Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.
Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!
Comic Book Writing
falconire
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm curious, is the anyone else out here who writes scripts (professionally or not) for comic books. Wouldn't mind hearing about different peoples experiance with publishers, or lack of, and what formats they use for their scripts.
Personally, I don't use the 'marvel way' of putting down a rough plot, letting the artist pick the paneling, and then lettering on top of that. I usually write out the panels, with the lettering.
Anywho, thoughts?
Personally, I don't use the 'marvel way' of putting down a rough plot, letting the artist pick the paneling, and then lettering on top of that. I usually write out the panels, with the lettering.
Anywho, thoughts?
falconire on
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
My bro doesn't like to be restricted as an artist, so the one I gave him was essentially dictation of the story, actions, specific scenery and events where needed and dialog, of course. The on I'm giving to my fiance is a precise script detailing specific panels and visuals. The third is just a story I want to adapt into a script later on unless whatever artist I find for it can use the story and adapt it by herself.
Soon, you will know...
Soon, you will know...
Soon
Blog | Ficly | Email | Zine
My script set out is really simple and looks a little like HTML
< page >
LOCATION:
< cell 1 >
Actions, scenery or instructions like this
< websinthe > Dialogue starts with the char's name
< /cell 1 >
< cell 2 >
< box-in > for sub panels
< /cell 2 >
< cell x >
< /cell x >
< /page >
It's simple, allows for a lot of flexibility and forces you to think about what is happening in which cell and what parts of the story you will treat on this page. I was once handed a script for a comic that was done out in the format of a play. Bad idea.
Does that sound like something you'd use?
edit: each of those tag pairs are usually indented to be more legible.
Or my blog at: websinthe.
From my past experience, if I have a specific idea, it usually comes out pretty good. If I don't, I'm usually impressed by what the artist comes up with. It helps to be a fan of your artist. If you like the choices they make in their art, you'll usually like the choices they make with your script.
As for publishers... man, that's a whole nother topic. You've got at least a few different classes of them. Be careful who you choose to work with. Even people you like ultimately don't have your interests at heart--they care about their company, not your work. When those two interest coincide, you'll probably have a good relationship.
As a writer, I've found that publishers tend to not give a shit about you unless you're already doing good work with an artist. Even then, there's usually more interest in a talented artist than in a writer. Everyone thinks they can write. Most (small) publishers have their own projects they've written that they'd like to get artists to do.
All in all, I think you're better off finishing a project (or at least doing a few issues if you're planning a series) and then going looking for a publisher, just like you would with a novel. It makes the whole process much much smoother.
I feel it can be on whatever you want it to be. There are a lot of different examples out there in both print and digital, you just have to look. Check out the Eisner nominations to get an idea about what is out there. I myself am working on a script that has nothing to do with superheroes.
talk to a dozen writers and you'll get a bunch of different scripting styles
The closest thing to a standard is usually similar to a screenplay, but with more identifiers for artists:
but there are tons of variations and you can try whatever comes easier for you as long as you keep a coherent script and relay the proper information to your artist/editor
Steaaaaaaam
@oldmanhero tumblr
@oldmanhero tumblr
GLADSTONE’S SCHOOL FOR WORLD CONQUERORS ISSUE # 6
TARGET TO HIT 22-24 PAGES: 14 Pages of Fighting – 6 Pages of Aftermath. Two great sets of Double Splashes.
PAGE 1
PANEL ONE – The largest panel on the page.
We open with a page that’s a recap of the last page of Issue #5 and we’re picking up where we left off. The kids see SHAKURANKAI coming towards them out from the smoke, like an enraged tiger, after they thought they quickly took care of him.
PANEL TWO
Ghost Girl looks up in worry. Everyone has their own unique worried expressions on their faces like GULP! - Oh, Crap! – Oh Boy.
GHOST GIRL: I think we bit off (a little) more than we can chew.
PANEL THREE
Martian Jones holds the Unification gun in his hand and talks to the others around him. He could have it up kind of gun slinger style where his arm is raised and the gun is at level with his face. Do you know that pose? Maybe something a little like this (Not exactly it, the one I’m thinking of has the forearm with the gun at chest level and in front of it. This works also and it’s a cool pose): http://tinyurl.com/448pe3x
MARTIAN JONES: Don’t worry, I have the unification gun. If things get out of control, I can blast him with the slug ray settings. It will change his entire time field and slow him down so we can handle him easily. But the point is to beat him in a fair fight, and to get him back for all of those years he humiliated our parents.
