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    Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels
    Unavailable
    Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels
    Unavailable
    Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels
    Ebook599 pages3 hours

    Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels

    By Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Best-selling Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis reveals the comic book writing secrets behind his work on The Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, All-New X-Men, and more.

    Arguably the most popular writer in modern comics, Brian Michael Bendis shares the tools and techniques he uses to create some of the most popular comic book and graphic novel stories of all time. Words for Pictures provides a fantastic opportunity for readers to learn from a creator at the very top of his field. Bendis's step-by-step lessons teach comics writing hopefuls everything they'll need to take their ideas from script to dynamic sequential art. The book's complete coverage exposes the most effective methods for crafting comic scripts, showcases insights from Bendis's fellow creators, reveals business secrets all would-be comics writers must know, and challenges readers with exercises to jumpstart their own graphic novel writing success.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRandom House Publishing Group
    Release dateJul 22, 2014
    ISBN9780770434366
    Unavailable
    Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels
    Author

    Brian Michael Bendis

    BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS is an award winning comics creator, New York Times bestseller, and is the current writer of All New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men, which debuted at number one on national sales charts. He is one of the premier architects of Marvel's Ultimate comics line and has won five Eisner awards, including two 'Best Writer of the year' and was honored with the prestigious Inkpot award for comic art excellence. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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    Reviews for Words for Pictures

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    • 5/5
      If you read Marvel comics and don't know who Brian Michael Bendis is, then where have you been? Didn't you read Ultimate Spider-Man with Peter and/or Miles? Five time Eisner winner? Ring any bells yet? In Words for Pictures he dives into the world of comics yet again but not in the usual way. Instead of writing Spidey, he writes his experiences with writing comics and the reader gets an in-depth insider perspective of the comic book industry. In this book you'll find a lot of amazing artwork as well as guides, insider tips on the business and on writing, and interviews. I found the tips and insight on publishing/publishers to be especially interesting but there is a lot of inspiration as well. The book begins with Bendis telling a story about his personal road to achieving his dream of making comic books. His own inspiring origin story.

      The size and the cover are perfect for a coffee table book, if that's what you're looking for, and the content is extremely interesting. If you're not a writer but enjoy comics, you'd probably still enjoy the book. If you don't read comics, write, or have any interest in either, then I can't recommend this for you but you probably would have never picked this up to begin with! However, if you consider yourself a writer (which I like to consider myself from time to time) I'd say this book can be especially useful.

      FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. I do not receive monetary compensation for positive reviews.

    • 5/5
      As a manga and graphic novel fan that occasionally entertains the idea of starting a webcomic (I’ve started and stopped several times), I found Words for Pictures to be a wealth of information.

      For aspiring comic artists and writers, the book covers the modern comic book script, writing for the artists, the editors’ roundtable, the writer’s FAQS, the business of comics writing, and writing exercises. This being my first “how to write comics” book, my eyes were instantly opened to differences in story outline styles, the aspects and challenges of collaborations, and elements to observe next time I read a really good or really bad comic or graphic novel. I found it helpful that Brian Michael Bendis offers not only his perspective, but also the views and opinions of other writers and artists. I never realized how little I know about the “behind-the-scenes” end of the comic world.

      For those interested in writing in general, Bendis offers clear advice in the writer’s FAQs, the business of comics writing (which can be applied to any creative manuscript), writing exercises, and his conclusion. His personal story, of going from fan to his dream job, is very inspiring.

      Furthermore, for the typical comics fan, the book is also a fun read to discover how the creative individuals behind the superheroes work.

      Overall, the book is a good guide to inform and inspire an individual about the comics writing process. It doesn’t tell you how or what to write (for that I’m guessing you’d need Bendis’ comic and graphic novel writing class), but it gives a strong overview of the aspects of the business.

      I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
    • 4/5
      This was a very good—but not quite great—self-help book for those trying to break in to comics.

      There is a lot of useful advice here, but little of it comes from Bendis. He has a couple of good sections, one with artists, and one with editors, where he rounds up some veterans of the field and poses questions to them, and gets some great answers. Much around how to behave with the rest of the creative team. So, that's more the teamwork and business side of things.

      But when it comes to the actual act of creating the titular words for pictures, unfortunately, he tends to fall back on the same standard (and mostly vague) guidelines—work hard, write a lot, write for you...all stuff you can find in most "how to write" books that sounds good, but really doesn't give newbies a hell of a lot to go on.

      For instance, he doesn't get into the hook, characterization (much, aside from one anecdote about the Ultimate universe's Aunt May character), pacing, building to climax, setting, atmosphere, sub-plots...and a list of other stuff that could go for miles.

      It's a good starter, with, as I said, some good nuggets tossed in with the rest of the stuff.
    • 5/5
      I have read Brian Michael Bendis' work since he began Ultimate Spider-Man, which is around the same time that I began researching comics history. I have gone on to read much of what's out there, both for my own interest and as research for my M.A. thesis. Bendis' book descends from the comics theory work of Scott McCloud and Wil Eisner, but examines more of the modern techniques (those used in the last decade or so). This book is a useful guide for anyone interested in breaking into the field, but is also a good primer for modern comics theory. Bendis structures it in a useful, logical manner and includes the opinions of other writers and artists in the field to present a well-rounded perspective. A must-have for anyone interested in the theory or making of modern comics.