WRITING for COMICS_PART 1_012

 

Writing for comics is more about the FEELS than technical aspects and the visceral appeal of combining words and pictures in a collaborative medium has its own set of challenges not faced by other artforms. Image borrowed from the internet - copyright respective owner and used for educational purposes only.

"The script does not exist on its own..."

Response to a request by a writer...

This post about writing for comics comes from a request by a writer to review his work. I am posting a lightly edited version here so people can see/peer into the process a little. There are no right and wrong answers. 

xxxxx

I have had a chance to read a good chunk of the script for XXXXXXXX#0. I like the story and it moves right along in cinematic fashion.

I have a few observations I will share with you.

First, there is no right way or wrong way to write a comic script. The writer is the first leg in the collaborative process of getting the comic created. In a collaboration of this nature in a visual medium, a lot of the "writing" will simply go to give the art team context for what they will be creating. If I were looking at this cold (which I am), I would read it with an eye as to how the words will be interpreted into images and visual narrative. I like the fact that your writing seems very visual in nature. I feel this is the right approach. You may want to understand that once your words leave your hands, whoever picks them up will need to create the drawings that are going to move the story. To that end, I feel like the writing is very tight.

What do I mean by "very tight?"

From the writer's point of view, a tight script is quite direct, even demanding for an artist to produce. The descriptions are precise, detailed, and additive. What this means is that the script leaves little wiggle room for the artist to imagine the story and characters. It does not necessarily take advantage of what the artist can bring to the table in terms of telling the story. I noticed that every panel has camera angle descriptions, for example. I might only indicate angles when it is really needed in a few spots and let the artist imagine the rest. Right now, the script reads like a TV script or movie script with the writing serving as the guide for the director. You may be pleasantly surprised at what relinquishing control over the visuals will allow the art team to come up with and it will become more of a collaboration than a set of illustrations to be wedged into the script.

This is not a good or bad thing. What you have done is perfectly fine in its own context. The script does not exist on its own and is not intended to be published as a stand-alone. Whatever arrangement you make with the art team in producing the finished work of a comic is perfectly acceptable. Some authors use bullet points or summaries. Some draw stick figures in the margins of a script. Others want very specific references used. Some "sketch out" the narrative and leave more to the art team. All approaches can become valid if the team adopts them. My concern/advice is to always allow the rest of the team to do their job. From a writing perspective, this may be a difficult task since the writing may come first in the process and the urge to "dictate" what needs to be done in later stages of the process will be strong.

Remember that you are building a story where others are going to step in and contribute. The art team on any visual-based narrative form will have a great impact on how the story looks and feels in the end. One way you can understand this is to have multiple individuals or teams draw independently from the same script. You will immediately see that each has a unique approach to interpreting the words. Comics in particular have their own quirks which other mediums do not have in terms of composition and pacing. Always try to take advantage of these differences. Comics are not TV, not film, not plays, not videos, not music, not prose writing. Comics are a unique blend of words and pictures which the reader will create their own associations and make personal.

My other observation is also small, maybe even petty.

Write the script so the letterer can easily copy and paste the script into a visual program. What does that mean? I like to use a format that has text on separate lines. I will explain.

EXAMPLE #1 - less letterer friendly

Description: Joseph hands the documents over to Maria and her eyes grow wide. Camera overhead shot. Dialogue: "These are for your eyes only."

EXAMPLE#2 - more letterer friendly

[Joseph hands Maria documents and we see her reaction. She is surprised]

Joseph (balloon):

These are for your eyes only.

EXPLANATION:

In the second example, I have used brackets [  ] to indicate action or description. It is just enough information to get the art team started. They may decide to break this action down into two or three panels for example depending on the visual pacing they establish on the page and in the rest of the story. I use a [bold] to show where text is indicated and who is talking.

I put the actual text/dialogue that will appear on the comic page on a separate line.

This allows the letterer to swoop in, find the bolds, then copy and paste just the full line below instead of "searching" for the start and end of dialogue in a paragraph.

All authors work differently. Always consider who comes next in your collaboration.  It is certainly okay to indicate just about anything when you are writing. I even include some color or production notes where appropriate. The idea is to get the team on the same page so they are in harmony as to what the project should look and feel like.

For the reader, combining elements in their head in real time and at their own pace is a subjective experience. In the end, the goal is to make memorable characters that make the readers FEEL something. Writing and comics are both visceral experiences and not a string of plot points threaded together in daisy-chain fashion. It is about provoking thought, feeling, and curiosity.

My own comic writing style is done through thumbnail layouts which look very different. I never expect my artists to follow them exactly (unless indicated) and want them to MAKE GOOD COMICS. The script should not be so focused that it does not allow for the imagination and innovation and sometimes spontaneousness of the art to shine through. Comics are visual.

I hope this makes a little bit of sense.

I like your script and the action seems to move along at a pretty good clip! Mastering comic scripting takes time and patience. Each one will turn out differently. When I have more time, I will look even further into your writing. My observations are actually not too important. You are definitely on the right track and the main thing is to get the scripts done and the art completed and out to the readers. Producing as much quality work as you can, as often as you can, is the way to build your confidence and experience.

As always, good luck and if possible, keep me in the loop. I want to see you growing over time!

Best always,

RICK

I have decided to use my comments here as the basis for a post on my blog so others interested in the comic making process can get a bit of insight. I will edit my remarks and remove your name. I think you should be proud of the work you are doing and push on and do more of it. Think of your storytelling skills as a muscle that needs reps and increased difficulty over time in order to grow.

Persist!

