Writing Prose vs. Writing for Comics

Hi, Folks!

This is a short presentation Benita and I brainstormed to be delivered at a recent Writer’s Retreat. This might be of some assistance to those prose writers who are looking to break into the graphic novel or webcomic scene.

Writing for Comics:

By Scott Story and Benita Story, © 2009

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROSE AND COMICS WRITING

Whereas prose is very descriptive, establishing the narrative through words and the theater of the mind, comics are primarily a visually based.

When we say comics are visual, this doesn’t mean the writer is unimportant—in fact, he is just as necessary as ever.  But, the comic writers’ role is different than that of the prose writer.

Consider this: With prose, you establish a mental picture or emotion in the reader’s imagination; in comics, you present a mix of images and words that instantly elicits a response from the reader.  A non-fictional variant of this would be the word “Stop,” and then seeing a red stop sign.  The word intellectually tells you to stop, but the stop sign downloads directly and creates an instant mental response (hopefully followed up by a physical stop!)

Super Tuesday Episode 4

 

The Dark Knight:

 

It’s been a week and a day since I saw Dark Knight, and that has given me some time to consider it in detail.  In that time, I’ve talked with a good dozen people who have seen it, and twice that number who want to see it.  The people who have watched it or want to have ranged from hard-core comic fans to everyone else, making this Batman franchise another true crossover hit.

 

In talking with folks, and reading other reviews, some things become clear about this movie.  First, it’s not for kids, and it probably deserved an R rating rather than the PG13 it got.  Second, the casting is brilliant, giving ample screen time to Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Aaron Eckhart.  Third, even if Heath Ledger had not tragically died, granting him posthumous attention, his performance as the Joker would be the stuff of cinematic legend.  All this is true, and well reported by innumerable other reviewers.

 

If anything, I feel at a bit of a loss here.  I’m used to defending the underdog movies and overlooked genius, but this film puts me in the position of loving a gargantuan blockbuster of a movie!  The pacing was crisp, the plot was very tight, and dialogue was focused and to the point, the camera work was spot on, etc.  I was entertained from beginning to end of the movie, and I never grew restless or bored.  At times I was uncomfortable or horrified, and at other times I laughed.

 

One young lady I spoke with said that Christian Bale’s Batman voice, which is gravelly and harsh, became distracting and funny to her.  Maybe I can agree, but maybe not.  Even she agreed that this assumed mannerism was important to the character of Batman.

 

I’ve always been partial to Mark Hamill’s take on the Joker, as seen in many of the Batman cartoons.  Heath Ledger took the character in a different direction.  Ledger’s Joker made no attempt to be humorous—he was deadly serious, and in many ways seemed to be the sanest person in Gotham.  His Joker truly did not care if he lived or died.  In the climactic final battle, for example, the Joker stands in the middle of the street and dares Batman to run him over.  “Do it, do it…” whispers the Joker.  He has nothing to loose, and he’s into any pain anyone can dish out.  He is a true agent of chaos, with a smirking, teasing Truman Capote-like voice.

 

The Joker explains his philosophy, and it’s straight out of “Batman: The Killing Joke” by Alan Moore.  In essence, even the proudest and bravest are but one bad day away from dropping to the Joker’s level. 

 

In parting, I think it’s worthwhile to mention that Aaron Eckhart is outstanding.  I’ve been watching this actor since “Thank You For Smoking,” and he’s destined for great things.  If Dark Knight hadn’t been bursting with such outstanding talent, it would have been Eckhart everyone would have been talking about, not Heath Ledger. 

 

Could I give an A+ for the Dark Knight?  It would be a first for me if I did.  Yet, I cannot think of any reason to not give this movie an A+. 

 

Grade: A+