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The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics

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"The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics" is author by Dennis O'Neil, who wrote some of the classic Green Lantern and Batman stories (usually drawn by Neal Adams). In this volume O'Neil covers the various methods of writing scripts, procedures for developing a story structure, creating well-rounded characters, and more. Although most of what is covered in here is basic to all forms of writing, O'Neil does keep the focus on how these key concepts apply to the writing of comic books. The book is divided into two parts, with an appendix:

Part One: (1) What are Comics? is answered in terms of a comprehensive vocabulary of comic book terms such as speech balloon, story arc, and inker; (2) A Full-Script Versus Plot-First compares the latter, which is the Marvel method developed by Stan Lee, with the former, the traditional approach for writing film and television scripts, with the strengths and weaknesses of each; (3) Story Structure provides a listing of the basic kinds of structure used in comics, including a detailed look at different examples of "The Hook"; (4) Creating Drama looks at the importance of keeping the action going and offers a key distinction between suspense and surprise; (5) Subplots presents the advantages and inherent dangers of subplotting; (6) Characterization spends as much time talking about dialogue and humor as well as about the hero and other characters; and (7) Script Preparation is about the physical act of writing and producing something that can be turned over to an artist (assuming, for the sake of argument, you are not going to do the whole comic book yourself in the spirit of Dave Sims, the early years).

Part Two starts by covering the rules for different types of comic book stories: (1) Miniseries give you a title with a predetermined number of issues, usually between three and six; (2) Graphic Novels are, for want of a better definition, long fictional narratives (sidestepping graphic novel miniseries like "The Dark Knight Returns"); (3) Maxiseries are essentially longer miniseries, like "The Watchmen" or "Crisis on Infinite Earths"; and (4) Ongoing Series, which are the staple of DC Comics and include titles like "Action Comics" and "Batman" that have been published continuously for over 60 years. Basically the same general rules are applied to all of these forms, with a different balance of consideration. The rest of this unit looks at (5) Story Arcs as ways of doing a miniseries in an ongoing series; (6) The Levitz Paradigm for tracking plots and characters over the course of multiple issues; (7) Megaseries, which is O'Neil's newly coined term for stories that cut across multiple titles for the same characters, such as Batman's "No Man's Land"; (8) Adaptations, which in this case applies not to turning great works of literature into comic books but rather adapting Batman movies back into the comic books that inspired them; (9) Continuity, or rather three types of continuity; and (10) Denouement, which is O'Neil's final pat on the back to his readers.

The Appendix has Mark Evanier's thoughts on "Writing Humor Comics," and a list of suggestions for the Comic Book Writer's Library. Overall, the book is much more descriptive than anything else, which ends up being both its strength and its weakness. Still, O'Neil does try to crystallize his thoughts into specific rules whenever possible. If anything, O'Neil is guilty of trying to cover too much and sacrificing, to some degree, depth for breadth. Throughout "The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics" the best examples are when O'Neil can go into detail (especially if it is regards to a comic we have actually read). The book is illustrated with examples from comics throughout DC's history, but the best examples are rough or finished pages paired up with the pages written up for the artist by the writer. This is where we get our best sense of how comic books are written and produced in the real world.

The companion volume to this work, "The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics," is written by Klaus Janson. There is actually a minimum of overlap between these two volumes, which offer a complimentary approach to the creation of comic books. These two DC volumes are worthy additions to the limited library that every aspiring comic book writer/artist should own, which would include Will Eisner's "Comics and Sequential Art" and "Graphic Storytelling," Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics" and "Reinventing Comics," and even John Buscema's "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way."

First off, I'd like to do the mini-review for those with limited attention spans: "Buy This Book".

Following is a list of why I think you should buy this book:

1) Although it's about comic books, in my opinion, many of the lessons Dennis O'Neil teaches in this book are valuable for writing in general, especially the point he makes about never letting the reader get bored.

2) It's doesn't cost a arm and a leg.

3) It's well written. O'Neil's style is very fluid and natural, sometimes funny, and always very clear on the lessons he wants to teach.

4) It's full of examples. Almost every page in the book has an example from a comic book or script that clarifies and illustrates O'Neil's points. Half the fun in this book is reading the examples.

5) It's short. 120 pages long, and about half the book is examples.

Reasons you might want to not buy this book:

1) It's pretty basic. It rehashes a lot of material experienced writers may have already learned.