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

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MAKE AMERICA AND THE WORLD GREAT AGAIN_011

 

  

We have been waging a war in our everyday lives between safety/security and freedom. This unchecked discussion plays out in the headlines of newspapers, on the internet, and on TV news programs. We see poverty, disease, mass shootings, religious freedom, voting rights, immigration, prison reform, police reform, tax reform, mental health, drug addiction, sexual assault, gender identity, political corruption, monetary policy, the stock market, Bitcoin, the entire legal profession, healthcare, jobs, the price of gas, the price of food, homelessness, the role of the police, the military, religion, science, and more... Covid has killed more than one million Americans and we are lucky to have a vaccine. We grapple with the right to own a gun in this society and the apparent lack of restrictions or responsibilities attached to that right. Where are we headed?

"The future is very bright (and the food is delicious there)"

Rights. The right to own firearms. The right to Life and Liberty. We are told by those who value the right to a gun that their right to do so carries no restrictions and NO responsibilities. We are told that there would be no freedom without unrestricted, unregulated gun ownership. That the government would move, at any moment, to TAKE AWAY guns and pacify its citizens into submission. We are told that tyranny is the exact opposite of open carry. We are told that there is nothing that can be done to curb violence and that it is the price we pay for freedom in this country. We are reminded constantly that guns do not kill and that we should compare these deaths to car accidents or the flu. We are told that mentally ill people kill. We are told that ONLY criminals will be able to get guns. We are told that the good guys just need to arm themselves. We are told that, paradoxically, we need to worship the police AND take matters into our own hands. We are told that armed insurrection is equivalent to political discourse and a redress of grievances. We are told that our FEELINGS don't matter and then offered thoughts and prayers. We are meant to be written off as morally empty and evil if we disagree or want these topics opened up for discussion.

My life is very important. My family is very important. My way of life is very important. My life is more important than yours. I am special. I am privileged. I am unique. The rules don't apply to me, but they damn well better apply to you. I want what belongs to me. I want mine. I deserve everything and you don't matter. I don't care what you think, feel, say, or do. You are different. You don't belong. Go back to where you came from. I was here first. I am a real person, and you are not. You are a joke, a punchline, a meme. You are coming to steal everything and take everything away. I am a winner, and you are a loser. You smell. You look funny, talk funny, pray funny. You suck. You are stupid. You are evil. I don't trust you. You seem to be everywhere, and I wish I could snap my fingers and make you go away. You are lazy, shiftless, rapists, murderers, thieves, drug dealers, prostitutes, and deadbeats. You don't pay your own way. You want free stuff. You are leeches. You are not "real." You are here to lie, steal, cheat, and kill me in my sleep. You break into my house. Your rape my daughters. You get my sons hooked on drugs. You deliberately destroy the economy, wreck schools, take away jobs. You don't want to work.

We need to go back to a simpler time of right and wrong. We need to go back to family values. We need to go back to church and put God in the classroom. We need everyone else to shut the $#%& up and go away. We need a strong leader who will make you pay for what you have done, who will crush you and put you back in your place...

I need protection. I need to be prepared. Everyone else is stupid. I am smart. I am never wrong because I know what is right and wrong. I can tell the difference. I have common sense. My bible tells me everything I need to know even though I barely read it. I don't have to. I was here first. You are an invader. You loot stores, burn cities, kill each other over drugs, and do nothing but whine. I need protection from you. You are different. You are not like me. You vote for the wrong guys. You have the wrong friends. You think bad thoughts. You are liars. The lying is constant and loud. The lies are everywhere. I need to make you go away and make everything go back to being right.

I have a right to defend myself. I have a right to own a gun. I have a right to my own opinion. I have a right to protect myself and my family. I have a right to carry a gun anywhere I want to, whenever I want, and shoot anyone who tries to harm me. I am in charge. I am in control. No one is going to tell me what to do. No one. Especially if you are not like me - and you are not like me. We are not the same. We are different. You don't belong here. I do. You don't agree with me? Then #$%$# you. I wish you were gone.

In our country we have lived through a great deal of violence. We wiped out 90% of the indigenous population and forced them from their lands. We brought slaves in to be chained for generations in the fields and later into factories, ghettos, and prisons. We fought an open civil war. We discriminated against the Irish, the Poles, the Italians, the Jews, the blacks, the Muslims, and more, much more. We rounded up Asians and put them in camps. You name it. 

We poisoned the water, the air, and devalued people in the name of progress and "freedom." We let big corporations take away our jobs and plunder our natural resources. We grew our military complex into something that was too big to fail. We drew red lines on maps and told poor people where they could live, who to vote for, and what education they could get. We held out the promise of a dream and turned it constantly into a nightmare. We divided each other into groups and then divided again and again and again - hoping that each time, we would come out on top.

We talked about love but had none in our hearts. We talked about justice but had no empathy or compassion. We talked about being great but never wanted to put in the work. We let lawyers find ways to screw us out of everything. We assumed that everyone cheated, everyone stole, everyone lied, everyone would stab us in the back. We let it happen. We never read the fine print or understood what we were signing. We never understood what consequences would come and everything could be fixed with easy credit. We just wanted things to make sense again. We wanted to believe in something important and larger than ourselves. We wanted to believe in equality, truth, justice, hope, love, and we wanted it all now, the easy way. My way or the highway. Like it or leave it. Put up or shut up. Agree or go home. No compromise. No discussion. No surrender. Do not give an inch or they will take a mile....

I am describing a blend of fear and paranoia. When we talk about a melting pot society, we talk about taking all the best from everywhere in the world and letting it flourish here in a land of opportunity and freedom. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. People are generally good. People are generally hard working, generous, friendly, kind, caring, and open. They want good things for themselves and their families. They want to follow their dreams and build something for the future. They want peace, security, and cooperation. People want respect, dignity, and to be heard and seen. People want to freely express themselves. People want to be in love. People want to live and enjoy their lives, to share moments with family, with friends, with community. People want to achieve great things and feel valued. People want to live without fear of being shot while picking up groceries, while sitting at prayer, while sending kids to school.

