods and processes. For me, it’s usually personal: there’s a little piece of me — my life, my experiences — in everything I write.

What does it take to write comics and graphic novels?
Ultimately, you have to be able to tell a good story. I think you have to be creative and to be open to new ideas, regardless of where they come from.

What kind of relationship do you have the graphic artists you work with?
It’s a necessary collaborative medium and I like to work closely with artists, especially on longer pieces, such as Brooklyn Dreams and Abadazad. I typically share a plot outline, character sketches and maybe some dialogue with the artist. The artist then does some drawings and we review them together. When it works well, this exchange inspires new ideas and new levels of creativity. In the best cases, the story drives itself and we just have to get out of the way.