Top Ten Worst Offenders, Part I

Guess I'd better finish...
5) Team Comics: Teams can be good and bad. The good is that you can split up tasks, have a range of personalities, have intra-team conflict, and have an easy excuse for some exposition.These are all great things. Splitting up tasks allows characters to define who they by what they do. A range of personalities allows people to pick someone they like to root for. Conflict is always good, and if you make it natural (such as five people living together in cramped quarters) rather than forced so much the better. And it's only natural that you need to explain things to someone in the group that wan't there or isn't following along.



However, too many writers (beginning and advanced) learned too much from the sentai (think: Power Rangers) school of teams. This means that the team has the following types:
Leader: This is the guy in charge. He's only wrong when it's dramatically right, he can do whatever he wants and no one cares; he is the hero, after all. The older brother of the group and the guy who the Lone Wolf usually rebels against. If there is a long-term romantic relationship, he's usually involved somehow.
Lone Wolf: The rebel. The guy who everyone likes because he's straightforward and does what he wants, something that they can't do. He's the perverted older cousin who's probably into whips and chains. Whatever the leader aquires, he wants. Usually.
The Geek: He knows everything except how to deal with social situations. Usually the least liked character because, well, no one likes the group brain. He's the most dependable of the group (except when it comes to shooting the 300'-tall monster directly in front of him). He's the little brother of the group who is sex-obsessed and the group mascot. If the group has a fanboy, The Geek is usually it.
The Brick: He can lift pretty much anything, punch through pretty much anything, and take pretty much anything. Usually the group mechanic. He's sorta the fun friend of the family; the guy who kicks your butt at Mortal Caliber VII, makes you cringe through his puns, and is the guy you go to for advice, or tickets you can't get yourself.
The Girl: She points out the obvious, is the love interest of The Leader, temporary goal for romance of The Lone Wolf, defender of The Geek, and grudging friends with The Brick. If it's a unisex team, change "love interest" to "best friend" and "for romance" to "for assassination." She is yin to the team yang, and is usually the most effeminate. Aggressively effeminate. Usually the best shot in the team. And the richest, especially when there is no monetary system in the universe.



Now, it may look good, but EVERYONE uses the blueprint without thinking about making changes. When they do, it's the leader that gets in the shorts. If they take characters away, The Brick goes first followed by The Geek. And if they need a non-binary character they just change the gender of The Girl or The Brick. It's a working cliché because it's an effective starting point, but be aware of it anyway, and try to change it up somehow.



4) Elemental Powers: This is starting to get ridiculous. Change that: It is ridiculous. The default is the clssical Greek elements Fire, Earth, Water, Air, but any theme can work. Each character has abilities that stem from their respective element, and personality traits that stem from their element. Although these are visually interesting, they are sorely lacking for imagination. Just be aware of the problem, and plan accordingly.
[Just out of curiosity: Why is it that the oriental elements are wood, metal, fire, water, and earth, but you only see the Greek elements of water, fire, earth and air? And why rarely (if ever) those from the periodic table? Even manga writers default to the classical Greek elements....]



Angsty Hero: O Woe is I! I accidentally killed my best friend, my lover commited suicide because I was a day late coming home, and my dog has worms. Oh, and my house is trying to kill me. Today on Oprah: Angsty heroes and the fangirls that love them. Note: These people would not survive Dr. Phil.



Look: I understand the attraction: Girls like guys that need them, and this guy needs something alright. I know that the angsty hero is an old literary tradition (yet another thing we can blame on Ancient Sumeria: Gilgamesh, anyone?). And I know his existence validates that of the artistically dark. But...give the guy a good day once in a while! Gilgamesh let his hair down! Elric did smile every so often. King Richard cracked wise. Even Macbeth had fun!



But this hero has nothing good happen to him without cost. If he a million bucks, he gets sued and ends up owing money. His new car is possessed, your choice if it's demonically or actually taken.



At some point just let the guy have some fun and loosen up; it's going to make for a boring comic if all we see is someone keep getting dumped on by life. We some reason to keep checking in and if it's just to see more bad news we probably won't be checking in much longer.



2) Avatar/Sprite Comics and Doujinshi: For the three individuals who don't know what any of those are:
Sprite Comics: Take a video game, take the characters and use them in your own comic.
Avatar Comics: Take avatars from Gaia Online and use them in sprite comics.
Doujinshi: There are many translations, but the one in use here is fan comics using the characters that the fan likes. Included here because, well, if sprite and avatar comics are examples of someone being a lazy illustrator, doujinshi are examples of lazy writing.



I'm sort of in a weird spot on this one. On one hand, I appreciate not having the ability to draw/write and having a cool script that you need to see done. But...this isn't the way to do it. Besides the obvious legal issues, there's just a lack of imagination here. I mean, you're taking someone else's characters, throwing them into situations that their creators never intended, and then claiming that you're creating something original. Worse, I see it justified because it's a great way to get started!



