How to Write a Comic Book
Think of a short, visual story to translate from your head to the page., Draft out the plot of your story in paragraph form., Create round, flawed, and exciting characters., Introduce a problem, fail to solve it, and then resolve the problem with a...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Think of a short
Comic books are a blast because they merge written words with cinematic images, blending the best of both novels and movies.
Remember this when considering stories
-- you want something with big, fun images and visuals as well as a fair amount of conversation and dialogue.
While there are no wrong ideas, some things to keep in mind include:
Keeping stories visual:
A long passage where a character is musing or thinking may be hard to express in comics, though not impossible.
Similarly, a conversation story in only one room is likely better suited for a short story, since you don't have many pages of new visuals.
Streamlining the story:
More characters, locations, and action is great, but it significantly increases the workload on the illustrator.
The best comic books tell their stories quickly and efficiently, using both dialogue and visual cues to keep things moving.
An Artistic Style:
Truly great comic books have art that fits seamlessly with the tone of the writing, like the dirty, water colored V for Vendetta, compared to Marvel Civil War's bright, cartoonish, and action-packed comics.
If you're an artist, this may be easy.
But even writers should think about the type of story and artwork they love.
What kind of mood does it strike, and how can your story do the same? -
Step 2: visual story to translate from your head to the page.
Just start writing, not worrying about form, content, or how it will look on the page.
Once you have your idea down, get the pen flowing.
Put the characters or idea in motion and see what happens.
If you throw 90% of this away, that is okay.
Remember the advice of writer and animator Dan Harmon, who claimed that the first draft is 98% terrible, but the next one is only 96% bad, and so on until you have a great story.
Find the 2% that's awesome and build off it:
What characters are the most fun to write? What plot points did you find yourself most interested in exploring? Are there things that you thought were good ideas that you just can't write? Consider ditching them.
Talk this draft over with some friends to get advice on what they love and how to go forward. , Characters drive plots in almost all great movies, comics, and books.
Almost all comics are the result of a character who wants something but is unable to get it
-- from villains trying to rule the world (and heroes trying to save it) to a young girl looking to figure out her complex political environment (Persepolis).
The fun of any comic book, whether about super heroes or average Joes, is following a character's trials, tribulations, and personal flaws as they try to accomplish their goals.
A great character:
Is round.
Has both strength and weaknesses, just like anyone else.
This makes them relatable.
We don't like Superman just because he saves they day, but because his awkward alter-ego Clark Kent reminds us of our own awkward, nervous days.
Has both desires and fears.
Great characters want something they can't have, and this conflict makes your story.
It is no mistake that Bruce Wayne, the Batman, is deathly scared of bats
-- just like he is scared of failing his city and parents.
This makes him far more relatable than a weirdo in a cape.
Has agency.
Whenever a character makes a choice, make sure it is the character deciding to do it
-- not the author forcing the character to do it because "the plot needs it." This is the quickest way to lose your audience., If this sounds too simple, it is.
But it is the genesis of all plot.
You have your characters, and they have a problem (The Joker is on the loose, the Avengers broke up, Scott Pilgrim got dumped).
They decide to fix the problem, and fail (The Joker escapes, Captain America and Iron Man start fighting, Scott Pilgrim has to fight 7 exes).
In a triumphant final push, your characters finally prevail (Batman defeats The Joker, Cap and Ironman usher in peace, Scott Pilgrim gets the girl).
These are your major plot points and you can play with them however you want.
But knowing these three stepping stones ahead of time will save you a lot of writing headaches. "First act—Get your hero up a tree; second act—throw rocks at him; third act—get him down."
-- AnonymousMake life hell for your characters
-- it makes the payoff more rewarding.
You can always play with this structure, and you should
-- don't forget that (spoiler alert) Captain America gets assassinated shortly after peace is brokered in Civil War.
But this moment is great because it plays off the three-act structure, even as it breaks it with a second, surprising climactic moment. , Say, for example, you have a character who needs to turn a paper in or they fail their class.
You could have the character wake up and tell their mom "I need to turn this paper in or I fail." But this is simple and unrewarding to the reader.
Consider a few ways to tell this same plot point visually:
A page of illustrations where the character frantically runs through the door, down the hall, to the office, and then finds it "Closed." A sign on the wall labeled "Final Papers Due TODAY!" that the character walks right by when leaving class.
A single shot of every other student turning in papers, with your character alone at the desk writing furiously, or with his head in his hands. , Try to be really methodical about this, boiling down each plot point and action into it's essential moment.
Think of these as each page of the comic book
-- you want the story to be progressing with ever flip of the page.
What is crucial in each scene? What moment or line of dialogue pushes each scene into the next.
In any storytelling form, each scene must end in a different place than it began for the readers, plot, and/or characters.
If not, then the whole book is just spinning it's wheels! , Finally, once the story and characters are in place, it's time to nail down the dialogue.
The trick is to make each character sound as human as possible, but there is actually an easy way to do this: have humans read out each character.
Invite over 1-2 close friends and read through the dialogue like a script.
You'll hear instantly when people can't quite get the words out or sound unnatural.
There is nothing that says you can't write dialogue first, either! If you like play-writing or screenwriting, you may be more comfortable drafting out scenes in dialogue as opposed to timelines. -
Step 3: Draft out the plot of your story in paragraph form.
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Step 4: Create round
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Step 5: flawed
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Step 6: and exciting characters.
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Step 7: Introduce a problem
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Step 8: fail to solve it
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Step 9: and then resolve the problem with a surprise to create instant plot.
