Let's Get Published! Young American Comics Part 1

I was compiling a list of publishing requirements from various companies (Image, Marvel, Dark Horse, DC) when I found this.

Thanks to Comic Foundry Magazine's blog.

Apparently Young American Comics is inviting all creators to submit material for a themed anthology. Excellent!

My goal is to get published, this just makes sense for me. I had an outline drawn up already for a story that fits the theme of the anthology (small town/big city) and, after contacting an artist friend of mine, I'm now working on making the story work 2 - 8 pages.

My first thought is that it's going to be 8 pages. Since my outline is for 22, that's condensing quite a bit, but I think it's entirely possible if I strip out a few things. I'm hoping to have the story fit into less pages, as I think I'd have a better shot at getting accepted, but 8 is my goal.

I'll keep this space updated.

Sample Scripts: Dwayne McDuffie various

Dwayne McDuffie has been writing comics for at least as long as I've been writing them.

This is a link to a section of his web page that contains scripts and pitches.

He's best known for his work on the Milestone comics, an imprint of D.C. which featured a world in which African American superheroes had their day in the sun. I remember Icon fondly, but haven't read any Milestone work in a long time.

Pro Tips: Warren Ellis on writing

Newsarama had an interview with Warren Ellis back in late 2006 I just stumbled on.

Budget time? I work sixteen hours a day. That’s all I can tell you. I write until I can’t.

There's way too much in here that's good and interesting. I'm convinced that anything Ellis writes is gold. The man's mind and method seem to be both impenetrable to me when I'm trying to analyze it. His own words make it that much easier to understand.

Musing: What happens and why it happens

I was writing today. I'm on page twelve of my first comic book script ever, and I finally figured out why my characters were doing what they were doing. The main character, who I lovingly call "The Narrator," has just gone through some changes in his life. Some very major changes, and this story is all about him dealing with those changes.

For twelve pages I've had my characters doing things for reasons that make sense to the character. Makes sense. I just didn't know why they were doing those things. I knew why in the immediate scheme of things, but in the grand design of the cosmos that fiction inhabits there is always a scheme greater than visceral gut reaction. There are metaphors and hidden meanings, symbols and signs, and words that means so much more than their definition.

I'm going to keep those twelve pages, largely unchanged for the time being, because they're organic, and because they're the reason I've come to understand my story. I'm just super glad I have a strict focus for the next series of pages.

Comics Increasing Popularity

MediaPost Publications has an article partially validating Comic Books as a mainstream market. Recognition from reputed sources can't be anything but a good thing, right?

From the big screen to the little screen to the paper screen, this genre of periodicals -- once considered a medium for the weird, the nerdy, the uncool -- has become mainstream. But where are the advertisers?

Cool.

Maybe the mainstream will get down with Comic Books themselves after seeing the next big movie. Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3 and a new Fantastic Four movie are all coming out soonish. Maybe we'll see a rise then.

A Pro Speaks: Gail Simone on BoP

Gail Simone talks with Newsarama about Birds of Prey. A very interesting read, more interesting probably, because Gail is one of my favorite writers.

It was strongly felt at DC that, mostly due to Birds of Prey I’m told, the Canary had become an interesting and powerful enough character to stand a bit more on her own, to take more of a center stage role.

I'm stoked that Simone is getting this kind of credit from DC. She totally deserves it, and her mind, or at least what she writes on the internet, is amazing to me.

Read her blog. It's got tons of content and advice.

How to Guide: by Barry Lyga

Here's a handy primer on writing comics.

It's written by Barry Lyga, whom I've never heard of before, but seems to know what he's talking about. There's a short bio on the top of the page listing his credentials.

First, we need to clear up a couple of very popular misconceptions about comics. One is that writing comics is easy. After all, a look at a comic book page shows that most of the heavy lifting is done by the art, right? No need to write "John ran across the field" when the artist has drawn John doing precisely that! This misconception goes hand-in-hand with another: namely, that all comic book writers do is write the words that go into the word balloons.

The article is very informative, and even contains a short bit of script. I love scripts. For whatever reason, I like to have the format down for anything I do. Seems to make it easier.

Musing: Heroes

We can thank the Toronto Star for their interview with Heroes creator Tim Kring.

"I kind of saw that this was the type of show the network needed ... This show was always designed to have a big footprint. We had a big presence on the Internet, and we had plans for ancillary material and comic books and merchandising, so we approached it as though we were going to be big."

I'll admit, I'm fascinated with Heroes on almost every level.

I think the writing is amazing. The plotting is engaging. The concepts are refreshing. The acting is great. The characters are real. This is a compelling show. A masterful work of fiction.

With all that taken for granted and left unanalyzed, the one thing that interests me the most about Heroes is it's success. Who could have foreseen the reception this show would have? It's compared constantly to other huge successes such as 24 and Lost; in a good way.
It has all this going for it, and to top it off, it's based on traditional comic book archetypes.

