Some creators build their careers one blockbuster title at a time. Jason Snyder builds his across dozens of stories, genres, and collaborations, moving between writing and editing with the kind of versatility that only comes from 15+ years of dedicated craft. From his extensive work with GrayHaven Comics to his current slate of projects (including The Crux, UNCOMMON, Sector Guard, Mechanical Advantage, The Star Children, and TARA NOVA), Snyder has consistently prioritized what matters most in comics: believable characters and genuine collaboration.
His current projects range from adapting Viola Grace's prose novels into comics to co-creating original series with longtime partner Jonathan Banchick. Different work, same philosophy: character first, story always.
We asked Jason about his writing process, what makes a good editor, and why communication is the skill that holds everything together.
mike
For readers discovering your work for the first time, how would you describe your storytelling style and editorial approach?
That's a good question. As a writer, my storytelling style is strongly focused on characters, personality, and dialogue—and that's regardless of genre. I want to make sure my characters are first, believable and second, interesting and engaging. Whether it's a farmer in midwestern Kansas, an alien overlord from a planet off in the far reaches of the universe, or a villain with the desire to change humanity in his own image, every character has a distinct personality that makes them who they are. They're guided by the actions I make them do or the words I put in their mouths. There is a motive behind each action and word. From there, I weave these characters into the world I've created or—if I'm doing freelance work—the world my client has created. A lot of what you put into these characters can take a story that is mostly bones and little muscle and flesh and give it multiple layers, so I tend to like more high-concept ideas. With that said, I've also been known to write a straightforward superhero romp. What I put into it, however, doesn't change.
As an editor, I wear multiple hats. Sometimes, I'm hired for basic proofreading. The writer has put together a script, wants me to comb through it for typos, grammatical errors, etc., and correct them. Other times, I'm more involved in the development of the story, the characters, and making sure that all the working parts (writing, art, letters) create a seamless product. Regardless, I keep as light of a hand as is earthly possible. I make recommendations—some with a more suggestive nature, if I feel it warrants it—but I also always tell my client that my goal is to maintain their vision and that if they can argue to keep what they have—and they have a good and logical reason for it—then that's all that matters. It's the passion and defense of their story that wins the day.
In any context, communication is always key, and I always encourage myself and a client to keep those lines open so that we're on the same page. If it's my own projects, the same rule applies to the other creators on the team.
mike
You've been active in comics for over fifteen years, from writing and editing dozens of stories with GrayHaven Comics to freelancing on numerous projects. How have these experiences shaped your voice and perspective as a writer and editor?
Simply put, every experience is a life lesson and has made me a better writer and editor. While there are books, classes, and such out there to learn the trade, it always comes down to the experience—and sometimes those experiences, especially early on, can be trial and error. I think any creator can look back at their early work and cringe or see something that they would have done differently; it's perfectly normal and part of the process. Still, even when I do look back at what I've done, I see improvement. I see growth. It's keeping yourself open to seeing those flaws and accepting that you need to do better. It's an ongoing process, and if you want to continue to grow as a creator, then you need to fully embrace that beautiful chaos.
mike
You're currently juggling several projects like The Crux, UNCOMMON, Sector Guard, Mechanical Advantage, The Star Children, and TARA NOVA. Which of these are you most excited about right now, and what can readers expect from them?
I look at each book and project like a child, and as any parent knows, you can't publicly state who your favorite is. With each of them, they bring something different to the table. THE CRUX and UNCOMMON are a shared effort between Jonathan Banchick (the concept creator and artist) and myself. We've been working together as a team for over five years, but from the moment we met, we've had this amazing synergy, and because of that, we're able to feed into it and bounce ideas off each other. For me, the experience of that collaboration is what I love about those projects (that's not to say that those books aren't just pure awesomeness, because they are).
SECTOR GUARD and MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE are comic adaptations of the prose book series by author Viola Grace. The process here is completely different than what THE CRUX and UNCOMMON bring with them. Viola has already created the universes for these books; some are even long established and go beyond just these series. I'm mainly just there to interpret and re-format them into a more visual medium. I also did a similar run for author Luke Chmilenko and his ASCEND ONLINE series of books. We put out the first two issues (based on the prose series) on Kickstarter over the past couple of years—and both were successfully funded. You can purchase digital copies of at least the first issue via Amazon; I believe it's also on WebToons currently.
