What comic writers can learn from top comic artists
Comic Reviews for week ending 6/5/2022
Good morning, my friend,
Today’s topic is near and dear to my heart - writing. I'm not talking about the act of writing but the process an aspiring writer needs to go through to improve. That process is remarkably similar to what the top comics artists go through to be considered one of the best.
There’s an old saying that speaks directly to the heart of this topic, “Writers are Readers.” What this terse but surprisingly insightful saying means is that great writers get great by exposing themselves to other great writers. In the world of comics, the process for top artists is almost identical.
If you speak with and listen to as many great comic artists as I have, you pick up a clear pattern of evolution. Here’s how that evolution looks for a hypothetical artist we’ll call “Jack”.
Jack starts by doodling and drawing what he imagines, often with a terrible result
Next, Jack starts copying the artwork of other artists he admires and aspires to be, usually resulting in cheap reproductions that (hopefully) show potential.
Later, Jack may go for formal training or pick up an apprenticeship to solidify the basics of hatching, anatomy proportions, panel layouts, and more.
Eventually, Jack will adopt an acceptable house style and work in small changes from other artists that appeal to his artistic sensibility. For example, Jack’s style may get the job done when it comes to drawing soldiers, but he starts working with one famous artist’s way of drawing eyes and another famous artist’s way of creating hand gestures. Jack has a basic foundation and then stacks bits and pieces of different styles to create something new.
If Jack reaches the top of his game, he may one day invent a few new styles of his own.
Take this sequence and replace the art specifics with writer-specific assets like “dialog”, “cliffhanger”, and “plot”, and you can see how the evolution for top comic writers is the same. You can take a class to get the foundation down, but exposure to different writing styles and voices is where the magic happens.
I’m most known for being a comic reviewer, so I’m exposed to dozens of different comics every month. In that volume of diverse creative teams, you can quickly see which writers are exposing themselves to better writers and which ones aren’t. If writer A is still churning out the same level of mediocrity year after year, the lack of exposure and evolution become unmistakable.
Sometimes I’ll seek out roundtables and interviews with certain writers to understand their process. When (if) the question comes up - “What are the last five books you’ve read?”, and the answer is similar to “I don’t read” or “I don’t have time to read,” the results in the quality of their comics are almost always poor.
The great comic artists don’t get to be great on their own. They try, mimic, copy, cobble together, and evolve every chance until they develop a style all their own. For comic writers, the process is no different.
If you’re an aspiring comic writer, read scripts, read stories, read good ones, and read bad ones. Look for the turns of phrases, the pacing, how stories start, and how they finish. Pick out the pieces that speak to you and add those styles to your own. Even genius savant writers need to learn the basics and put together what others have already done in unique ways. They just do it faster.
Greatness requires one trait above all else - constant improvement. For comic artists, that requirement is clear as day. For comic writers, too few recognize the path is the same.
What do you think? Add a comment down below with the last five books you’ve read and what, if anything, you can add to your writing style. If you follow somebody you consider a great comic writer, ask them what they’ve been reading. The results may just surprise you.
Now, let’s get on with this week’s reviews.
This Week’s Deals of the Day [DotD]
No deals this past week. We’re taking the time to retool and reassess, but we should have more deals coming your way this coming week.
If you have a hankering for something to scratch that collectibles itch. Let us know what you want, and we’ll make it happen.
78 MPH #3 – Review
WOLVENHEART #13 – Review
DOCTOR WILDER #4 – Review
GRIMM SPOTLIGHT: ZODIAC – Review
DIE!NAMITE NEVER DIES! #4 – Review
RED SITHA #2 – Review
VAMPIRELLA/DRACULA: UNHOLY #6 – Review
KING CONAN #5 – Review
THE BREAKER OMNIBUS (VOL. 3) – Review
PIZZA BOYZ #10 – Indie Review
PLAINER JANE #2 – Indie Review
Archer & Armstrong Forever #2 (Valiant Entertainment)
Potions Inc. #1 (Mad Cave Studios)
Doctor Who: Origins #1 (Titan Comics)
Blade Runner: Origins #12 (Titan Comics)
Bêlit & Valeria #2 (Ablaze Publishing)
Bettie Page: The Alien Agenda #4 (Dynamite Comics)
The Invincible Red Sonja #9 (Dynamite Comics)
Nyx #7 (Dynamite Comics)
Vampirella Strikes #2 (Dynamite Comics)
Blu Lullaby #1 (Indie Submission)
At Last The Light (One-Shot) (Indie Submission)
That’s the shortlist. We’ll add more as time and resources allow.
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Have a great day!