People don't want to be alone. People don't want to be isolated. People don't want to be divided. People want to see other smiling faces. People want to be happy. People want to live. People have a right to live. People have a right to pursue their happiness. People have a responsibility to each other. People have a responsibility, a duty to their communities, their states, their nation, their world. People can solve any problem they put their mind to. People can work together to do just about anything and everything and where they focus their time, effort, and energy, seeming miracles can happen. Cures can be found. Space can be explored. Nations can be healed. Nature can be restored.

People can decide to respect each other. People can each decide to be kind to one another, to forgive one another their small differences. People can embrace a future made by individuals who treat each other fairly and expect to be treated the same. The future is very bright (and the food is delicious there). Think about being less cynical today. Think about what it means to be a friend to someone in need. Think about what you can do to help....... 

We can and must do better.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

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GREEN BE THY HILLS_010

 

  

Places in New York or the surrounding area where I have lived, worked, biked, hiked, or fallen in love, plus neighboring states and my good pal, Canada. So - New York State, Buffalo, Corning, Ithaca, Utica, Morrisville, Albany, Schenectady, Troy, Lake George, Ticonderoga, Rochester, Binghampton, Ithaca, Cornell, Wells College, Toronto, Montreal, Northhampton MA, Boston, Portland Maine, New Hampshire, Dover, Lake Hopatcong, Manhattan, Rochester, more, much more... 

"A New York Strip Steak And A Pint Of Beer. What Could Be Better?"

Not everyone likes New York. It gets trashed by a lot of people, especially those who have never really been there or believe the emotionally charged images they see on the evening news. Taxes are high. Housing is too expensive. And yet, New York is a wonderful place. Having been all over the country - living and working, there is a lot of beauty out there. For me, I have lived in cities, suburbs, and country settings from western to central to eastern New York most of my life. I worked for a time in Manhattan and went to art school in north Jersey, often taking the train in to NYC to go gallery hopping, watch movies, or meet friends at comic shows. My grandparents and parents were from a tiny town of 2K in the Adirondack mountains on Lake George. New York is brimming with cities, farms, mountains, lakes and rivers, forests, and every kind of people you can possibly imagine. All countries make their home here, all faiths, all languages, all income classes. The food is fantastic. The people are friendly and generous. To me it is home in a way that few other places (I see you New Mexico...) could ever be.

On 9/11 - I was loading fifty pounds of paper into a Xerox "mini-doc" proof printer at Integrated Book Technology in Troy, NY when someone from one of the main presses came in with a small radio and we all huddled around listening as one, then two, planes struck the Trade Center towers. I have been away for nine years and lived the last three out in Los Angeles, a chunk of which involved my father dying here, back east, and then Covid, being stuck indoors. New York has always been my home, in my head and heart (I see you again New Mexico...) and I am very happy to be back on the same coast as family and friends and to at least have the possibility of seeing people again. I am very lucky in that regard. For all the struggles I have had, I always knew there were people out there who loved me, who were rooting for me, who would help if I asked. Being here gives me renewed hope. Meeting old friends and new gives me new hope. I do not know what the future brings but getting a chance to watch snow fall, rain cascade, and trees pop open with green leaves gives me tremendous hope.

Thank you.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

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STOP POSING BOY!_009

Frank Miller's Ronin, breaking ground and expanding horizons in the comic world. Image copyright by right's holder. Miller smashes expectations with a stunning and visionary exploration in comic storytelling. Color by Lynn Varley.

"I am here! And you can't stop me!"

Ronin is an odd story for Miller. It was a risk. Working on Daredevil as artist and writer for as long as he did built expectations in his audience for gritty, noir-style, crime soaked, superhero comics with a touch of romance/tragedy. Ronin looked and felt radically different. Who was expecting a sci-fi/samurai/romance closer to European and Japanese graphic albums than American pop?

Ronin was experimental. Miller pushed his own boundaries and flexed his creative muscles. The writing and pacing were uneven. In some spots, the story flowed easily and in others Miller struggled to get his ideas across. The plot meandered. Can anyone describe what it was really about? In some sections, the art slid from stylized toward being sloppy. His characters had trouble holding their appearance. Some dialogue exchanges were too wordy. Ronin is not a slick, polished presentation and yet, it is a thunder bolt.

You have to remember that in American comics during this period, superheroes ruled the roost with series writing that never came to any conclusion or allowed characters to change and grow. The artwork felt homogenized and interchangeable. Plots and characters were thin. Marvel and DC were interested in blockbuster event comics and cross overs. Continuity was a quagmire. Readership sputtered. Distribution was migrating to the direct market. Miller jumped on Daredevil, reinvented that character, and pumped new blood into a c-list hero by building his supporting cast and fleshing out Hell's Kitchen. Most color in comics was also still done on newsprint using a limited palette and hand separations.

Frank Miller's Ronin came along at a time when few in the American comic reading crowd had ever been exposed to Japanese manga or European graphic albums. Master cartoonists like Moebius were ignored by the American masses because they didn't produce superheroes. Miller challenged his Daredevil fans from Marvel to follow him to another company and invest in brand new characters that no one had ever seen before in a style that Miller had never worked in before and in a design and printing style that had not been successfully tried here in the States. It can also not be stressed enough how radical the color by Lynn Varley in the Ronin comic was in comparison to what monthly superhero comics looked like. Ronin was a departure in every aspect of comic making from what Miller had been tinkering with on the monthly Daredevil.  

What we saw in Ronin was Miller expressing his energy, thoughtfulness, and daring in the writing and drawing. Miller took chances and built a unique vision of the future that mashed different genres and exposed us to his raw thinking. Ronin was like looking at the wild ambition that Miller has for his own cartooning and where he wanted to go as a writer/artist/creator.

