Check out Fraggmented’s “Comic Book Insanity” category. Here are some choice excerpts.
Then, while passing a volcano, Carol comments that Wonder Woman’s invisible plane obeys her every command “like magic!” To which WW responds, “The magic of science, Carol!” This is bitterly ironic, given that less than ten issues earlier Kanigher had explained that Wonder Woman’s plane was made when a magical cloud turned a flying horse into an invisible airplane. But she goes on to explain that little computers in the plane make it obey Wonder Woman and only Wonder Woman, just like even smaller computers in the lasso do the same thing! (Those of you going, “Huh?!?!?!?” should probably take a little break from reading this. It doesn’t get any better.)
…
In the original ‘X-Men’ #1, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, we open with a sequence of Professor X running the team through their training regimen. Beast has to do a difficult acrobatic routine, Angel must fly an obstacle course…then the young sixteen-year old Iceman gets a turn, but Professor X is “going easy” on him by merely requiring him to display his powers. Iceman frosts himself over with snow…and Professor X telepathically tells the Beast to chuck a bowling ball at his head while he’s distracted, to “test his reflexes”.
…
At some point, logic dictates that he’s secretly trying to kill Iceman, and the whole “training exercise” thing is just an alibi.
Wahab Algarmi put together a free comic, The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies, and would like you to read it.
Here are some impressions.
–The characterization for the four protagonists is handled fairly well. In particular, I recommend page 21 as a dramatic portrayal of loyalty as a character trait. Usually, I roll my eyes when authors say a character is “loyal” because “loyal” characters rarely get opportunities to act differently than a super-bland protagonist. In fiction, EVERYBODY will save friends in trouble, so a character that is truly loyal needs to go beyond the norm. It helps if the decision to help someone bears a high cost on the loyal character, something more definite than “it could be dangerous.” In this case, a loyal protagonist spends crucial seconds tending to a dying teammate rather than trying to defuse a bomb.
–I wasn’t fond of the political edge. Among other things, it made the side-characters a bit cartoonish.
–The art was generally passable, but one of the four characters is sort of horrifying. Natalie looks like a man in a wig!
–A “Charles in Charge” pun… What the hell? That show got cancelled 20 years ago.
–I love the final panel on page 24. Great use of empty space.
–As far as cliffhangers go, the last page is okay. It could have been more effective if it had foreshadowed more about the new girl, but the concept is okay. Or at least, I *hope* the concept is okay, because the first issue of my comic book ends very similarly.
I think I’ll do some articles on webcomics. That’d be neat for a change of pace. Can you think of anything else that might be interesting? (Ideally related to writing and/or superheroes).
Synopsis of the larger work (either the first issue, arc or series as a whole).
Sample pages inked, colored and lettered.
For a more detailed look at these three items, I’ll focus on Dark Horse specifically because I think DH is pretty standard. But always check the publisher’s submissions page. For example, Dark Horse’s submissions page is here and Image’s is here.
After you’ve written the script for a comic book page, I would recommend doing a rough sketch of the page before you give the script to your artist for pencils. That will help you identify staging problems early. Here are a few examples.
1. Are the panels big enough to comfortably fit the content?
2. Will the panel’s perspective portray everything you want to show? One common problem here is that it can be a bit tricky to show the expressions for two characters that are facing each other, particularly if you’re trying to emphasize one face in particular. 90 degree side-shots get boring fast and have trouble emphasizing either face.
Here’s an amusing excerpt from a Washington Post article…
“We are at a point where no one could have even imagined 15 years ago,” said Albert J. Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University who has written about electronic monitoring and privacy since a New Mexico judge, inspired by Spider-Man comics, became the first to sentence a defendant to home confinement with an electronic monitor.
In most cases, a comic book writer will have the text describe what is visually shown in the panels. For example, if two characters are speaking, usually the panel will show the characters as they speak. But there are some great reasons you might want to consider using removed narration, where the speakers are out of the panel.
