Webcomics: A How-to Part 2

Scripts, Writing, and Humor Secrets

Now that you have your concept, its time to start writing! This is arguably the most important part of webcomics. Comic scripts can be done in a number of ways, but here’s an example of how mine usually look.

PAGE 3

PANEL 1
[Jim-Man’s story starts some ten years ago in a certain dark alley in SPIT CITY…]
A mother, father, and son are walking in darkness.
SON: Gee, mom. Are you sure its a good idea to be walking into this dark alley?
MOTHER: Jesus Christ, Barry. When did we raise our son to be such a faggot?
FATHER: We have a son?

PANEL 2
Close up of a robber holding a gun. Very shady looking.
ROBBER: Don’t move! Give me all your money!

PANEL 3
Back view of mother and father.
FATHER: We only have two dollars.
MOTHER: I was actually thinking about robbing you.

PANEL 4

PANEL 5
SON: Mom! Dad!

PANEL 6
MOTHER: My son… my son… Why didn’t you shoot my son instead?

PANEL 7
FATHER: *cough cough* Fuckin’ white people!

PANEL 8
SON: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

As you can see in this comic, wider panels give the feeling of a slower passage of time while shorter panels are more fast paced. For example, if you were to have a comic with cowboy showdown, you would want the characters to be standing and waiting with wide, large panels. Then they would reach for their guns and fire in smaller, maybe more chaotic-looking panels.

Another thing to remember is to not put too many words in one panel. It can be very annoying to read and might scare away new visitors. On the flip side, you can also use lots of words to your benefit. In this comic, plenty of words are used in the second panel to give the feel of a fast, intellectual speech.

I can’t really tell you exactly how to write your comic because there are so many genres. Each very different. But this is another TAKE-YOUR-TIME situation. Don’t force jokes or plots. As a general rule of thumb, I usually wait a day after I write something. If its still funny the next day, then its worthy for publishing. Keep your audience in mind. If you’re writing a comic about gaming, it might not be a good idea to all the sudden switch subjects to fishing. And your audience is definitely not going to like an inside joke that only you and your friends get. It will probably just make you look like a bad writer. Also keep in mind that some jokes are funnier when you’re hanging out with your friends all slap happy. So if you write those jokes down and they aren’t funny later, then it probably shouldn’t go down in a comic.

Always be sure to rewrite your comics. Fix words that don’t seem “funny enough.” I once debated with myself for a half an hour over whether or not “ball cancer” was funnier than “nut cancer”. Sometimes simple wording changes can make a semi-funny comic hilarious.

In my opinion, there are secrets to humor. Not so much secrets, but methods that not everyone knows. Timing is very very important. Take a look at the relationship between the last three panels in this comic. Then read the comic again, but try to force your eyes to skip the third panel. Slightly less funny, isn’t it? Timing and empty space is a technique employed by many stand up comedians as well. The reason why is because comedy is about the unexpected. Timing makes people unsure about where the joke is headed and makes the punchline even more unexpected than it already was. Sometimes not telling a joke when someone expects one can work for you too. It can be even more unexpected than actually telling a joke. Even though it isn’t funny, people will find themselves laughing and not know why. But you’ll know why. So shhhh! Don’t tell! There you have it. The two secrets of comedy that no one ever reveals: Silence and the unexpected.

If you can’t write anything, don’t panic. This happens all the time. Some days material just flows out of you and you can’t turn it off and other days you feel completely tapped out. Try and relax a little bit and don’t think about it. Watch tv or something. Taking in inspiration can help. But make sure you don’t steal ideas. Taking inspiration and stealing are two completely different things, so make sure you never cross that line. If you read some of Jay Pinkerton’s rewrites of old comics, you can easily see where I get some of my inspiration, but you won’t find me ripping things off.

Writing can be different for everyone. I personally despise discussing humor techniques because it should be coming natural to you. If not then perhaps you shouldn’t be doing a humorous comic. These techniques should just augment the skills you already have. But if you feel confident in your writing skills, then ignore everything I just said and do what you do naturally.

For some AMAZINGLY helpful information on writing comics and panel secrets, check out the legendary Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art.

Next up I’ll be covering art and what to do if you suck at it.

READ PART 1