So you want to write your own comic book?

Imagine a "school" where your teachers are the go-to girl for solving supernatural crime, a big-boned invisible superhero learning a government conspiracy, and a guy who likes drawing pentagrams because he is having a bad day.

 

That is one academic institution that aspiring comic book writers will surely drag their parents to. 

 

While that may only exist in an alternate reality, a fragment of that pocket universe seemingly appeared in Makati last Saturday when “Trese” writer Budjette Tan, “Filipino Heroes League” creator Paolo Fabregas, and “Kiko Machine”—also GMA News Online's “News Hardcore”—artist Manix Abrera lectured to a hundred people in Visprint's “Writers in Talks” 2nd Annual Readers' Day held at Alphaland Southgate Tower. The three dished out their success formulas to help other budding comic book writers.

 

CBW 013: Cooking up a Winning Pitch

 

Tan may not be a chef—he's deputy executive creative director at advertising firm McCann Worldgroup Philippines—but he applied his love for fine dining to pitching his comics to publishers. 

 

“So far it has worked a couple of times,” Tan said about his gastronomic analogy.

 

Here’s how aspiring comic book writers can start the ball rolling, according to Tan.

 

The Appetizer

 

The appetizer is the introductory letter sent to publishers. “Give a taste of what is to come. Send a blurb, a short premise of what they are about,” Tan said.

 

Tan also stressed that the letter should be formal. He recalled the time when he got an e-mail from journalism students that reads “Ellow powz, taga-journalism school pow kamehz...”

 

“Imagine it like a job interview. Don't use jejemon or text-speak,” the writer said.

 

The Main Course

 

The main course is the synopsis—with the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. “This is the time you give them spoilers,” he said. “Feel free to talk about why you wrote it.”

 

Tan said comics creators need to take a step back and look who is going to read the stories.

 

It is also crucial that creators research first the editorial thrust of the publishers, and find out what books they have and have not published.

 

The writer shared the time when he and his friends scheduled a meeting with Atlas Publishing. The editor gave them a puzzled look when they showed illustrations in 11 x 17 boards.

 

Tan recalled the editor telling them: “Nakita mo na ba gawa namin? Nakita mo naman na tig-four pages ang story namin? Masyadong Marvel.”

 

The Dessert

 

For dessert, you can include reasons why your comics has an audience, Tan said. 

 

“Have you realized your comics in a blog? Have you gotten feedback?” he said.

 

He also advised comics creators to not be a nag or a stalker. “Six months is a good time to follow up. It's either that A.) they have forgotten about it or B.) they rejected it.”

 

And when it does get rejected, Tan told the aspiring writers: “Try again.”

 

CBW 123: A Picture vs. A Thousand Words

 

Much like the frankness he had when he told a woman “Bridesmaid ka lang!” in a TV commercial, Fabregas brought up the problem with most indie comics today—redundancy.

 

He said that “copy” or the text in captions and balloons must not equal the drawing. “You involve the readers in the process when your drawings are saying something and your words are saying a different thing,” Fabregas said.

 

“If you have great powerful words, the drawing can be plain,” he said. The actor-adman-comic book creator said that with words, the image on the readers' heads can be far more horrific than the illustration.

 

There can also be instances when a writer need not put words in a panel. Fabregas called this the “power of silences” that can build up tension between characters. “If your drawing can do the job, there's no need for words,” Fabregas said.

 

Though the general rule is that captions should add something beyond the image, he brought up the use of “counterpoints” or blurbs that are continued on the next panel in Alan Moore's “Watchmen.”

 

He also criticized the new comics creators who like to bombard an image with captions. “I see a lot of real beautiful art but sometimes the artists don't have discipline in words. I just go 'Oh, dear, sayang.'” Fabregas sighed.

 

“Let it breathe. Sometimes less is more.”

 

CBW 666: Introduction to Censorship in Comics

 

Abrera confessed that his mom always gets angry whenever he draws pentagrams in his comic strips. He admitted that he likes to play around with morbid themes. But what about his newspaper editors, do they tell him what not to put in his strips?

 

“Wala naman silang sinasabing 'di pwede. Malalaman ko na lang na 'di pala pwede,” Abrera chuckled. “Medyo nakita ko pinalitan nila 'yung word, Comics Sans pa 'yung (font).” This would have looked strange because Abrera's text balloons and captions were handwritten.

 

“Parang natatawa na lang ako 'pag ganun kasi halatang in-edit,” Abrera said. 

 

Based on this experience, Abrera came up with this daily routine to match the mood of readers:

 

Sunday: This is when the whole family reads the newspaper so write stories that are “pampamilya, masaya,” Abrera said.

 

Monday: Abrera said a lot of people are short-tempered on Mondays because it is the start of the workweek so it is not the best time to write about sensitive topics. “Bad trip mga tao, aawayin ka kapag may green jokes,” Abrera said.

 

Abrera recalled a time that he received an awful email from a reader complaining that he lost his appetite while reading Abrera's comic strip. “Huwag kayong galit sumagot,” Abrera advised, which he did—he apologized to the reader and the reader replied “Ah, sige ok lang.”

 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Themes should be “safe” and toned-down for these days, the artist said.

 

Friday: Abrera said that this is the time for comic strip creators to be wild because people are in a happy mood, anticipating the weekend.

 

Saturday: This is the day when artists should go easy again with the topics so as not to offend sensibilities, Abrera said.

 

Writer’s block?

 

Abrera is also not immune to writer's block. “Ang hirap dito, kahit sobrang bad trip mo na sa buhay, kailangan mong magpatawa,” he said.

 

So what is his cure then? He goes out, meets annoying people—a man bragging his hefty purchase in a mall or an administrative staff who could not help not to announce Abrera's mistakes to the rest of the people in the room—and picks up his notebook.

 

“Sinusulat ko sa notebook mga hirit ko, tapos ikokomiks ko na lang,” Abrera said.

 

Who knew jotting down notes could make you a comic book rock star? –KG, GMA News