Hello monster lovers and comic book fiends! I hope everyone had a great weekend! My girlfriend and I took the pups to the beach, yesterday. Zero the Pitt loved the waves, which he tried to bite. Salem the boxer was so-so about the ocean, but she did jump in. The ocean is great, but the sand not so much. I was sitting here waiting for a Zoom meeting, so I thought I would write a new blog post. This client had asked me "What makes a good comic book?"
Ancient people knew that drawings and symbols possess power, and drew on a cave wall in France 17,000 years ago to record an adventure, or to give a dire warning, or to warn about Dire Wolves. Writing also possesses that magical quality to let someone experience more than what is right in front of them, and combining the two mediums creates a spell that transports us to other worlds, while telling us something about ourselves as human beings within this one.
A good comic is somewhat subjective, but a damn good one starts with a solid narrative, strong character designs, and a damn good artist and writer partnership. A writer who knows the strengths of that artist will always help to create something that resonates with readers. Humans need stories to make sense of this crazy world - the plot, pacing, and journey of the characters are important, but there is unique marriage that happens sometimes between a writer and artist, and that's when we get a really epic comic book. It's like a band or cooking recipe. Too much salt in the soup makes it taste like shit, or too little. A drum beat that overpowers the vocals doesn't work (you get the picture). A big shout out to talented inkers, colorists, and letterers too, which are a must in making a comic come to life.
I write full scripts for my books, complete with the panel descriptions and dialogue, but the dialogue often changes when I see the finished art. Most writers write too many words! If a panel's art can be conveyed with little or no speech bubbles, then cut away! I heard a great actor say once, "If I can convey the emotion or idea to the audience without words, then I don't say them." This is the same for a panel in a comic book, and I think a character should change, either emotionally or physically, or both during the course of the story. Why even take the journey, if not to change oneself along the way? I like to look at the roughs of each page too to get a sense of story and visual flow, and always remember when writing characters, there is a king in every beggar and a beggar in every king! Look for a character's opposites to make them a complex whole.
I also like the quote by Alan Moore (consummate comic writer, wordy wizard, and shouter at clouds): writing is simply to 'spell,' to manipulate words, to change people's consciousness. I agree, but would add visual art to that spell casting, Comic books have changed millions of people's consciousness, just like those ancient cave drawings did to the people of that tribe. It gave them an empathic connection and deeper understanding of another person's experiences, now if that's not magic, what is?
Please sign up up on this page at the bottom of the main page, and follow @csawyerwriter on Insta (a button is also at top of main site page), and look for the Kickstarter trailer for "The Forbidden Museum" dropping in a week. Art by Luke Archey! With covers by some well known horror artists.
Current Projects:
Our Kickstarter is in July. Trailer drops in May. If you like Hammer Classic Horror and Indiana Jones you will love The Forbidden Museum! Jonathan Harker built the Forbidden Museum in the 1800s to lock away Dracula's tomb, along with other great evils. Now they has been freed to walk the Earth again by his grandson Henry Harker, who must re-imprison them or stay the museum's undead curator for eternity. Insta: @theforbiddenmuseum
Pic of Boone from my sci-fi action series Mars City Vice! Even though the main campaign is over, you can still get print copies of Issue #1 and #2 is are still available on Indiegogo Indemand: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mars-city-vice-2-still-get-a-copy-indemand/x/20703008#/
Digital copy of Issue #1 on Comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Mars-City-Vice-1/digital-comic/887411?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy
I also just subbed a horror/drama feature script, a sci-fi TV pilot, and a short film I wrote and directed to The Nashville Film Fest - fingers crossed!
Keep dreaming!
Craig
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