Comics comics comics. What to do with your spare time??? read some comics. If you are going to read comics there are a few that are essential. for you current readers, you will likely know these comics, for you new readers you should listen up. NUMBER ONE: The Watchmen- Alan Moore is a certified genius and a madman, you can read all of his stuff and love it. but start with The Watchmen. NUMBER TWO: Sandman- Neil Gaiman is a super creative thought-master who will blow your mind with The Sandman. NUMBER THREE: Preacher- filled with disgusting violence and raunchy humor it will easily shock you, but the writing is phenomenal. Garth Ennis is easily one of the best writers out there and has the brass to shove filthy dirty comics in your face. Start with those three and you will be hooked on comics. Check back for more to read and feel free to post
Making comics!!!! I'm no expert, but i have done my research, there is a number of things you need obviously. Firstly a writer (that's me), an illustrator, an editor, a letterer, and an inker. In the big leagues of comics these would all be different people working on one project. for the small scale comic world you will likely have to do these yourself. I, for example write, edit, letter and color. some of it i don on my computer using a number of different programs, some gets done in my head, etc.... so the artist that works with me, might have to learn to ink if they don't know already. or maybe I can get that done on my computer as well. But the bottom line is there are stages and roles that need to be followed to get something made. Start with your ideas, let them grown and go from there. Whatever your talent in this field, use it wisely and efficiently.
So where does one learn to develop their skills in the comic arts?? There are all kinds of books i have looked into and all kinds of material online. I have found a series of books by writer/artist Scott Mccloud that seem to be highly regarded as far as instructing the writer on how to better their skills. out of the three he has made i have only read the first one, it is called "Understanding Comics" and although it was a very dry read it did teach me alot of little things to use in my writing. I would like to get the next two "making comics" and "reinventing comics" (I'm not sure if that is in the right order). The other book I would recommend is called "Alan Moore's Writing for Comics" this book really will tell you how to get your own process down, rather than how to follow in the steps of other writers. ie using the Jack Kirby Method (will explain later). If you read the 2 that I have you will get a better understanding of the creative process. Read more and get more.
One day my brother and I set out to find a basic formula for comic books. we went through I believe 10 comics, all from different writers genres and publishers. we did find some similarities. for example the average comic has 2 scenes of action with each scene lasting roughly 2 pages. there is usually between 65 and 95 frames per comic, and that on average there are between 4 and 7 frames on one page. of course there are some comics out there that would not fit into any of these, and i hope i am able to make some that wont fit at all. seems to me that there is only so much a reader can take in and that limiting your comic creations will allow for a better understanding of the materials. after reading "understanding comics" it made this a little clearer. so take notice next time you read a comic book and see if it fits into thee numbers at all
lets talk about the gutter. No not the place you see that guy sleeping from time to time. The gutter is the space in between the frames, and in some ways it is just as important as the frame itself. Lets make an example: 2 frames, first frame has a car screeching out of control second frame is a city scape with an explosion going off. You assume the car has crashed into something and exploded right?? well the gutter is what told your brain to draw its own conclusion here. a few more frames might reveal that the car didn't explode but narrowly dodged a missile fired from some bad guy. maybe the car tagged another car and it spun into a fire hydrant and the resulting spray of water doused an electrical transformer with high pressure water that caused a small explosion which triggered a bigger explosion from a gas truck. now the explosion in this example is definitely the car blowing up, but the point is the gutter is what let you think of your own conclusion. This is why comics are so different, they let you fill in the blanks with your imagination. movies show you everything, books show you nothing. Comics are the middle ground that gives you directed freedom in seeing whats going on. Look at the gutter in your next read and realize what it is doing for the frames around it.
