The Comics How To: Introduction & Finding the Idea

0: INTRODUCTION

Hello! I’m Lance Lucero of Warehouse 9 Productions, Ltd. (W9). I’m an award-winning independent comic book creator. I currently write and produce the horror/action/adventure/comedy BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC series under the (W9).

Funny thing: when I show off my comic books, or composite cards or covers, the initial reaction I get from people is, “Cool!” Then I get the question, “How do you do that?”“

Plenty of people want to create something, anything, but they don’t have a process. In fact there are many different ways to write and create a comic book (that’s why the market is so saturated), especially at the independent level, but I have a way of organization that helps bring a project to completion. After all, that’s the end game, to write a script and produce a comic book so that you can get it out to the world.

In this column, I’m going to reveal my script writing process, from beginning to end. I will accomplish this by example, not by theory.

So let’s get started. Cuz, it’s a heck of a thing, writing a comic book!

1: FINDING THE IDEA

The next question I get when people find out I create comic books (or write anything creatively) is, “Where do you get your ideas from?”

Now if another writer asks me this question, I usually reply with, “Everywhere.” Then they squint their eyes and look down their nose at me and ask, “What do you mean?”

I’m not being a smart-ass; I’m being honest when I say I get my ideas from everywhere. You see, as a writer I get out into the world and I experience life.

To me, a walk to the local coffee shop is not just getting exercise, it’s observing my environment, observing humanity. One 90 degree summer day, on the trek to my coffee shop, I approached a young dude sprawled on the sidewalk with his boots kicked off. He looked reasonably healthy. His clothes weren’t in tatters and his is hair was combed. The boots he kicked off look brand new. Maybe they hurt his feet? Who cares, he’s blocking the walkway! As I step over him I look down at his face, he peeks an eye open and he nods at me as I pass, so I nod back and keep walking. What’s his deal? There’s a perfectly comfortable lawn with shaded trees all around. Strange situation… But, I guarantee there’s a story there and as a writer I wanted to know it, but I had an iced chai waiting for me.

My point is, as a writer you need to be observant and you need to engage in life. By doing so, you will be overwhelmed with ideas.

Observing your world is one thing, but don’t count yourself out as inspiration. Your experiences can count as story catalysts as well. For example, BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC was inspired by real-life circumstances. I’m talking about the basic through-line/main plot, or theme, of the story: Acceptance. Sounds kind of general and vague, right? How can you get a story out of acceptance, and who cares? Well, it’s up to the writer to get the reader to care. How do we do that? By creating empathy, by creating a situation that people can identify with, and then by building a story around it.

I started writing screenplays a long time ago and by being very tenacious I was able to get a couple of them on the table of a few major film studios, some agents, and a few creditable producers. One of the screenplays was BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC. My work was often praised, but not accepted. I couldn’t get past the gatekeepers. I just couldn’t get in.

Rather than grow old waiting for acceptance, I just started producing my own projects. If the BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC screenplay was good enough to be considered for production as a motion picture, then it was certainly good enough to be produced as a comic book. In fact, it suited the medium very well.

So back to the idea, back to the through-line/main plot of the story, which was: Acceptance. What if you had a special talent or skill? What if all you needed was to get past the gatekeepers in order to be successful with it? That was the dilemma I was facing, and that was the dilemma I had the main protagonist of BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC face. By giving the main character the same problem so many of us have, a lack of acceptance, I created a character readers could empathize with.

By experiencing life, by throwing yourself out to the world, you will find that idea. And when you find that idea, it’s time to build that idea around a character.

But that’s the next step!

For more information about the BOB: NON-UNION PSYCHIC world, visit the Warehouse 9 Productions site HERE