Ronin was not his best work or his most well-known, but it was probably the most crucial in his artistic journey. Many experiments and masterpieces would come in the future: Elektra; Born Again; Dark Knight; 300; Give Me Liberty; Hard Boiled; Year One; and his own passion project, Sin City. This is a phenomenal body of work. Without Daredevil, there would be no Ronin or Dark Kight or Sin City. Without Ronin, Miller would have had to wait around for other opportunities to open up to tell this type of unique story - if that chance ever came. The pressure for Miller to sit back and repeat what he had been doing with Daredevil must have been great. It takes courage to do something that no one else was doing. Daredevil was Miller as a storyteller learning to draw, write, and gain confidence. Ronin was Miller arriving, busting the doors down, and declaring "I am here! And you can't stop me!" Once Ronin was complete, he would trust himself more in each project. 

NOTE: I had this post in a que to make its way out into the world after a little editing. Recently, Frank Miller announced that he would be forming his own independent comic and media imprint called Frank Miller Presents. A sequel to Ronin was discussed as a new project to come out from him as he gears up to publish 3-4 titles per year. Amazing. No other details were given about the Ronin: Book II project. Wasn't I JUST talking about Ronin yesterday? Love that story, flaws and all. It will be interesting to see how Miller applies what he has learned about storytelling to these characters and situations. An exciting time for comics.

Update... Miller will be writing a sequel, Ronin: Book Two, with some of the main Ronin characters to be penciled by Philip Tan from Miller's layouts and inked by Daniel Henriques. It will be 48-page bimonthly book with a $7.99 cover price debuting in November of 2022 under the new Frank Miller Presents banner. See sample below. Enjoy.

Frank Miller Presents, Ronin: Book Two with Miller writing and layouts, Tan on pencils and Henriques inks. Image copyright respective owner.

RICK
Billion Hero Studios
The Power of Storytelling






If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

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Thank you for visiting, participating, and collaborating in the storytelling experience.

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE_008

Fantastic Four #51: This Man... This Monster! Told completely from start to finish in a single issue and following the groundbreaking introduction of Galactus and the Silver Surfer in the pages of The Fantastic Four, this story commands attention. Kirby, Sinnott, Lee, Marvel Comics.

Doug on the left and Rick on the right wearing bootleg comic Tshirts, back when we both had a hairline. A little photoshop magic finds Ben Grimm in the pouring rain and Godzilla blasting Batragon. Test shirts by Rick.

"Stan and Jack had stumbled onto something"

Comics are always changing and the swarms of creative ants that scurry non-stop constructing characters and universes out of dirt piles each do it for their own reasons. There is no 100-year plan of development. Creators are responding to situations on the ground, in real-time. Both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had long careers in comics before they struck gold with early Marvel stories that featured people with superhuman powers and abilities who also had problems like their readers did. Stan and Jack had latched onto something that hit the tuning fork just right with the public. It didn't matter what their relationship to each other was like.

Ultimately, they both poured their time, effort, and energy into pursuing the idea that comics could be more than they were. They both loved telling stories. Both felt that comics could speak to real issues, feelings, and connect with readers on a deeper level than had been the norm in the business. Both of them basically played in different garage bands until one day, when they teamed up, they began producing hit after hit after hit.

Kirby in particular was always known as an innovator in comics. He co-created Captain America with Joe Simon when the medium was brand new, produced war, romance, supernatural, western, and monster comics with fantastic success. Readers responded to his larger-than-life depictions of creatures and his dynamic action sequences. Kirby was endlessly creating new characters and concepts and, with help from the extraordinary talented Steve Ditko (Spider-Man, Doctor Strange) and a legion talented creators, put an ailing Marvel permanently on the cultural map. Over time, the contribution that Stan made has been given a much needed look. Jack had always been a pioneer in the field, blazing trails and testing out new storytelling methods. 

Do I miss those rough, early songs from that band? Yes. I feel like today there have been crops of writers and artists in comics who don't believe that "comics can be more" but that comics should be movies or book contracts or "launching pads" for something else instead of a stand-alone medium. Jack, Joe Sinnott, and Stan remind us with their signature body of work on the Fantastic Four, that capturing lightning in a bottle is really about sharing that lightning with others. Sharing the love of making comics and telling stories.

Reprint cover for This Man, This Monster. Marvel's Greatest Comics. My first introduction to the Fantastic Four. Unlike Reed in the Negative Zone, I was hooked.

I picked up this Fantastic Four story as a beat-up copy of Marvel's Greatest Comics #38. I had saved up paper route money and bought a grocery bag stuffed to overflowing with comics from a pal named Jimmy Joe. It was the mid-70s and I was in the single digits of age, just discovering the secret joy of reading and buying my own comics. As a kid, there was a weird alchemy to reading those stories, holding them in my hands, and buying them with my own money. This was probably the first thing I had ever purchased, and it was reading materials! I paid ten bucks for about a hundred comics. Iron Man. Avengers. Hulk. Spider-Man. Thor. And Fantastic Four. All were well read before I got to them, and all would get poured over continuously. I am pretty sure that my mom did not want them in the house and that my dad argued for me to keep them. He had been a collector during the early years of comics and came home one day to find his stacks in a burn barrel. My dad vowed to never do that to his kids.

I remember that cover vividly - Reed is in The Negative Zone and his cable has snapped. With the story, This Man, This Monster! Stan and Jack let the reader in on the secret right in the beginning. As the story unfolds, we get insight into the Fantastic Four, Sue, Ben, Johnny, and Reed by eavesdropping on the conversations and interactions of the Thing's doppelganger. The subtext is powerful. Things are not what they seem. The story starts as a revenge tale and twists neatly into a study in trust and redemption - all while cementing the Thing as the true outcast of the group. It is decidedly tragic. Even as a kid, I dreamed of being The Thing. 

