Comics #1

Comic Books #1

Comics, comics, comics… Hmm, well what is a comic anyway? There are so many different things that seem to define comics. But we’ll go with Scott McClouds: a story told by the juxtaposing of images. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s something like that.

You will be responsible for creating a comic. This means ‘publication’ (which probably means cover and binding – but might also mean web design.) Your mark will be based on quality of the visual aspect, as well as quality of the writing/scripting/dialogue. Your comic must be at least 16 pages.

Ah, but tell me more

Well, comics come in many forms. We have the manga style, which is defined not by its Japanese heritage, but by its art style more than anything else. Can there be Manga written outside of Japan? Can a Japanese comic not be manga. These are the internet seeded arguments that I will avoid. Think of it like art – you know it when you see it.

There is also the traditional North American comics (24 pages long, 8.5 x 11 pages, etc.) These are not limited to super heroes, of course, but that’s probably what they are best remembered for.

Butt he fun doesn’t stop there. There are also a great number of web comics out there on the interwebs. Some of them limit themselves to simple pages, but others expand well beyond the confines of the printed page, allowing them to be something so much – more.

What will we be learning?

1. Print / Web
2. Comics Art
3. Dialogue and Scripting
4. Publishing
5. Step 1. Idea / Step 2. ??? / Step 3. Profit.

What shall we do now?

You need to think up what type of comic you want to write. Will this be a collection of single page stories? Will it be the first issue in a potentially ongoing series? Will your comic be a stand alone one shot? This is what you right now need to think about.

What will the story be? You might want to think of a plot outline, and what type of characters you want. And a title! A title, of course a title: your comic will need a catchy or descriptive title. Let’s see what you can come up with.

Art style: you need to choose how you’re going to do the art. Will you be embracing the digital colouring? Will you black and white ink it? Or will you try to pawn off a pencil sketch comic (note to you: don’t try and pawn off a pencil sketch comic!)