Creation of a new Character Part 4

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Now this really is a simple one, so far as tutorials go. I know you’ve all be patient with me and viewed the other three tutorials in this range and I hope you have taken something or a lot away from them.

In this tutorial I will be talking about how I script a comics’ page. I will not deal with how to make it funny, poignant, dark, sinister, light-hearted or any of the other emotions that go into producing the modern comic book, or graphic novel. But at the bottom of this post I’ll be publishing the page and a half story that is the end result of all four tutorials.

This should help illustrate what I'll be explaining in today's post and hopefully help you when you come to writing your first, all important, comics story

The comics’ page, as opposed to the comic strip, which is a much more compact and tighter version, follows these few simple rules:

1.       Have a beginning, middle and an end

2.       Introduction of the character

3.       Set the scene

4.       Run the story

5.       End it with a summarised point of the whole story

Have a middle, beginning, middle and an end 

Like all stories they must have a beginning a middle and an end. I know this sounds simple and logical, and when you are producing a graphic novel that sprawls over hundreds of pages, that may sound like good practice, but when you are putting out a two page story for a comic, or a collection of short gag pages, or even worse a one pager, this can be a difficult rule to work to. But without it your story loses its structure, and anything without structure will, as I'm sure your are aware, crumble and collapse.

Introduction of the character

Unless you have an instantly recognisable character, like Superman, Mickey Mouse or Bart Simpson, you will have to introduce your character within the first few panels and do it in such a way that your characters personality, or character trait, is established from the off. This is so much more important when introducing a new idea to a largely sceptical audience.

Set the Scene

This is the only chance you'll have to lay the solid foundations that will give your story or gag the desired punchline or ending.
In the page below this is illustrated when the refuse collector is trying to complete a simple task that Captain Alzheimer's problems and issues will turn into a mountain that Mohammed would think twice about. So in this case, the simple task not only set the scene but lined up the punchline.

Run the Story

Once you have the character introduced and the scene set you can then put in as many sight gags, comments and situations around that theme as possible---depending, of course on space. Once again the page and a half below illustrates the growing confusion and forgetful nature of the strips main character.

End it with a summarised point of the whole story

Put simply: when you think you've said all you wanted to, or exhausted the stories themes and gags you will need to fold the tale up.
Once again, in the tale below, I used the introduction of another character to remove the strips star away from the main scene and inevitable dead end. This enables the reader to clearly delineate from the main thrust of the tale to the story's end game; in this case his release into his long suffering wife's custody. The story then ends with a re enforcement of the main character's personality trait with the promise of what more strips on this theme would be like.

Now I know the subject matter may not be to every one's taste, but like I said in the first post, this character was created for a specific market. A market that relies on the off colour humour that is beloved by so many.

I hope you have enjoyed these tutorials and will want to see more. If you do please click on the tutorials page and soak up a whole load more. And if you really like what you see and read then please, please mention me on your social network sites, link this page and let your friends know of our little corner of the web; a place where the mind of this writer and cartoonist dribbles out all over the pages and gives you segmented cartoon stories, tutorials, humorous short stories and just plain silly stuff and nonsense.

Anyway, by way of a thank you for trawling through these tutorials, I have, as promised, posted the finished page and a half of the completed Captain Alzheimer strip.

Enjoy and Bonn Appetite