Finally, THE STAR CHILDREN and TARA NOVA are my own babies. They're projects that I created purely for myself. They're two totally different books, though, and they exercise different muscles. THE STAR CHILDREN, despite being set in a science fiction-based space setting, is, at its heart, a tale of relationships, growing up, and loss. TARA NOVA started out as a short story in a GrayHaven anthology over ten years ago, and as I mentioned earlier, I've had a lot of growth since then, so the original concept is being redone mostly from the ground up. It's more akin to the FANTASTIC FOUR or CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN but with a unique hook to it. I can't say much more about either of these series right now since they're still early in the development process.
mike
When adapting prose works such as Sector Guard and Mechanical Advantage, how do you honor the original author's vision while making the story work in a comic format? Are there particular challenges or techniques you've found helpful?
First, prose books and comic books are two completely different beasts—and you can't always use or portray events the exact same way. So, there's your first challenge. What my main job ends up being is to read and wade through each book, pull those scenes or events that I think would work great for a comic book (while maintaining the core of the story), and then figure out a way to lay them out into a comic book script, complete with pages, panels, and dialogue placement. It's a lot of work—and I do a lot of preparation beforehand—but once I sit down to write the scripts for these stories, they write themselves. I'll tell you, though…MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE came to a whopping thirty-six issues, and it took me a little over a year to re-format everything and churn out thirty-six different scripts. That in and of itself was a challenge. It's my longest and most ambitious run yet.
The other thing I'll mention about prose-to-comics projects is that there is generally a tighter leash between the author and myself. Again, they have a certain vision, the story is already out there and has its own fans…I have to adhere closely to that vision or else it will isolate their fans who want to check out the stories in comic book form.
mike
As an editor, you aim to elevate creators' stories without losing their unique voices. Could you walk us through your editorial process and the kinds of assistance you provide to collaborators?
I touched on this a little earlier, but in terms of the assistance or services I provide, I typically make myself available for basic proofreading (that tends to be a good portion of what I'm hired to do), but with some of my clients who I've been with for years now, the development process was a huge part of it, and I've assisted with the plotting and development of stories and characters, scripting, art layouts and revisions, lettering revisions…I've even assisted with the search for a creative team and then did promotion for the books when they launched. Consistency is big and making certain that the characters look the same from panel to panel and also then making certain that the continuity between pages, characters, story elements, etc. are maintained is essential.
When it comes to the process itself…it depends on the role I was hired for, but generally, I'll have an initial conversation with the creator, find out their goals, and inquire about what services they're looking for. Once the job begins, I'll take a first run at whatever they need me to look at (plots, story synopses, scripts, art), send my notes back to them (sometimes even do a phone or video call), make any corrections we agree upon, and then go through it again. It's a lot of back and forth, and some stages of the process may take longer than others depending on how badly the materials need to be reworked.
I'll add that there's only so much an editor can do. I've had a few instances where a person will reach out to me at the point where the script was already done and the art was complete, but I'll notice several things in the art or how the art is telling the story that really doesn't work. Unfortunately, at that point, most artists won't want to make changes or, if they do, it requires charging the writer for additional work—and we all know how tight comic creator budgets can be. So, my job in those situations is to salvage what's there as best as possible. There are other times when a creator refuses to make any changes, despite my job to make recommendations to them.
mike
Are there any dream characters or genres you'd love to explore in the future?
A little of both. While I love what I'm able to do as an indie writer and freelance editor, as an editor, I'd love to work with one of the more established comic book publishers. Back in my GrayHaven Comics days, I started out as a writer, then I moved on to production manager, submissions and line editor, and finally Editor-in-Chief. There are certainly days where I miss the back and forth that you get with others within a company.
As a writer, anytime I get to write horror, science fiction, and fantasy, that's when I'm happiest as a creator. There are just certain things about those genres that make them appealing to me. With that said, I also adore superheroes and would never turn down an opportunity to work on a superhero property. From the Big Two, I'm a big Spider-Man fan, so he would be my top pick for Marvel (Daredevil and Captain America are also up there, as is Doctor Strange and Moon Knight). For DC, I'm a huge Swamp Thing and Firestorm fan, so writing either one of those two characters would be a dream. Dick Grayson (Nightwing) is a fun character, too, so if I had the opportunity to write a Bat-book, that would probably be it.
Connect with Jason
Jason is available for hire as a writer or editor for both short-term and long-term projects. You can find him on: Website, Facebook, X, Bluesky
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Written by mike
Started VerseDB because existing tools didn't work the way I wanted. Now I spend my time building features, cleaning up data, and discovering just how weird comic book numbering can get. Always open to feedback - if something's busted or you've got ideas, let me know.
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