2) It doesn't hold your hand. O'Neil doesn't tell you a single method and have you go through it step by step. The book is very general, and is meant to enhance your existing writing abilities, rather than give you a single recipe. ;-)

When I saw this book, I thought it would be a great way to pick up some tips ... and it was, but not as many as I had hoped for. It's great for beginners, but for anyone who has been at this a while (like myself), it seems pretty dumbed down. Another bad thing is that I expected a book and I got what looks like a trade paperback comic. It's fun to read, but I just think there is more to be said. This book focuses more on format & structure than content. And even at that, O'Neil (an outstanding writer) spends half his time saying how there are more than one ways to do anything, and this way may not be the right way for you. HOWEVER, I was able to get a few useful tips and pointers from its 128 pages. Personally I feel that if you can get JUST ONE useful tip from it, then it's worth the .... And I did get several, so I'm happy with it. But don't look for writing tips on how to make compelling characters (there is a breif bit about it, but not much). This book is more about style and format. But at the end of the day, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who wants to write comics. Format & structure are very important. As I said, if you can get just one tip from it, you've got your money's worth!

Although the book covers the various methods (2) of writing scripts, procedures for developing a story structure and creating well-rounded characters. It is not thorough enough to help the reader make solid decisions. Basically, this book gets you off to a good start. However, you will need to suppliment this book with more material that goes in depth. For ex: When the book discuss the methods of writing scripts, it does not introduce a method at all. Instead, the book shows 2 examples of previously written scripts. Thus, introducing the reader to the idea of writing a script, but you'll need to get a book that goes deeper into script writing to be successful. Overall, it was good reading and introduces the basics.

I've read about a dozen books on writing and screenwriting, and most have been very helpful, especially J. Michael Straczynski's "The Complete Book of Screenwriting." None of them, however, have just laid it all out like Dennis O'Neil's book. While Straczynski's tome can tell you everything you night ever want to know, O'Neil's book tells what you what you MUST know, and very clearly lays out the basics, without which your story will not work. It's short - and half illustrations at that - but insightful and concise.

It is written specifically for the fast-paced, melodramatic writing style of comics, especially action comics, but it's lessons are useful in any story.

I especially like that it is not about teaching you how to write, but about utilizing tools that will clarify your writing, or help to get you out of a bind.

Half of this thin volume consists of B&W repro's of DC comics pages. 3/4 of the rest consists of tips cribbed from Hollywood Screenwriting books. (Note to O'Neil, comics are not movies. Or TV shows.)

What's in the guide specifically for comics writing? Well, the answer to one beginner's question - "What format do I use?" is: "There's no one right way." The answer to another beginner's question: "Do I write out the whole script, panel by panel, balloon by balloon, before the artist gets it, or do I just write a plot outline for the artist, then script the captions and balloons after the penciller is finished?" is: "There's no one right way."

Mr. O'Neil repeats "There's no one right way" about 53 more times, just in case you can't read.

The only thing interesting and worthwhile here is "the Levitz Paradigm" a way to organize plots and subplots across different issues or even across titles. But as O'Neil notes, nobody gets a chance to do anything like that at DC unless they have already been working there for many years.

O'Neil has been writing comics a long time. He must know what he's doing. Maybe he can't articulate it. Maybe he doesn't want to release the REAL secrets and foster competition.

I just don't know.

When I heard this book was coming out, I was very excited. No other book, to my knowledge, was specifically devoted to writing in the comics medium. One nice aspect of the book is the presentation of the printed comic page along with the scripted text. While the book is tight and focused, it is still just an introductory course. Anyone reading this book will still want to do further research, as the text suggests. However, O'Neil's prose is witty and engaging, and the book is an entertaining read. My few complaints aside, this book is a complete pleasure to read.

This is one of the best references a writer interested in the field should own. I'm currently working on a script to submit to a publisher. Already it helped me avoid a couple of the common pitfalls. The author provides excellent insight reinforced with illustrations on writing for the genre.

As an experienced, published writer in just about every genre EXCEPT comics, I came to this book expecting a simple, cookie-cutter, step-by-step guide that would have all its readers producing identically-plotted stories. I was pleasantly surprised. O'Neil leaves out the obvious (i.e. Rewrites happen. Deal with it.), and focuses on the "Why" more than the "How." Is it as easy as copying an existing comic? Of course not; anyone who would say that is naive. O'Neil talks about how to READ that existing comic, not as a piece of entertainment, but as a piece of writing. I'll use this in my writing classes as well as for myself.

If you're a beginner when it comes to writing, as I was, then this book will be of great help. The author, Dennis O'Neil, has been writing comic books for a long time and has worked on some of my favorite Batman stories (such as the critical and commercial success "No Man's Land" series). In the book, O'Neil discusses different types of writing formats, such as plot-style and full-script, as well as the basic three act structure used in everything from screenwriting, playwriting, (and yes) comic book writing. On the downside, it's a little short and can be read through quickly. But don't let that stop you from buying it. There's a lot of information within its pages for people who don't really know the basics of comic book writing.