What exactly does a comic book writer do? I’ve been asked this question a bunch of times so I thought I would share a really brief example of the script that I wrote for Issue One of the The Resurrected. The sample attached is Page One, which is relatively quite a short page.
Every comic book writer is different, some provide the artist merely with some basic details and let them design the majority of the panel but others use their script to suggest panel size and shape, shot angles, colours etc etc. As you can see from my script sample, I’m probably somewhere in between. There’s no right or wrong way to go about it.
As a writer, we should also be describing what action is happening in the panel, what the characters are doing, saying and feeling, and what the environment is like.
The writer’s job also includes mapping the plot, character arcs and themes. Our entire series is already mapped out, with the help of my amazing editor Erica Schultz.
Page One was quite a difficult page both to write and draw, considering that we had to be historically accurate. We undertook loads of research and also ran the script and panel designs past Indigenous friends to make sure we weren’t misrepresenting their culture. I’ve already written an article about this process so I won’t go into it further:
Hope this helps you guys understand the writer’s role a little bit better.
Art by Crizam & Salvatore Aiala Studio. Written by Christian Carnouche. Letters by Cardinal Rae. Edited by Erica Schultz.
