Basic Tips For Science Fiction Comic Book Authors

By Jaclyn Hurley


Comic books and graphic novels are tremendous visual media. It allows people to create detailed worlds that would be very expensive to produce in a television series or for a film. Science fiction as a genre is particularly good for creating iconic images that readers will want to read and reread over and over again. With this advice for science fiction comic book authors you can develop your skills to produce the best stories.

The first thing to establish is whether or not you will be drawing the story as well as writing it. If you are going to draw it for yourself then you do not need to worry about the level of detail in the script as you are writing it for yourself. However if you are writing for an artist then you need to be aware of the level of the detail in the script.

Some people worry about this because they fear this will result in consciously or unconsciously copying ideas. This is why it is worth reading a wide variety of stories. This will then make it easier to get a story that is well constructed and borrows from a wide variety of influences.

It is often said that science fiction is a great genre because it reflects the time it is based in rather than being a prediction of events that could potentially happen. A good example is films such as Robocop. On the surface Robocop appears to be a violent action film. However when watched more closely it is also a very clever satire of the corporate philosophy and media prevalent in the Eighties.

There is also the issue of research. For example if you want to include a genetic mutation in your story then it helps to do a bit of research to see how genetic research works. However it is important to avoid going into excessive detail as this can often make it harder work for people to read.

This means reading stories, watching movies and TV shows. As you watch and read you should learn more about the conventions. You can then begin to think about ways you can subvert those conventions when it comes to writing your own stories. A great example was the Edgar Wright film Shaun of the Dead where a classic romantic comedy storyline was fused with the zombie subgenre.

With a comic book there is also the issue of space. Typically a single issue will be around 22 to 24 pages. On average each page tends to be around four to six panels. Therefore you need to be careful when it comes to the amount of information you put in a panel. If you are drawing the story yourself then you do not need to worry about the description. However if you are writing for someone else you need to include enough information to guide the artist without being excessively instructive.

In short if you want to write a science fiction comic book you need to be aware of the genre but also how stories are constructed. It is also worth looking online for scripts and sample templates as this will make it easier for you to write. With a sensible approach you will be able to develop your story and make it as interesting and engaging as possible.




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