What is the Format for Writing Comic Books?
- First of all, it helps to know your lingo. While pages are self-explanatory, splash pages (a full picture encompassing the entire page) may not be. Pages are usually divided in panels, each with a different shot propelling the story along. Speech balloons indicate dialogue, and thought balloons give a glimpse into the mind of a character, while captions usually serve as narration or as a transition device.
- Most writers structure their scripts as follows: page number, first panel number, description of the shot, dialogue or caption, second panel number, and so on. When it comes to writing dialogue, the format resembles a movie script, with the name of the character followed by the dialogue. Caption lines are usually preceded by the word “CAPTION” only. Some writers number their word balloons and caption boxes to make the letterer’s job easier.
- Some writers like Warren Ellis detail how the page should be arranged after they write the page number, like “three by three grid made up of identically-sized panels.” Others supply a sketched breakdown of how each panel should look within the page. Many writers also give directions to the artist (assuming the writer won’t also draw the comic), pointing them to reference material for a visual, as well as give suggestions to other collaborators like the letterer and colorist.
- Some writers are very sparse in their panel descriptions, while others, like Alan Moore, are notorious for their astonishingly detailed descriptions, dedicating several paragraphs to each panel. As with many other things in comic book scripting, it’s subject to various factors, among them your trust in the artist’s ability to properly render your vision.
- A writer can control not just what is said but how it is said. A commonly used technique is emphasizing certain words by placing them in bold, all caps or underlined. Font changes and sizes can also suggest different kinds of speech on the page, according to famed Batman writer and editor Dennis O’Neill in his “DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics.”
- Although most writers nowadays use a variation of formats, for years a popular, wholly different type of script called “plot-first” script, also known as “Marvel style,” dominated the comic-book industry. A plot-first script is a written outline of the story entirely in prose. The artist then draws panels following this outline and the writer later inserts dialogue in the completed panels. Stan Lee pioneered the style back in the early 60s, when he wrote and edited almost all of the Marvel books and needed a faster way to produce stories.
