I always find the script writing interesting: it would appear that the writer decides how many panels to a page, but the artist decides exactly what we see in the panel (the only real guidance to the artist seemed to be to include the egg). I was recently reading Scott McCloud's books on reading and creating comics and there really are a lot of ways to present a story, I wonder if the writer decides by intuition and/or experience how many panels will best present the dialog, and best build to the punch line? I am becoming more interested in the nuts and bolts of comic books (are there nuts and bolts?).

embers | August 22, 17:18 CET

It really depends on the writer. Alan Moore for instance is famously verbose in his scripts sometimes describing panel contents, angles, framing etc. I think especially when a writer has worked with an artist for a while they can probably afford to trust them a bit more. Which means when Joss is directing Cassaday he probably just has "Kitty looking cool. Err, phasing ?" ;).

Not sure but it would make sense for the number of panels to be roughly dictated by the amount of words on that particular page (or just the "amount" of story being told) since each panel can only hold a maximum number of words and/or convey one scene (or even one scene segment, maybe more like one shot). If you have a big action scene without words then you can have single panel "splash" pages, if it's talky then you might need more panels ?

I wonder if the Angel line's from a flashback to the alley fight ? Or maybe the fight itself ? Sounds like a sort of mid-sword-swing quip (and self-reference to his "Let's go to work").

[ edited by Saje on 2007-08-22 15:00 ]

Saje | August 22, 18:00 CET

Interesting post about comic book writing, which of course, I know next-to-nothing about. Seeing those panels devoid of words and color was weird. It was like the absence of those two things sucked the life right out of the page-made it as one-demonsional as I've thought comics to be all this time.

I confess, I'm still having trouble reading them from panel-to-panel, although I've found it easier to do so with the Shadow Puppets series.

And I also wanted to say that when I read that one-line teaser from Angel:After The Fall, I heard it in DB's voice. It reminded me of those voice-overs that David did for the episodes Passion and Redefinition.

menomegirl | August 22, 18:49 CET

I just want to make clear that I'm not saying "this is how you write great comics!", I'm just saying "this is how I write comics".

Also, I definitely write more in-depth when it comes to action scenes or new characters or descriptions of stuff. I really should have included a page that has some of that, huh? Maybe later today.

Brian Lynch | August 22, 19:44 CET

I just want to make clear that I'm not saying "this is how you write great comics!", I'm just saying "this is how I write comics".

Some might suggest those statements aren't mutually exclusive ;).

It was like the absence of those two things sucked the life right out of the page-made it as one-demonsional as I've thought comics to be all this time.

A formative comic reading experience for me was reading an issue of my little brother's "Action Force" comic ("GI Joe" to Yanks ;) which featured a story called "Hush Job". 15-20 years ahead of Joss' excellent Buffy episode, it was almost (if not actually, can't remember) entirely devoid of dialogue. Very cool (then anyway, haven't re-read it in a looong time), well told story just using the art and the composition of the panels to convey everything that needed conveying. And I regularly read "Queen and Country" (in trade) and "Wasteland" from Oni press, both of which are black and white (though usually with dialogue).

To use "Hush" as an example, people would've said a TV episode largely without sound was lifeless or one-dimensional until Joss & the gang made it work. Same with any other limitation, if the creator has the goods, it'll add to the experience, not take away from it IMO (I doubt anyone misses colour when reading 'Sin City' for instance - from bug to feature in a single bound ;).

Saje | August 22, 20:28 CET

Wasn't that issue called "SILENT INTERLUDE"? I love that.

Brian Lynch | August 22, 21:29 CET

One oft-overlooked and super important ingredient in writing great comics is that you should have a character named Saje. Just my tuppence.

zeitgeist | August 22, 22:35 CET

Yep, it's a near guarantee of success/Joss-attention/Angel-NOT-S6-continuations. All you need to add is talent and hard-work ;).

Wasn't that issue called "SILENT INTERLUDE"? I love that.

Could be, I may be conflating it with another story. Over here we used to get "Action Force" stories (basically GI Joe reprints I think) in the back of "Transformers" (which my kid brother was mad on - toys, duvet covers, comics, you name it) and I remember this silent story that heavily involved Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes.