PANEL FOUR
SICKLE SKULL: We’re going to do what our parents could never do…
PANEL FIVE
This is one of those intense and heroic manga moments. We have an intense closeup on Sickle Skull’s eyes and he’s taking up the left side of the frame. SHOTGUN SKULL is on the right hand side of the frame and a little smaller in a medium shot. We’re giving him, the one line like we did in issue #1 to keep consistent with it. (If Shotgun Skulls line subtracts from the moment and it would be cooler without it, then take it out and hit the beat stronger and without the comedy. It might be cooler without the line and the line could take people out of the story.)
SICKLE SKULL (CONFIDENT TONE): We’re going to beat (defeat) Shakurankai, the Red Storm Breaker (Splitter)(Destroyer).
SHOTGUN SKULL: Yup.
PAGE 2 – The page is like the early grappling stages of a professional wrestling match where the opponents get close to each other to test their strength. This also lets us get our cover moment in the story before the battle goes too nuts to come back from.
PANEL ONE
They leap out at Shakurankai attacking.
SHAKU RANKAI: You’re going to defeat me? In your dreams, you little punks.
PANEL TWO – THE LARGEST PANEL ON THE PAGE –THE MINI STORY VERSION OF OUR HUGE ISSUE 6 WRAP AROUND COVER. This is information overload here so just sketch it out in your own way and we’ll save some of these attacks and moments for later. Take this and simplify it into something fun.
They bum rush Shaku Rankai and shock the living shit out of him (Shotgun Skull could have some electric device in his hand, we can’t use a taser, but if he has electricity in the palm of his hand and he’s shocking Shaku Rankai in the back to stun him that works. Our Kids climbing all over him, throwing him punches, dropping bombs from behind, shadow attacks, you name it. They dog pile him and he raises his hands over his head in surprise to try to throw them off.
Mummy Girl is using her wraps to walk and hold her body up in the air Doc Oc stlye and as she fights she holds the camera that’s recording everything with one of her wraps which is a little slick. Mummy Girl clocks him square in the jaw with one of her wraps.
For Martian Jones I’ll let you chose for him and do the attacks. Here he might be grabbing the leg of the hero like when they fought el Campeon or he could be pulling on the back of his cape, high up, with his feet on the guy’s back, which would be a funny moment.
MARTIAN JONES WEAPONS FOR THE FIGHT: We give Martian Jones some energy Punch Gloves or brass knuckles. He can rub these together or use energy boomerangs. You could have some wrist device like a Lance Armstrong bracelet and this is so portable but also powerful and able to activate his weapons.
Ghost girl or Kid Nefarious does a ground rip attack or she could do something more electric. The other kids sneak up from behind him. You could give her a sort of mini E-Honda ghost attack and she could be in the background.
Kid Nefarious is using his shadow blast that Shakurankai blocks with energy from his hand.
The Skulls are in the back leaping up and throwing down a ton of exploding devices. You could get creative or have them be huge throwing stars that explode and are a little like boomerangs. Like foot long throwing stars. Things are exploding all around behind them, as they’re in the air moving forward and ripping up the ground with their bombs that are falling in the order of a bomber plane in a series of explosions to great more of a crazy mood.
LEFT OVERS TO MAYBE THROW IN FOR DIALOGUE ON THIS PAGE OR LATER IN THE SCRIPT:
We’ve got to daze him to knock out his force-field.
I can’t go full force on them, after all they’re just kids. By why do they have it in for me? That’s the million dollar question.
THESE KIDS, All of them. For some reason they look familiar. “The hero: I feel like I know you. You all look a little familiar (I just can’t quite put my finger on it.)” Shaku rankai
PAGE 3
PANEL ONE
Shakurankai throws his arms and Martian Jones and the one Skull Brother goes flying off into the air like a wrestling throw.
SHAKURANKAI: I’ve got to put some distance between myself and these brats. I should have never let (allowed) them (to) get in close. (I won’t make that mistake again.)
PANEL TWO
Shakurankai makes a ball of fire in his hand that’s like the Bhudda’s swirl. It’s part fire, part cloud, and part electricity. http://tinyurl.com/3hs7teo
NOTE: For Shakurankai’s attacks he’s got storm energy, but in his own way, his attacks are similar to the Naga and the Buddha. He has two Naga serpents that are his energy manifested. He can send them out in attacks or they run the length of his arm to his waists when he blocks. Kind of like how magic attacks work in Harry Potter when something comes towards you but it’s an illusion in the air. But these have a pink glow to them and they’re energy, not solid at all, but also capable of attacking and blocking. When he blocks, the Naga’s face is where his fist is formed, and the body of the Naga is his shield protecting the Buddha in a way.