So I hammered out a 16 page script last night for a new comic. Got me thinking about my own creative process. Lets break it down, first there is an idea. Even just a name or a single attribute will start the idea growing. Then I sit on it for a few days thinking about it, then There needs to be something cool happen that showcases this idea. For example: lets say the idea is that a guy learns to fly, how did this guy learn to fly?? Well maybe he was pushed out of a window, or had to jump out of the way of a speeding semi truck out of control. in any case that little idea is now a scene in my brain. So it grows, why was he pushed out the window or why did he have to dodge that truck? maybe there's a mafia hit on him because he stole something from his underworld boss. Maybe the truck is involved in a high speed chase. the idea is now multiple scenes, that could be directly related or just briefly intertwined. This is obviously a quick and easy example but that is how I get from a single attribute, or even just a name to an idea to a scene. Once I am at this point the time to tame the idea has passed, usually the new idea has spread into multiple scenes and background, possibilities that may lead to more scenes, etc.....the better the idea, the faster and larger it grows.
Lets talk about submissions. I have yet to submit anything myself, but have done extensive research on the subject. From what I have found it seems to me that the submission can make or break your comic's chances. this seems obvious on the surface, but it is the deciding factor all the way to the moment you sign a contract. "The Pitch" is what is going to get you noticed. Every publisher has different guidelines for this, and before sending out form letter style pitches you should do na little research on the publisher, see what they want, see what they publish. If pitching to a company that makes nothing but street level comics (not likely) and you are pitching a space unicorn comic from another dimension, you likely are not to get noticed. After the pitch will be the Synopses, which should be straight forward and to the point, this should not be an attempt to intrigue with foreshadowing etc... it should lay out the storyline from start to finish in a clear and easy to understand way. Once the synopses is through, you would be required to show some product, and again each company will likely have different guidelines for this. After that, I have no real idea what goes on, hopefully I will find out in the near future and can let you know. Until then, keep reading
I found this on http://scottmccloud.com/ and thought it was pretty interesting. I'm definitely going to keep it in mind when I get something picked up by a publisher. It is the bill of rights for comic books. I have included the side notes from Scott Mccloud's website previously mentioned
1. The right to full ownership of what we fully create. This means copyright and trademark. The term fully create is open to debate. Siegel and Shuster fully created Superman in my view, regardless of how much editorial input they may have received. It was their idea. Had they retained ownership of Superman from the start and later hired others to create stories for the character, such as DC Comics has, those other would be entitled to many rights, but ownership of Jerry and Joe’s characters would not be one of them. 2. The right to full control over the creative execution of that which we fully own. Without this right, the first one is meaningless. What difference would my full ownership of Zot! make if I could be forced, at a publisher’s whim, to change my characters’ appearance, bring villains back from dead, to write long crossover scenes or even just to change a little piece of dialogue on page five, panel three, and in doing so undermine a message I may have been working to get across for over a hundred pages! No change is so important that it can’t be discussed, but the final say over what goes into Zot! is still in the hands of its creator and owner. Companies that take on creator-owned properties do so at a certain risk, but when a creator trades in his or her control over their creation for a twelve-issue contract and some money in the bank, they do more than just risk that their message will be distorted in the long run. They virtually guarantee it. 3. The right of approval over the reproduction and format of our creative property. This is my suggested wording change. I prefer "approval" over "full control" in this instance because it’s possible for both publisher and creator to agree on such basic matters as size, shape, printing process and pagination before the project is even begun. Unlike disputes over writing and art, these are matters that can be handled at the contract stage. If, while work is already proceeding, a creator or publisher wants to make change in format, then agreement by both sides would be necessary. In the original draft of the Bill, a thirteenth right governing advisory labels was added. I’ve omitted it here, as I think this heading covers it well enough. 4. The right of approval over the methods by which our creative property is distributed. Again, a matter for the contract stage as I see it. This was also changed from full control and reworded slightly to avoid giving the impression that we all thought we had the right to walk into our local distributor’s warehouse and start telling people how to pack boxes. This, and all the twelve rights, refer primarily to the creator/publisher relationship. 5. The right to free movement of ourselves and our creative property to and from publishers. No, this doesn’t mean we have the right to break contracts and walk whenever we feel like it. (At least that’s not my interpretation.) This simply means that, just as comic book writers and artists have traditionally competed for assignments from comic companies, the reverse should also be true. Creators wishing to produce work for more than one company at a time must be free from coercion of any kind. 6. The right to employ legal counsel in any and all business transactions. I don’t think this one needs any explanation.
