Comic Book Kismet -- Writers and Artists Speak Out

It's time to revisit comic book writing since we haven't covered that in a bit. This week we're going to look at that particular kismet that happens between writer and artist, and how that is similar or different when the writer and artist is the same individual.

It's been said that the artist drawing the book is the primary audience for a comic book script writer. How does that change the way a writer approaches writing a story in that form?
 

Bryan J.L. Glass (Mice Templar): I write with an eye toward the visual. As my educational pursuit was to be that of a film director, I script my panel "shots" visually. Thus, I realize when I start writing any script that all of my visual descriptors are for the sake of the artist, who I must also allow the freedom of their own design sense (on MICE TEMPLAR and Furious, artist Victor Santos knows he has complete freedom to interpret as he will, knowing I only offer notes if I realize the script has been misinterpreted or an outright mistake applied).

Shane Berryhill (Sherwood, Texas): To write is human, but to pencil/ink/color is divine. Artists do all the heavy lifting in comics. So I try to make the job of of those I work with as easy as possible. You hear about comic book artists spending countless hours searching the web for art references. This is time they could have spent actually drawing. Therefore, I'm of a mind the writer should go the extra mile on the artist's behalf and scour the internet for them. I go looking for pics that capture the appearance/mood/feel of what I'm trying to convey with my words (After all, "a picture is worth...") and paste them directly into the script beneath the panel descriptions, labeling them as "art reference." I do this with the caveat that the pasted pics are simply to be a jumping off point for the artist.

Ron Fortier (Green Hornet): I totally disagree with the premise about the artist being the primary audience of any script I write. Sure, he or she is the first to read what I've put down, but I never consider them an audience. They are my collaborators in producing a finished product that is the story...both of us create together...me with words...they with pictures. Together we work to entertain the PRIMARY AUDIENCE...OUR READERS.

Rob Davis (Star Trek): Artists are the FIRST to see the script, but Ron's right. It's the readers who are "primary." The best comics are a synergistic sum of what each creator brings to the final product, meaning the outcome is larger than what each brings to the project.

Roland Mann (Cat and Mouse): I'll be the one to jump in and disagree. (not viciously, just food for thought) I've always said that a comic script is different from all others (duh, right?): it has two audiences: first, the artist. When comic writers compose the PANEL ART DESCRIPTION portion of the script, it's TO the artists and no one else (editors, included here, of course). Only hardcore fans seek out and read scripts. As writer, when I know the artist I'm working with (which is often), I tailor that portion of my script so that it speaks direction to him (or her). I want that portion of the script to be so strong that it creates a shared vision of what the final product should be. Even when I was an editor, it wasn't unusual for me to see the writer directly address the artist in the script: "Hey Darrick, as we discussed on the phone..." blah blah. The 2nd part of the script then, is for the consumer/reader. I think, the idea it all works for a final product is correct...just a different way of getting there.

Percival Constantine (FemForce): I'm going to agree with Ron as well. I don't think of the artist as the primary audience, I think of them as my collaborator. Even if the characters and the story are completely my own invention, the artist is going to have to bring those things to life on the page, and so it's important to respect the collaborative aspect of it.

As a writer, how does one make the process of translating your words into pictures as smooth as possible? What are the pitfalls comic book writers should avoid?

Ron Fortier: How do I help the artist? By making my exposition as clear as possible, to be willing to entertain a better idea or approach from the artist...and most importantly providing my artist with all the photo reference material I can to help them get into my head and see what going on in there. If I say this actor looks like Patrick Stewart, I provide pictures of Patrick Stewart. If I say the character is driving a 1930 Spider automobile, I provide pictures of that car. Again, I have an obligation to give him or her tons of stuff...which they can then use to tell our story.

Bryan J.L. Glass: All dialogue and visuals are always with a mind toward how the collaboration will resonate upon the reader!

Percival Constantine: You make things as clear as possible. If you have trouble describing something in words, then try to provide some sort of reference, again like Ron said. But at the same time, there's the danger of tying the artist's hands and you don't want to do that, either. It's important to know how the artist works and to establish a good working relationship, so you can play to each other's strengths. Also, although this isn't related to the art, as a letterer I feel obliged to mention this: be careful with the amount of words that you intend to put on the page. I've lost count of the number of projects I've lettered where the writer has several paragraphs of captions and dialogue that would be enough to fill an entire page of panels, let alone a single panel. 

For an artist, what can a writer do to help you see the images he or she is envisioning as he or she creates the script?