ABOUT NAGA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nāga
PANEL THREE
Shakurankai takes that ball and kneels down to the ground throwing it into the ground with great force. The ball ripples and its energy spreads out in a circle, sending a huge shock wave out that blasts them all back. Get some smoke in there around him also and throw a little bit of a dragon shape into the blast lines of the attack, but not so its noticeable.
SHAKURANKAI: RED STORM ATTACK!
PANEL FOUR
Our Gladstone’s gang all get blasted back by the sheer force of his attack. They do some shields or take the hit, and all deal with it in their own way. Kid Nefarious could get his clothes a little ripped up and cut in a few places, but he’s going to change later into his father’s gear by symbioses.
PANEL FIVE
They’ve fallen and are knocked out or stunned for a moment, with some debris on top of them. Martian Jones could have been thrown into the side of something and there’s a huge crack in it.
PANEL SIX
They get back up, throwing the rubble off them. Someone might give a hand to pull someone else out of the rubble.
PANEL SEVEN
They dust themselves off and regroup. They stand and get ready to go. They’re focused again and ready for the next round.
PAGE 4
PANEL ONE
Sickle Skull pats dust from his left shoulder with his hand showing that he’s calm and relaxed. Here on this page he’s going to break apart from the pack and attack Shakurankai on his own to showcase his new attack ability, Multiples (He can also use this same attack later in the book and become invisible by mental suggestion, not important here, but I’m just dropping cool things on you so you know them for later).
SICKLE SKULL: I got this. (Here, let me set this one up for you.)Stand back and watch a professional at work.)
PANEL TWO
We get a shot of Sickle Skull standing in front of the hero. This is like a man standing in front of a tank at Tianamen. He’s going up against an army and he’s fearless.
SICKLE SKULL: You. Me. Let’s go.
(Maybe Ghost Girl says to shotgun skull: He’s going to get himself killed.) (Shotgun Skull: Just watch.)
PANEL THREE
Shakurankai gives a smirk at his opinion of Sickle Skull’s abilities like “You kiddin’ me? You think you stand a chance?”
PANEL FOUR
We see Skull Brother One focusing and he does the doubles attack. He puts his hand up to his head focusing on the hero’s brain and he’s doing his mind storm attack from the first issue. Behind him we are starting to see multiples of himself.
SICKLE SKULL: I’ve been working on a new (a new attack) (special) attack (something special)(something new) (for an occasion such as this). It’s a variation of the (my) mind storm attack.
PANEL FIVE
There are now about fifteen copies of Sickle Skull around and behind him.
SICKLE SKULL (COMPETELY TEMPORARY DIALOGUE OF COURSE): It’s an advanced mind storm attack, called Multiples. With the mind storm I can plant illusions into your brain to distract you as I blend in with my (multiples)(doplegangers)(gangers)(doubles) and carry out my attack.
SICKLE SKULL (SINGS THE SESAME STREET SONG WITH HIS OWN TWIST): (Music Notes) One of these Skulls is not like the other… (MUSIC NOTES).
----Here we can have his dialogue start to come from other copies of himself and that’s going to be more creepy and disorienting.
PANEL SIX
SHAKURANKAI: But I saw which one began the attack. With my supervision keeping track of the original is simple. You’ll have to do a whole lot better than…
PANEL SEVEN
SHAKURANKAI: …
SFX: TAP TAP
Shakurankai looks surprised. It The real Sickle Skull is behind him and Sickle Skull taps on SHAKURANKAI’S shoulder with one hand while he throws a ton of canisters in the air right in from of SHAKURANKAI’s face. could be like a huge smoke grenade with Gas in it. He’s got the pin in one hand and he’s dropped it. We might want to have some cool design on these. They could be some kind of hallucinogen that blinds and distracts and blurs.
SICKLE SKULL (TEMPORARY OF COURSE): No. I started the attack from behind you.(The handsome (Devil)(The Skull)(me) you initiating the attack, that was a merely a distraction. I’ve been behind you the whole time. (I was behind you when I started the attack, and used the doubles to get in close, you thought it was me in front originally beginning the attack, but I was a few moves ahead of you. (I always think a few moves ahead.)
