Wordsmith tells the story of Clay Washburn, a penny and a half a word pulp writer trying to make it from day to day in the Great Depression. Clay wants to write more “important” things, but the fates never seem to let him do this. Told in a stark style that almost looks like line drawings and watercolor, Clay does not solve crimes or fight evil doers in his spare time, he just writes, and frankly spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself for finding he has to work for the Pulps. The only action in the series comes from depictions of some of the stories he wrote.