Comic Books 101 Read online

  Shocking reveals and genuine scares or laughs can also be tricky to present on the printed page — a quick flip-through of the comic can spoil what was designed for dramatic impact.

  PENCILLER

  Traditionally, the art in comic books is first rendered in pencil, usually on heavy, white bristol board. If an artist is credited solely as penciller, it means that another artist came in later to ink, or “finish,” the work. However, this is not an indication of the degree of the penciller's involvement. Depending on the level of detail of the writer's instructions, the penciller is often entirely responsible for determining the panel-to-panel breakdowns, which can visually make or break a comic-book story. If the pen-cilleris not able to clearly and concisely convey the action in the story through the poses of the figures, the facial expressions and the continuity between the panels, the best dialogue in the world won't make it a good story.

  INKER

  Occasionally referred to as the finisher, the inker comes in after the penciller and inks over the penciller's lines in heavy black ink, so the page can be cleanly reproduced. While the inker was memorably and derisively referred to as “a tracer” in Kevin Smith's film Chasing Amy, the role of the inker is far more important than that. Some pencillers provide very little detail, leaving the final look of the figures and backgrounds in the hands of the inker. (In the case that a penciller only provides rough sketches and the inker provides most of the finished art, you'll see the penciller credited with merely breakdowns.)

  The inker is far more pivotal to the process than most readers realize. A good inker can save some very wobbly pencilling, while a bad inker can drown a penciller's delicate, detailed linework in a sea of smudgy black. Opinions vary about what makes a good inker, but you know it when you see it. There's no fooling the eye, even to those who are new to comics.

  COLORIST

  When the comic-book art has been pencilled and inked, it's turned over to the colorist, who assigns a color code to each figure or area, and is responsible for the consistency of those colors from panel to panel and throughout the book. In recent years technology has revolutionized the coloring process in comic books — digital coloring with computers offers a vast palette of colors and shadings compared to the original “four-color” days of the 1930s and '40s.

  As comic-book art has become more sophisticated in recent years, and with digital coloring offering more and more special effects, the sheer act of coloring a comic-book page can be too laborious for one person. Many colorists now employ flatters to help them out. A flatter is a person who lays down a first layer of color on the art, using flat colors, colors with no shading, gradient or highlights. Once the page has been filled with flats and colors have been assigned to all figures and backgrounds, the colorist adds the finishing layers of colors and special effects in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take.

  LETTERER

  It's one of those things no one ever thinks about, but someone has to inscribe all the words that appear in the speech balloons, thought bubbles and caption boxes. That's the job of the letterer, or at least it used to be. In recent years, many publishers have turned to computerized lettering fonts, so not much lettering is done by hand, which is a shame. While computerized lettering is no doubt faster and cheaper, there's a certain artistic delicacy that comes with the human touch. Letterers such as Tom Orzechowski (The Uncanny X-Men), John Workman (The Mighty Thor) or Todd Klein (The Sandman) are able to convey emotion and inflection through their scripts in ways that can't be achieved with standard fonts. A letterer typically handles all captions, sound effects and speech balloons on the page, although an artist occasionally draws in the sound effects during the art stage. The letterer employs different fonts, bolding and italics for inflection, and varies the size of the words in the balloons, or the very shape of the balloons themselves, to convey volume, emotion and tone.

  EDITOR

  Generally, the role of the editor remains the same as it would on most publications: the assignment and trafficking of work, copyediting, troubleshooting and general quality control. However, especially at Marvel and DC Comics, the editor's role takes on a more creative aspect. Often the editor will dictate the creative direction of a given series, and will replace the creative personnel if they are unable or unwilling to meet certain requests. Sometimes this can result in a more focused, consistent level of quality, and sometimes this can result in uninspired, miserable comics in which writers and artists struggle to fulfill the whims of a capricious editor. (On occasion, both can happen at once: 1950s Superman editor Mort Weisinger helped create and cultivate much of the Superman mythology that carried the series through decades of success, but to this day, tales abound of his unpleasant treatment of his writers and artists.)

  MAKIN' COMICS

  1 WRITING

  Brian Lynch's script for his zombie comedy Everybody's Dead directs the action even while dialoguing the characters.

  2 PENCILLING

  Artist Dave Crosland's initial sketch interprets the script in his own inimitable style.

  3 INKING

  Crosland then tightens all his lines by inking the pencils and preparing the page for the colorist.

  4 COLORING

  Leonard O'Grady digitally lays down the color palette.

  5 LETTERING

  Digital lettering is then added as a separate layer, finishing off the page.

  ART, SCRIPT PAGES 60–61, EVERYBODY'S DEAD © 2008 BRIAN LYNCH AND IDEA AND DESIGN WORKS, LLC. PUBLISHED BY IDW PUBLISHING. ART BY DAVE CROSLAND. COLOR BY LEONARD O'GRADY.

  THE MARVEL METHOD:

  A MATTER OF STYLE

  “I've always felt that the Marvel Method strips were true collaborations between artist and writer in the most literal sense.”

  — Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee

  There are many different methods of writing a comic-book script. Some, as discussed on page 56, adhere closely to the structure of a screenplay or teleplay — writers create scripts with detailed descriptions of the visuals and dialogue. Others offer only plot points, leaving more of the visual storytelling to the artist. There is also the so-called Marvel Method, pioneered by Marvel Comics writer and editor Stan Lee.

  The Marvel Method developed as much out of necessity as it did creativity. In the mid 1960s, Stan Lee was the writer and editor of numerous popular monthly properties. Most of the artists who drew these comics were freelancers who pulled no salary and were paid only for the pages they produced. When an artist finished one comic, he was anxious for the next script to maintain a steady income, but often Stan was busy scripting issues for other series and other artists. Something had to give if he was to keep everyone employed and steadily working.

  Marvel's primary artists at the time, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and others, had worked with Stan for a while, and he was comfortable with their storytelling skills. Rather than make them wait for the next full script to come in, he would verbally describe to them the plot of the next issue. He'd give them the issue's key points and allow them to run with it. As Stan explains it, the artists “were more than fabulous illustrators, they were creative innovators in the full sense of that term. None of them really needed a complete script. As long as they knew what the main concept was, they were able to lay out their panels as well — and often far better — than I could describe.”

  After the artists completed their pages, Stan would add in dialogue and captions and request the occasional artistic change. He preferred this method because it was easier for him to provide dialogue for characters if he could see their poses and expressions. Collaborating with artists in this manner often led to the creation of new characters and took the stories in unexpected directions.

  This unique style isn't used as frequently nowadays. For the Marvel Method to be successful, the writer and artist must have a familiarity with each other's style, and the artist needs to have a solid sense of how best to convey drama through visual composition. Many artists prefer to work from a ful
l script to avoid guesswork, but it varies from person to person.

  4 Comic Books vs. Graphic Novels

  Getting graphicWhen the vampire film 30 Days of Night was marketed for release in October 2007, the film's posters were adorned with the tagline “based on the graphic novel.” Other comicsbased movies — Sin City and 300 — were promoted the same way. This designation is not completely accurate because all of these projects actually originated as comic books.

  If you go into any mass-market bookstore, you'll find an abundance of graphic novels, including 30 Days of Night, Sin City and 300. So it's easy to see why those unfamiliar with the comic-book industry hear the term “graphic novel” and think this means something different from “comic book.” After all, the only comic books you're likely to find in these same bookstores are along the lines of Archie and The Simpsons. So if the two are not interchangeable terms, what's the difference between the two, anyway?

  In chapter one of this section, we defined a comic book as “a magazine containing sequences of comic strips.” In its simplest comparative definition, a “graphic novel” is “a book containing sequences of comic strips.” However, at times, the term “graphic novel” may also be used to imply more sophisticated and higher-quality material than what's offered in a comic book.

  The term “graphic novel” has been used to describe longer-form comic books since an Amateur Press Association newsletter published the term in the late 1960s. However, its official entry into the popular lexicon is attributed to the back-cover text of Will Eisner's A Contract With God from 1978. Eisner did acknowledge that the term was used prior to the publication of his book, but he also stated, “I had not known at the time that someone had used that term before.”

  Some might wonder why there's such debate or confusion over the origination of such a simple term as “graphic novel.” To which we can only add, hey, we're comic-book fans, obsessing over details is what we do.

  Marvel started a line of oversized, long-form comics under the imprint Marvel Graphic Novel. X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills inspired a plot point in the second X-Men movie.

  COVER, X-MEN: GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS: © 1982 MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, INC. USED WITH PERMISSION. ART BY BRENT ERIC ANDERSON.

  25 ESSENTIAL GRAPHIC NOVELS

  A list of essential graphic novels is a good spot for debate, since tastes vary so much. So consider this a starting place regardless of how you define the term “graphic novel.” Our list contains comics of all shapes and sizes — book-length fictional stories, bound-up collections and more.

  30 Days of Night by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith (IDW Publishing, 2002)

  The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel Comics, 1963)

  Astro City: Life in the Big City by Kurt Busiek and Brent Anderson (Image Comics, 1997)

  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller (DC Comics, 1986)

  Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (DC Comics, 1987)

  Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes (Drawn and Quarterly, 2000)

  Bone by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books, 2004)

  Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf, 2000)

  Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr and Brian Bolland (DC Comics, 1985)

  A Contract With God by Will Eisner (Baronet Books/DC, 1978)

  Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli (Marvel Comics, 1986)

  David Boring by Daniel Clowes (Pantheon Books, 2000)

  DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke (DC Comics, 2004)

  The Fantastic Four Omnibus by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics, 1961)

  From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf, 1999)

  Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth by Chris Ware (Pantheon Books, 2000)

  Kingdom Come by MarkWaid and Alex Ross (DC Comics, 1996)

  Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross (Marvel Comics, 1994)

  Maus by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon Books, 1986)

  Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon Books, 2003)

  Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon (DC/Vertigo, 2006)

  The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and others (DC/Vertigo, 1996)

  Top 10: The Forty-Niners by Alan Moore and Gene Ha (DC/Wildstorm/America's Best Comics, 2006)

  V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (DC Comics, 1988)

  Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics, 1986)

  No matter the term's true origin, Eisner's book helped show other creators, if not the world at large, that comics were capable of telling serious and literate stories just as any novel. It accomplished this in these ways:

  Subject matter. Contract's meditation on Jewish tenement life was novel-length in size and adult in scope. Eisner once said of Contract, “I can't claim to have invented the wheel, but I felt I was in a position to change the direction of comics.”

