Character currently written by and profile completed by MARTIN POWELL

 Goodness, light and love.
 
 8.  Death Angel dislikes…

Day 4. Hopefully by now, you’ve gotten an idea that you might want to turn into a story. However, you may not know how to put it down on paper. What is the format for a graphic novel script?

The short answer is: it varies. There are different variations, based on how different people work and how they expect to collaborate. Remember that a graphic novel usually has other people working with you, and you have to communicate with them before you communicate with the rest of the world. This is why some comics scripts seem conversational in tone, because they’re sending notes to a single artist, maybe remembering that they’re also including the editor, and sometimes the inker, colorist, and letterer in the conversation as well.

There is no one “proper” way to write a script. There are some common formats, however.

Full Script: Pretty much what it sounds like. The script is a modified version of a screenplay, with what should happen in each panel spelled out, including who says exactly what.

Advantages: the writer gets more of what he wants in terms of story pacing, details, killer lines, etc. The editor can look at the script as a complete blueprint and make his comments there, which can be crucial if there are layers of approvals to go through.

Disadvantages: the artist can sometimes be constrained in what he’s doing, and sometimes the writer has not thought the visuals through, so a large chunk of dialogue can overwhelm a panel, and other problems of pacing can appear. And occasionally, the writer will get a bit detailed in his scripting– see any Alan Moore script, for example.

Plot First: This is occasionally referred to as “Marvel Style” because Stan Lee in the early days of Marvel did a lot of his stories this way: the writer would pitch a plot to the artist, hitting the major beats of the story and varying levels of detail, and then the artist would pencil the story. Once the penciled pages were back, the writer would then write dialogue based on what was in the art.

Advantages: It was often faster for one person to crank out a lot of plots and let the artist put in the details. It also freed up the artist to tell the story as he felt best, which often led to more dynamic action sequences and a more fluid style. It also meant the dialogue was fresher, because it was written a month or two closer to publication than full script.

Disadvantages: if the art is incomprehensible, a lot of covering dialogue and captions will have to be jammed in to make it clear. Also, for the purposes of NaGraNoWriMo, it relies on having an artist to draw it so you can come back and dialogue it, so it’s not good for the deadline. But this may work well for you.

Thumbnails: This is a rarer version, but some people swear by it. The writer not only writes the story, but also draws out thumbnails of the entire thing, to show how the people move, how the action happens, and how the shots and pages are composed. The artist then can follow both the script and the thumbnails. Depending on the circumstance, sometimes one person will do a plot and thumbnails, an artist will draw the story, then someone else will come in and dialogue based on the art and faces. (Often used by Keith Giffen, Kevin Maguire and J. Marc Dematties, for example.)

Advantages: The writer is very clear in what he wants. He also can see how his story plays out, whether the dialogue dominates the page, and sometimes resolve other problems.

Disadvantages: Time. Now you have to draw out the story. And you’re also assuming the writer has visual storytelling skills. (Giffen is incredibly fast, he thumbnailed all of 52— a comic a week for a year– and cranked out full pencils for the last 40 pages of Invasion! #2 in something like two weeks, on top of the schedule he already had at the time.) In some cases, it can also reduce the contribution of the artist (although in 52, this was intentional to keep storytelling continuity between the different artists).

Hat tip to Allyn Gibson for pushing this post to the front of the queue. And remember: you can follow all the NaGraNoWriMo posts here!

AND MEANWHILE, OUR HERO…- Pulp Character Spotlights

Character currently written by and profile completed by AARON M. SHAPS

1. The　Phantom Detective’s secret identity is…?
Richard Curtis Van Loan, wealthy New York socialite and philanthropist.

 2.　 In five sentences or less, The Phantom Detective’s origin is…?　
Van Loan’s parents died when he was very young, leaving him heir to a vast fortune. He led a life largely devoid of direction until a dear friend suggested he help the police with a grisly murder case they were having difficulty solving. He found that he had a natural propensity for sleuthing, and thus the Phantom Detective was born.

 3.　 The Phantom Detective’s first appearance was..?
“The Emperor of Death” by D.L. Champion, 1933.　

4.　 The Phantom Detective’s most recent appearance is…?
 I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think there have been any Phantom Detective adventures since the end of the original run of the pulp stories back in 1953…I believe the final novel was “Murder’s Agent,” written by Norman A. Daniels.　

 5.　 The 4 most important people in the Phantom Detective’s life are…?
 Frank Havens, publishing tycoon, and a mentor of sorts to Van Loan, he was best friends with Van Loan’s father; Muriel Havens, Frank’s daughter, and the love of Van Loan’s life; Steve Huston, a young, hungry, and fearless crime reporter working for Havens’ primary publication, the New York Clarion newspaper; Inspector David Denham, a grizzled, hard-boiled NYPD homicide detective who often works hand-in-hand with the Phantom Detective. 　　

6.　 The 3 top villains the Phantom Detective has faced are…?
 In the original run of Phantom Detective pulps, the Phantom had only one recurring villain: Clifford Boniface. Boniface will be returning to menace the Phantom in the new series as well, and he’ll be joined by a number of new villains of my own creation, including a nefarious illusionist known only as The Diabolist, and a mad scientist named Dr. Andrew Darke.

 7.　 The Phantom Detective likes…
 A challenge, both physical and mental; driving a racecar; enjoying an Old Fashioned while playing pool with Frank Haven’s in his Clarion office. 　

 8.　 The Phantom Detective dislikes…
Criminals, feeling listless, and leaving a case unsolved.　

 9. Existing characters the Rook has met/had a crossover with include…?
The Phantom Detective has never had a crossover to date, but there are several planned. First up is a prose adventure with the Spider.　

10.　 The Phantom Detective’s greatest fear is…?
Becoming obsolete.

　11.　 The Phantom Detective’s favorite food is…?
Ballpark hot dog at Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. 　

 12.　 If the Phantom Detective couldn’t be there to save the day, the person he’d pick to takle his place is…?
The Spider, one of the few other “mystery men” whom the Phantom trusts.　

13 Free-for-all-Say anything, in ten sentences or less, you want about your character.  That would be…?
 The Phantom Detective is one of the all-time great pulp heroes, and a character that helped to inspire many others in a number of other media, most notably comic books. It is a great honor and privilege to re-introduce him to modern audiences in both comics and prose, and to help the character to evolve and remain relevant. My goal is to make the Phantom Detective into a modern, cutting edge pulp hero unlike any other. 　

14. Links for more of the Phantom Detective include…
http://moonstonebooks.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=115
http://moonstonebooks.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=37