PANEL EIGHT
Sickle Skull’s gas canisters explode and Sickle Skull jumps away. He blinds him Shakurankai for a moment.
SICKLE SKULL: First rule of close quarter combat; the enemy can’t fight what they can’t see.
PAGE 5
PANEL ONE
The two Skull Brothers and Kid Nefarious run launching into attacks. The Skulls fly into the air. Martian Jones is in the middle and he’s going to do some of his attacks on this page. –Ghost Girl and Mummy Girl are hanging back and not in this part of the battle but waiting for the second wave.
NOTE: In the fight I want to avoid one of my pet peeves of Kung Fu movies where there are ten guys around the hero but everyone attacks at once. I always go “You idiots why don’t you attack him at the same time!” but everyone has to showcase their skills. So we’ll have him fending off an attack from the side from time to time and I was thinking early here about Shakurankai sidelining, The Two Skull Brothers, and Kid Nefarious so they’re not at the start of the fight at first (Or Martian Jones). That way everyone gets their own moments and they’re not all fighting him at once. But it’s more of a rotation with reason behind it.
PANEL TWO
The Skulls get in a few great hits. But then they get knocked back by Shakurankai so that for the purpose of storytelling Martian Jones can go one on one for his page and we can showcase some of his super abilities which we haven’t done before.
PANEL THREE
Martian Jones uses his psychic attacks and mental blasts. He has his head attack that lets out Martian mental energy. As he does his attack he’s got his hand(s) to his temple(s) like Scott Summers from X-Men. He’s blasting away. It could be like a pulse with rings that go out from his head, kind of like how you did the boom tube in Issue 3.
PANEL FOUR
Martian Jones does a series of mental blasts, Shakurankai dodges the blasts in high speed. He’s kind of doing a quick the Flash move here. We see different versions of Shakurankai as he moves from place to place dodging the blasts, but getting closer to Martian Jones, with each speed burst.
NOTE: *We might do a panel where Shakurankai, gets right in front of Martian Jones face and goes “BOO”. And then a panel of Martian Jones wincing like he peed his pants or GULP. Then the others come out. (Break off more panels if you want to do this.)
PANEL FIVE
The other boys launch in and attack as he’s close to Martian Jones. I want to give Kid Nefarious a variation on his shadow bat attack, and it’s a four pronged, RPG style, windmill attack that braids slightly. So the same attack as with the shadow bats, but four heads and they can move around and look cool.
ATTACK NAME: KID NEFARIOUS 4 PRONGED SPINNING WINDMILL BAT ATTACK!!!!
The Skull Brothers are leaping in the air and doing some cool attacks or throwing bombs down. Shakurankai is blocking Kid Nefarious’ attack with his right arm, and the Naga/Dragon shields too remember. He sees the two skulls coming in at him and gets an idea.
OPTIONAL PANEL: Shakurankai gives a smirk at what he’s got planned for them.
PAGE 6
PANEL ONE
This is Shakurankai’s move and it’s THE RED TORNADO/WHIRLWIND. Shakurankai swirls in the air flying around them at high speed like a tornado, picking up MJ, The Two Skull Brothers, and Kid Nefarious. Ghost Girl and Mummy Girl are further back, and this will let them go head to head with him to battle on their own, because we get rid of the boys here for a little bit. We could have a shot of them in the whirl-wind as they’re being pulled around and Martian Jones is fighting to get out of it, while the two skull brothers are flying in the background trying to get their bearings. Kid Nefarious could be upside down.
PANEL TWO
A far shot. We see a huge tornado going up to the sky. Shakurankai is at the center of it now, and he flies up through the funnel with the four of them.
PANEL THREE
Shakurankai goes high into the air…
PANEL FOUR
…Then comes down fast, slamming them into the ground, in a Tornado-Superhero-Pile-driver the length of the world’s largest skyscraper.
PANEL FIVE
MJ is on the ground hurting or he could be doing a bounce and shielding with mental energy or force-field that is why they didn’t get that badly hurt. (Nefarious did some shields also with his bat powers to protect himself and the others and to them its more like a 20 foot fall to a regular person for them.
Martian Jones bounces back after hitting the ground and his gun falls out of its holster.
PANEL SIX
We get a close up as the UNIFICATION GUN falls to the ground and changes the setting. It’s on a slug ray and it goes to a death ray.
