Newsletter #107: More on Comic Writing 102

Hey guys, it's Scott.

It is Thursday, December 8th. You're gonna have to forgive my voice, I caught something or other in Disneyland or at LA Comic Con. it's not COVID. I tested, I’m okay. And it was completely worth it, I would do it all over again. It was such a great trip, so thank you again to everyone in the Golden State for showing me and Emmett such a good time. But I'm extremely excited because one week from today on Thursday (12/15) live at 9:30pm EST, we're going to be doing our very first Comic Writing 102 class this semester in which we use student work! So we're going to be using work by aspiring writers, people who have published, or haven't published, or just partial work, everything. It's you guys out there trying to break in, so I can't wait. For the first couple of months, we're going to be using comics or pieces that are in full comic format. That means pieces that have art and letters, I think only because it'll be a better way to ease you into the critiquing process that we're going to use in class. After that, sometime in like February/March, we'll start using scripts as well. So please submit your scripts, we already have a whole slew of really good stuff that we want to use throughout the semester, but we're always open to more.

And the format that I'm going to use—and again, it's all a work in progress, so if this is overwhelming to you guys we can change it up, let me know after the first class—is to use one longer piece (or one standard length comic, about 20 pages), and then one short piece. And there'll be a theme to each class about one topic like characterization or metaphor or pacing or that kind of thing. But ultimately, we'll look at the pieces separately and it'll give you a little bit more material to work with, I think. Again, this is where I really feel most confident. This is what I'm most excited to get to after the entire year plus of doing this class. This is where I feel best about my own skill set, to be honest, as a teacher—working with material that's really strong and has a vision but could use a little bit of help. So I can't wait to do it.

I just want to remind you of the format. First, I'll tell you that we're going to be using for a long piece, a standard length comic, the first issue of a title called Palooka. Really excited. It’s by Casey Van Heel and German Curti. And for a short piece, we're going to be using a story from the Tales from the Cloakroom anthology called “The Cold Dark Secret of Titan Station” by Ben O'Grady and Max Dall'Oglio. So we're going to include those here at the bottom of this post below the paywall. Take the time to read them, read them a couple times. And for all free subscribers who want to read those materials, it’s never too late to up to the paid tier or gift someone a subscription!

We're also going to include published material that speaks to the topics that I'm going to be kind of addressing with these pieces. So we're going to include the first issue of a comic by James Tynion IV called The Closet, a short from The Conjuring: The Lover by me, and also Kingdom Come #1 by Mark Waid. So you'll have all that stuff to look at. You don't have to read the published work ahead of time, but it'll be helpful if you do. If you can read everything, that would be great. But definitely read the aspiring pieces, because we're not going to read them in class. Read them ahead. I'll go over them, so if you can't read them I'll still at least explain them to you. But please, it'll help you a lot if you can get to them ahead of time.

Now, the format of the class. This is really important to me, I've used the same format for many years, my whole tenure as a teacher. So I really believe in this. When you read anyone's piece, and you should take this to really any anything, any comic you read in the world, any movie you ever watch, any TV show. If you're interested in analytical processes as a writer, approach the piece by saying to yourself:

Above all, what is this thing about?

What is it trying to say? What is its mission in the world? That question, to me that's the bedrock of everything we're going to do in class. So when you read Palooka, what is this about? What are the creators trying to communicate with this? What's the point of it? And from that bedrock, from that foundational answer that you get from that for yourself, that subjective answer, then you ask:

Given its mission, what's working really well in this piece?

And thirdly:

Given what it's about, what's not working quite as well as it could?

And fourthly:

Given what it's about, how can we improve upon some of the things that could be a bit stronger in this piece to get this comic closer to its goals?

So again, none of this is going to be when you hand in your comic, “oh, let me tell you what's wrong with this.” That's not how I work. What we're going to say is, “look at what this comic it's about. It has a vision, it's going for this. And given that, look at all the things that are working.” And because these things are working right, it makes it evident to us some of the things that can be a little bit stronger here and there. And how do we make those things stronger? Maybe by this, and then we'll look at some examples that are strong counterpoints to the work that we're reading.

So for me, that's the format. Please keep that in mind when you go in. I can't wait for this class. I'm really, really excited for it. And that's really it for this mini-post. The other thing is just that I tried out Substack’s Chats feature last night. If you have the Substack app, essentially it's like a chat board. And when I go on, I can post a thread or topic and you guys can respond and we can actually chat. It’s basically just like having a live chat, but it actually works really well. And anybody that subscribe to any of the other comic or entertainment Substacks that’s on there sees the posts. So Kelly Sue DeConnick and Tini Howard and a couple other comic creators are jumping in. So for me, it's it's a great spot. I hope you'll download the app and check it out! Also, check out the newsletters from the folks I just mentioned!

I'm not shilling for Substack, I'm just looking for more ways to communicate with you guys. And I've tried a couple times to ask questions in the comments of the posts, but it doesn't seem like the best place. It doesn't seem like people are quite up for going back and forth in the comment section. And this is really immediate. It's like you say something, I say something, you say something, and we go back and forth. So check it out, the Chats tab on the Substack app. I'm going to be using it once or twice, maybe more a week if you guys like it.

And that's it. I'm headed down again the weekend after this coming weekend to Florida to finish signing all of your stuff if you're in the Black Jackett club, and that'll all be getting back to you, to sign some covers and give you some goodies. So anyway, we're going to be opening the Black Jackett Club, as I mentioned last time, after class on the 16th (at 12:01am) for a brief period of time. We can really only take up to about 20 people max, probably less honestly. So if you're interested in that, please get ready to sign up. Thank you guys so much. And thanks for the kind words on Canary, which came out earlier this week. Same with Nocterra: Val Special and Night of the Ghoul #3 and Undiscovered Country #22 yesterday, too.

It's a blast seeing your reactions to it for all of us on the teams. We really appreciate it. Thank you guys so much and excited for next week!

S