I Want to Write Comics

If you want to write comics, then you must write. If you want to get paid for writing comics, then you must also write. So where do you begin writing for the comic world? How do you pitch Marvel on this hot new super hero? You don't. You have to begin first; Marvel and DC comics are a path along the road, not beginners markets. Having read Alan Moore's Writing Comics, Peter David's Writing For Comics, the commentary by J. Michael Stracznski on penning classics, heck, even reading basic story books like "Story" by Robert Mckee ... I have come to some conclusions. But let's have fun and be creative first.

Let's Get Creative:

Why write comics? They are a creative medium. They rise and fall with what the average collector decides about a cover or a great writer attached to the book. If you want to do something difficult, if you want to go into a field notorious for being hard to break into, try writing comics. Once you get going, it's hard to stop writing them. But do you get paid?

Pay?

Yes, there is quite a collection of odd writers out there spawning epics of heroes and monsters, in tights. They are paid. Marvel pays them. DC comics pays them. Dark Horse pays them. There is, and this is a fact, always a need for good storytellers. Robert Mckee, the master of story, mentions that in the very beginning of his seminal classic on storytelling, which you might wan to grab from the library. It applies. If you can tell a good story, there is a market for your work. If you can write a comic in 35 images with 3 acts each with inciting incidents, even a strong antagonist who makes the hero or heroine come alive, guess what? You have a story that might be damn good.

Exposure?

You need exposure first. Ever wonder why so many comic writers came from other fields? Sceeenwriters: Jeph Loeb, Paul Dini, JMichael Stracznski, Joss Whedon. Novelists: Clive Barker, Tad Williams, David Morrell. It's a tough field. So go in small, namely by using the online world.

The Online World:

Online is where the action is for ALL of the publishing industry is today. On the comic angle, there is "Zuda," a new imprint for emerging writing and artistic talents. People get paid there. It's a huge opportunity. It's a market. They want writers. It's a darn good start.

Story Comes First:

Story comes first. I often find comics by legendary artists don't fill my need, unless it's someone like Frank Miller. I prefer a writer writing, an artist drawing. Usually you can't do both, because both take a tremendous amount of time. For example, Brian Michael Bendis of "Ultimate Spider-Man" fame started out doing both writing and drawing ... saw he was a better writer than artist ... and quit drawing, even with an art degree.

Image of the Bones:

Images are a cool way to tell a story. J. Michael Stracznki mentioned in one of this pieces, how an editor came up to him and, in some way or another said, "You turn in 4 books a month now, and when you started you could only do one. How?" The answer? Static images. The images don't move. Static. You can't just say, "He jumped," or "He jumps, rolls on the ground, pulls out an AK-47." That's three static images.

Study, Study, Study More:

It's an artform, comic writing. Reading books on the comic medium sometimes helps. Check out the "Writers on Comics Scriptwriting" series, which are two books consisting of interviews with comic book writer legends, from the lowly to the rising stars. How do you get comic writing jobs? What kind of stories sell? What is a "full script?" Buy it. It changed my view on comic writing altogether.