A group for fans of British Comics
Writing Comics: Useful Links and Advice
The Emperor posted some really useful links about guides to Creating Comics as part of our ongoing discussion about Promoting Comics. I think I must have mis-interpreted one of his earlier suggestions, because he did suggest we have separate threads for creating comics devoted to specific aspects of the form and I was having a 'thick' day and didn't get what he meant. Anyway: here are the links he posted for artists, please feel free to chip in.
Getting into comics if you're a writer isn't always as easy as it may be for a good artist. It's harder to get your work seen because it requires a hard-pressed editor to have the time to read an unsolicited script, let alone find time to comment on it. For those of you undaunted by this, you might be interested in the downthetubes guide to writing comics, here, which was in part based on my experiences as an editor for Marvel back in the 1990s.
"There are sample scripts you can look at to get the idea of what is needed (the 2000AD ones went missing when 2000ADOnline redesigned the official site but I think they are around, I'll dig them out)" says The Emperor, "but I often find that reading comics with an eye on the pacing and storytelling is as good as a book on the topic.
"Getting feedback is tricky although I'm sure if you ask nicely in some communities folks will look a script over. There is also the scriptdroids Yahoogroup, which, while uite, should be useful:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scriptdroids/
"Once you've got a few stories under your belt it can be a bit trickier getting collaborators (although you may have met a few folks on the road who might be up for the next stage) and you'd usually be talking about a back-end deal if there is any possible money to be made (with that way of financing it you pay everyone when any money comes in).
It is an artists' market (as there are always more writers) so it if you are looking for artist for a project then you'll need to do some searching. DeviantArt is good and you could look through here:
www.digitalwebbing.com/talent/
"I have also found Sweatdrop Studios to be useful for manga work (although bear in mind that most OEL manga creators writer their own material too so it can be trickier)
www.sweatdrop.com/forum/
"This has a British slant on it and without an impressive combination of talent and luck it might not get you to the point of a paying gig. For that you need to keep honing your craft, pitching to companies (please read their guidelines carefully or your work could be binned or returned unread), networking, grapevining and getting your work out there and seen.
"Also keep an eye out for opportunities to stand out and get your work seen.
"There are also competitions writers and artists can contribute to. These change but there is Comic Book Idol and Small Press Idol. The manga ones are usually posted and discussed on Sweatdrop, like the RSOM (although check those terms and conditions as they got really controversial).
"There is also Zuda, which is a real chance to get some paid work for DC and it can get you serious attention, although because of this you really need to bring your A game because it attracts a lot of pro/semi-pro creators (and you should be in the position to put in heavy online promotion of your comic and if you can get into some local media all the better - the BBC is a good one, going via their regional divisions).
Getting into comics if you're a writer isn't always as easy as it may be for a good artist. It's harder to get your work seen because it requires a hard-pressed editor to have the time to read an unsolicited script, let alone find time to comment on it. For those of you undaunted by this, you might be interested in the downthetubes guide to writing comics, here, which was in part based on my experiences as an editor for Marvel back in the 1990s.
"There are sample scripts you can look at to get the idea of what is needed (the 2000AD ones went missing when 2000ADOnline redesigned the official site but I think they are around, I'll dig them out)" says The Emperor, "but I often find that reading comics with an eye on the pacing and storytelling is as good as a book on the topic.
"Getting feedback is tricky although I'm sure if you ask nicely in some communities folks will look a script over. There is also the scriptdroids Yahoogroup, which, while uite, should be useful:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scriptdroids/
"Once you've got a few stories under your belt it can be a bit trickier getting collaborators (although you may have met a few folks on the road who might be up for the next stage) and you'd usually be talking about a back-end deal if there is any possible money to be made (with that way of financing it you pay everyone when any money comes in).
It is an artists' market (as there are always more writers) so it if you are looking for artist for a project then you'll need to do some searching. DeviantArt is good and you could look through here:
www.digitalwebbing.com/talent/
"I have also found Sweatdrop Studios to be useful for manga work (although bear in mind that most OEL manga creators writer their own material too so it can be trickier)
www.sweatdrop.com/forum/
"This has a British slant on it and without an impressive combination of talent and luck it might not get you to the point of a paying gig. For that you need to keep honing your craft, pitching to companies (please read their guidelines carefully or your work could be binned or returned unread), networking, grapevining and getting your work out there and seen.
"Also keep an eye out for opportunities to stand out and get your work seen.
"There are also competitions writers and artists can contribute to. These change but there is Comic Book Idol and Small Press Idol. The manga ones are usually posted and discussed on Sweatdrop, like the RSOM (although check those terms and conditions as they got really controversial).
"There is also Zuda, which is a real chance to get some paid work for DC and it can get you serious attention, although because of this you really need to bring your A game because it attracts a lot of pro/semi-pro creators (and you should be in the position to put in heavy online promotion of your comic and if you can get into some local media all the better - the BBC is a good one, going via their regional divisions).
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by The Emperor on -
Denny O'Neil is presenting a course on writing comics and also passing on his ideas as he goes over at Bleeding Cool:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/09/30/how-to-write-comics-and-grap...
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/10/07/how-to-write-comics-and-grap...
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Brown on -
I would also reccomend for new writers to talk to other writers on forums. Networking and
mentoring under another writer is a great way to get started in this. There are lots of friendly
creators out there that will talk and help you.
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Permalink Reply by The Emperor on
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Also try and find someone to read through your scripts as they'll be better able to spot any typos and other problems.
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Brown on
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I am good friends with one of the Zuda winners. He has done work for Image and IDW. John is correct on definitely needing to bring your "A" game to this effort!
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Permalink Reply by The Emperor on
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Although that will not help you win alone, you need to pound the pavements and kiss a few babies too, metaphorcially speaking. As this month's content shows.
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