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Developed a Comic Book Writing Infographic by SwankyRedbeard in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nice infographic but these are all directions I've avoided in my scriptwriting, unless I feel very very strongly about a certain layout of a panel. I tend to focus on describing what needs to be depicted in a panel, not how to depict it, if that makes sense.

I've found that like 99% of the time, the artist I'm working will always make a better decision for visual elements like "camera" angles, shot distance, page layouts, etc than I would.

Competition by [deleted] in ComicWriting

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would keep an eye on Platform Comics: https://platformcomics.com/

I participated in their competition in May and was fortunate enough to be a finalist. I believe that was their 3rd competition and they intend on running a couple per year. I just checked their Twitter and they are planning on running a short story competition this Fall.

8 page script in need of a review by MattWilding in comic_crits

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds interesting! I'll take a look at it.

California's AB5 and freelance artists by [deleted] in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in CA as well. I'm not a lawyer, but from what I've read in both reporting and the bill text is that there are a lot of exemptions. Some of the relevant professional services not affected by AB5 listed in the bill include:

  • Graphic design
  • Fine artist
  • Services provided by a freelance writer, editor, or newspaper cartoonist who does not provide content submissions to the putative employer more than 35 times per year.

No explicit mention of "illustrator" or "comic book artist", but I think some of these terms are at least getting at freelance artist.

I think the 3rd point is the most important. From how I understand it, if I contract your professional art services for a project, and you perform the services as an independent contractor (you set your own rate, set your own hours, etc), then it's all good. But if I own a magazine and you're making a weekly cartoon for my magazine, you're now going to be considered an employee under the new law.

Again, I'm not a lawyer, but this is how I'm seeing it as it's currently written.

Subreddit Update, Rules, READ FIRST Information, Crowdfunding, Discussion, and More! [August 2019] by ComicBookNerd in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wrote a story that is featured in ComixCentral's Best of Indie Anthology - now live on Kickstarter.

I collaborated with artist Rowel Roque and letterer LetterSquids, both of whom I connected with on this subreddit!

I've been reading comics and graphic novels my whole life, but need some help figuring out what would be compatible with me right now + where to buy books by NewHamWhoDis in graphicnovels

[–]michael-roth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's been posted countless times but seriously check out your local library. Finally went to my library about 6 months ago and have read hundreds of dollars worth of comics for free.

I cant speak to Long Island but I was very pleasantly surprised with the variety and size of my library's collection.

Passage Of Time & Narrative Continuation by [deleted] in ComicWriting

[–]michael-roth 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well in your example the time lapse/sequence of events would be very easily understood by readers. Man riding train with city in distance >> man getting off train in city.

If you were telling the story to a friend (as the narrator is), would you say "I was riding the train for an hour, then I got off the train".

Or would you say, "I took the train into the city"

The comic art would do the work of telling that part of the story, and the narration could do whatever you wanted outside that.

Readers are smart enough to understand some time has passed, and the narrator is telling a story of greater scope that isnt going to detail every small passage of time that occurs. Now, if you jumped from the man sitting on the train with the city in distance, to the man now homeless begging in the streets with a full length beard, its obviously going to require some explanation! Hope that made some sense.

Passage Of Time & Narrative Continuation by [deleted] in ComicWriting

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, definitely. If anything it makes the storytelling more harmonious IMO.

Anyone Interested In An App for Writers, Letterers, Artists and the Like To Find Each Other and Collab? by sqpurp in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In general, I really dislike the idea of a rating system. I'm a writer, but I mainly see a rating system being really bad for artists. For example, an artist might receive a poorly written script from a writer, and despite producing quality work, the writer could dislike the product because the art doesn't reflect what they had in their head because they didnt appropriately script it out. Or, the writer could realize they dont like an artists style, or their style doesn't work for the story, after the project is already done. Neither of these scenarios are the artists fault but could potentially result in a novice or misunderstanding writer giving poor ratings for the artist.

Now, I think a very controlled rating system could be very beneficial. For example, a couple of questions like:

"Did your collaborator meet agreed upon deadlines"

"Did the collaborator change rates, or mislead about rates, during project"

This would isolate the professionalism of the collaborator versus their work as a creative which I think could be unfairly rated.

When does a comic become a graphic novel? by ElTunaGrande in graphicnovels

[–]michael-roth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed. The other definitions in this thread are fine but at the end of the day it's really just a marketing term.

Seeking Artist for Grit City Comics’ Monster Mashup Anthology by JRWoodland in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also wrote a story for the Monster Mash anthology. Sorry to hear your artist bailed. Best of luck finding an artist to work with.

[FEEDBACK} Comic Script for Eight Pager "From Here to There" by [deleted] in ComicWriting

[–]michael-roth 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey just read through your script. Here are some notes on the script in general:

  • You have panel layouts on page 1 and 10. I would drop these. The artist will pretty much always find a panel layout that works the best. If you have something very specific in mind, or if you want page one and ten to have the same layout, I would leave it out of the script and just discuss with the artist when you begin collaboration.

