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Underground > Comic Books >

Comic Book Scripts

03:13 / 11.04.04

A chum and I are kicking around a few ideas for some comics, and I came to realize I have never seen a script for a comic before. Is there samples online somewhere? I am just curious about the structure etc.

06:17 / 11.04.04

I've worked from scripts by many different writers, and no two have been the same. Unlike film screenplays, there is no standard accepted format.

Basically though, it should look something like this:

PAGE 1

PANEL 1: (Description of the picture the artist is to illustrate)

CHARACTER 1: (Dialogue text)

CHARACTER 2: (Dialogue text)

CAPTION: (Narrative text)

And so on. As long as it's an easily-understood set of instructions for the artist to follow, you're set.

11:11 / 11.04.04

2000adonline has a good selection of samples.

I remember a Sandman tpb that had a sample of Neil's scripting in the back...Dream Country that's the one.

But yeah generally what's already been said.

14:50 / 11.04.04

Wow, OK that is great. Leaves a lot for artistic interpretation. Guessing there is a lot of notes / discussion beforehand of the look of charectors/scenery etc, to help focus the vision. I thought I was getting a bit anal/psycho with the "set-up", but this is where a lot of the deets go, then nice and simple/clean for the panels. Thanks Cameron, and thanks MJ, I will check out the 2000AD link.

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

18:41 / 11.04.04

It also depends on what the artist wants. The "Marvel Method" is to write the story out as a "rough plot" where the dialogue is written later, and for the most part it works out to a paragraph a page. Alan Moore writes his scripts as almost a letter to the artist, and goes into INSANE detail, and at the end of all of the description says something like "And if it doesn't work, fuck it and draw what works."

The strip I write started with my putting in a lot of detail (and almost sketching out the panels) until the artist got the hang of storytelling, and now has asked me just to give the dialgue and enough description so that she can get the idea of the joke, so that she can put her own spin on it so that she doesn't feeel like she's working on a "made to order" project.

As time goes on, keep asking the artist what info they want, and gently point out when they didn't get the point in your script and ask you can describe it properly. If you aren't the one doing everything, it's a partnership, and it takes some time to figure out how best to do it so that you can draw off of both of your strengths.

19:12 / 11.04.04

Thanks Rose. My partner is a good friend I have known for a long time, and we have collaborated on a lot of writing projects together, he is a way more proficient artist however, and has many excellent ideas himself. I am really looking forward to bouncing the ideas off each other for this new "world" we will be creating. Looking around today I have seen many different levels of detail in the scripts, and I can see how each differnent project may require more or less detail depending on writer\artist combo, and material written. I think I will pick up Alan Moore's writing for comics as well. I was suprised at the similarity to movie scripts, but in hindsight, that only makes sense really, being a visual medium.

Matthew Fluxington

19:20 / 11.04.04

Cameron, have you ever worked "Marvel style"? Is that something that you think you would enjoy more or less than a more detailed and tightly plotted story?

20:30 / 11.04.04

Seaguy is sort of a Marvel-style process; I get scripts from Grant that are broken down panel-by-panel, but only have very rough and temporary first-draft dialogue. After I complete the artwork, Grant writes the final script based on the drawings.

The BPRD story I'm also working on at the moment was done completely Marvel-style (there really ought to be a less company-specific term for that). Mignola gave me a five page, train-of-thought plot, and left it up to me to determine page breaks, panel breakdowns, camera angles, etc. I'm still working on it but once I'm finished he'll go in and write the dialogue based on what I've drawn.

I think that ultimately I prefer to have a complete script, with full dialogue - at least to start with. I believe that even if a script is fully written it should not be considered immutable, it can be changed at the art stage if and when it is required. There are times when I was working on Catwoman when I deviated from Ed's script, if I felt like I had an idea for the scene or page that would help make it more exciting or read more smoothly. I never altered dialogue, or changed his intent for the scene, as he is the author and it's not my place to change the story being told, just the way it's told.

For example - let's say I had a script for Daredevil, and in it the writer said that there's a panel or two where Daredevil jumps down from a rooftop into an alley, to confront a crook. All that's really important there is to get DD from point A to point B, the roof to the alley, so my instict is to come up with a way to make that interesting to draw, and interesting to read, regardless of how it's written in the script. So rather than just draw DD jumping down, I'll draw him somersaulting off a clothesline, or grabbing on to a drainpipe and sliding down, swinging from a fire escape ladder, etc etc. Stuff that isn't necessarily described in the script but allows me to contribute to the storytelling while keeping the author's intent intact.

The script is a blueprint for the final story, and it's the artist's job to interpret and illustrate it effectively. I like having the script fully-written, but also the freedom to elaborate on it.

20:08 / 03.06.04

Hi all, been finding out a lot of great information in the online samples, as well as a few books I have purchased, and have been writing for about a month now. Only one short script done, need to focus a bit to complete 4 others I am working on.

Here is a new site that I am finding helpful as well.

Scryptic Studios

Thanks again for all your input.

22:29 / 03.06.04

Take a look at:

Writers on Comics Scriptwriting by Mark Salisbury which has interviews and samples from several major writers.

It's also a very good read.

11:45 / 04.06.04

Cameron:

I've heard the term "plot-first" used for "Marvel-style" (as opposed to full-script).