The only specific I can remember is one of them (Snake Eyes I think) throwing his sword and either Scarlett or Lady Jaye (i.e. a female member of AF) accidentally getting in the way. Without dialogue or narration we have this little mini suspense scene which almost felt like it was in slow motion (yep, even though it was a comic). Storm Shadow kind of reaches around the woman's head and catches the sword between the flats of his palms, inches from her face (a bit like Buffy does in "Becoming Pt 2"). It was a real "phew" of relief moment rendered in just a few panels, without words and showed me that I was wrong in my oh-so-grown-up, teenage disdain for comic books.

Saje | August 22, 23:03 CET

"Silent Interlude" was indeed dialogue-free, not counting a panel showing a computer screen. Of course, it was about a commando who couldn't talk fighting a ninja, so it wasn't out of character...

Craig Oxbrow | August 22, 23:06 CET

The legend of that issue (I don't think it's true, but it's a cool enough story) is that it was running very late and there simply wasn't any time to letter it, so writer Larry Hama looked over the pages and decided to just go ahead without the lettering.

I never read the issue--actually looked for it just recently, but it was too pricy to get just for the novelty value.

Marvel of course also had a month of silent stories years back--and some of the stories (like New X-Men's "Silence: Psychic Rescue in Progress") actually worked, too.

But back on-topic, Brian, thanks for this. Can never see enough "behind the magic" bits. You're right that there's different ways to format a comic script, but from what I've seen, most modern writers stick fairly close to this. (Including myself, I might humbly add.)

Niels | August 23, 00:04 CET

Re: "Silent Interlude" and "Hush Job": you're both right! Larry Hama's original silent Joe story was "Silent Interlude", originally published in Marvel's G.I. Joe #21. (A couple of years ago, a reprint of this issue was included with a three pack of action figures - Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and a red ninja - as part of Hasbro's comic book three-pack series, which included many outfits and even characters which had been originally created in the comic.) His second completely silent story, originally published in G.I. Joe Yearbook #3, was "Hush Job". There's also a third one, in G.I. Joe #85, "SFX" (Storm Shadow and Jinx versus Zartan and several red ninjas), so named because this issue, while still dialogue free, did have all of the "thwack"s, "whup whup whup whup"s, "beep"s, and so on included.

For anybody who's really curious about the comics writing process, there are several books available on the subject, including one from a man who's done a bit of Angelverse writing himself. "Writing for Comics with Peter David", by the author of "Spike: Old Times", the Illyria spotlight, and "Spike vs. Dracula", offers many details on both the various ways in which a comic script may be written and on structuring a story in general. (Apologies if you've written a book of your own on the subject, Mr. Lynch; please feel free to promote it :) )

[edited for a sad misspell and a missing quotation mark]

[ edited by LKW on 2007-08-22 23:56 ]

LKW | August 23, 00:41 CET

Re: "Silent Interlude" and "Hush Job": you're both right!

Cool ! This must be one of those win-win situations i've read about in books ;). Cheers for the info LKW.

(might also check out the Peter David book at some point, borrowed some of his Hulk run in the early 90s and liked it and I also thought 'Spike vs Dracula' was pretty cool - and to keep it on-off-topic, featured an unintentionally silent page due to a printing error ;)

Saje | August 23, 01:09 CET

Ooops, double post.

Hope the server hasn't been "upgraded" again ;-).

[ edited by Saje on 2007-08-22 22:11 ]

Saje | August 23, 01:10 CET

I understood that, Mr. Lynch. I found your blog interesting for several reasons, one of them being, of course, that I simply haven't read comics in so very long.

I must say, I didn't think to relate the lack of coloration and speech to the episode Hush and y'all know everything else y'all said just went wheeeeeeeee! right over my head, don't you? And that's why I don't get into conversations about comics:it's too easy to confound me, LOL.

Still, I am liking Btvs S8 and Shadow Puppets and very much looking forward to Angel:After The Fall.

menomegirl | August 23, 04:00 CET