  Respect. Although Contract didn't cause a sea change in public perception about comics, it did offer an example of work that created distance between the goofy-superhero stigma of comics. Now, mass-market stores give graphic novels their own dedicated sections, whereas comics are lumped in under hobby magazines.

  Vanity. Calling a book a graphic novel immediately gives it more importance than if labeled by the word “comic.” It's a novel, see? And it helps sell a movie to the public to say “based on an award-winning graphic novel,” rather than “this story started as a comic book.”

  In recent years, most of the confusion between the terms is because many times, comic books and graphic novels feature the same content. Today's business model is to release most comic books in thirty-two-page format, and then release collections of complete storylines in bound-up graphic novels.

  PART 111

  GIVE ME DC

  Wherein a rocket from Krypton brings with it an entire universe of costumed heroes and heroines, an array of whom are defined, discussed and detailed here.

  1 Superman

  Truth and justiceSeen through the eyes of today, Superman can seem old-fashioned, almost cliché. The garish tights and the cape, the unshakable moral certainty, the whole notion of “truth, justice and the American way.” But when writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster introduced Superman to the world back in 1938, he was a revelation, an all-new kind of literary character that would become so popular so fast that scores of imitators would appear practically overnight. And while the tale of Superman's creators is less than heartwarming (see page 184), the character remains as popular and inspirational as ever.

  IN THE BEGINNING

  Let's look at Superman's origins, as described in the expanded origin sequence from Superman #1 (1939). The issue consists mostly of reprints from Superman appearances from the previous year's Action Comics. We begin with a rocket ship from Krypton hurtling toward Earth, saving the child contained within from the planet's explosion. (Later, when Siegel and Shuster got their long-desired Superman syndicated newspaper strip, Superman was given his Kryptonian name, Kal-L, and his parents were given the names Jor-L and Lora. The names were later refined to Jor-El, Lara and Kal-El.)

  The rocket makes it to Earth and is discovered by the Kents. (Although Mr. Kent refers to his wife as “Mary,” later versions of the story, such as George Lowther's 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman, christen them Eben and Sarah Kent. Eventually, the comic books settled on the now-familiar Jonathan and Martha Kent.) The Kents turn the infant over to a local orphanage, which the super-strong infant nearly wrecks before the Kents return, seeking to adopt the child. The orphanage gladly hands over the child, whom the Kents name Clark.

  As Clark grows, he discovers the scope of his abilities, and “that he could hurtle skyscrapers… leap an eighth of a mile… raise tremendous weights… run faster than a steamline train… and nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin!” All of these abilities would multiply in leaps and bounds over the next few years, along with some entirely new powers. Upon the death of his foster parents, C
lark resolves to use his abilities to benefit mankind, and assumes the guise of Superman, “champion of the oppressed.”

  Several other familiar story elements debut in Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1, albeit under slightly different names. Clark tries to get a job as a reporter at the Daily Star, but is rebuffed by the editor. Clark wants the job so he can be “in a better position to help people” as Superman, so when he overhears a tip about a lynching at the county jail, he zips to the scene, stops the lynching as Superman, then reports the story as Clark Kent. This lands him the reporter's job and sets a pattern that is followed in the Superman strips for decades. Eventually, the Daily Star is renamed the Daily Planet, and the editor, originally named George Taylor, is renamed Perry White, following the lead of the long-running Superman radio show.

  Also introduced in the first issue is Clark's fellow reporter Lois Lane, and the Clark-Lois Superman love triangle is established. A disinterested Lois agrees to go out with Clark, only to dump him when he fails to stand up to a masher who puts the moves on Lois (of course, we know he was only pretending to be weak to disguise his secret identity). When the hood chases down Lois's car and kidnaps her, Clark, having changed to Superman, smashes the thug's car (in the famous scene from the cover of Action Comics #1) and returns the now-smitten Lois to safety.

  EVER-CHANGING SUPERPOWERS

  Superman's powers grow and change dramatically over the years. Whereas Superman is only super-tough and super-strong in the 1930s, by the mid-1940s, artillery shells bounce off his chest with ease. By the 1950s, Superman can withstand the blast of an atom bomb. By the 1970s, Superman is so strong he can, if need be, alter the Earth's orbit by pushing on it.