Rob Davis: Well, "first audience" perhaps. A good writer sets up a scene in the first panel of the scene and then allows the artist to work within that scene. Any items of foreshadowing for later in the story ("if a gun goes off in the 3rd or 4th act, it must be shown in the first or second act.") and specific items that need to be there to tell the story well should be included in the description. The emotional state of each character should be clear and any specific actions the characters need to or should take should be there as well.

What do you do as an artist when you see a different vision for a page or part of a story that you know can improve the final product over what was written?

Rob Davis: If it's a radical change I talk it over with the writer. If it's just a compression or expansion of the number of panels I go ahead and do it without consultation. I find a number of artists take far too many liberties with a writer's script without consulting them- sometimes to the destruction of the "beats" and through plot of the story. "The play's the thing," the story should be what dictates how a scene is depicted not what would make a "cool" or convention sale page. Comics is melding of words and pictures where both create a whole greater than the sum of its parts—or synergy.


For you revolutionary do-it-all folks, how does the process change when you're the sole creator, both writer and artist (not discounting the work of inkers, colorists, and letterers, of course, but we'll slice those roles in a later article)? Do you find the process more or less stressful? More or less enabling? How so?

Steven Cummings (Wayward): It's less stressful because I don't have to over draw my pencils and can write to my strengths.

Blog Hop -- Better Late Than Never!

THE NEXT BIG THING BLOG HOP
Welcome to the blog hop!

What is a blog hop? Basically, it’s a way that readers can discover new authors, because with bookstores closing and publishers not promoting new authors as much, we need to find a way to introduce readers to authors they may not see in their local bookstore.

Here you have the chance to find many new authors. You’ll find information about me, my blog, and my books. But that’s not all! Also see links below to another author you might like to check out.

I’d like to thank fellow author Roland Mann for tagging me to participate. Click the links below to find out about his book, Buying Time.

www.rolandmann.me
www.facebook.com/rolandmannauthor
http://rolandmann.wordpress.com/projects/buyingtime/

In this particular hop, I and my fellow authors, in their respective blogs, have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current work in progress as well as some insights into our process, from characters and inspirations to plotting and cover decisions. I hope you enjoy it!

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

What is the working title of your book?

Drought -- A Love Story

Where did the idea come from for the book?

From a dream, actually. That usually doesn't happen with me. I have no idea what precipitated that dream though. (Did you see what I did there? "Precipitated.")

Just an inspirational concept.
Not the actual cover.

What genre does your book fall under?

It'll be a genre I really haven't worked in yet, Young Adult Urban Fantasy.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Wow. Normally this is a fun question, but I don't know a lot of teen actors, so I'm kind of at a loss here. But in the interest of completing this questionnaire, I did some research, and for the two main characters, Sam Evans and Rayna Doe, would be good fits for RJ Mitte from Breaking Bad and Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Once every 100 years, Rain and the other protective elements of nature, are allowed to become human in order to appreciate the  people and creatures they protect and destroy; only this time, Rain disappears, only to fall in love with a human boy.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Already got a few interested publishers.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'm still working on it. I hope to be finished by later this year, since the Mayans didn't destroy the world before I could finish it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

In tone, it's going to have a lot in common with Gaiman's Mirror Mask and American Gods, but filtered through a YA lens. In audience and plot, I expect to hear more comparisons to the Percy Jackson books, since it's about kids thrust into a supernatural world and forced to rise to the occasion to become heroes.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Two things really. One, the dream I mentioned earlier. And two, the need to write a longer form work (usually I do stories and novellas or graphic novels) that I might have some luck with at a larger publishing house.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I'm not a big fan of truly happy endings, and I believe we learn more through bittersweet resolutions. So if you're tired of seeing all the ribbons wrapped into bright shiny bows at the end of your YA stories, you might really dig Drought.

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop Howdy!

Your friend and mine -- the Jackalope!
Official mascot of blog hops everywhere!

Hey there and welcome to my blog! For my regular readers, I beg your patience as I participate in a blog hop.

For those of you new here, you’re likely here thanks to a link provided to you by my friend and colleague, author Roland Mann. I want to thank Roland for inviting me to participate and for encouraging you to check out my page.

Who am I? Take a gander at the bio on the right side of this page and you'll see just why most folks typically avoid me in public places.

So, I hope to see you next week where I’ll also point you to five more writers whose work you should follow!

Thanks for stopping by.

