How do I wite a comic book?

Quickie version: Write the script, illustrate using the script, and then publish it.

Longer version: Plumb the depths here. I would also suggest looking at GaiaOnline's comic section...

FR

I bought Mark Ellis's book. It explains everything. Here it is!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1598694510/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

my own approach has always been to do the writing and drawing simultaneously. A good portion of your story will be put across visually so you'll need to see your drawings alongside the text. Just keep the drawings simple at first: quick, 5-minute sketches. Good luck.

C.bronco said:

I bought Mark Ellis's book. It explains everything.

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Thanks for the plug, Cynthia.

I hope the book has been of some help to you.

Writing a comic script can be tough...it's a whole 'nother discipline, different from screen/teleplays and waaaay different than prose.

Great book, Mark! I picked it up, also -- and had no clue you were a member here My agent handles quite a few graphic novels (literary, I guess the genre would be) and has mentioned he would like me to explore the medium . . . so I picked up your book, downloaded the standard gn format from Dark Horse, and had a friend who owns a comic shop compile a reading list. So far, so good . . . any other tips?

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread

Best,

Scott

sounds like a good read.
Will have to check it out, myself.

Of course, if you need help getting organized, I could suggest this....

FR

Memnon624 said:

. . . any other tips?

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Plant your corn early this year.

No, actually...I've got plenty of tips, but I need to know what aspect of the process you're curious about.

BTW--I sent you a PM.

I love Mark's book, too (bought mine at Books-a-Million three weeks ago; they had three copies, Mark). And there are others out there that speak specifically to creating a graphic novel. I recommend peeking at Amazon and elsewhere and crossreferencing your information.

I'd also recommend McCloud's illustrated guide as well. I shunned it at first, but it is invaluable now.

Axler said:

No, actually...I've got plenty of tips, but I need to know what aspect of the process you're curious about.

BTW--I sent you a PM.

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User hums "It's a small world after all" . . .

The project I have in mind is an ancient historical, and to put space between it and 300 I've decided to go the hyper-realistic route (no Greeks fighting naked in a phalanx, that sort of thing). I'm not an artist, and I'm not sure I'll be working with an artist until after I have a draft of the script ready. I'm wondering how much description in each panel is too much? Is there such a thing as too little info? Is there an acceptable limit that will still give an artist the latitude to explore?

Writing a comic script can be tough...it's a whole 'nother discipline, different from screen/teleplays and waaaay different than prose.

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I've only tinkered around with a few pages, and -- while it is a task that exercises a whole different set of creative muscles -- I've found it to be rather liberating . . . a way to utilize my own visual prose style without the limitations of prose (sounds all Zen, doesn't it?).

Thanks for the reply, Mark!


Jst5150: I noticed Peter David also has a how-to book out. Is it a worthwhile read, I wonder?

Best,

Scott

Sorry, I should have been more clear as to which books. These are two I own and like:


Create Your own Graphic Novel Using Digital Techniques - Amazon

and

The Making of a Graphic Novel: The Resonator - Amazon

I think with three or four different sources, you can cross reference and get a fairly bright sight picture of what you need to do. It's a lot of work. Set a fair time horizon to finish.

Memnon624 said:

User hums "It's a small world after all" . . .

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Ain't it just. And I don't even have a roundy head.

Memnon624 said:

I'm wondering how much description in each panel is too much? Is there such a thing as too little info? Is there an acceptable limit that will still give an artist the latitude to explore?

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Well...the way I deal with that issue is to determine how important an individual panel is to both the story as a whole and that particular page.

If the page features a new scene (say at a certain place in downtown Athens, circa 100 BC), in the establishing panel, you should provide as much description as you can so the artist can work it in throughout the remainder of the scene, whether it's one page or three pages long.

Y'know...all the local color...statues, temples, chariots, merchants, tourists from Cimmeria, that sort of thing.

The artist doesn't have to cram everything into that establishing panel, however.

If you look on page...uh...page 52 of the Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels, you'll find where I provided an example of doing rough breakdowns or layouts for the artist to follow.

That way you'll be be assured of getting everything in there you think is necessary as well as saving the artist some time and labor.

Axler said:

If the page features a new scene (say at a certain place in downtown Athens, circa 100 BC), in the establishing panel, you should provide as much description as you can so the artist can work it in throughout the remainder of the scene, whether it's one page or three pages long.

Y'know...all the local color...statues, temples, chariots, merchants, tourists from Cimmeria, that sort of thing.

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Ah, this makes sense. Sort of like an establishing shot for a movie.

Axler said:

If you look on page...uh...page 52 of the Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels, you'll find where I provided an example of doing rough breakdowns or layouts for the artist to follow.

That way you'll be be assured of getting everything in there you think is necessary as well as saving the artist some time and labor.

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I can lay out the panels like you show easily enough, but I seriously have no skill AT ALL at drawing (stick figures are the limit of my pencil prowess). Maybe a few squiggly lines and a word or two explaining said squiggly lines?

Memnon624 said:

Ah, this makes sense. Sort of like an establishing shot for a movie.

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Exactly

Memnon624 said:

Maybe a few squiggly lines and a word or two explaining said squiggly lines?

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Yeah, that would work...and you could place the dialogue balloons and caption boxes so the artist would know how much negative space he has to work with.

Here are a couple of examples..these were all rendered from layouts and breakdowns I provided the artist, the great Jim Mooney.

The first page opens with an establishing shot/panel:




And the next page, although it's primarily exposition and dialogue, you can see how Jim varied the perspective and angles as well as the character's postures and facial expressions to reflect the interaction.



In the layouts, I indicated "She looks angry" or "he seems embarrassed". I won't say it's simplicity itself, but like anything, it comes easier with practice.

Thanks for the pages, Mark! Would it be an inconvenience for you to post the script page for the first art page? I'd love to see how you do your establishing shot/panel in words, and how it flows into the larger party shot.

Thanks very much!

Scott

great panels, Mark. I also like the way the figures move around a lot from one panel to the next. (A sure sign of unprofessional drawing is when the figures remain fairly static when conversing: closeups being no more than enlargements of previous panels.)

Memnon624 said:

Thanks for the pages, Mark! Would it be an inconvenience for you to post the script page for the first art page?

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Unfortunately, the actual script for Lakota is long gone...all I have are a few pages of my layouts.

Sorry!

But if you're working with a good artist, you can provide just a general description of the background without going into a lot of detail and the artist will take it and run with it..a case in point, with an example from the fabulous but under-rated Don Heck:



My script description on this page was very spare...Don's own sense of the dramatic and design greatly enhanced it...he even added the sick policeman in the background. He arranged the bodies in the foreground so the eye was not only drawn to them, but to the main figures standing in the near background.

anis said:

A sure sign of unprofessional drawing is when the figures remain fairly static when conversing: closeups being no more than enlargements of previous panels.

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One thing neither Jim Mooney or Don Heck could ever be accused of was unprofessional drawing. People may not have cared for their styles--a subjective thing--but both artists instinctively knew how to tell a comics story, how to move things around during dialogue heavy scenes.

Just a quick fyi, I just ordered your book, can't wait to read it!

I just partnered with an artist and we begin our first book this week. And if I could be so bold, Mark, if you have a moment, I shared my outline in the SYW area. I'd love a few thoughts on it from you if possible

Thanks.

I can tell you one thing, be ready to have a lot of patience! Though I've read a couple of posts about a helpful book, might I ask for the title of that?

Oh silly me... Haven't read that one yet, but I'm going to now!