--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a…" description: "\"I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years. Being a comic book artist is like sentencing yourself to life imprisonment at hard labor in solit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg" --- # I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years… ![“I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years. Being a comic book artist is like sentencing yourself to life imprisonment at hard labor in solitary confinement. I don't think I'd do it again.” quote by Wally Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg) > “I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years. Being a comic book artist is like sentencing yourself to life imprisonment at hard labor in solitary confinement. I don't think I'd do it again.” Wally Wood ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the extreme labor and isolation of comic book creation, comparing it to harsh imprisonment. **In simple terms:** Comic art is grueling and isolating. Key Takeaway Consider work-life balance. Themes creativity labor isolation Mood tired reflective Type personal cautionary When to use this quote - graphic novel deadlines - freelance contracts - studio environments Key Concepts artistic burnout solitary work Questions to Reflect On - Do you value passion over health? - Can you set boundaries? A Different Perspective May overlook creative fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-book/) [Confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confinement/) [Imprisonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprisonment/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Seven days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-days/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Solitary confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary-confinement/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) ## Related quotes > [I've accentuated the look over the years. As a comic, you try something and if it works you go with it and grind it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-sayle/i-ve-accentuated-the-look-over-the-years-as-a-comic-you-try-something/) [Alexei Sayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-sayle/) > [I wanted to be acknowledged as an artist, not just some kiddie-book artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-wanted-to-be-acknowledged-as-an-artist-not-just-some-kiddie-book/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I have a private press. I'm a book artist. I publish books of other authors and artists. I do the illustrating. I set the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-stuart/i-have-a-private-press-i-m-a-book-artist-i-publish-books-of-other/) [Gloria Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-stuart/) > [“We are relational creatures. All humans live in community and most people seek social interaction. In western culture, isolation is seen as one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/we-are-relational-creatures-all-humans-live-in-community-and-most/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [How many persons condemned to the horrors of solitary confinement have gone mad - simply because the thinking faculties have lain dormant!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/how-many-persons-condemned-to-the-horrors-of-solitary-confinement/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [I would like to start a discussion about ending solitary confinement. I'd like to start a discussion about the removal of MO wings -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-mcmillan/i-would-like-to-start-a-discussion-about-ending-solitary-confinement/) [Cecily McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-mcmillan/) > [There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by only observing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-yves-cousteau/there-is-about-as-much-educational-benefit-to-be-gained-in-studying/) [Jacques Yves Cousteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-yves-cousteau/) > [ “\[Solitary confinement\] is terrible. That is terrible. You're in a grave. You can't do anything. Everything's brought to you and you're in a room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-sweeney/solitary-confinement-is-terrible-that-is-terrible-you-re-in-a-grave/) Megan Sweeney > [We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/we-are-all-sentenced-to-solitary-confinement-inside-our-own-skins-for/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I found solitary confinement the most forbidding aspect of prison life. There is no end and no beginning; there is only one's mind, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/i-found-solitary-confinement-the-most-forbidding-aspect-of-prison/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [If you ever meet someone who cannot understand why solitary confinement is considered punishment, you have met a misanthrope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/if-you-ever-meet-someone-who-cannot-understand-why-solitary/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) > [As we have seen, WikiLeaks is a robust organization. During my time in solitary confinement in the basement of a Victorian prison, we continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/as-we-have-seen-wikileaks-is-a-robust-organization-during-my-time-in/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [People aren't wired to be alone. Even in the stressful population of prison, solitary confinement is still considered a cruel punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/people-aren-t-wired-to-be-alone-even-in-the-stressful-population-of/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Each man is his own prisoner, in solitary confinement for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/each-man-is-his-own-prisoner-in-solitary-confinement-for-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) ## More by Wally Wood > [Never draw anything you can copy, never copy anything you can trace, never trace anything you can cut out and paste up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/never-draw-anything-you-can-copy-never-copy-anything-you-can-trace/) Wally Wood > [I would INSIST this record is in NO WAY COLD influenced. Don't get me bent though, I have been a huge fan of Cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/i-would-insist-this-record-is-in-no-way-cold-influenced-don-t-get-me/) Wally Wood > [An editor is someone dedicated to destroying the work of a creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/an-editor-is-someone-dedicated-to-destroying-the-work-of-a-creator/) Wally Wood Explore all 4 Wally Wood quotes ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years. Being a comic book artist is like sentencing yourself to life imprisonment at hard labor in solitary confinement. I don't think I'd do it again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wally Wood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week-for-years-being-a-comic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week-for-years-being-a-comic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bf/wally-wood-71282_art_i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-wee_2764673.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week for years. Being a comic book artist is like sentencing yourself…” — Wally Wood", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wally Wood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-wood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I worked 12 hours a day,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week-for-years-being-a-comic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-wood/i-worked-12-hours-a-day-seven-days-a-week-for-years-being-a-comic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```