Kirby's breathtaking storytelling combined with Joe Sinnott inks, masterfully conveying the humanity of the characters and the predicament of their situation. When gaining powers from cosmic rays during a failed exploration of space, each of the Fantastic Four could hide behind normal-looking faces and bodies except for Ben Grimm. The Thing is stuck forever looking like a monster. We get an examination of what a tortured existence an outsider has in life. Lee provides dialogue and editorial asides that cement the reader to the page. Coming hot on the heels of the introduction of the Silver Surfer and Galactus, this tale is complete in one issue (FF#51) and unmasks the real heart and soul of the Marvel superhero family/team with emotional gravity.

This Man... This Monster! is an undeniable classic and definitely a comicbook story that made me love comics. I would reread it many times over the years and I find myself rooting for the bad guy at the end, who has a change of heart and makes the ultimate sacrifice for Reed. Recommended reading.

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CHICKEN, EGGS, and the SUPREME COURT_007

 

What does white privilege look and feel like? How does it sound? Why is it important to understand this concept in terms of everyday life? Brett really, really likes beer. Brett may or may not have assaulted a young woman at a party when he was a youngster. What we do know is that his nomination process to The Supreme Court was a huge mess by any stretch of the imagination. He is now poised, with his block of "originalist" judges to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Why is this important? Photo copyright respective rights holder.

Sunnyside up or down. Or scrambled, poached, boiled, etc. No two are every the same, just like snowflakes. They contain unique genetic makeup and individualization as God and the math of the universe intended. Eggs are not chickens, yet. Eggs taste good and are a great source of protein. Eggs. No matter how you like them, they are not for everyone. No one is forcing eggs down your throat. Eat fewer eggs and demand grows smaller. Your choice. If enough people choose not to eat eggs over a long enough time, no one will ask hens to produce eggs for consumption. Brett should not be in a position of deciding anything to do with eggs. Photo copyright respective rights holder.

"...just navigate the election system and sweep everyone out of power..."

So, the 40-year+ GOP plan to scuttle abortion rights for everyone is bearing hideous fruit in the Supreme Court... I believe strongly in abortion rights. I also believe strongly that life is precious beyond measure. Believe it or not, these are not mutually exclusive ideas. What I also feel very strongly about is that the big "G" government, should not be dictating personal health for women or anyone. The end result of overturning RvW is a return to making abortion something that the wealthy will always continue to have access to, and the poor will be criminalized at every turn. It is about control, particularly the rich controlling the poor; the old controlling the young; men controlling women; and one slice of religion trying to force their views on everyone.

Take a good look around you. Ask yourself if you care about human life? Do you care about your families? Your friends? Your community? Your world? We just lost one million people in two years to a pandemic here in the United States. It is a number that is overwhelming in every possible way and much of it can be attributed to a disregard for the risk that "other people" face. I am experienced enough in life to understand that I cannot know everyone's circumstances. I have a great enough burden understanding my own. How am I supposed to make decisions for half the population in their best interest when everyone is different, and I am not a woman? Answer: I can't or shouldn't. I will never fully understand why someone would want to end a pregnancy in the same way that I will never fully understand what it means to carry a child and give birth. It is an experience that I can observe but never know. It is not that I should have no say at all in the matter either but my opinion, as a man, should not be given statistical or legal weight over a those who are directly able to grasp the issue at a personal level. Women, not men, should be deciding their own health for best outcomes.

Women should be able to consult with their doctors in private without interference on every health topic that concerns them - including abortion, birth control, mental health, and more. Men too. A better-informed individual simply makes better decisions for themselves at every turn in life. What I would personally prefer is more health education, more funding for research into women' health, more calm discussion about what quality of life and personal choice really means, AND fewer, safer abortions.

What can men do? Get out of the damn way.

Lastly, I need to emphasize that elections matter. Someone keeps electing Mitch McConnell for example, and we will discover what we already know, that he has singlehandedly created more division than any one person has a right to. He blocked Obama's court pick from even being discussed and held open not only that Supreme Court seat but countless judgeships by delaying hearings until a "favorable" administration came along. And yet, when a million women marched on Washington recently wearing clever hats, none of them stormed the capital or violently tried to stop a legal certification process.

My religious beliefs tell me that abortion is wrong. The idea of it makes me uneasy, especially as a fourth child from a large family. What if I or my younger brothers and sisters simply never existed? My religious beliefs also tell me to love my neighbor, forgive my neighbor, and to judge not. We need to remember that we belong to a pluralistic society where everyone is not the same, does not think the same, feel the same, worship the same, or value the same things in their pursuit of happiness. I am not FOR abortion and would never specifically choose this route, but I should NOT be taking that choice away from others or judge those few that do. No. That is not how choice works. Not everyone will agree, which is not the purpose of this post. Abortion is a "third rail" issue considered too hot to openly discuss but like it or not - here we are and on the eve of mid-term elections...

I would not be surprised if the backlash for this court contortion causes millions of newly minted 18–25-year-old voters to just navigate the election system and sweep everyone out of power.  

Please make health education and services a top priority in this country and around the world by staying informed and listening carefully to those with whom you disagree. Speak out thoughtfully and not just with mean-spirited memes and tweets. We can do a lot better. There is work to do.

The BILLION Hero Studios Blog is devoted to promoting stories, ideas, creativity, and authenticity. Life should be beautiful, interesting, and inspiring.

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

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STR8 OUTTA COMIC COMPOSITION_006

Logo with apologies to rappers from NWA. Shout out to all my peeps from South Central Working that J.O.B. trying to stack up the Benji-mans at that Staple factory. Julio, you da man. Yo, Dolores and crew.

The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Nyra becomes sick and a demon grows. Thumbnail sketch for layout with notations on 8.5x11 inch bond paper.

