Thursday, May 27, 2010

Book Report: Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers


I'm not calling this a "comic book report" because, even though it is a collection of comic book scripts, it is not itself a comic book. Did I just blow your mind?

Anyway. It's very instructive to see how differently every writer approaches his or her script; as Nat Gertler says in his introduction, comic book scripts are direct lines between writers and artists, and each particular relationship influences the way that communication works. Sometimes it reads like a story pitch, and sometimes it's all visual descriptions. There's not a single "correct" or standard way to write these things.

I was highly amused by the fact that Greg Rucka felt the need to include actual endnotes in his script for Whiteout: Melt. Neil Gaiman and Kurt Busiek are brilliant, even in this stripped-down presentation. And Kevin Smith's script is about what you'd expect.

Buy the book: Powell's, Amazon (affiliate links)

CKL

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