Panel After Panel: Thoughts on the Comic Book Script

The comic book art is evolving. More can be done with every printed page. Writers have been experimenting with different story techniques in writing comic books since the 1980s. Major publishers have adapted to this. So have the creators of comic book characters. Writers like Stan Lee and art like Jack Kirby played a major role in the rise of the new comic. There are more modern examples of authors pushing the envelope; Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman should each be studied for their abilities at storytelling.

This discussion will focus on what to do with each panel of a comic book, provide examples of what different writers do, and offer some closing thoughts on the possibilities for the comic medium.

A comic book can be like a painting, a novel, or both. What works panel-wise for one comic story, could prove terrible for another. Some writers will try and follow in the footsteps of the masters. Stan Lee and Will Eisner created their own styles using panels and storytelling techniques, and any aspiring writer should too. Studying is obviously different than copying. You need to find your own way to write out a comic book page. In short, the basic comic panel is between six-to-nine panels. There is a general rule that the writer should not put more than nine panels. But many top writers break this rule. Frank Miller is the most notorious; his comic books are known for having a dozen or more panels on one page. But Frank Miller can make it work. If there are ten-to-twelve panels, the words should not fill the page. Dialogue and monologue are important, but you should avoiding filling the page with words. Comic book readers would read a novel if they wanted a hundred words in each panel. This is not to say some pages cannot be filled with words, but doing this consistently could lose readers-so take care doing it.

Frank Miller would commonly use one panel. Just about every comic book writer will use the full splash page at some point in their writing. The splash page covers two pages. They should not be overused, but they can show off the talents of the illustrator-and wow the comic book reader. Also, some writers still have thought balloons in their comics. The thought balloon is not used as much today as it was years ago.

Most writers will work their comic book story before considering panel placement. This is because the story is more important-the panels are merely tools in conveying the story. We can work all day on a thought balloon and find that it does not work. So be careful in just writing the script right off the bat. Consider finding the story first.

The possibilities of comics work like this: a regular comic book cannot be checked out at a library (though graphic novels often can) so they will not be abandoned soon, there are many talented writers in this field, and there is always room for more talent. Success may take a lifetime, but success is possible for those who work hard on each panel-and make their comic scripts hardboiled stories.