A former student asked a variation of the following question in an email. I have copied my response (lightly edited) for others interested in the process of comic making and storytelling.

"At what point do you consider composition in making your comics?"

That is a very good question, and I will do my best to answer it here.


First, the way I work and the way that I think about story and composition has changed dramatically over time as I have tried new things to see what is working best for me. This will also be the case for you. As you move forward and do more pages, your style of working will change. So, keep that in the back of your mind as I discuss story and composition.


I am a very firm believer in creating and modifying working processes. There is always room for improvement and experimentation. An artist needs to be open to change while at the same time trying to streamline their approach.


Story always comes first.

Story is the thing that makes comics, TV, or film important. There are many occasions where I see artwork that is of lesser execution but has a compelling story and I prefer that, and most people react to that before anything else. The flip side is that really nicely rendered work that does not tell a good story will not connect with viewers/readers. There are even occasions where an excess of gloss and polish hurts a story.


For composition,
I usually go scene to scene thematically and page by page in practicality. What does this mean?

When I started producing comics and stories, because I struggled with the actual act of drawing, inking, writing, and one hundred other elements I thought I had to master, I usually constructed stories by building one panel at a time and asking myself "what goes next?" Often, I did not know what was happening in my story as I built it. This works or can work for smaller pieces. What I came to realize was that this has a very strong limitation in longer stories.


We have talked about the use of thumbnails a lot. The primary purpose of the thumbnail is to get the ideas out of your head, one drawing at a time and one page at a time. However, a great benefit of using a thumbnail system is that if you are thinking about it properly as a transitional step in creating the artwork, the thumbnail now becomes a place where you can test out different layouts, camera angles, and story techniques without wasting time producing finished work that does not satisfy what you are looking for.


I am actually in this process now, right now, as I build my story for The Spider and The Mountain. Thumbnails allow me to play around with the composition and placement of panels without committing. There is nothing more frustrating than being halfway into inks or colors and deciding that the story is not clear, and that the composition should have been changed.


I will work based on a script, notes, sketches, diagrams, photo reference, or other aids in the following manner:

IDEA
SKETCH/WRITE
THUMBNAIL/WRITE/REVISE
PENCIL ART
INK ART
LETTERS/WRITING REVISIONS
COLOR
PRODUCTION

Once I get through my scene or story in a first go through, I lay out the thumbnails of the pages to look over and compare to one another. After I see everything, I go back and make adjustments by moving panels, combining panels, changing the shape or size of panels. Since each page can be anywhere from one to ten sketches each (or more), I have a lot of drawings to consider.


NOTE: I know that a lot of people are producing thumbnails on the computer and then using layers to build up the artwork. This is valid and if it works for you, then I say fine. However, one limitation with the computer is that the very ability to make change after change effortlessly means that you are never looking at comparison sketches side by side and considering them against one another. It is a flaw I feel.


Still further into the idea of page layouts and composition. Your panels should always support your story. ALWAYS.


When I look at composition as a whole, the entire story - I usually have an idea of where I want my impact panels to be. I am thinking about my full, half, and two-page spreads.


When I look at my scenes (which I usually make from one to five pages in length), I am again considering the story and also looking at what kinds of variety I have. Do I have enough closeups in the scene to connect with readers? Does the scene feel anchored by enough establishing shots? Are there silhouettes needed? Does the story move? Etc. Having the thumbnails allows me to make adjustments before pencil art and inking start. I am thinking about composition here at this level too.


When I do individual pages, everything is composition! Usually I will think of my page with one main idea in mind and build around it. This allows me to concentrate on making sure I communicate that idea with everything else I put on the page. It is hard and takes practice but worth the effort and all the comics that have inspired me over time are those that take page design seriously.


When I do single panels, I just want my framing to be clear so that information can be easily absorbed. If the importance of the shot is the guy reacting to his phone, I usually don't show that with a wide establishing shot. In comics, individual panels and single drawings have less importance than the whole story. People will read through and fill in details using their imagination to create movement, sound, and emotional impact. Composition is still important at this level but I usually think of it in terms of clarity. Am I being clear when I show this panel? Or page? Or scene?


If I am breaking down a written script, I usually look at what the main plot points are going to be and how I can translate them visually into comic storytelling. This also takes practice and usually an author will overload a reader with information in prose that needs to be made much more dramatic and simplified in the art phase. For myself, I like to work with piecing the visuals and the concepts together while including key dialogue. The text and dialogue take up physical space in the final version, so I usually block that in on my thumbnail also. I change my dialogue while I am working. Lettering can be done on a separate layer so it can be edited easily.


Composition and comics go hand in hand. Still, it is probably best to not worry too much about the composition. It will come with time and practice. Place your emphasis on making sure that you are getting your ideas out on paper where you can edit them. Once the story is built, you can go back and revise and move things around knowing that you have the story you want, and revisions will just make it stronger. Clarity in storytelling is a top concern.


By the time you get to pencils and inks, there should be very little problems with composition to mess around with. At those stages, you are more interested in the actual drawing and making your black plate.


This is all I have time for this morning. This topic is a big one and I can only show you some of my struggles and what works for me. I will only try to show you processes that make sense but you are more than welcome to disagree or try different combinations until you get your own working methods. My recommendation is to do original short stories of five to ten pages. This will teach you how to set up scenes. A longer-form story will simply be composed of a string of scenes. Making comics and narrative art is challenging and fun, like a puzzle that you create for yourself to solve.



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Sign-Up for the unofficial Billion Hero Studios Newsletter by sending an email with the word "Newsletter" in the subject line to: billionherostudios@gmail.com

Thank you for visiting, participating, and collaborating in the storytelling experience.