7. The right to offer a proposal to more than one publisher at a time. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. This operates on the same principle as Number 5. I would add that such multiple submissions should be clearly labeled as such. 8. The right to prompt payment of a fair and equitable share of profits derived from all of our creative work. I think this is pretty self-evident. 9. The right to full and accurate accounting of any and all income and disbursements relative to our work. These two articles apply to all comic writers and artists, not just creator-owners (also true of Numbers 5, 6 and 10). They aren't particularly controversial, but they are being violated - constantly. 10. The right to prompt and complete return of our artwork in its original condition. Nowadays, this idea seems fairly tame, yet once this was the most radical, inflammatory thing an artist could possibly suggest to a publisher. It will be interesting to see how many of these other rights are taken for granted two or three decades from now, as this one has come to be 11. The right to full control over the licensing of our creative property. Again, this one follows naturally from the first right. Ownership would be meaningless without this kind of control 12. The right to promote and the right of approval over any and all promotion of ourselves and our creative property. ‘Nuff said.
How does one find an artist??? This is the biggest challenge I am facing currently. There are tons of artistically talented people out there that are more than capable of drawing a full comic for you, will they actually do it though?? In my experience they likely won't. Not to say that they didn't originally intend to, just seems that once an artist is given a page layout and script they might see that there is alot of art that goes into a comic book. In the last 6 years I have attempted to collaborate with dozens of people and only a few have the drive AND talent to get something done. There are many community boards out there dedicated to local art scenes and these can be a good source for finding your artist, but a lot of these artists are already busy with their own artistic dreams so you may have trouble connecting to one that will get something done. I have found that "festive networking" is the best way. basically get drunk and talk to other drunk people. Usually they are going to be truthful about doing some stuff for you. The internet has yielded some results as well, advertising pages like KIJIJI or GUMTREE allow you to look for people as well as put up your own ad for people to respond to. So the big secret to finding an artist is to go out and bust your ass and look as hard as you can and dont give up after the first second third fourth guy bails on you. That fifth guy might just help you get your name on the shelf!!
What if dog shit tasted like steak?? You still wouldn't eat it because it looks like shit. Well the same rings true for comic books. The best comic book in the world would not be read if it had a terrible cover. The cover is the first taste of what you are about to read, so you have to make sure you have a fantastic cover. Look at the covers of your favorite comics, you'll notice highly contrasted colors, action, and even suspense. You will also notice that most covers have slightly different if not drastically different art, and often times a different artist all together. Browse your own collection and notice the covers you like, then when you go to the local comic shop see if there are any comics you would pick up based on the cover alone.....I bet there is.
We all have a rival. Every single one of us has someone they dislike and usually for a good reason. Comic books give you an opportunity to blow up a small office rivalry into a great big city devastating feud. Reed Richards has Dr. Doom, Peter Parker has the Green Goblin etc... so what is it that is causing these rivalries?? well if you take a look at the existing hatred between comic book characters you will find a number of similarities. More often than not, the hero has shamed the villain in some way, or stolen their thunder in the past. This of course leads to a distinct level of psychosis immediately and thus the nemesis is formed. Obviously this kind of thing doesn't escalate overnight, but give your reader a bit of background as you go. The better the background, the better the rivalry, the better the fighting. So look around at the people you might dislike and think of what might go on with your character and your rival. You never know you could be blowing up bridges in no time.
