A few weeks ago I decided to create a comic book. Not having any clue on how to do this, I googled it and discovered an 8 step process. Step 1 was all about choosing an idea for a comic book. Having chosen my idea, I am now on step 2 – Writing the script (You can see the 8 steps in the link above)
The idea for my comic book is the story of Loki’s children from Norse mythology. I’m not quite sure how I got to this idea but as I researched it more, I made a decision to run with it. One of the main reasons I went with a story from mythology is that the plot of the story is already defined. I gave myself a deadline at the end of this year to finish the project. Assuming that drawing the comic book is going to be the most time consuming, I want to speed things up and get there quicker. Choosing a story with an existing plot is a great way for me to save some time. Even though the plot is defined, it still allows for creative interpretation when it comes to character design, script and to some extent, even the plot itself (it is my comic book after all).
Interpreting 900 Year Old Text
I have always been a fan of mythology. Whether it is Greek, Roman or Norse, I have always found the stories interesting. That being said, I had never heard about the children of Loki before this project so needed to learn more. I purchased an audio book from Audible and watched a few YouTube videos on the subject but wanted to know the source of the story. This search led me to the Poetic Edda, written in the 10th century and the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. These texts are quite difficult to read but it was important for me to understand the best source material. This will become important when creating characters and adding originality. When you read these texts, you can see where Marvel went off track with some of their interpretations in comic books and movies – a strategy I will borrow where possible to add originality
My Comic Book Script
While writing out the script for my comic book I have tried to be as concise as possible. I do not want to take up more space than I have to with text – the images should be the focal point.
I used google slides to map out the script and then tried to arrange it in a draft layout. The important thing here was the script text but I found it easier to do this when able to visualize on a screen. I am sure I will make adjustments to layout when I start the drawing but for now, this is ok.
The slides below shows the entire script for my comic book and there is a download link below
I am now starting to think about some of the design aspects of the project such as:
- Logo / Branding
- Front Cover Design
- Character Design
- Color Harmony
I am still really enjoying this process and already I am looking forward to the 2 weeks I will take out from work at Christmas, that is going to be key in finishing this on time.
Thanks for reading this an Go Create Something!