For example, Gotham Central includes a scene where an officer is describing a raid to Internal Affairs off-panel. On-panel, we see the raid happen in a totally different way. That’s effective storytelling because (short-answer) it shows us that the cop is lying about what happened. If we only saw the cop as he talked, it wouldn’t be as clear or as striking as seeing the truth.
Here are some reasons you might want to consider removed narration.
Disney is paying roughly $50 per share, which is a 29% premium over Friday’s closing. If you own Marvel stock, you will come out ahead quite nicely on this. It was trading around $25 earlier this year.
I am cautiously optimistic that Disney knows how to buy a successful firm without ruining what made it successful. For example, Pixar’s movies didn’t drop in quality after the Disney buyout. (Nor have they released a lot of straight-to-DVD sequels to successful movies).
I doubt this will have a noticeable impact on Marvel’s products. Even the movies.
I think Disney is the biggest loser here. It’s betting 4 billion dollars that it can leverage Marvel’s characters better than Marvel did. I’m skeptical.
In the past year, his comics have consistently been outsold by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Flash, Green Lantern, Deadpool, and every A-list franchise. (For example, his top-performing comic book in June 2009 placed #43 on the bestsellers list).
According to io9, even DC Comics acknowledged that the Superman movie franchise is struggling. Superman’s latest film-outing grossed about $390 million on a production budget of $270 million. That’s notably worse than 1996’s Batman Forever, let alone either of the two most recent Batman films. Yes… even Joel Schumacher, the “director” that put nipples on the Batsuit, beat Superman.
Here’s how I would reboot Superman.
1. Give him a real personality with some actual flaws. This does not mean that he has to be brooding. (Please see Spiderman or Ironman– characters can be three-dimensional and fun!) For example, maybe he’s a bit overconfident or careless. Even a small flaw would make him more likable and believable.
After the first issue, comic books often include a page-long recap so that new readers can figure out what’s going on and who’s who. Here are a few tips.
1. Make your recap stylish and inviting. It needs to convince a prospective reader that this series is worth his time. Ideally, it will interest him so much that he goes back to look for the old issues he missed. The most effective recaps tend to be funny. Failing that, at least make it easy to follow and exciting. If it feels like the backstory is hard to follow, readers are probably going to put the book down.
2. You can make the recap feel fresher by doing something that fits into your story. For example, most of the characters in Superhero Nation work for the Human Resources department of a top-secret agency. So we do our recaps as personnel files and mission debriefings written by the head of Human Resources, who is a bit crazy.
For example, the main character’s “file” might contain blurbs like these.
Superpowers? None known. We’ve ruled out intelligence and usefulness.
Main contributions to team? Could be used as a battering ram.
That’ll help remind readers that he’s the guy without superpowers and that his co-workers regard him as useless. Just as importantly, we want to show to prospective readers that this series is witty and comical.
3. Make us feel the appropriate emotions. If your series is a horror, the blurb should feel eerie and chilling. If your writing is supposed to be remotely funny, make us laugh. If it’s a romance, focus on why we should care about the characters and their relationships. Etc.
Joel Schumacher is a director best-known for his vicious crimes against Batman, including putting nipples on the batsuit. Earlier today, I was browsing through TV Tropes and found that one of the Batman cartoons had a hilarious scene mocking Schumacher. (The idiot in the scene is named Joel and is standing in front of a sign that says Shoemaker).
Cartoon shows aimed at kids usually have tight restrictions on violence: usually drawing blood, maiming, shooting and killing are off the table. Sometimes this merely forces writers to get creative. For example, TMNT’s Leonardo tends to use his sword more as a tool than a weapon and he’s usually the first turtle to get disarmed. However, GI Joe raises the “no real violence” restrictions to an art-form. Never before has there been so much warfare without any injuries. Slate has more.
I’d only delve as deeply into science as much as the story and audience warrant. For example, if a villain shrinks the hero, 99% of readers don’t care that a shrunken human body couldn’t function because human cells are designed to function at a particular size. Similarly, most readers don’t need elaborate explanations for superpowers. You don’t need to explain where Spiderman keeps all that webbing.