Following up on the rivalry entry, let's take a look at the hero! Why do we like the hero?? is it because he saves people?? probably a big part in it, we all want to be recognized for our achievements, and the hero allows for bigger and better feats of greatness. There are different types of heroes obviously, all with different qualities. Look at Superman, he is the alpha male of the hero world, top of the food chain, but if you look at Hughie from The Boys, hes more of an underdog with real people problems. One comic i have read is called After The Cape and the hero in this particular story is on the outs with his family and the other heroes in the city. I like this hero a lot because he has big problems that his powers can't solve. He has troubles and has to be a human to beat the issues in his life. Take a look at your favorite heroes, see what attributes they have. are they unbeatable, do they have cool powers, or are they a real person dealing with real problems and they just happen to kick some ass as well?? take a closer look at your best ass kicker and ask yourself why you like this guy (or girl)
Now for the other side of the coin. The Villain! who's the worst villain of them all? well there are many opinions on that I'm sure, so lets just look at the types of villains we would see in most comics. From the bottom of the food chain there is the muscle, guys who are often stupid but carry a force to smash and beat their opponents into submission. some examples of this kind of villain would be Rhino from spiderman, Bizarro Superman, or The Juggernaut from Xmen. You've always got the middle ground villains, ones who are schemers and thinkers but not brilliant by any means. Often they will be reasonably tough as well, being kinda smart and kinda tough makes you a better villain right. The Hobgoblin, might fall into this category. Now onto the guys running the show. The Evil Genius. These guys are the most dangerous because they beat you with their brain, often they will enlist some low level brutes, but in the end its their smarts that have the hero on the ropes. Lex Luthor is a prime example, hes just a regular guy but hes absolutely brilliant, Dr. Octopus is as well (but he did build himself those sweet metal arms to be badass with). There is obviously more than just these three groups, there are tons of villains that fall into their own category, like The Joker, hes a crazy person who seems to be pretty damn smart, and somehow has tons of resources. Dr. Doom, Super genius and incredibly powerful. There's so many examples of villains out there, just take a look at them and see what kind of villain they are. You might come up with some categories of your own and start filing different bad guys into different groups on your own.
Went to the Sydney Supanova Pop Culture Expo!! got some new ideas for my favorite medium. Tony Moore was there and he signed a copy of The Walking Dead with "Rot On Jerrod". pretty badass!! I went looking for a certain comic that has just come out by Silver Fox Comics, it is called Zombie Cities and when i approached the creator he already knew my name from a message i had sent him over facebook asking about the comic. I thought that showed a great deal about this guy Sorab Del Rio. When I have my own table at artist alley thats the kind of thing I hope to be able to do. Know the fans!!! as far as new ideas go, I'm thinking motion comic. the internet is a bangin place to be and motion comics are easily read and could definitely get some exposure for the ol' Douggie. so now that my website is up and running and going to be getting improvements as we go you might just see some web comic action coming your way very soon. Supanova Goes Pop!!!
Foreshadowing is am important part of any media, whether books, movies, or comics. So when you are writing a comic you want to drop a subtle hint that something might happen, maybe it will be a suspicious looking guy walking out of a dark alley way, or a sentence spoken by a character. for example guy 1 talking to guy 2 about how his greatest fear is heights. this might not amount to anything or maybe the comic will end up with guy 1 having to take down a bad guy on top of a building or jump out of a plane to save the girl. that little bit of foreshadowing lets the reader appreciate the climax in this situation. knowing that this guy is scared to death and that he still has the balls to go on and kick some ass. another example taken from "The Dark Knight Rises" how many times did they mention Batman dying in the film?? and on top of that how many times did they mention the autopilot in the bat plane wasn't functional?? then (spoiler) when batman uses the bat plane to take the nuclear reactor out to sea he is seemingly blown up. I had it called early on that Bruce Wayne would have fixed the autopilot and not died, which is of course what happened. the fact that they mentioned it numerous times, I think was too much in the way of foreshadowing leading to a blatant realization that Batman was going to die. Which of course was then used to trick you with the twist that he was in fact alive and he had indeed fixed the autopilot. foreshadowing is meant to be subtle and you might not see it until you've seen the end result, or have read through the comic/book/ watched the movie a second time. use it wisely and sparingly.