Words and Art: Finding the Right Blend in Comic Book Scriptwriting

Okay. This week's roundtable is specifically about comic book scriptwriting. These are questions I hear often at conventions or via email from folks wanting to start writing comics or looking to turn an indie movie or small press novel into a graphic novel. I know my answers, but I thought it would be a lot of fun to find out what other comic book writers had to say.

How do you determine when a panel has too many words of dialog or captions?

Dan Jurgens: When it goes beyond two lines of type on my screen. Seriously, it may sound silly, but there's great validity to it. The other is to read it aloud and realize the page doesn't have the right sense of rhythm because it takes so long to read one panel.

Jim Beard: I'm verbose like nobody's business, so since I've become a writer I now espouse brevity :) I hope to NEVER get to the point that I'm choking a panel. Better to choke a dead horse.

Jenny Reed: When the editor says so :)

Bobby Nash: It’s generally a gut feeling, but based on experience. Although, no matter how many or how few words of dialogue I write per panel I expect the artist(s) to tell me there’s too much. I hear that way too often, even though my scripts contain hardly any dialogue compared to most mainstream comics published today. Go figure.

Ron Fortier: Comics are GRAPHICS, its about the art. So, it's too many words when they hide the art. A major boo-boo.

John Jackson Miller: My general rule, adopted from Dark Horse, is 45 words max. No more than two speakers, no more than three balloons. This varies with panel size. A splash page is likely to have four captions and 60-70 words.

Michael Avon Oeming: If you have to ask yourself that question when you are writing, you probably have already.


Dan Jolley: Reading an overly wordy comic book is just not all that much fun. Huge walls of text surrounded by boxes or word balloons are clunky and look out of place. A super-verbose comic book detracts from both the words and the art.

First off, unless they are very very short, I limit the combined number of captions and word balloons in a panel to four. Four is the maximum, and that's only if I have a page with four or fewer panels on it.

If the page has five panels on it (unless one is much larger than the rest of them), the maximum combined count of word balloons and captions per panel drops to three.

If the page has six or more panels, it drops to two.

And as far as the word count in each caption or word balloon, I've developed a rule of thumb that's served me well (and never caused an editor to complain). I write my scripts in 11-point Times New Roman, and I set up a custom indent so that all of the captions and dialogue bits start at the 2 inch mark. Then I never let them run longer than two lines. (For a more in-depth study of Dan's approach, visit his blog at http://danjolley.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-write-way-i-write-part-5.html)

Roland Mann: I don't usually count words, but I think 3 balloons with a couple of sentences each (or less) is about right. More than that and you clutter up the panel -- and ART -- with too much noise. One speaker shouldn't have more than 2 balloons. In the same regard, I'm not a fan of page after page of no text to READ. I think comics are a blended art form and the READER needs stuff to read, too. Use silent panels for effect.

Mike Bullock: That's determined by what's in the panel, art-wise to a great extent, but Roland's reply is a good rule of thumb.

Janet Stone Wade: When you can't make out what's going on in the panel because all the word bubbles are covering it up. I'm actually a fan of the pic doing the talking, like action scenes and expressive faces.

Erik Burnham: When it covers up too much of the art.

Percival Constantine: I'm a letterer as well, and that's really given me a feel for how many words can fit in a given panel. One thing I'd recommend every comic writer (or aspiring writer) do is learn a bit about the lettering process and, if you have the software, practice it for yourself. I think it'll give you a much better idea of how many words you can fit and where they should go.

If possible, I'll also check the dialogue again after the artwork has been completed, to make sure that it can still fit in. To date, I've lettered all the stories I've written myself so I've been able to make these changes without holding up the letterer.
 
What's a good rule of thumb to use when determining the number of panels for a page? Do you "go with your gut" or have a method that helps you?

Dan Jurgens: It's by feel. Do I want a big explosive panel? Were the previous pages leading up to something dramatic? Or do I want to slow time down with a lot of small panels, highlighting isolated action? Depends on the demands of the story and scene.

Jim Beard: The page should have exactly what it needs in terms of panels. I try to never go more than eight or nine, and try to keep it at a comfortable four or so.

Jenny Reed: And on a more serious note, the only rule I use is "try not to use the same number of panels that I used on the previous page" --- Other than that, well, I figure out what I want this page to say, and then figure out how many panels it will take to say it.

Bobby Nash: It’s a pacing issue. I know what needs to happen on the page and where the page has to end for either a scene change or a page turn reveal. When I have the opportunity to know the artist before scripting, I ask if he or she what their preference is for number of panels. I can’t promise that I’ll make every page 4 panels, which is usually the answer I receive, but on average, I write anywhere from 4 to 6 panels per page. Rarely do I write more, but sometimes less.

