Studying Comic Book Craft

Studying Comic Book Craft

Writing every single day is only half the battle for someone looking to create their own story. It doesn't matter if it's a comic, a novel, or a screenplay, the only way to get better at something is to constantly expose yourself to elements of your craft.

Despite being in school for the past umpteen years, I've found ways to learn a little more about creating comic books and the comic book industry nearly every day of the week. They might not be big leaps or bounds, but even the littlest bit of information or exposure keeps me excited about writing and making comics with other creators.

Podcasts

I spend a lot of time in the car, so listening to podcasts that talk about comic book craft helps me feel like I'm less of a road zombie between errands and classes.

Right now one of my favorite podcasts about creating comics is Decompressed by Kieron Gillen (Young Avengers, Phonogram). Gillen talks to other creators about creating and crafting comics, and the guests always provide deep insight and methods for producing great material.

Decompressed Podcast Cover

Books

I try to read a book on comic book craft at least one every week or two weeks, even if it's just a chapter a day or every other day. There are a ton of books that you can get on the subject of making comics. So here are a few that stand out on my shelf:

• Make Comics Like the Pros - by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente
• The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics - by Dennis O'Neil
• The Insider's Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels - by Andy Schmidt
• Making Comics - by Scott McCloud

I'd personally recommend starting with The DC Comics Guide, because O'Neil goes into detail about setting up a plot, character arc, and a resolution to a single-issue comic book script.

The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics - O'Neil

Reading Comics

This is a big one, and it's not always easy to do. I try to read at least a single comic book every day of the week. I'll often read it once for fun, then go back and analyze how panels were paced, where the cliffhangers and page turns were used, and how the story played out over 20-24 pages. Having apps like Marvel Unlimited and Scribd help a lot for this, since it saves me serious money on a daily basis.

You can't really write if you don't read.

Just make sure not to replace all writing with reading - I'm guilty of that sometimes. Haha

Finally

I try to remember that some days I'm not going to find anything new, and that's fine. Even if I do one of these things it feels like I'm making steps in the right direction. I'd suggest adopting any of these habits if you want to keep your motivation up and deepen your knowledge of comic book craft on a daily or even weekly basis.