Comics comics comics. What to do with your spare time??? read some comics. If you are going to read comics there are a few that are essential. for you current readers, you will likely know these comics, for you new readers you should listen up. NUMBER ONE: The Watchmen- Alan Moore is a certified genius and a madman, you can read all of his stuff and love it. but start with The Watchmen. NUMBER TWO: Sandman- Neil Gaiman is a super creative thought-master who will blow your mind with The Sandman. NUMBER THREE: Preacher- filled with disgusting violence and raunchy humor it will easily shock you, but the writing is phenomenal. Garth Ennis is easily one of the best writers out there and has the brass to shove filthy dirty comics in your face. Start with those three and you will be hooked on comics. Check back for more to read and feel free to post
ReplyDeleteMaking comics!!!! I'm no expert, but i have done my research, there is a number of things you need obviously. Firstly a writer (that's me), an illustrator, an editor, a letterer, and an inker. In the big leagues of comics these would all be different people working on one project. for the small scale comic world you will likely have to do these yourself. I, for example write, edit, letter and color. some of it i don on my computer using a number of different programs, some gets done in my head, etc.... so the artist that works with me, might have to learn to ink if they don't know already. or maybe I can get that done on my computer as well. But the bottom line is there are stages and roles that need to be followed to get something made. Start with your ideas, let them grown and go from there. Whatever your talent in this field, use it wisely and efficiently.
ReplyDeleteSo where does one learn to develop their skills in the comic arts?? There are all kinds of books i have looked into and all kinds of material online. I have found a series of books by writer/artist Scott Mccloud that seem to be highly regarded as far as instructing the writer on how to better their skills. out of the three he has made i have only read the first one, it is called "Understanding Comics" and although it was a very dry read it did teach me alot of little things to use in my writing. I would like to get the next two "making comics" and "reinventing comics" (I'm not sure if that is in the right order). The other book I would recommend is called "Alan Moore's Writing for Comics" this book really will tell you how to get your own process down, rather than how to follow in the steps of other writers. ie using the Jack Kirby Method (will explain later). If you read the 2 that I have you will get a better understanding of the creative process. Read more and get more.
ReplyDeleteOne day my brother and I set out to find a basic formula for comic books. we went through I believe 10 comics, all from different writers genres and publishers. we did find some similarities. for example the average comic has 2 scenes of action with each scene lasting roughly 2 pages. there is usually between 65 and 95 frames per comic, and that on average there are between 4 and 7 frames on one page. of course there are some comics out there that would not fit into any of these, and i hope i am able to make some that wont fit at all. seems to me that there is only so much a reader can take in and that limiting your comic creations will allow for a better understanding of the materials. after reading "understanding comics" it made this a little clearer. so take notice next time you read a comic book and see if it fits into thee numbers at all
ReplyDeletelets talk about the gutter. No not the place you see that guy sleeping from time to time. The gutter is the space in between the frames, and in some ways it is just as important as the frame itself. Lets make an example: 2 frames, first frame has a car screeching out of control second frame is a city scape with an explosion going off. You assume the car has crashed into something and exploded right?? well the gutter is what told your brain to draw its own conclusion here. a few more frames might reveal that the car didn't explode but narrowly dodged a missile fired from some bad guy. maybe the car tagged another car and it spun into a fire hydrant and the resulting spray of water doused an electrical transformer with high pressure water that caused a small explosion which triggered a bigger explosion from a gas truck. now the explosion in this example is definitely the car blowing up, but the point is the gutter is what let you think of your own conclusion. This is why comics are so different, they let you fill in the blanks with your imagination. movies show you everything, books show you nothing. Comics are the middle ground that gives you directed freedom in seeing whats going on. Look at the gutter in your next read and realize what it is doing for the frames around it.