Heroes success has been credited to the characters. They certainly aren't traditional super hero fare at all. No, this book would probably fall to a Major's imprint or it would be an Indies poster child.

Heroes has something I'm calling Spider-Man syndrome. The characters in Heroes are real people, in all walks of life, with powers that happen on them. Spider-Man was a normal kid, maybe a little nerdy, but perfectly normal, who had powers thrust on him. The exception being is that Peter Parker chose to don a costume and actively help people. This makes the thrust of many of his stories external, plot motivated. the Heroes in Heroes are just trying to deal with the newness of their situations and the drama is created by the choices these characters make.

It's my opinion that the future of comic books can be found in the success of Heroes and to a lesser extent 24 and Lost. Aside from the stigma of Comic Books being childish, people want to read stories that will entertain them. I think, once educated, the common person really won't be so fickle as to ignore a great story due to it's medium.

Musing: Star Power

Browsing Newsarama I discovered that Scott Porter of the NBC show Friday Night Lights really likes comic books. Awesome, the more people that like comic books the better.

What makes Scott important is his status. He isn’t any mere mortal; the man is on a TV show. Which, to many Americans, means he’s reached the pinnacle of his career.

This garners him a special platform; he can be a spokesperson for the comic book industry. I’m not sure that’s what he wants to do, I’m sure he’s busy with acting and such, but as Erik Larsen discussed in his CBR column, star power can really help a product.

What I’m concerned with is whether or not Mr. Porter is preaching his love of comic books to non-comic book audiences. His interview with Newsarama isn’t targeting non-comic book readers to read comic books. It’s targeting comic book readers to watch his show.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. He should be getting as many people to watch his show as possible. It’s the source of his income.

Thankfully, it looks like Mr. Porter talks about comic books wherever he goes. Lucky guy even got to interview Masi Oka.

It would be like Dean Cain playing Superman, Shaquille O’Neal having the Superman tattoo or even a wrestler who’s name doesn’t spring to mind having a Green Lantern tattoo and parading around his love of the comic book.

I don’t have any proof, but I think celebrity endorsements work. Otherwise, companies wouldn’t shell out so much money for them.

Booklist: Making Comics by Scott McCloud

Click here for Scott McCloud's page.

Scott McCloud is the author of Understanding Comics, a book I've never read, but have wanted to for quite some time. I'm positive we can all agree that the more we know about the Comic Books the better of we'll be. Well, McCloud has a new book out, Making Comics, which seems to be even more related to our topic of study.

If I'm good, I'll pick these book up. I suggest you do as well.

UPDATE: I was at Borders and I saw McCloud's Understanding Comics. I picked it up and read the first 10 pages. Based off of those 10 pages I have this to say: Scott McCloud is a brilliant writer with a great sense of what makes a comic book work. His ideas are insightful and well thought out, and the way in which he conveys those ideas easy to grasp. This is a must read.

As soon as I get some extra income, I will be buying Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Writing Comics.

A Pro Speaks: Multiple Pros

From Atomic Comics:

State of the Industry, Part One

An interesting Year in Review from some of the Industry's leaders.

Sample Scripts: Joe Edkin - Various Titles

Found HERE are sample scripts posted on Joe Edkin's web page.

Be aware that there is no single industry standard for the formatting of plots and scripts. Every writer and every editor seems to have their own variations on the theme.

You can find samples of eight different titles here.

For my own writing I use a variation of the script you'll find in the "Father's Day" titles. The script format I use is from a course Joe Kubert wrote up for Wizard Magazine some time ago. I don't recall the issue number. I'll post more info if I find it.

A Pro Speaks: Heroes' Jesse Alexander

From Wizard Universe:

Because Tim is not a comic book guy. He’s never read a comic book. He’s not that guy at all, and so he approaches this from an incredibly open, real-world, naturalistic, humanistic way that touches that broad audience. Whereas someone like myself, or some of the other guys on the show, if we had tried to create this show it would’ve been something completely different. It would’ve been a disaster. It would’ve been guys running around in costumes and blasting each other with lasers every day. It would’ve been a completely different animal.

I don't want to agree with this. Because I am such a huge fan of comic books, and because I do have a strong desire to see the medium succeed and prosper. Though I understand his point, to me, costumes and lasers are fun.

Introduction

Welcome.

My goal is to learn how to write Comic Books, well, and to share that information with you, whoever you might be. I’m going to scour the internet for information pertaining to the craft and compile it here; hopefully in an organized and readily accessible manner.

While we’re here, I’ll be talking about the industry as a whole. My focus is writing and publication, but it shouldn’t hurt to have a strong knowledge of current events and trends.

However, I’m going to need your help. I can’t know everything as soon as it happens. E-Mail me, post here, keep information flowing. It should be to the benefit of all.

I sincerely hope this is as helpful to you as it is to me. And by that I mean, I hope it is very helpful to us all.

-Jeff