COMIC BOOK WRITING COURSE

Get oriented and set the tone for the course. You’ll meet your instructor, see how the course fits together, and clarify what you want to write, so everyone starts on the same page and ready to get to work.

• Instructor intro
• Course & outcomes
• Assignments & capstone project
• Q&A

Get grounded in how comics work as a storytelling medium and why the script is the engine behind every pane. Learn how to write scripts that clearly guide artists, balance text with visuals, including silence, and set up smooth collaboration across the entire comics team.

• History & evolution of comic books
• Pacing, compressed dialogue, emotions
• Relationship between the writer & the artist
• Setting, tone, lighting, costume, point-of-view, backstory etc.
• Interplay between text & visuals
• Case Studies: Comics evolution & silent panels

Assignment #1 (Optional): Reverse engineer a silent panel.

Learn how to spot story ideas everywhere, from overheard conversations to real-world moments, and quickly shape them into clear, pitchable concepts with a genre, setting, and lead character. You’ll learn how to keep ideas original without crossing into plagiarism, break through idea-stalls, and turn rough sparks into stories.

• Finding ideas
• Making your ideas unique & original
• Ideating the basics: Genre, setting, characters
• Adaptations, interpretations, parody
• Writer’s block
• Workshop: Brainstorming & pitching ideas

Assignment #2: Read Cowboys and Insects & analyse the genre, tone, purpose, uniqueness, and theme of the comic.

Pick your playground. By the end of this class, you’ll be able to choose the genre, format, and tone that best suit your story, set up your world, and be ready to start shaping your 20-page final project with confidence.

• Overview of genres & tropes
• Format: Comic books vs. graphic novels vs. webtoons
• Impact of style & tone
• Workshop: Analysing a comic book 

Assignment #3: Write a short outline of the story you will submit for the final project. Provide a list with: Setting, Period, Genre, Theme, Characters’ goals etc., using a few lines to describe each. Include a short outline of the plot.

Learn how to build characters that drive your story — heroes, villains, and quirky sidekicks — with clear motivations, unique personalities, and dynamics that make readers care. You’ll see how different genres shape character design and get hands-on insights from a real case study.

• Creating an effective protagonist & antagonist
• Ensemble casts: Relationships, roles, representation
• Strengths & weaknesses
• Case Study: Analysing two effective casts of characters

Assignment #4: Come up with a cast of characters for your story. Develop a lead protagonist, antagonist, and support characters. Include physical descriptions and backstories.

Give every character a distinct voice, make dialogue drive the story, and blend speech with action and emotion, all while keeping your panels readable and engaging. Learn how to write dialogue that feels alive on the page and in the world of your comic.

• Believable, realistic dialogue
• Personality & emotion
• Two-person dialogue vs. multiple character interactions
• Combining action with dialogue
• Narrative voice
• Workshop: Writing a dialogue for two characters interacting

Get your story’s backbone down cold. By the end of this class, you’ll know how to outline your plot, map out character arcs, structure subplots, and set up satisfying climaxes, knowing exactly where to drop twists, cliffhangers, and page-turn beats to keep readers hooked.

• Act structure, arcs, act breaks
• The hero’s journey
• Story beats & pacing
• Cliffhangers, effective episode endings, continuity
• Analysing the story structure
• Workshop: Analysing pacing & beats

Assignment #5: Write a full outline of your final project script. Add notes on the setting, characters, incident, and major beats of the story.

Learn how to break down a story panel by panel, structure a professional script, and give — and take — feedback like a pro, making your story clearer, punchier, and ready to pitch.

• Structuring a script: Format, page breakdowns, pacing
• Essentials recap
• Workshop: Giving & receiving feedback

Assignment #6: Fully script your opening scene including the inciting incident. The script should be correctly formatted, broken down into pages and panels with full panel descriptions and dialogue.

Take editorial feedback in stride and turn it into stronger storytelling. You’ll get practical tips on keeping dialogue tight, pacing scenes effectively, and avoiding common mistakes that even the pros make, while seeing real-world edits in action from Marvel scripts.

• Cutting superfluous description
• Maximum number of words & succinct dialogue
• Scene reversal: Alternative outcomes
• Accepting criticism & making compromises
• Case Study: District X — feedback & notes from editors

Assignment #7: Write your outline in more detail, incorporating the feedback. Include complete page breakdowns, panel descriptions, and dialogue indications. This is going to be your first draft of the 20-page script.

Learn how to collaborate professionally: give clear notes, take feedback, and tweak your script so the art does half the storytelling. You’ll be able to revisit your opening scene, outline with fresh eyes, make smart edits that let visuals shine and your story hit harder.

• Guest Speaker: Artist
• Collaborating & compromising
• Script & art
• Show don’t tell
• Case Study: Marvel comic & cutting the dialogue
• Writer/artist relationship: Instructions, feedback, criticism 

Pitch your comic — and yourself — with confidence, from a sharp logline to a full submission package. Nail elevator pitches, build your network, and turn casual encounters (even in an elevator with Marvel’s editor-in-chief) into opportunities to get noticed.

• Sharing your work & creating a community
• Pitching a story idea
• Writing loglines & elevator pitches, submitting outlines to publishers
• Presentation skills
• Quiz: Guess the movie by a logline

Assignment #8 (Optional): Write a logline and a short pitch/summary of your story.

Meet a real publisher and get the inside scoop on what makes a graphic novel pitch stand out. You’ll see the hurdles writers face, learn how decisions get made, and test your own pitch to get candid feedback straight from the source.

• Guest Speaker: Publisher
• Pitching & receiving feedback

Get a clear picture of the career landscape for writers in comics and beyond — from kids’ and YA books to movies, TV, and educational media — and pick up practical tips on publishing, agents, portfolios, and building a social presence that gets you noticed.

• Guest Speaker: Book market expert
• Comic industry: Future, trends, market
• The advantages of having an agent
• Getting published: Managing expectations
• Portfolio & social media tips
• Major comic book publishers vs. independent publishers

Wrap up loose ends, tackle tricky spots, and fine-tune your script so you head into your Capstone Project confident and ready. This class is your last chance to get feedback, clarify questions, and make sure every detail is locked before the final draft.

• Course recap
• Q&A

Assignment #9 — Complete Capstone Project: Finish your script. Make all the final edits: revise dialogue, scene outcomes, and pacing.