ReplyDeleteSo I hammered out a 16 page script last night for a new comic. Got me thinking about my own creative process. Lets break it down, first there is an idea. Even just a name or a single attribute will start the idea growing. Then I sit on it for a few days thinking about it, then There needs to be something cool happen that showcases this idea. For example: lets say the idea is that a guy learns to fly, how did this guy learn to fly?? Well maybe he was pushed out of a window, or had to jump out of the way of a speeding semi truck out of control. in any case that little idea is now a scene in my brain. So it grows, why was he pushed out the window or why did he have to dodge that truck? maybe there's a mafia hit on him because he stole something from his underworld boss. Maybe the truck is involved in a high speed chase. the idea is now multiple scenes, that could be directly related or just briefly intertwined. This is obviously a quick and easy example but that is how I get from a single attribute, or even just a name to an idea to a scene. Once I am at this point the time to tame the idea has passed, usually the new idea has spread into multiple scenes and background, possibilities that may lead to more scenes, etc.....the better the idea, the faster and larger it grows.
ReplyDeleteLets talk about submissions. I have yet to submit anything myself, but have done extensive research on the subject. From what I have found it seems to me that the submission can make or break your comic's chances. this seems obvious on the surface, but it is the deciding factor all the way to the moment you sign a contract. "The Pitch" is what is going to get you noticed. Every publisher has different guidelines for this, and before sending out form letter style pitches you should do na little research on the publisher, see what they want, see what they publish. If pitching to a company that makes nothing but street level comics (not likely) and you are pitching a space unicorn comic from another dimension, you likely are not to get noticed. After the pitch will be the Synopses, which should be straight forward and to the point, this should not be an attempt to intrigue with foreshadowing etc... it should lay out the storyline from start to finish in a clear and easy to understand way. Once the synopses is through, you would be required to show some product, and again each company will likely have different guidelines for this. After that, I have no real idea what goes on, hopefully I will find out in the near future and can let you know. Until then, keep reading
ReplyDeleteI found this on http://scottmccloud.com/ and thought it was pretty interesting. I'm definitely going to keep it in mind when I get something picked up by a publisher. It is the bill of rights for comic books. I have included the side notes from Scott Mccloud's website previously mentioned
ReplyDelete1. The right to full ownership of what we fully create.
This means copyright and trademark. The term fully create is open to debate. Siegel and Shuster fully created Superman in my view, regardless of how much editorial input they may have received. It was their idea. Had they retained ownership of Superman from the start and later hired others to create stories for the character, such as DC Comics has, those other would be entitled to many rights, but ownership of Jerry and Joe’s characters would not be one of them.
2. The right to full control over the creative execution of that which we fully own.
Without this right, the first one is meaningless. What difference would my full ownership of Zot! make if I could be forced, at a publisher’s whim, to change my characters’ appearance, bring villains back from dead, to write long crossover scenes or even just to change a little piece of dialogue on page five, panel three, and in doing so undermine a message I may have been working to get across for over a hundred pages! No change is so important that it can’t be discussed, but the final say over what goes into Zot! is still in the hands of its creator and owner. Companies that take on creator-owned properties do so at a certain risk, but when a creator trades in his or her control over their creation for a twelve-issue contract and some money in the bank, they do more than just risk that their message will be distorted in the long run. They virtually guarantee it.
3. The right of approval over the reproduction and format of our creative property.
This is my suggested wording change. I prefer "approval" over "full control" in this instance because it’s possible for both publisher and creator to agree on such basic matters as size, shape, printing process and pagination before the project is even begun. Unlike disputes over writing and art, these are matters that can be handled at the contract stage. If, while work is already proceeding, a creator or publisher wants to make change in format, then agreement by both sides would be necessary. In the original draft of the Bill, a thirteenth right governing advisory labels was added. I’ve omitted it here, as I think this heading covers it well enough.
4. The right of approval over the methods by which our creative property is distributed.
Again, a matter for the contract stage as I see it. This was also changed from full control and reworded slightly to avoid giving the impression that we all thought we had the right to walk into our local distributor’s warehouse and start telling people how to pack boxes. This, and all the twelve rights, refer primarily to the creator/publisher relationship.
5. The right to free movement of ourselves and our creative property to and from publishers.
No, this doesn’t mean we have the right to break contracts and walk whenever we feel like it. (At least that’s not my interpretation.) This simply means that, just as comic book writers and artists have traditionally competed for assignments from comic companies, the reverse should also be true. Creators wishing to produce work for more than one company at a time must be free from coercion of any kind.