However, if you’d like go off on a tangent to satisfy the few readers that do care about these elements, please make sure that it interests the other 99%. For example, one recurring issue with the Hulk is that the character’s pants stay on even though his size fluctuates so much. Real pants would burst off if you got twice as big, right? The latest Hulk movie addressed that rather hilariously by showing the character buying maternity pants in Guatemala. (“¿Tienes más stretchy?”) That’s intuitive, simple and clever. In contrast, if the movie had made up scientific mumbo-jumbo like Pym particles or whatever, it probably would have confused or annoyed many viewers.
In visual media, motion usually makes a scene more interesting. It’s particularly important in a cover because you have to catch the reader’s eye.
For example, let’s say we have two covers that use the world as a soccer ball. (The issue’s title is Americans Don’t Play Soccer, and the issue is about Darfurian genocide and other things very far removed from the typical American’s life. For ideological balance, we might add a thinly veiled Obama vis-a-vis the Iranian democracy movement).
Cover #1: On a soccer field, the villain is standing next to a globe. In the background, the hero is the only thing between him and the net. The villain’s pose would probably look lifeless, like these.
Cover #2: On a soccer field, the villain is doing an insane flip as he punts the world at the hero. The cover would probably look a lot more energetic and stylish. This is particularly important because the cover will probably show the villain from the back. It’s quite hard to strike an immobile pose from behind.
It would probably also help if the hero/goalie had some action. Bracing himself for impact is a little bit banal, so I’d like something that’s striking and makes it clear that this comic isn’t really about soccer. So let’s say the hero is bracing himself behind a transparent SWAT shield.
Gigantic #1 is an issue that starts out spectacularly. I can’t think of any series that are as immediately engrossing. But, aside from the beginning, it was a disappointment. The main character has to be likable and stylish, and Gigantic is neither.
Invincible is an ambitious and wildly uneven superhero series. A lot of it is awful and a lot of it is incredible. If you’re interested in what went horribly wrong, please see this separate review.
The plotting is generally quite good. The plot progresses in a natural and even way, which is almost unheard-of for an ongoing series. Most ongoing series pace themselves something like this: plot point! Filler arc! Filler arc! Plot point!
There is filler material, but it’s generally well-integrated with the recurring threads. Although characters are interrupted frequently by random events, it rarely feels like a “creature of the week.”
I’ve read the first thirty issues or so of Invincible. A lot of it is awesome and a lot of it is an absolute trainwreck. This is what went wrong. (I’ve detailed its positives here).
Especially by issue 20, the story felt like it had ADD. The story flits around a lot; a character might be introduced for a few pages in issue 15 and he might make his next appearance a few issues later and actually matter a few issues after that. This storytelling style is often effective, but it can get grating. Let me demonstrate that by doing this review as a random series of paragraphs. Take that, transitions!
CNN published an article titled “Superheroes rise in tough times,” which claims that superhero stories are most popular during rough economic times. It’s a plausible theory, but the evidence suggests otherwise.
It describes an interesting phenomenon: how superhero stories can brazenly delve into politics without turning off at least half of the audience. For example, The Dark Knight and Ironman and Team America all brought up political issues without infuriating either conservatives or liberals. In contrast, political polemicists like Michael Moore and Ann Coulter can’t even blink without angering the other side.
How is it that superhero stories can do what political writers can’t? Here are some explanations.
1. Your protagonist is Rick Blurry, a cigar-smoking, eyepatch-wearing superspy. When Marvel’s lawyers call, perhaps you should have a better defense ready than “but he wears his eyepatch on his right eye!”
2. Your pitch includes the line: “This is just like your other series, but good.”
3. You are aroused by any of the characters. (Yes, we can tell).
4. It involves time-travel.
5. You’re not sure whether you want a protagonist to live or not, so you put it to a vote.
Hello. For this editing sample, I edited the first four pages of a comic book script by Auhsaud Gantt. If you would find it easier to read this as a Word document, I’ve uploaded it here.
