Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels

360 Pages·2014·129.91 MB·English

by  Brian Michael Bendis

Copyright © 2014 by Jinxworld, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by WatsonGuptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown
Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New
York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.watsonguptill.com
WATSONGUPTILL and the WG and Horse designs are registered trademarks of Random House
LLC.
300 is ™ Frank Miller and Lynn Varley.
Concrete is ® and © Paul Chadwick.
Marvel and related characters: ™ and © 2014 Marvel.
Usagi Yojimbo is ™ and © Stan Sakai.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bendis, Brian Michael.
Words for Pictures : the Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels / Brian Michael
Bendis. —First Edition. pages cm
1. Comic books, strips, etc.—Authorship. 2. Graphic novels—Authorship. I. Title.
PN6710.B46 2014
741.5’1—dc23
2014000732
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-770-43435-9
eBook ISBN: 978-0-77043436-6
Design by Daniel Lagin
Contributing artists: Michael Allred, David Aja, Filipe Andrade, Chris Bachalo, Mark Bagley, Sal
Buscema, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Paul Chadwick, Olivier Coipel, Mike Deodato Jr., Steve Ditko,
Steve Epting, David Finch, Francesco Francavilla, Bryan Hitch, Frazer Irving, Klaus Janson, David
LaFuente, David Mack, Alex Maleev, David Marquez, Ed McGuinness, Jamie McKelvie, Mike
Mignola, Michael Avon Oeming, Sara Pichelli, Joe Quesada, Humberto Ramos, John Romita,
John Romita Jr., Stan Sakai, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walter Simonson, Ryan Stegman, Jill Thompson,
John Totleben, Skottie Young, Leinil Francis Yu, Patrick Zircher Cover art (clockwise from top)
by: Sara Pichelli, David Marquez, and Michael Avon Oeming
Cover Design: Blue Cup Design Title page art (from top) by: Michael Avon Oeming, Sara
Pichelli, Francesco Francavilla, and Mike Deodato Jr.
v3.1
T
HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY WIFE AND CHILDREN.
Because I know exactly who I was before they entered
my life, and that person would not have been able to do any of the
things that led up to this book becoming a reality.
Thank you, Alisa. Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for our
kick-ass children. Let’s renew our vows on the moon.
And to my mother, who’s voice is ringing in my head as I type
this, “You know, Steven Spielberg got his mother a credit card at
Macy’s with an unlimited account.”
Well, I think you realize by now that THAT is never going to
happen, but you always supported my love of comics and
storytelling, even though you weren’t sure where I was going with
all of it. I know you, more than anyone else, take pride in the fact
that everything kind of worked out for me. You raised me and my
brother by yourself, and you told me I could do whatever I wanted
for a living as long as I did it smart.
Well, I did it smart enough that they asked me to write a book
about it. So, hey, I listened!! Seriously, the existence of this book is a
testament to your fantastic parenting.
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
FOREWORD BY JOE QUESADA
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
WHY?
CHAPTER 2
THE MODERN COMIC BOOK SCRIPT
CHAPTER 3
WRITING FOR THE ARTISTS
CHAPTER 4
THE EDITORS’ ROUNDTABLE
CHAPTER 5
THE WRITERS’ FAQS
CHAPTER 6
THE BUSINESS OF COMICS WRITING
CHAPTER 7
WRITING EXERCISES
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INDEX

Art by Sara Pichelli