6. The right to employ legal counsel in any and all business transactions.
I don’t think this one needs any explanation.
7. The right to offer a proposal to more than one publisher at a time.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s good for the goose is good for the gander. This operates on the same principle as Number 5. I would add that such multiple submissions should be clearly labeled as such.
8. The right to prompt payment of a fair and equitable share of profits derived from all of our creative work.
I think this is pretty self-evident.
9. The right to full and accurate accounting of any and all income and disbursements relative to our work.
These two articles apply to all comic writers and artists, not just creator-owners (also true of Numbers 5, 6 and 10). They aren't particularly controversial, but they are being violated - constantly.
10. The right to prompt and complete return of our artwork in its original condition.
Nowadays, this idea seems fairly tame, yet once this was the most radical, inflammatory thing an artist could possibly suggest to a publisher. It will be interesting to see how many of these other rights are taken for granted two or three decades from now, as this one has come to be
11. The right to full control over the licensing of our creative property.
Again, this one follows naturally from the first right. Ownership would be meaningless without this kind of control
12. The right to promote and the right of approval over any and all promotion of ourselves and our creative property.
‘Nuff said.
How does one find an artist??? This is the biggest challenge I am facing currently. There are tons of artistically talented people out there that are more than capable of drawing a full comic for you, will they actually do it though?? In my experience they likely won't. Not to say that they didn't originally intend to, just seems that once an artist is given a page layout and script they might see that there is alot of art that goes into a comic book. In the last 6 years I have attempted to collaborate with dozens of people and only a few have the drive AND talent to get something done. There are many community boards out there dedicated to local art scenes and these can be a good source for finding your artist, but a lot of these artists are already busy with their own artistic dreams so you may have trouble connecting to one that will get something done. I have found that "festive networking" is the best way. basically get drunk and talk to other drunk people. Usually they are going to be truthful about doing some stuff for you. The internet has yielded some results as well, advertising pages like KIJIJI or GUMTREE allow you to look for people as well as put up your own ad for people to respond to. So the big secret to finding an artist is to go out and bust your ass and look as hard as you can and dont give up after the first second third fourth guy bails on you. That fifth guy might just help you get your name on the shelf!!
ReplyDeleteWhat if dog shit tasted like steak?? You still wouldn't eat it because it looks like shit. Well the same rings true for comic books. The best comic book in the world would not be read if it had a terrible cover. The cover is the first taste of what you are about to read, so you have to make sure you have a fantastic cover. Look at the covers of your favorite comics, you'll notice highly contrasted colors, action, and even suspense. You will also notice that most covers have slightly different if not drastically different art, and often times a different artist all together. Browse your own collection and notice the covers you like, then when you go to the local comic shop see if there are any comics you would pick up based on the cover alone.....I bet there is.
ReplyDeleteWe all have a rival. Every single one of us has someone they dislike and usually for a good reason. Comic books give you an opportunity to blow up a small office rivalry into a great big city devastating feud. Reed Richards has Dr. Doom, Peter Parker has the Green Goblin etc... so what is it that is causing these rivalries?? well if you take a look at the existing hatred between comic book characters you will find a number of similarities. More often than not, the hero has shamed the villain in some way, or stolen their thunder in the past. This of course leads to a distinct level of psychosis immediately and thus the nemesis is formed. Obviously this kind of thing doesn't escalate overnight, but give your reader a bit of background as you go. The better the background, the better the rivalry, the better the fighting. So look around at the people you might dislike and think of what might go on with your character and your rival. You never know you could be blowing up bridges in no time.