1. I agree that superhero stories are mainstream. Many superhero movies and TV shows have been broadly successful.
2. But comic books and graphic novels are not mainstream. Primarily, that’s because they’re sold mostly in specialty stores rather than general-interest stores like supermarkets and newsstands. These specialty stores usually strike me as kind of creepy and may well scare away low-interest fans. Moving back into supermarkets probably isn’t feasible for the typical comic book series, but it encourages me that comic books are increasingly sold online.
[B. Mac adds:Is the endorsement of the NYT a good thing for comics? The NYT has a soft spot for businesses that are not actually economically viable, such as solar power, US car companies, and itself.]
Atomic Robo is OK. The writing is occasionally stylish but mostly forgettable. Artistically, the main character is done pretty well and everyone else looks kind of awful.
I’m kind of fond of this classic one about a Holocaust survivor and a former death camp supervisor. However, the twist ending is too predictable. (Hold your cursor here for the spoiler).
1. The story fails to hook readers in the first three pages.
The easiest way to do this is to show a likable character facing a serious problem. It doesn’t have to be a life-and-death threat, but that helps. Another method is to establish that the writing style is particularly compelling.
2. The plot lacks urgency.
A character walking from his door to his car is not very interesting. Running to his car to make it to work on time is better. Running to his car to avoid gunshots? Even better. To make the plot more urgent, I recommend making giving the characters goals that are time-sensitive and high-stakes. If John doesn’t make it to work in ten minutes, he will be fired. If Captain Carnage can’t find and defuse the bomb in ten minutes, the building will explode. Etc. The goal doesn’t have to be life or death, but it helps.
3. The writers rely too much on exposition (particularly narration and dialogue) to tell the story.
Try not to tell your audience things that they should be able to see in the picture. For example, check out these two versions of one of our panels.
Only a few weeks ago, Dark Horse required writers to have artists on-board before their stories could be considered. However, according to Dark Horse’s Submissions page, it seems like Dark Horse has nixed that requirement. In the miscellaneous notes, it says that “If a submitted project has an artist collaborator, samples of the artist’s continuity work must be included.” That suggests that DH will consider submitted projects that don’t yet have an artist. That should make it much cheaper for writers to prepare a script for DH.
However, if you’re applying to DH, I would really recommend getting an artist anyway even though it’s not required. Preparing a sample of 5 pages and a cover will probably set you back $400-500 (colored) or maybe $250-350 (inked). That’s a major investment. However, if you’re serious about your application, having art accompany your writing could really help you. Providing pages that have been inked (preferably colored) will make it very easy for the editors to decide if you’re worth hiring. If all you have is your script, it won’t be nearly as clear whether your team has the style and skill to convey the story on the page. Remember, businesses hate risks. When they put money down, they want to know they’re getting quality.
Novels are overwhelmingly word-driven. In contrast, the primary tool of a comic book writer is visual imagery. Words are a secondary tool to express what can’t be shown visually. Comic book readers are annoyed by long blocks of text. As a rule, I’d recommend limiting a page to 175 words of text for an adult audience.
Novels will usually describe the settings and what’s going on in the background at some length. In comic books, those worldbuilding details are almost purely visual.
Every novel relies on a narrator. In contrast, virtually every comic book avoids narration and instead tells the story with a combination of action, visual scenery, and dialogue (in roughly that order). A comic book narrator may offer us little snippets of information like “FIVE MINUTES LATER…” but it’s not very interesting or smooth for him to drop paragraphs of information on us.
Novels are much longer (60,000-80,000 words vs. 2500-5000 and ~300 pages vs. ~24). As a result, novels tend to focus more on dialogue and low-intensity scenes than action sequences, particularly combat. A 24 page comic book might spend 10 pages on 2 fights, but a 300 page novel probably wouldn’t come close to 120 pages of fighting or 25 fights. Having that many fights would get tedious. Also, novel fight scenes tend to suck. If readers wanted to see a rolling fight scene, they would go for a comic book or, more likely, an action movie.