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Step 10: Whenever possible
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Step 11: convey information visually instead of through dialogue or exposition.
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Step 12: Using your drafts and paragraphs
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Step 13: create timelines for the action and characters in your story.
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Step 14: Fill in the dialogue
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Step 15: workshopping it with friends to make it realistic.
Detailed Guide
Comic books are a blast because they merge written words with cinematic images, blending the best of both novels and movies.
Remember this when considering stories
-- you want something with big, fun images and visuals as well as a fair amount of conversation and dialogue.
While there are no wrong ideas, some things to keep in mind include:
Keeping stories visual:
A long passage where a character is musing or thinking may be hard to express in comics, though not impossible.
Similarly, a conversation story in only one room is likely better suited for a short story, since you don't have many pages of new visuals.
Streamlining the story:
More characters, locations, and action is great, but it significantly increases the workload on the illustrator.
The best comic books tell their stories quickly and efficiently, using both dialogue and visual cues to keep things moving.
An Artistic Style:
Truly great comic books have art that fits seamlessly with the tone of the writing, like the dirty, water colored V for Vendetta, compared to Marvel Civil War's bright, cartoonish, and action-packed comics.
If you're an artist, this may be easy.
But even writers should think about the type of story and artwork they love.
What kind of mood does it strike, and how can your story do the same?
Just start writing, not worrying about form, content, or how it will look on the page.
Once you have your idea down, get the pen flowing.
Put the characters or idea in motion and see what happens.
If you throw 90% of this away, that is okay.
Remember the advice of writer and animator Dan Harmon, who claimed that the first draft is 98% terrible, but the next one is only 96% bad, and so on until you have a great story.
Find the 2% that's awesome and build off it:
What characters are the most fun to write? What plot points did you find yourself most interested in exploring? Are there things that you thought were good ideas that you just can't write? Consider ditching them.
Talk this draft over with some friends to get advice on what they love and how to go forward. , Characters drive plots in almost all great movies, comics, and books.
Almost all comics are the result of a character who wants something but is unable to get it
-- from villains trying to rule the world (and heroes trying to save it) to a young girl looking to figure out her complex political environment (Persepolis).
The fun of any comic book, whether about super heroes or average Joes, is following a character's trials, tribulations, and personal flaws as they try to accomplish their goals.
A great character:
Is round.
Has both strength and weaknesses, just like anyone else.
This makes them relatable.
We don't like Superman just because he saves they day, but because his awkward alter-ego Clark Kent reminds us of our own awkward, nervous days.
Has both desires and fears.
Great characters want something they can't have, and this conflict makes your story.
It is no mistake that Bruce Wayne, the Batman, is deathly scared of bats
-- just like he is scared of failing his city and parents.
This makes him far more relatable than a weirdo in a cape.
Has agency.
Whenever a character makes a choice, make sure it is the character deciding to do it
-- not the author forcing the character to do it because "the plot needs it." This is the quickest way to lose your audience., If this sounds too simple, it is.
But it is the genesis of all plot.
You have your characters, and they have a problem (The Joker is on the loose, the Avengers broke up, Scott Pilgrim got dumped).
They decide to fix the problem, and fail (The Joker escapes, Captain America and Iron Man start fighting, Scott Pilgrim has to fight 7 exes).
In a triumphant final push, your characters finally prevail (Batman defeats The Joker, Cap and Ironman usher in peace, Scott Pilgrim gets the girl).
These are your major plot points and you can play with them however you want.
But knowing these three stepping stones ahead of time will save you a lot of writing headaches. "First act—Get your hero up a tree; second act—throw rocks at him; third act—get him down."
-- AnonymousMake life hell for your characters
-- it makes the payoff more rewarding.
You can always play with this structure, and you should
-- don't forget that (spoiler alert) Captain America gets assassinated shortly after peace is brokered in Civil War.
But this moment is great because it plays off the three-act structure, even as it breaks it with a second, surprising climactic moment. , Say, for example, you have a character who needs to turn a paper in or they fail their class.
You could have the character wake up and tell their mom "I need to turn this paper in or I fail." But this is simple and unrewarding to the reader.
Consider a few ways to tell this same plot point visually:
A page of illustrations where the character frantically runs through the door, down the hall, to the office, and then finds it "Closed." A sign on the wall labeled "Final Papers Due TODAY!" that the character walks right by when leaving class.
A single shot of every other student turning in papers, with your character alone at the desk writing furiously, or with his head in his hands. , Try to be really methodical about this, boiling down each plot point and action into it's essential moment.
Think of these as each page of the comic book
-- you want the story to be progressing with ever flip of the page.
What is crucial in each scene? What moment or line of dialogue pushes each scene into the next.
In any storytelling form, each scene must end in a different place than it began for the readers, plot, and/or characters.
If not, then the whole book is just spinning it's wheels! , Finally, once the story and characters are in place, it's time to nail down the dialogue.
The trick is to make each character sound as human as possible, but there is actually an easy way to do this: have humans read out each character.
Invite over 1-2 close friends and read through the dialogue like a script.
You'll hear instantly when people can't quite get the words out or sound unnatural.
There is nothing that says you can't write dialogue first, either! If you like play-writing or screenwriting, you may be more comfortable drafting out scenes in dialogue as opposed to timelines.
About the Author
Joshua Edwards
With a background in lawenforcement security, Joshua Edwards brings 11 years of hands-on experience to every article. Joshua believes in making complex topics accessible to everyone.
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