Rick Arthur, founder
Billion Hero Studios

The power of storytelling

SUBCONSCIOUS HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER_005

The Spider and The Mountain copyright Rick Arthur. All rights reserved. Page layout. Pen on 8.5x11 inch bond paper. WIP. Artist: Rick Arthur. Nyra runs in freshly fallen snow while facing an unstoppable demon. From the upcoming graphic novel originally inspired by a failed 24-hour Comic Challenge.

"The Brain Is A Funny, Funny Thing..."

We sail into history. Many creative artists have encounters with all different types of "creative blocks." White paper or canvas, a blank screen with the subtle, blinking cursor, and job specs pile up mocking your existence. Anyone who has faced artistic tasks has all been there. Honest artists that pushes themselves to understand and achieve more with their work than just making a buck or two will know this gut-wrenching feeling.

Just how damaging can "blocks" be for creative types?

Ideas tumble, fall, drift, sharpen, and are coaxed from hiding in a large number of ways. There are indeed numerous tricks for starting and finishing creative works. Creativity is not just a function of memory directly but of insight. When a jumble of disconnected ideas presents itself, you need to be able to both decipher and place them into context.

As I continue on my art making and storytelling journey, I feel as though it is really the flood of possibilities that becomes the real problem. When I discover a block, usually it is because there are actually too many possibilities and I become stunned by the complexity of my choices. It can be numbing and paralyzing. I will complain about not being able "to see" the idea. I should be grateful. Thousands of hours of problem solving in art has not given me the ability to solve all problems but it has given me confidence that there is usually more than one solution.

"Here, I'll make it easier for you."

In the film Searching for Bobby Fischer, a perfect illustration of visualization is conducted in a single scene. Young chess prodigy Josh must picture the chess pieces and their moves in his head and not rely on his physical senses. In order to preform this mental feat, distractions must be swept aside and his stern chess teacher sweeps the pieces from the chessboard and onto the floor.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (3/10) Movie CLIP - Learning From the Master (1993) HD - YouTube

Jack Ryan is shaving and talking aloud in a scene for the action thriller, Hunt For Red October. He is desperately trying to figure out how the Russian sub commander, Ramius, will get his crew off a rogue nuclear submarine in the middle of the ocean. We get to follow his thought process from the point of being stumped to his "aha" moment of finding a solution. Script by Larry Ferguson.

"The average Russky, son, don't take a dump without a plan. Wait a minute. We don't have to get the crew off the sub. He would have had to do that. We just have to figure out what he's going to do. How is he going to get them off the sub? They'd have to want to get off. How do you get a crew to want to get off a submarine? How do you get them to want to get off a nuclear sub... I know how he's going to evacuate the sub."

Red October Soliloquy - YouTube

In art, the blank page can be an intimidating force that crushes you down. It can be nerve wracking. Hidden somewhere in future of that blank expanse, there are lines, shapes, and tones waiting to communicate your idea. What is it that stops you from starting? That freezes you in place at the half-way point? I simply submit that the brain becomes transfixed by too many possibilities. The problem may be ill-defined or the solutions may seem impenetrable. Yet, the solution is there.

I look at creative blocks as distractions where too many possibilities freeze an artist's decision making. The first trick to getting out of the block is acknowledging that you are in it and realizing that it can be overcome. Put something on the page, even if it is just a panel border or a squiggle that can be erased later. You need a prompt to not only clear your mind but to give yourself permission to start. If the idea won't come, you can't force it. Quit banging your head. Take a deliberate break and if you have to, set a timer for 15 minutes. Pick up the nearest book and flip to a random page. Look at a random word or picture. Train yourself to see associations between things that don't go together. Dig into some artwork you really enjoy and just try to think about why it inspires you. Is it the shape, the color, the style? Thinking too hard directly to solve a problem can actually create an art block.

Take a nap, a walk, or a shower. Listen to music. What you want to do is allow the subconscious mind to do what it does best which is ideation. Relax. The subconscious brain, at the edges of our conscious decision-making, tugs and pulls at the conflict you have created and often steps in with solutions. That block really doesn't stand a chance. The only variable is time. How long will a block take to overcome?

A creative block can't last forever, can it?

I am a firm believer that where you put your effort and energy is important. If you seek, and put in the effort, you will find.

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DICK TRACY PICKS A WINNER_004

Dick Tracy captured our imagination with fantastic gadgets. Could Nokia flip phones be far behind? Image copyright by respective owner. 

My "old" flip phone reminds me exactly of a Star Trek communicator...

Is it safe? Would you be surprised if I told you that no matter how many locks on your door, encrypted passwords on your accounts, or how careful you think you are being with your digital life, if someone wants in, they are getting in. This is unsettling and yet consider American money. Examine the eye on the top of that pyramid and you will see it is winking at you and following you around the room like the eyes in a painting in an Abbott and Costello movie.

Data mining cleverness by digital companies and bad actors has been scooping up massive amounts of your raw, private data from all sources and then using algorithms and artificial intelligence to rebuild virtual avatars of you. Every photo you have taken and posted on digital media has been tagged with meta-data and cross filed in giant data pools. There is no hiding. No running away. No safety. And no security. And being "off the grid" is fairly impossible.  They track every key stroke and control all the gates.

I recall a time not that long ago when there was nothing on the internet but geeky chat rooms, places where actual computer nerds traded inside math jokes and deep thoughts about Dr. Who or Monty Python. Companies were not sure what to do with the new environment. Businesses began throwing money at the internet hoping for success in what came to be known as a tech bubble but there was no real business model for how to monetize clicks yet. Every day users had little in the way of actual content to surf. No one trusted electronic transactions yet, so shopping wasn't big like it is now. Encrypted payment transactions were not universal. The internet was a fancy new way to look up addresses and movie times and mess around in chat forums. Many people did not see what was coming around the corner: acceptance; massive migration; followed by ubiquity; and an incredible thirst for content.

