Tag Archives: Comic Book

What does a comic book writer do?

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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:

http://carnoucheproductions.com/index.php/2017/04/26/comic-book-writing-experience-2-a-white-australian-creating-indigenous-characters/

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.

Another preview from The Resurrected comic book

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Another panel preview from The Resurrected comic book series. Cain Duluth and his partner at the Special Division for the Resurrected, Akimi Ozaki, at the scene of a homicide in Nova Lucis.

Art by Crizam & Salvatore Aiala. Written by Christian Carnouche. Letters by Cardinal Rae. Edited by Erica Schultz.

Artwork 100 percent complete for The Resurrected #1!

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The first issue of ‘The Resurrected comic,’ including the cover, is finally 100% complete. We’re all stoked with the result, so to celebrate, we’re revealing another panel, this time of Cain Duluth and Akimi Ozaki, who are partners at the Special Division for the Resurrected.

Hope you guys like it.

Art by Crizam​ & Salvatore Aiala​. Plot/Script by Christian Carnouche. Letters by Cardinal Rae.

Introducing The Resurrected’s Akimi Ozaki!

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Excited to introduce our third main character for our comic series The Resurrected. Check these link if you missed our last character introductions  –

Cain Duluth

Xander Calypse

Meet Akimi Ozaki, Cain’s 35-year-old easygoing Japanese-American partner at the Special Division for the Ressurected (SDR). Akimi was a detective at the LAPD before transferring to the UN city-state of Nova Lucis four years ago, not long after the 2032 techno-terrorist attack that rendered Australia inhospitable. Akimi is dedicated to the word of the law and in contrast to her technophobe partner Cain, she has embraced the massive leaps in nanotechnology that have improved her chances of catching crooks. Although Cain’s intensity often annoys her, Akimi has his back, no matter what the situation.

 

 

 

Art finally complete for ‘The Resurrected’ Issue #1!

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The art is finally finished for the first issue of The Resurrected comic so we’re celebrating with the first ever public release of a completed page – Page 1 (albeit low res for now). Not only that, but our artist Crizam ZAMORA has shared the entire art process for this page, from the pencils/ink through to the colours/letters,

Line work by Crizam, Colours by Sal Aiala, Letters by Cardinal Rae & Plot/Script by Christian Carnouche.

Introducing The Resurrected’s Xander Calypse!

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We’re finally introducing another main character for our comic series The Resurrected. Check this link if you missed the introduction of our protagonist – Cain Duluth

Meet Xander Calypse, the enigmatic CEO of the all-powerful Drexler Nanotech Corporation (DNC), the company responsible for creating the now banned resurrection serum and for developing the weaponised nanobots that obliterated the Australian population in 2032. Although DNC has been heavily criticised for its reckless development of certain technologies, it was also responsible for designing the nano-technologies that eliminated disease, famine and pollution.

Xander is intensely driven and has little empathy for others. He would do absolutely anything to achieve his goals, but what does a man who is wealthy beyond belief still desire?

Introducing Cain Duluth: The Resurrected’s Protagonist

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This is a huge moment for us – the first time that we will publicly name the protagonist for our comic book series The Resurrected. In fact it’s the first time any character will be named. Drum roll please……..The protagonist’s name is…..Cain Duluth! 

So who the hell is this good looking dude and what is he doing in our story? The year is 2037 and Cain Duluth, a 39 year old Aboriginal-Australian detective, is one of the world’s last surviving Australians after the population was obliterated during a terrorist attack in 2032. Struggling to rebuild his life after his wife and daughter were killed in the attack, Cain works for the Special Division for the Resurrected (SDR) on the man-made island of Nova Lucis; the newly relocated United Nations just off the east coast of the United States. The SDR’s goal is to pursue and permanently detain ‘Rezzies’ (individuals who have been resurrected from the prohibited resurrection serum). Although Cain would do anything to get his family back, he is against the resurrection serum and similar nano-technologies that he believes were responsible for the destruction of of his homeland.

