Free comics for all

IOWA CITY - Kyle Higgins never wanted to be a writer. He wanted to make movies.

It was a stint at the University of Iowa, which he attended from 2003 to 2005, that started the comic book writer on his career path. In the undergraduate writing courses he took at the UI, he discovered something he loved to do.

'Those writing courses are where I started to find my voice,” he says. 'Had I not gotten involved in creative writing in Iowa, I probably would not be doing what I'm doing today.”

Since 2010, the Chicago native has worked on a variety of comic book series, including Captain America at Marvel and the Batman and Nightwing series at DC. More recently, he created his own series, C.O.W.L., through Image Comics.

He'll be back in Iowa City on Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, an annual celebration of comics featuring giveaways and events at stores across the country. There will be events at Alter Ego Comics in Marion, Geek City in Coralville and at Iowa City's Daydreams Comics, where writer and artist Brooke Allen will appear along with Higgins and his C.O.W.L. co-writer Alec Siegel for autographs, sketches and fan interactions.

It wasn't so long ago that Higgins would have been one of those fans. He grew up on superhero stories.

'For me a huge influence is the Batman animated series from the early '90s,” he says.

Getting to write storylines for Batman - a character he loved growing up - has been exciting, he says, but there is a lot of pressure when writing stories for a character with so much history. Seventy-six years of comic books, television shows and 10 live action films mean a lot of complicated back stories and a lot of fans with a lot of expectations.

'Established characters are great in a lot of ways. You can pull from that history and write things you as a fan would want to see,” he says. 'But the flip side is you don't own Batman. And there are only so many things you can do with a character who has been around for 75 years.”

With C.O.W.L. he's getting to stretch a different creative muscle. The series, which launched in May, examines a 1960s Chicago where superheroes have formed their own labor union.

'The labor union comes from the idea of superheroes who don't need day jobs to make rent,” he says.

C.O.W.L. uses superheroes as the lens to explore a specific period in Chicago and American history.

'I think of it more as a crime and politics historical fiction series that just happens to have superheroes,” Higgins says. 'It's tonally pretty gritty and very rooted in politics and crime fiction and noir.”

It's territory Higgins first explored in 'The League,” a short film that was his thesis project at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., where he transferred after leaving Iowa.

That film opened doors at Marvel, which led to writing for DC.

His advice for aspiring young writers: 'Focus on stories you're passionate about. Work on your craft and work on your writing,” he says. 'And try not to be afraid of failing. If you go into your first story and are trying to hit a grand slam, you're going to most likely strike out. Be content with a single, with getting on base. If your work is good, you will get opportunities.”

If You Go: Free Comic Book Day

Alter Ego Comics

What: Free comic books, grab bags of 10 comics for $5 and new $1 comic books.

Where: 331 Seventh Ave., Marion

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

Contact: (319) 373-8935

Geek City

What: Free comics, cosplayers and open discussion panels

Where: 89 Second St., Coralville

When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday

Contact: (319) 333-1924

Daydreams Comics

What: Free comic books and special sales, in-store appearances by comic book writers Brooke Allen, Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel.

Where: 21 S. Dubuque St. Iowa City

When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday

Contact: (319) 354-6632