Phones - or rather - the reinvention of phones as mobile computers that combined calling, text, surfing, music, and sharing photos on a device that fit in the palm of your hand is a relatively new event. You could connect to any piece of information or person from anywhere without a phone cord tethered to the wall. In a drawer, tucked away, I am keeping one of my old, clam-shell style flip phones for the sole reason that it reminds me of a Star Trek communicator. Two to beam aboard Scotty, now! 

When it comes to technological change, I think about my own father, growing up in a tiny town of two thousand people during the post-Depression era. They had radio, newspapers, and Saturday double features (with newsreels and cartoons) at the local theatre. Owning one phone - black, was something that not everyone could afford. People wrote letters and postcards and sat on porches to watch the world go by.

Travel was limited. The national highway system hadn't come into play yet. Eventually, we walked on the moon. My dad witnessed an incredible amount of advancement in his eight decades of life and at the end, although not fluent, he owned a desktop computer, a cordless phone, poked his head into video chats, and was learning how to access movies on his iPad. What he liked to watch were black and white classics that had been in theatres when he was a kid but now oozed out of every device at the click of a button. He liked technology but understood it less and less.

A Star Trek communicator represented advanced civilization - the ability to talk held in your hand. When this prop was introduced in the late sixties, could Apple iPhones be 40-50 years behind? Image copyright by respective owner.

I mention this because in his youth, Dick Tracy had a two-way radio/video wristwatch and my father lived long enough to see it turn from comic strip fantasy into fashion accessory fact. It is humbling. What is in store for us in the next eighty years?

Staggering advancements in communications in the last twenty years have exceeded everything up to this point in human history. It is hubris to think that we even begin to comprehend what a titanic impact this is having on the culture and the planet. Entering colleges now are kids who have no memory of phone cords or leaving messages on tape recorded answering machines. We have flattened everything out. There is only "instant" communication and everything else is unacceptable.

Computers and phones were meant to usher in new freedoms. Currently, we have the opposite - a massive, black-box, digital yolk. Apple's iPhone got popular in 2007. That is just enough time to train a generation of users to depend on it. Phones were once private monopolies, like utilities but you always knew you could ring someone at AT&T with a problem. Now, people have zero control over how their personal data is collected, stored, combined, packaged, sold, stolen, and who owns it. What will this do to the human chain of confidence people have in one another in real life? What has it already done? When you have a dispute - what power do you have against an algorithm tucked inside a proprietary computer system?

After the horror of 9/11 - America launched itself on a path toward large scale data mining in the guise of national security. Phone records got scooped up by the billions. We actually found ourselves to be less safe in digital terrain than in the physical world and it didn't take long for bad actors to figure out that digital tools could affect real-time, real-world havoc. Systems regularly get hacked, damaged, and held for ransom. Our trust, our optimism, our faith in each other as human beings had found itself outsourced to the digital realm and then quickly trampled upon. Who do you trust? 

When people talk about the end of the world (as we know it), the world ended (and now begins again) with the computer, the internet, and the phone. What is it that we are dreaming of doing now that will become accepted reality in the coming decades?

My father might have laughed, chewed on a piece of toast, sipped his coffee, and solved the New York Times crossword in pen. The future he dreamed about as a small-town kid with Dick Tracy wrist radios actually came to pass but it had a subscription plan, 50-pages of disclaimers in 5-point typography, and an unstoppable, data-mad algorithm behind it that was beholden to no one. At the end of his life, he did not recognize the world he lived in. Eight decades of progress had obliterated pretty much everything he knew right before his eyes. Are we in an unprecedented period of demanding people absorb too much change all at once, like compressing a thousand years of information into one lifetime? Information is not the same as wisdom as any eighty-year-old would tell you.

We long to belong. We long to be connected to one another. Covid has taught us, at least those who would listen carefully, that we depend upon each other in ways that we did not recognize. The world is smaller than we think. We are already chained together. Do we really have nostalgia for a time and place that does not exist anymore? Do we dream about recreating a sleepy digital town of two thousand villagers where everyone knows each other's names and personal business? 

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PARENTS WHO BAN BOOKS: PERSEPOLIS_003

  

 

Graphic novel Persepolis, The Story Of A Childhood is the highly acclaimed work of Marjane Satrapi and has also been adapted into an animated film.

"In today's edition of "Parents Who Want To Ban Books They Haven't Read..."

Pennsylvania is an odd place full of people struggling to find their way. Corporate America gutted it like a fish and left the farms and steel mills to rot. One of the pillars of our great country, founded on religious freedom of expression and personal liberty They have a rich history and yet somehow seem to be caught in a bit of a funk. They should decide, here and now, that dipping their toes into the water of banning books in classrooms is not a good idea. From the western part of the state, we have this:

PA school district pulls Marjane Satrapi's PERSEPOLIS from curriculum (comicsbeat.com)

Note: a preview of a few pages of this graphic novel are available on its Amazon page. Strong, wonderful cartooning with a very interesting story to tell. Should kids be learning this in school? It is much more preferable to learning nothing or only learning about one point of view of the world.

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood (Pantheon Graphic Library): Satrapi, Marjane: 8601419944736: Amazon.com: Books

As with the controversy surrounding the acclaimed graphic novel Maus, these works easily belong in discussion in an academic setting as important works. Cartoonists should be encouraged to tackle the most complex and personal issues of the day - and anything else their creativity can muster. Creating these graphic works takes artistic courage and the kind of stubborn confidence that only other artists can understand.

Continue to be aware that protecting reading, learning, and thinking is a constant struggle but one with the very greatest of rewards. 

RICK

Billion Hero Studios

The Power of Storytelling

If you love storytelling, be involved, engaged, and informed.

Subscribe to Billion Hero Studios Blog.

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Thank you for visiting, participating, and collaborating in the storytelling experience.