Hoodie Song on Spider-Man, Expectations, and Putting in the Work

Thanks for the interview, Hoodie! Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

My name is Hoodie Song. I’m an Asian American comic/webtoon creator and have been writing professionally for coming up on three years. 

You’ve worked mainly in webcomics so far in your career. Can you tell us about your work in that part of the industry?

I wrote my first webcomic in 2018 and uploaded it to a site called Webtoon. The comic wasn’t a success and was discontinued after a few months, but it served its purpose of getting me sufficiently hooked on creating. Not long after, I wrote my second comic. Then a third. And four years later, I got an internship at Webtoon itself, which eventually led to me working with them as a full-fledged writer.

The most popular title I’ve worked on is a vampire story called “The Last Bloodline,” but I also wrote the adaptations of two webnovels called “The Primal Hunter” and “Paranoid Mage.”

How have you been enjoying working in print comics? How are the two processes different?

Print comics are a lot of fun, especially when you get to work with industry veterans like Scott Godlewski! The biggest difference between the two mediums, if you’d call them that, are the types of stories you can tell. On Webtoon, you produce weekly, and a season can last around 60 episodes. This gives you a lot of freedom to expand a story and make it as big and bold as you’d like.

Print comics, however, are significantly more contained, and even dreaming of 60 issues is extremely rare. I’ve noticed that I’m forced to approach them more like short stories than anything else. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I often think having stricter limitations can lead to more interesting and creative work.

There’s a quote that I’ve always found particularly relevant to my process: “When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost—and will produce its richest ideas.”

Or something like that.

Can you tell us about your inspiration and process for creating “Don’t Forget the Flowers” for the Sidequests Anthology?

Two words, joined by a hyphen: Spider-Man.

I’m a massive fan of the character and have always found myself drawn to his stories, whether it’s comics, animation, or live-action. I wanted to encapsulate that vibe and tone of a well-meaning person being stretched too thin and the struggle of balancing different aspects of their life. It’s the core of Spider-Man, and the core of Kira in “Don’t Forget the Flowers.”

After writing the script, I actually just made a generic post on social media calling out for artists who’d want to collaborate. By some miracle, Scott DMed me and expressed interest. Couldn’t tell you why he did, but I consider it one of the most fortunate events in my career.

Who are your writing heroes, and other people who inspire you?

Tom King is my favorite working writer in comics. I think he’s constantly pushing the envelope and telling unique stories. Whether you like them or not, you know a Tom King book when you read one, and that strength of voice is something I’m always aspiring toward.

In the world of anime, I love the work of Mamoru Hosoda. His films “The Boy and the Beast,” “Summer Wars,” and “Mirai” are big sources of inspiration.

There are probably a million other people I could name, but those are the ones that stick out to me at the moment.

What comic book character do you identify most with, and why?

As much as I gushed about Spider-Man earlier, my actual favorite character has always been Robin—or the larger Bat-family cast as a whole. Specifically, I’m really captivated by the idea of characters who live in the shadow of the world’s greatest and most beloved hero, Batman.

I come from a family where the bar for success has been extremely high and expectations are intense. Living in comparison to my uncles and aunts has been a constant in my life, and it’s something I see a lot in the various characters who have taken on the Robin mantle.

What’s important to you in a comic book, as a reader? As a writer?

Broadly speaking, a comic needs to give the reader a reason to care. The world is flooded with different sources of media to consume. Hundreds of new movies a year, thousands of comics, etc. I, and many readers, have very little patience for stories that meander with boring characters, a lackluster plot, and nothing to latch on to. Now, not everything needs to be a nonstop action thrill ride, but no matter what genre you’re writing in, show me why you deserve my attention more than the countless other comics I could be reading.

What advice do you have for aspiring comics writers?

In my experience, the industry is desperate for new, skilled talent (writers and artists). There are a lot of people who would love it if a great creator who could produce good work and hit deadlines just landed on their lap. Be that creator. Show talent and consistency. Blast your work out on social media. If you have the skills and the persistence, there are people out there looking for you, but you’ll never be found if you aren’t putting in the work.

Any new projects you’re working on?

Too many to count. I have a really exciting Webtoon title coming out [soon], hopefully. I’m not allowed to talk about it yet, but I’ve been working on it for over two years and it’s the biggest project of my career for sure.

Where can our readers find you online?

I occasionally post on Twitter (@Hoodie_Writes), but the best place to find links to all of my work is on my website https://www.hoodiesong.com/