ReplyDeleteFollowing up on the rivalry entry, let's take a look at the hero! Why do we like the hero?? is it because he saves people?? probably a big part in it, we all want to be recognized for our achievements, and the hero allows for bigger and better feats of greatness. There are different types of heroes obviously, all with different qualities. Look at Superman, he is the alpha male of the hero world, top of the food chain, but if you look at Hughie from The Boys, hes more of an underdog with real people problems. One comic i have read is called After The Cape and the hero in this particular story is on the outs with his family and the other heroes in the city. I like this hero a lot because he has big problems that his powers can't solve. He has troubles and has to be a human to beat the issues in his life. Take a look at your favorite heroes, see what attributes they have. are they unbeatable, do they have cool powers, or are they a real person dealing with real problems and they just happen to kick some ass as well?? take a closer look at your best ass kicker and ask yourself why you like this guy (or girl)
ReplyDeleteNow for the other side of the coin. The Villain! who's the worst villain of them all? well there are many opinions on that I'm sure, so lets just look at the types of villains we would see in most comics. From the bottom of the food chain there is the muscle, guys who are often stupid but carry a force to smash and beat their opponents into submission. some examples of this kind of villain would be Rhino from spiderman, Bizarro Superman, or The Juggernaut from Xmen. You've always got the middle ground villains, ones who are schemers and thinkers but not brilliant by any means. Often they will be reasonably tough as well, being kinda smart and kinda tough makes you a better villain right. The Hobgoblin, might fall into this category. Now onto the guys running the show. The Evil Genius. These guys are the most dangerous because they beat you with their brain, often they will enlist some low level brutes, but in the end its their smarts that have the hero on the ropes. Lex Luthor is a prime example, hes just a regular guy but hes absolutely brilliant, Dr. Octopus is as well (but he did build himself those sweet metal arms to be badass with). There is obviously more than just these three groups, there are tons of villains that fall into their own category, like The Joker, hes a crazy person who seems to be pretty damn smart, and somehow has tons of resources. Dr. Doom, Super genius and incredibly powerful. There's so many examples of villains out there, just take a look at them and see what kind of villain they are. You might come up with some categories of your own and start filing different bad guys into different groups on your own.
ReplyDeleteWent to the Sydney Supanova Pop Culture Expo!! got some new ideas for my favorite medium. Tony Moore was there and he signed a copy of The Walking Dead with "Rot On Jerrod". pretty badass!! I went looking for a certain comic that has just come out by Silver Fox Comics, it is called Zombie Cities and when i approached the creator he already knew my name from a message i had sent him over facebook asking about the comic. I thought that showed a great deal about this guy Sorab Del Rio. When I have my own table at artist alley thats the kind of thing I hope to be able to do. Know the fans!!! as far as new ideas go, I'm thinking motion comic. the internet is a bangin place to be and motion comics are easily read and could definitely get some exposure for the ol' Douggie. so now that my website is up and running and going to be getting improvements as we go you might just see some web comic action coming your way very soon. Supanova Goes Pop!!!
ReplyDeleteForeshadowing is am important part of any media, whether books, movies, or comics. So when you are writing a comic you want to drop a subtle hint that something might happen, maybe it will be a suspicious looking guy walking out of a dark alley way, or a sentence spoken by a character. for example guy 1 talking to guy 2 about how his greatest fear is heights. this might not amount to anything or maybe the comic will end up with guy 1 having to take down a bad guy on top of a building or jump out of a plane to save the girl. that little bit of foreshadowing lets the reader appreciate the climax in this situation. knowing that this guy is scared to death and that he still has the balls to go on and kick some ass. another example taken from "The Dark Knight Rises" how many times did they mention Batman dying in the film?? and on top of that how many times did they mention the autopilot in the bat plane wasn't functional?? then (spoiler) when batman uses the bat plane to take the nuclear reactor out to sea he is seemingly blown up. I had it called early on that Bruce Wayne would have fixed the autopilot and not died, which is of course what happened. the fact that they mentioned it numerous times, I think was too much in the way of foreshadowing leading to a blatant realization that Batman was going to die. Which of course was then used to trick you with the twist that he was in fact alive and he had indeed fixed the autopilot. foreshadowing is meant to be subtle and you might not see it until you've seen the end result, or have read through the comic/book/ watched the movie a second time. use it wisely and sparingly.
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