Ron Fortier: Five to six tops. Again, its about the art. 

John Jackson Miller: Fewer panels is always better, though you must stick to the rule of one action depicted per panel. My average has been creeping down over the years. My goal is three cinematic page-width panels per page, but my average is closer to five, which seems to work as it allows for one cinematic panel and then two-on-two. If you're above six, you're giving the artist a postage stamp.

Michael Avon Oeming: It all depends on pacing. Pace your story or your story will pace you by forcing you into a writing corner.

Dan Jolley: A lot of it depends on the artist. Some artists I've worked with got their noses out of joint, so to speak, if I wrote more than four panels. Others don't think it's even worth it to draw the page unless you have five or more panels. That's why I've always tried to talk to the artist first, if I could, before I wrote the script.

Roland Mann: A five-panel page is a good base from which to start, I think (once upon a time, industry standard was six). From there, it depends on what you're trying to do story-wise (story is king, always!)...if you want it to move faster, then lots of smaller panels, less dialogue.

Mike Bullock: Depends on what's going on in the scene(s) that the panels encompass. If it's talking heads or something like that, you can do more, if it's big action then you want less. It's also dictated to some extent by the artist. Some artists want a lot of panels, some only like a few.

Erik Burnham: Some artists can make a ridiculous amount of panels work just fine (see David Aja on Hawkeye #2.) Usually, I make it no more than five panels as a rule of thumb. I'd love to see a 6 or 9 panel grid (and I certainly don't hesitate to do more panels when I'm drawing the story myself) but the vast majority of artists seem to like five and under panels per page best, so that's become my go-to number.

Percival Constantine:  As a general rule of thumb, I average about 4-5 panels per page, but I'll add or subtract depending on the scene. If it's something with a lot of close-ups, I can manage a few more, or if there is a lot that needs to be shown in big splashes, I'll scale down the number of panels.

How do you determine when to throw the rules out the window and do something that might be "nonstandard" for the average comic book?

Dan Jurgens: One should discard the rules only after he masters them first. Which rarely happens.

Jim Beard: Again, when the situation demands it -- but if you have something "game-changing" in the middle of an otherwise standard overall layout, you run the risk of it not only looking weird, but also pretentious.

Bobby Nash: There are rules? [laughs] I employ whatever method or layout works best for the project at hand.

Ron Fortier: Break the mold and get verbose... that's called prose writing. It's not a comic. Nuff said.

John Jackson Miller: Throwing the rules out is permissible but there needs to be a very good reason for doing it, and you need good communication with your artist. Explain it wrong, and you've got a jumble.
  
Michael Avon Oeming: Once you have mastered the rules and feel like they have become old territory, like you are making choices simply on those rules- then shake it up. And always, always keep on producing. Writing, drawing, plotting, sketching, doodling, brainstorming something creative every day!

Roland Mann: That's a gut/instinct thing, I think. But you've got to know and understand the rules and know why you're breaking them in order to do it effectively.

Mike Bullock: When that's what the story calls for. Listen to the muse...

Erik Burnham: Knowing the artist I'm working with and what they're capable of helps. Otherwise I go with my gut and ask for things when the story calls for them.

Percival Constantine:  That's an interesting question. I guess it depends on the story I'm writing. To date, I haven't been in a situation where I've felt something like this was warranted, so I'm not sure if I'm very equipped to answer it. If it would benefit the story to do something non-standard, then by all means go ahead and do it. Knowing the rules is important, but one of main reasons for understanding the rules is so you're better equipped to break them.

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Who's Who:
Jim Beard (Ghostbusters Con-Volution, Star Wars Tales, Hawkman Secret Files)
Mike Bullock (Lions, Tigers, and Bears, The Phantom)
Erik Burnham (Ghostbusters, TMNT Splinter, A-Team)
Percival Constantine (Femforce, Kagemono, All-Star Pulp Comics)
Ron Fortier (The Green Hornet, Popeye, Street Fighter)
Dan Jurgens (Superman, Booster Gold, Teen Titans, Captain America)
Roland Mann (Cat and Mouse, Ex-Mutants, Switchblade)
John Jackson Miller (Star Wars Knight Errant, Iron Man, Mass Effect)
Bobby Nash (I Am Googal, Fuzzy Bunnies from Hell, Domino Lady vs. The Mummy)
Michael Avon Oeming (The Victories, Powers, Thor, Red Sonja)
Jenny Reed (Around the World in 80 Days, Charles Darwin)
Janet Stone Wade (Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa)