It feels like people in comicswriters, artists and editors alikeoften use the word only because they feel like they’re supposed to. Over the years enough professionals have been accused of being poor storytellers to the degree that everyone is now afraid of being a pinup artist as opposed to a bona fide storyteller. But it’s not enough just to claim you’re a storyteller.
Most people reading this probably have a few artists in their heads right now that are probably awful storytellersartists who aren’t just bad storytellers, but artists who are safely in the “bad storytellers” list that most people in the biz can agree on. It’s funny how we train each other to agree on trends. In a way, we have INDUSTRY DOLTS who are safe to make fun of in any crowd, and INDUSTRY STAPLES that you have to say you like (even if you don’t). And one of the major links between the INDUSTRY DOLTS is that they suck at telling stories. Even though they own books by Will Eisner and Scott McCloud, they haven’t really read them.
Or maybe they have read them, but they haven’t utilized the information. They’re fans of the IDEA of storytelling and they honestly believe that they ARE storytelling, but they’re not internalizing it like they should. In my opinion, it’s not enough to love comics. If you really want to love comics then you should dissect them and then try to make them better.
I love making comics. And I’ll venture to claim that I, indeed, care GREATLY about storytelling. And I’m not just saying that. In fact, here’s how I tend to think about storytelling when I sit down to work:
1.Traversive storytelling
Tranversive isn’t even a word, but I’m using it anyway. Have you ever climbed a mountain? Then you’ve traversed it. You’ve gone from the beginning of the trail, up the side, to the top, and back down on the other side. Storytelling works in much the same way. And your panels should be visually traversing people through the story. Is it clear where Logan is standing? Did you introduce that doorway before he walked through it? Why did that beer he’s drinking come out of nowhere? Where’s the bar? What kind of bar? What are you drawing the clearly indicate this stuff? If a reader can’t get SOME sense of what’s going on without the word balloons, then you’re not telling a story. But this one’s a no brainereven most editors look out for this one. At least during portfolio reviews.
2.Symbolic storytelling
Remember how Scarface had that cut over his eye? It wasn’t just
there to look cool. De Palma was also telling us something: Scarface is permanently wounded, scarred, and he can’t hide it. That scar reflects something about that character. But that’s an obvious one. We often see obvious symbolism through storytelling: rain=sadness, autumn=death, snow=a blanket. Or a character is drawn really small to show how large and scary his world is. Pick your stereotype. But some directors push it further. In THE ROAD TO PERDITION Mendes linked water with death. Young Michael witnesses death paired with ice at a funeral, rain at an execution, and a lake when his father is shot at the end. Anything can be used as a symbol if you set it up properly. Symbolism isn’t necessary to a storyit’s just the gravy. And the guys who use it stand out, so we should all be using it.
3.Acting
The way you draw you characters acting and interacting is a huge help to the dialog. A stone-cold Punisher face is awesome, but what else do you have? How is he moving? How is he standing? Are his arms crossed? Is he ever so slightly rolling his eyes? Acting is a form of action, so don’t get bored in those talking-head scenes. There’s a lot going on that you can play with if you’re smart enough to pick up the ball and run with it.
4.”Awesome” storytelling
Ever seen that commercial with Michael Bay blowing stuff up while he’s saying “I demand everything to be awesome”? It stands out, doesn’t it? And, believe me, I will not EVER say that Michael Bay is a storyteller, but that commercial helped me form an idea of storytelling that I’ve never heard emphasized. And it actually goes against the grain of everything else I just said. One of my favorite movies is T2, and T2 is far from a perfect movie. But the reason I love it so much is because Arnold is awesome on that motorcycle. In one scene he pulls out a shotgun from a box of rosesTHAT’S awesome. He lifts John from his dirt bike onto his FatboyTHAT’S awesome. He’s wearing one leather glove to cover his metal hand. THAT’S awesome. So why all this talk about “awesome”? The more fun you’re having in a story, the more invested and emotionally committed you are. Having something impact you is importanteven if it’s just cheesily “awesome”. But there’s a fine line between being an “awesome pinup” artist and throwing someone an “awesome camera angle” every now and then. You can be an “awesome” artist and still be all the other things I mentioned. Sure, drawing the SWAT team in the foreground wasn’t in the script–but fuck it because SWAT teams are awesome! Comics are a visual medium that can’t always compete with novels, movies and video gamesso there are times when it MUST be about the artwork. So give the people a bone. No editor is ever going to make you redraw that SWAT team into the background because you drew it overly awesome. (Here’s a short list of “awesome” things in comics that you should try to draw the fuck out of ever chance you get: guns, cars, leather anything, swords, anything Japanese, explosions, alleyways, bricks, boots, and anything angry.)
For me, these are the tenets of storytelling. I’m sure I’ve missed a few, and I know a lot of these overlap. Storytelling isn’t a science and it doesn’t happen completely on the page; it mostly happens in the reader’s head a thousand miles from where you’re standing. So I make it a goal to do my best and be as clear as possible. Not that I’m an expertI make plenty of mistakes and am still learning. I’m actually hoping to spark some debate so I can hear your thoughts and make my process better.
And I’m not trying to slander other artists who don’t care about storytelling. Most comics aren’t about storytelling, they’re about epic ideas and pretty pictures. A ton of guys don’t care about storytelling and have great careers–just none of the guys I’m into. I just wish people would stop calling themselves storytellers when they don’t even want to be.