Posted by Geoff Thorne on October 9, 2009 at 2:58am
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your co-captain speaking, flying the passenger plane metaphor until the wings drop off.As we approach cruising altitude, we thought it would be a good idea to start things off with some discussion of how to start things off. A flight check, if you will. Now, I know, it's normal to do the flight check BEFORE one takes off and, technically, we already did one, but, on GENRE 19 AIR, we like to live both dangerously and cautiously. Hence, flight check #2.So, what do you need to get started? I bet you're thinking "An idea!" right?No. Ideas are good but the brutal truth is everybody has them and, in themselves, they don't stack up to much. You can't own an idea, for instance. You can't copyright or trademark an idea. Ideas are for entertaining people at parties and wasting time at your local comic book shop. Can Superman actually beat Thor? (Kurt Busiek says "yes.")Todd and I had a lot of ideas for what our first official joint project might be. We spent a long time discussing them- pros and cons, marketing stuff, all that- but nothing actually happened until he called me up one day and said, "Okay. Today's the day. Write the script."So, forget that nonsense about million-dollar ideas. There's no such thing. An idea isn't even a blueprint. A script is a blueprint and that is what you need to get started.I'm going to assume, if you're still here, that you've written the script for at least the first issue of your magnum opus. If you haven't, go do it now. We have some time before we level off.Okay? Back? Script written? Good. Moving on.If you're comfy with your artist and letterer and already have a working relationship with them, your script can be "off model," written in a sort of shorthand that the three of you understand. If, however, you do not know the artist and letterer well, it's best to use one of the three or four established scripting formats for comics. (No, I won't post them here.) The various styles break down into two large categories.1) FULL SCRIPT: This is the comic book version of a movie screenplay. There is a lot of detail in the scene descriptions and there is dialog. This is my preferred method but it is not the "best" way.2) "MARVEL" Style: I don't know if this is true anymore but, at some point, Marvel Comics had a house style, an established format for how their writers were meant to script books. Essentailly the writer would write a detailed plot breakdown, often page by page, and hand that off to the artists who would then turn it into a comic book. Once the pencilled pages were handed back the writer would add dialog to the panels that, until then, he had not seen.I don't much like this method, personally, but it is a perfectly valid way to go. Find what fits for your team and use it.You can find examples in several very good books written on the subject and in pretty much any "director's cut" of a popular comic. Find the format that works best for you and use that but be VERY clear, when writing for people who don't know you, that you are both succinct and descriptive.It's no good telling your artist Overboy looks at Petra Parker unless we know HOW he's looking at her, WHERE from and what the look is meant to convey.Now, writers, it's your job to figure out the best way for you to actually convey those things for yourself. Within the format structure, find your own style. No one can really teach you how but there are clues in any good script that should guide you in writing yours. Deciphering the clues yourself and interpreting them your own way will make you a better writer more quickly than any teacher in any class anywhere. I promise.There's also a delicate balance in how specifically you write as well. People often ask me why I didn't draw PRODIGAL myself. The answer is simple, "I want people to buy it." I can draw. I'm not bad. But Todd is a master and, as such, often puts more into a shot or a design than I could have pictured in a million years. Most writers cannot draw at master level and so should not try to second guess or micro-manage the artist who actually can. Conversely most artists can't write and so should not try to muscle the writer by drawing the story they want to tell rather than what is written.Todd likens his role to that of a film director and cinematographer and I agree. His job is to fully realize the words I scribble, to interpret them in the most interesting way he can. I trust him.More than that, I trust that he will do his work without trying to "steal the book" or take it in some direction it wasn't meant to go. These days it's very very rare that I'll write a shot SO specifically that Todd is locked in to even where the camera is placed.Respect the abilities of your artist enough to give her or him enough to work from and enough creative space to do the amazing things he or she can do. And, artists, if you could write, you would. You mostly can't, most of you, so accept that you can't and respect the words on the pages you're given as much as you want the writers to respect you. It's all about respect.So: Script = blueprint. No more. No less. Artist = Director/Cinematographer. Yes? Respect each other. Build trust. Got it? Good.Okay. The seatbelt signs are off. You're free to move about the cabin. Not sure where you think you're going but movement is allowed. We'll get back to you at meal time with some thoughts about choosing your team.
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