what makes a good comic book writer - Gen. Discussion

#1 Posted by ratman19 (525 posts) - 11 months, 2 hours ago - Show Bio

i was thinking about writing stories for different charecters and i wanted to know what makes you really like a persons writing and plotline.

#2 Posted by Typhion (622 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

For me it's about showing both points of view...the hero and the villain. For the hero, I like to see him wrestle with his ideals in situations that aren't ideal. For the villain, I want inside his head. He can't just be big and bad and ZOMG he can crush EVERYONE. He has to have a motive that doesn't stray far from what we all sometimes teeter on and turn away from, or don't have the capacity for anyway. That's why I'd put Lex Luthor and Magneto as the greatest villains, especially if well written. They're not far from places we might go ourselves....

#3 Edited by Blood1991 (8098 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

I think it is a mix of understanding your characters, creativity, a vision of how your writing will effect other stories "Marvel/Dc", and a good team working with them.

#4 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

If you can make someone read and read and read and keep wanting to read more, then you are a good writer

#5 Posted by InnerVenom123 (27735 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

A commitment to continuity and character development.

#6 Posted by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

Someone that knows how to write the enviroment and characters using the previous elements of the previous runs and make his own stuff as a next step in the chacaters life.

#7 Edited by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Jorgevy said:

If you can make someone read and read and read and keep wanting to read more, then you are a good writer

Pretty much anyone is able to do that, because the different tastes of the costumers, maybe you wanted to say that a good writer is someone able to entertain a larger amount of people for the largest amount of time.

#8 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Deadcool: nope, I meant exactly that. I don't know many writers that can make someone keep reading and reading and wanting to read more. I and others I know, if we read something that is not interesting at all or that it doesn't pull you in, we just forget to finish the book or we don't even decide to read the rest anymore.

#9 Posted by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Jorgevy: Actually, I feel that such thing is personal, as I said different tastes, maybe for you is difficult to find such feeling,

Rick Remender's run with the Punisher gave me that feeling.
Matt Fraction's run with Iron Man during the Dark Regin.
Kieron Guillen's Journey into Mystery.
Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-man.
Dennis O'Neil's Question.
Jeff Lemire's Animal Man.
etc.

But also some of the writers on my list are considered bad with another characters, maybe there are not good or bad writers, just writers that can write some kind of stuff and another writers that write another kind of stuff for different tastes.

#10 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Deadcool: actually I was talking more in general, I didn't even touch much on the comic subject, because most comics if they involve characters I like, I force myself to read them even if the story is kinda crappy. CB writing is a lot more complicated to please the readers

#11 Posted by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Jorgevy said:

actually I was talking more in general, I didn't even touch much on the comic subject, because most comics if they involve characters I like, I force myself to read them even if the story is kinda crappy.

You don't have to, i love Spider-man but I am not reading Amazing Spider-man, or Scarlet Spider, or Venom, I know that they are pretty popular, but the stories just don't suit me, if i read a comicbook that would deepend in how the writer treats the character and if I like the enviroment.

CB writing is a lot more complicated to please the readers

I don't think so, "you like want you like without even want it, not everybody ike the same stuff in the same way, you can't simply please everyone, you can't.

#12 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Deadcool: of course not, but it's harder with comic fans due to all the work that's behind. everyone has an idea of what this character is supposed to do or act like, among other problems

#13 Edited by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Jorgevy said:

of course not, but it's harder with comic fans due to all the work that's behind. everyone has an idea of what this character is supposed to do or act like, among other problems

The character doesn't matter, the characters are just the means to write a good story, you don't need to "get" the character at all, just have the basic idea and write it.

Edit: For example Dennis O'Neil's Question, the character has nothing to do with the original cocept that Ditko had for the character and he wrote good stories.

#14 Edited by The_Tree (4420 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

A good comic book writer:

Pays attention to continuity
Doesn't constantly rehash old ideas
Makes good use of character development
Understands the boundaries and limitations of their characters
Doesn't make a change just for the sake of change
Knows and understands the characters and their motivations
Has a decently clear idea of what they want to do with the characters they're writing
Is creative and has fun with what they're doing

#15 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Deadcool: that's why I said among other problems. There's lots of nuances in comics that make it more complicated to work with and appease to fans. Im done discussing this when you're coming from an entirely subjective POV to counter argument my artistical perspective on the matter, it's not conclusive

#16 Posted by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@The_Tree said:

Pays attention to continuity

I am agree with everything except this, at this point, continuity should not be important ebasically because the already existing inconsistencies, if they know the characters there would not be problems with the future in continuity.

#17 Posted by Deadcool (6771 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Jorgevy said:

that's why I said among other problems. There's lots of nuances in comics that make it more complicated to work with and appease to fans.

No one writes comics to appease fans, they write what they want, a lot of writers have mentioned constantly that they don't listen the fans.

Im done discussing this when you're coming from an entirely subjective POV to counter argument my artistical perspective on the matter, it's not conclusive

I just say what comes to my mind at the moment, I just say what I feel... What is POV?

#18 Posted by Jorgevy (4767 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

@Deadcool said:

I just say what I feel... What is POV?

exactly, Point Of View (POV)

#19 Posted by TDK_1997 (10089 posts) - 10 months, 30 days ago - Show Bio

One writer is good when he likes the character,understands him/her and hears when the community likes something or dislike something and changes it or keeps it.