Shellhead
11-13-2006, 08:57 AM
A friend that I have known for several years has asked me to write a comic book for him to draw. He has already created a team of super-heroes, complete with names, powers, and personalities, but lacks the writing skills to write it himself. He knows that I have written some poetry that got published, as well as a boardgame that just hit stores a few weeks ago, so he considers me a very creative person who knows a lot about comics. A long time ago, I wrote for the school newspaper and considered a career in journalism, but I chose accounting during my first year of college.
At the time we discussed this, it was about 3:00 AM, after a long day of playing boardgames. He scribbled down some ideas on a napkin, and we talked about some ideas for about a half hour. Then I said that I would think about it and get back to him soon.
A different artist/friend asked me to write a comic in the mid-90's, and I decided not to do it. That artist had an overly cartoonish style, but he wanted to do a serious superhero comic for either DC and Marvel, but didn't have any ideas. I spent a week brainstorming, and realized that all of my ideas were derivative, and often tied to existing aspects of DC or Marvel continuity.
I'm tempted to give this a try, but have some doubts. Since this artist does have a lot of ideas but just can't do his own scripting, I wouldn't be starting from scratch. But I don't have any experience writing screenplays or anything like that, which would probably be the relevant skill for this situation. I do have Alan Moore's guide to writing comics, not that I have any delusions of writing anywhere near that level. Is there anywhere else that I can get guidance on scripting, either for comics or otherwise?
I expect that the next several months are going to be unusually busy both at work and in my personal life, including year-end close and moving into a new apartment in the spring. This artist is a friend, but not a close friend, as we tend to operate in different social circles. At this point, I am thinking of turning him down, but I want to at least try before making a decision.
At the time we discussed this, it was about 3:00 AM, after a long day of playing boardgames. He scribbled down some ideas on a napkin, and we talked about some ideas for about a half hour. Then I said that I would think about it and get back to him soon.
A different artist/friend asked me to write a comic in the mid-90's, and I decided not to do it. That artist had an overly cartoonish style, but he wanted to do a serious superhero comic for either DC and Marvel, but didn't have any ideas. I spent a week brainstorming, and realized that all of my ideas were derivative, and often tied to existing aspects of DC or Marvel continuity.
I'm tempted to give this a try, but have some doubts. Since this artist does have a lot of ideas but just can't do his own scripting, I wouldn't be starting from scratch. But I don't have any experience writing screenplays or anything like that, which would probably be the relevant skill for this situation. I do have Alan Moore's guide to writing comics, not that I have any delusions of writing anywhere near that level. Is there anywhere else that I can get guidance on scripting, either for comics or otherwise?
I expect that the next several months are going to be unusually busy both at work and in my personal life, including year-end close and moving into a new apartment in the spring. This artist is a friend, but not a close friend, as we tend to operate in different social circles. At this point, I am thinking of turning him down, but I want to at least try before making a decision.