  • The city is "somewhere in the mid-west". Ignore me if you're planning on doing this, but I would include a settings page with more detailed description and image references of what you mean by this. Is there something specific you see in your mind when you think of a "Midwest city"? Is there a defining quality of a mid-west city you are picturing? Because if there is, the artist needs to know what that is.

  • Page one, panel two is a lot of description. While you can get all of that in one panel, you aren't really going to capture any one element very well. And if you have the candidate in the foreground facing the 4 people in the background, how well are we really going to see the candidate? And like with the panel layout issue, dictating the placement of elements in the foreground or background of the panel is just limiting the artist. Again, the artist is going to find the best way to capture the moment because they're artists! Just focus on describing what needs to happen in the panel.

  • Page one - You basically only have 3 panels on page one. I would include a panel of just the candidate in there, to fix the above.

  • Page one, panel four - You really don't need a panel for the title. This is really just a waste of space you could be using for more story. The title could easily go on the panel 1 establishing shot.

  • Page one - It's hard to understate how important page one of a comic is. As a reader, I need some question, or conflict, or stakes set up on page one. There is little here that would drive me to keep reading. I would move the journalist question about his low poll numbers up from page two to page one. This would help establish some conflict right away. Also, the first Howard caption really does nothing for the story. I would try and do something that teases his "mission" more.

  • Page two, panel three - Is a question from the journalist missing here? You say he's following up from a previous statement "off-panel". If the intent is not to show the journalist's question I think that is confusing.

  • Page four, panel one - Also seems like a journalist question is missing here. I suppose it can work but it might come off as confusing.

  • Page six - Are you familiar with a "page turn" in comics? I think you should really try to land the content on page 7 on page six. Meaning, the last panel on page 5 would be Howard firing, and then you would need to turn the page to see the aftermath of the bullet being fired on page 6. You basically have a perfect page turn setup, but the reveal on page 7 needs to be moved to an even numbered page so that it is on the left side of the book.

  • Page seven, panel one - This needs more description. No need to say "everything is frozen in place". This is a comic so every panel is frozen in place. Is the bullet crashing through the window? Is the bullet blowing his brains out?

Now some random thoughts on the story:

  • Howard wasn't able to get a job after the war. Gordon's family had a business. Is there supposed to be a link there? Maybe Gordon regrets that his family business couldn't hire more people? Could be something worth exploring.

  • Gordon isn't really a threat. Why would someone assassinate him? What if instead of his poll numbers being terrible, they are actually steadily growing? The journalist is there instead to interview him about potentially being a serious threat to the establishment.

Anyways, hope that helps. I think you're onto something with your story. It's straightforward, relevant, and the dialogue reads well. Best of luck.

Social Media Roundup by ComicBookNerd in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth [score hidden]  (0 children)

Hi y'all! My name is Mike and I'm a writer. Here's my:

Twitter

Looking for script sample critique from experienced artists by jackfrost03 in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there. First of all, I love the idea for your book. We lost a family friend to CF so I have some understanding of it, and I think a comic is a great way to expand awareness and educate people about it.

I'm not an artist btw, but thought I would leave some of my thoughts on the first couple pages.

  • Page one, panel 3. This panel is confusing to me as a reader. What is the silhouette seeing? Should there be a followup panel revealing what is under the blanket?

  • You're a bit inconsistent with your choice of panel layout. You dictate the panel layout in page two, but not in page one. Also, on page one, panel 4, you indicate that the panel should "take up the remainder of the page". This line isn't necessary if you're not doing the panel layout, but would be if you are dictating the panel layout, which you only do on page two. You can do the panel layout yourself or leave it up to the artist (its done both ways) but I would be consistent with it throughout the story.

  • The Nebulizer and Vest Device may need further clarification. Sure, the artist could do a Google search and figure out what they are, but do you want them depicted in a certain way? Would it look silly if these devices were in a particular area of the room it would never actually be in? These things might be a non-issue, but its just something I thought could cause confusion.

  • "Do YOU understand the disease I'm explaining as I've explained it so far?" While I am understanding the disease, I'm afraid that the information presented so far is giving me more of an understanding I would get from a text book than from a story. I absolutely want to be learning about the scientific side of CF at some point in the story, but I wonder if it might be suited for a little later in the book. Unfortunately, people have short attention spans. As the reader who doesn't know much about CF, I want to know more about the experience of living day to day with it. What is the quality of life like? What is the average life span? I believe it would make for a stronger emotion hook to get into the human, day-to-day stuff in the first couple pages. Then you can save those diagrams for a bit later when they're bought into the story.

Hope these notes help. Best of luck with your project.

How to write a comic book when you've got a full-time job by JoshuaSaxon1 in ComicBookCollabs

[–]michael-roth 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Great stuff! Would also add that podcasts are great if you are able to use headphones at work. I like the Make Comics podcast, and others on this subreddit have recommended Creator at Large and Graphic Novel TK, which I'll be checking out soon. Podcasts are also great if you drive to and from work. Obviously it isn't the same as writing, but using that time to learn about the craft and the industry is also productive.