Novel readers (particularly adults) tend to expect deeper characterization, fresher characters and more interesting relationships. Character growth is far more important in a novel than a comic book. If the main character has not changed or grown in some way over the course of the novel, readers are likely to feel dissatisfied. In contrast, a character like Superman tends to change very little over the course of a comic book series.
This is the inked version of the second page of our comic. On page 1, we just establish that someone’s trying to kill the main character.
I like our artist a lot, but I’m a bit concerned that his depiction of the bystander might be a bit, umm, insensitive to black people. Yeah. We’re probably going to have to cut those lips by a third or so and shrink the nose a bit to make them look more realistic. It would probably be best to clear up these cultural issues sooner rather than later. Aside from that, I think it’s generally well-inked. I especially appreciate some of the stylistic notes like the squirrel falling out of the tree in the bottom panel.
In the final version, the bystander will be thinking “Should have bought a Honda.”
If you have any tips or comments, I’d love to hear them. What do you think?
There are a lot of sword-and-spell webcomics (8-Bit Theatre, Order of the Stick, etc.) but Looking for Group has more flavor and relies a bit less on inanity. And its art, of course, is much better than most free webcomics. (It’s comparable to Dr. McNinja’s art, but has better coloring).
Today, I received an e-mail from a prospective comic-book artist. He said that, as part of his application process, his employer wanted him to illustrate a 24-page story. But he doesn’t have a script. Would you like to do a sample script for him? As a sign of my appreciation, I’d be willing to help review your script, which will help you eventually sell your script to a publisher. If you’re not sure how to write a script, Dark Horse Comics has some formatting tips here.
The artist would really appreciate if your script included each of the following:
An action sequence (such as a fight, a heated argument or a chase scene).
A close-up on faces for emotional effect.
At least one cityscape, such as a zoomed out shot of an urban skyline.
One male and one female character. (These only need to appear once, so that he can demonstrate his grasp of anatomy).
An instance of fire or explosions. (This artist is very confident in his ability to illustrate fire, so he’d like to show that off).
If you’d like to participate, please e-mail me at superheronation[AT[gmail[DOT]com. Thanks for your help!
Legal details: Allowing the artist to use your work for his application would not affect your legal ownership of the script or your exclusive rights to it in any way.
Agent Kristin has some suggestions for applicants to her literary agency, but I think they’re mostly applicable to prospective publishing professionals across the board. Even in the comics industry. […]
If you’re looking for a low-stakes way to get a short story (up to 6000 words) published, This Mutant Life might be worth looking into. You can see its submission guidelines here. ”Stories which deal with the everyday lives of people with unusual abilities or physical characteristics are ideal, and there will be a definite [...] […]
One of the more frustrating things I see is when an author tries to give a character a guilty backstory but one he is utterly not responsible for. For example, the character’s powers might manifest by killing the town and/or pretty much everybody she knows. (Please see the TV Tropes Power Incontinence page for more examples). If [...] […]
Hello. If you haven’t seen my comic book’s five sample pages already, please check them out here and sign up for a chance to win a free signed copy when it comes out. Thanks! Having more interested readers will help me get published and I really appreciate your time. […]
Check out Fraggmented’s “Comic Book Insanity” category. Here are some choice excerpts. Then, while passing a volcano, Carol comments that Wonder Woman’s invisible plane obeys her every command “like magic!” To which WW responds, “The magic of science, Carol!” This is bitterly ironic, given that less than ten issues earlier Kanigher had explained that Wonde […]
If you’d like to suggest any, I’d appreciate that. Here are some of the questions we’ve previously answered. How long should I wait to introduce my main character? How can I do accents well? What are some common day-jobs for superheroes? How can I write a good opening? How can I do fight scenes? […]