Thanks to Crizam Zamora for the beautiful pencils and inks and Salvatore Aiala for the wonderful colours. Check in here soon for more previews!

 

 

 

 

From pencils to colours: The Resurrected artistic process

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We finally have the chance to reveal some art process shots for our comic book series ‘The Resurrected,‘ pencilled and inked by artist Crizam Zamora, coloured by Salvatore Aiala and written by myself, Christian Carnouche.

Check out our logline if you want to know what the series is all about:

Logline

We’ve isolated one panel to illustrate the process from the very first pencil outlines (which are quite detailed compared to what a lot of other artists provide for their outlines), to the inking – where these outlines are fleshed out, and finally to the colours. This panel won’t be complete until the dialogue/narration bubbles are added by our letterer.

It is quite common in comics that changes are made during the artistic process, as you can see with this panel. In the pencilled page, the imprisoned Indigenous are standing in front of some trees, while – for the sake of clarifying the story’s chronology, we decided to replace this background in the inked page with a prison.

I know I’m a little biased but I’m absolutely stoked with the magic Criz and Sal have weaved into this panel, and the rest of the story for that matter.

 

Introducing Salvatore Aiala: the colourist for ‘The Resurrected’

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I’m very excited to finally introduce Salvatore Aiala, the colourist for The Resurrected comic book series.

Salvatore is a regular artist for Dynamite and has worked on popular titles like Z Nation (adapted from the hit television show), James Bond: Felix Leiter, Swords of Sorrow: Black Sparrow & Lady Zorro Special. Check out Salvatore’s Comic Book Database profile if you’d like to see the rest of his titles:

Salvatore – Comic Book DB

And here’s more of Salvatore’s work on Deviantart:

Salvatore Deviantart

The Resurrected is actually reuniting Salvatore with our penciller/inker Crizam Zamora, who both worked on the hit comic Swords of Sorrow: Black Sparrow & Lady Zorro Special.

If you’ve missed our previous posts, here are a couple examples of Salvatore’s and Crizam’s work for our current series:

First ever coloured panels sneak peek for The Resurrected!

We’ll be posting more art previews soon!

Comic book writing experience #5 – No-one will care about your comic book!

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Welcome to the fifth installment in my series of blog posts that will highlight the various issues and obstacles that confronted me on the road to creating my first ever comic book series. When it comes to the art, we’re closing in on the halfway mark so hopefully soon I will finally be sharing some sneak peaks.

Okay I exaggerated a little for dramatic effect with the title of this post, people will care about your comic, just not to the same level that you do. This is hands-down the hardest lesson I’ve had to learn while working on this project for the better part of a year.

So why is this the case? If you’re the sole creator, there would no doubt be no-one else who would have injected as much emotion and hard-earned money into the project. It’s the same thing with children, it doesn’t matter how many Facebook updates you post  gushing about how smart and beautiful your child is, people simply won’t feel the same way that you do. Harsh I know but at the end of the day your creative project is similar to having a baby.

How can you get people to care about your project? Well in my case, I’m a writer and had to hire artists to bring my comic book to life. One of my most important decisions was to offer my artists a competitive salary. Sure I could have hired a talented artist for a much lower salary but how invested would they be in the project? What would stop them from throwing my project in the garbage if someone else waltzed in and offered them a better pay rate? Pay artists what they deserve.

I’m also ensuring that my artists see my project as a collaborative effort. I have written full scripts but I’ve also made it clear that I am extremely flexible about my ideas. The creativity of artists must be nurtured and not stifled if you are to see the best possible artistic outcomes.

One of the key things I had to come to terms with as well is that if my comic book is to be successful then I’ll have to promote the hell out of my product to reach potential buyers. The comic book industry is massive and the amount of new comics being published is endless, so why would comic book readers care about a brand new writer like myself? I’m going to have to convince them that my product is top quality and unique (which it is of course!). So I’ll work extra hard to make it happen.

Hopefully that didn’t sound too depressing. My message is that if you want to bring your comic book to life then you are going to have to work your damn arses off, because no-one else will care about it the way you do!