How to write a comic: a beginner's guide
Acomic can take many forms – from self-published zines, hand-stapled fresh from the photocopier, to the slickly produced work of major publishers, to webcomics. There are also many ways of creating comics, from pencil and ink, to digital pens and pads, to embroidery. Equipment and format aside, the genesis of a comic and the way it all comes together is also hugely varied.
As one of the curators of the forthcoming Comics Unmasked: Art And Anarchy In The UK show at the British Library (opening 2 May), it was a natural fit to work with the Guardian to create new collaborations between important contemporary authors and top comic artists. We knew to expect the unexpected, but even so, the exciting hybrids that grew from these collaborations surprised us with their ingenuity and diversity. Roger Langridge (Fred The Clown) and Michel Faber (The Crimson Petal And The White, Under The Skin) created a political satire, Art And Anarchy. Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife) and Eddie Campbell (From Hell) penned a modern tale of love and paranoia, called Thursdays, 6-8pm. Masks, by Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), is a chillingly dark tale of maternal vigilantism, while up-and-coming talent Christian Ward (Infinite Vacation, Young Avengers) adapted Margaret Atwood's short story Freeforall, a typically dystopian vision of love and marriage. AM Homes' short story Do You Hear What I Hear?, a chilling tale of an unwelcome phone call, was transformed into a stunning comic by Frazer Irving (Batman), and Dave Eggers wrote and drew his own comic, a tale of a lonely but impassioned bison, called Having Renewed My Fire. They will be appearing in a special issue of Weekend magazine tomorrow, and will be going online from today and into next week.
A few words may be helpful in bringing to life the process of creating these stories. Even with a visual medium such as comics, everything starts with the written word. Some of the great comics creators – Dan Clowes (Ghost World), Robert Crumb (Fritz the Cat) and Chris Ware (Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth) – write and draw their comics, allowing for a meticulously faithful rendering of their visions. But that can be a lonely path to walk, and part of the magic of comics can come from the collaboration of a writer and artist engaged to tell the same story. If the partnership works, it creates something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Different perspectives add layers of meaning that ultimately enrich the experience for the reader. Of course, an unsuccessful collaboration can have the opposite effect, muddying the waters creatively, in much the the same way that a bad music video can have a negative impact on a song.
A writer such as Alan Moore (Watchmen, V For Vendetta) is known for his dense scripts, carefully building up the world he is creating for his collaborators. Far from being prescriptive, this detail allows the artist a solid bedrock from which to operate, confident that he is achieving – or, better yet, sharing – the writer's vision. Novelist and comics writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman, American Gods) also clearly relishes this stage of the creative process, and writes engaging, almost conversational scripts that lead the artist into his world. In Gaiman's case, he's even been known to sketch out a rough miniature copy of an issue to guide the artist through its layout.
In early Marvel comics, writer Stan Lee would provide a brief written story outline to artist collaborators such as Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, requiring them visually to plot out the comics. He would then add captions and dialogue to the artwork to complete it. The latter process is far more appropriate for action-based storytelling than for a complex narrative. This led to much controversy decades later when their creations became multimillion-dollar behemoths – who had been the creator? The truth was, they all had.
Comics fans and people new to the form alike will enjoy these great stories that illustrate the potential of this extraordinary storytelling form, a form that is becoming increasingly influential internationally.
Comics Unmasked: Art And Anarchy In The UK opens at the British Library, London NW1, on 2 May, and is curated by John Harris Dunning, Paul Gravett and Adrian Edwards.