OPTIONAL LETTERING: We could even have a digital text read out on the side of the gun that reads Destroy. *Or do a lettering arrow to draw attention to it which would be tongue in cheek but very fun.
SFX: Click.
PANEL SEVEN
We see the gun in the foreground but Martian Jones doesn’t notice that he’s dropped it. Martian Jones stands again and walks back to the fight.
PAGE 7
PANEL ONE
Ghost Girl steps in to fight Shakurankai.
PANEL TWO
Ghost Girl summons her supernatural energy, she has to pull it out of the air from around her like ghosts do to grow stronger. The wind picks up blowing in front of her and making her hair go back. You’ve seen this before in movies with ghosts. You know what I’m talking about.
PANEL THREE
Ghost Girl launches her JAPANESE/DEMON/ONI 1000 ANGRY GHOST HEADS ATTACK!!!! (It’s more like 20 ghost heads).
OFFICIAL ATTACK NAME: GHOST GIRL’S 1000 DEMON ONI HEAD ATTACK!!!!
Give her the HOY-RAY-U-KEN with ghost/Japanese/Demon/Oni heads at the front of the bursts that she throws and they have tails that go back to her. It’s like a ton of RPGs launched at the same time. Kind of like the Hellboy heads story but it’s one of her attacks.
PAGE 8
PANEL ONE
Shakurankai summons some balls of light. You could do a closeup widescreen shot of them as he crafts them with his hands in front of his face looking at them and admiring his own work. He might blow some of his own spiritual energy into them. (You could do more of them and they could be the size of golf balls. I see them as about the size of a grapefruit. If they’re golf ball size he could hurl them in the next panel kind of Ninja attack style and that might be interesting. I’ll let you pick how you want to do it.) (He could also have them floating above the palm of his hand and then use a burst of super breath to blow them towards her.)
PANEL TWO
Shakurankai releases the Orbs. His attack is confident and graceful. His light/lantern orbs. They go flying slowly into the air in front of him. The Oni heads pass them by to get in front of him.
PANEL THREE (FOUR) (FIVE) –You can draw out the action in the art.
Then they explode like flash grenades and mess up her attack. The tails/umbilical chords, between Ghost Girl and her heads are cut off. She has to rebuild her energy to use that attack again and it’s gone for this fight. She’s going to her backup attack on the next page that she hasn’t perfected yet.
PAGE 9
PANEL ONE
Ghost Girl looks pissed that he deflected her attack. She’s going to her next move. A huge attack. It’s untested but she’s going to go for it.
PANEL TWO
Morphing, Kaneda, Akira Style, blobbing ectoplasmic mass.
PANEL THREE
Morphing more. Ghost Girl is blobby and getting bigger.
PANEL FOUR
Shakurankai gulps and looks up at the giant, towering monster in front of him, that’s off panel. We don’t see it yet, but the reader’s jaws are going to drop on this page turn. .
PAGE(S) 10 (& 11) (I had to add an extra page before so that this page comes out on an EVEN for the page turn.) (Should we do an even paged number Splash Page Reveal of Ghost Girl in her new form?) She could be about 25 feet tall. –You could even do it as a double splash page with her on the right hand side of the page in huge form. Then the others watching and getting up on the left hand side of the frame and watching. We might go over page count on this one, but this is awesome, it’s worth it if you ask me.
Ghost Girl Reveal.
She can completely change shape into battle mode, and she can morph into something really scary. Maybe a female Oni with a huge club or an axe or whips. She could be about 20 feet high. She could pull some of the Earth up with her and become a stone statue. There’s not room for much in the battle mode for everyone and I kind of want to save her or have her just be more in the background. Maybe a Fox Warrior in Samurai type armor, and we get a panel of her wolfing out. She swings her axe above his head and he dodges.
Or a GIANT DOKEBBI (It’s kind of like a Giant Ogre in Korea with a Hammer):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dokkaebi
TRANSFORMATION OPTIONS AND RUN THESE BY ME:
GIANT 20 FOOT TALL ONI DEMON WARRIOR.
DOKKAEBI MONSTER.
BATTLE READY FOX GIRL WARRIOR WITH NINE TAILS AND OLD SAMURAI STYLE ARMOR (Probably Korean in flair for accuracy, and Google Yi Sun Shin for that armor style but you don’t have to be accurate it’s more important to be cool).
MARTIAN JONES: Is it me (?)…Or does Ghost Girl look different?
KID NEFARIOUS: Whoah.