While I can understand how some people get started this way, it is just a start. It's just training wheels; at some point you need to advance beyond someone else's works and start on your own. To be a good writer you need to be able to stand on your own two feet. You can't rely on the crutch of using someone else's creations as the base of your own. It's fine to be inspired; it's lazy to copy. Find the difference, and you begin to walk.



[I'm including this under cliches because cliches are just lazy creating. It just fit...]



1) One-Dimensional Institutional Figures: Okay, this is my least favorite cliche of all time. I appreciate that a lot of artists don't like religious figures; there are a lot of reasons to dislike people that put a lot of limitations on what you do. And I understand why military types aren't exactly popular. All authority make for great targets, and the bigger jerks that they are the better the targets.



However, that shouldn't be an excuse to make them one-dimensional. When you make any excuse to have one-dimensional characters in your strip, you're wasting my time. All of your characters should be well-rounded, even the jerks, or your comic will suffer. You can't just offer caricatures of real people because you have to know how your characters work in order to get the biggest bang out of your characters; your need to be able to get behind your characters, even the ones that you hate. Especially the ones that you hate.



At some level you need to realize that any group has those members that aren't exactly shining examples of their organization; the more in the public eye the group is, the more likely you're going to see the dregs of that group. The problem is that everyone group is full of heroes and villains; it's just harder to ignore the ones you hate when they aren't kept hidden. That's something you need to remember: Even in the most villainous organization there are heroes and even in the most heroic group there are villains. You need to figure out who those people are and figure out how to bring them out more.

What exactly is "cliche"?

The biggest problem you will have is the cliche problem. Far too many people will use it as an excuse to hate yoiur comic, and so this needs to be discussed.

A cliche is anything that has been over-used. You know: magical girls, card games with living monsters, giant ships with bigger guns. Something that you see way too often.

Cliches tend to be used either by beginners or commitees. For beginners, cliches allow them to stay in a safe area, roughly akin to bunny trails and shallow areas. There's very little danger, and they know the curves. For comittees, it means a guaranteed success; after all, the idea has proven itself over and over and over, and works as new viewers who haven't seen it but saw the old generation like it. Yes; an entire generation that hasn't seen Card Captor Sakura, and to whom the magical girl show is actually new! Weird, but true. And it's that new audience that allows cliches to be perpetuated.

So...how do you avoid cliches? Think it through and plan. If the idea is that you will fall back on cliches when you need something safe, don't put yourself in a position where you need that fallback. By planning ahead, and taking an honest look at your script, you can avoid the vast majority of cliches.

Also, know the industry. Before you get really interested in your idea, take out a piece a paper and list every comic you can think of that even looks like your idea. if there are more than a handful, then odds are you're dealing with a cliche. Another way is to go to your favorite comics spot (like Buzz Comix or Comic Genesis), and use keywords that would apply to your comic and see how many comics pop up.

I point this out because far too many beginners replicate almost word-for-word ideas that are just a few years old, and then get quickly frustrated when a number of people point out that their great original idea is already cliche. The best way to avoid this, obviously, is to know what has gone before you.

Hmm...Guess some examples would help....

Let's Start With An Idea

You know, instead of giving an instruction guide, I think I'll just show you how to make a comic, and reference the workbook every so often. If you don't like it, deal.

So...Where do you get an idea from?

Better question: What do you want to do? Make a list. And don't be afraid to put titles of anime, comics, TV shows, movies, or even books. Heck, even put in random word if that works for you.

Or you can ask a question.

Oh yeah: Don't be afraid to steal.

You need to be aware of the originality issue. There are two sides to it.

The first is that there is nothing new under the sun. On the other hand, everything is new under the sun.

Consider Romeo and Juliet. Basic Plot: Boy meets girl. They fall in love. They find out that their families are at war. They get married. They commit suicide. Everyone is happy.

Now, more importantly, consider the variations. One, both or neither die at the end. It can be a boy and girl, two boys, or two girls. Marriage is an option, or can happen after the final act. Heck, replace "fall in love" with "fall in hate" and save the romance until after the onflict. Or they can continue to dislike after the conflict.

You can even change the conflict. Instead of "different, warring families", make them of different social classes (he's poor and she's rich, or vie versa). Or they belong to different gangs. Or he's a geek and she's a cheerleader (wait, that's different gangs...). Or even ideological differences. Or one's an alien and the other's human. In essence, as long as the conlict complicates the romance, you're good to go.

You don't even have to start with a conflict. Road trips movies are always fun, as the trip changes those on it. Or you can compare societies and show that they are the same. At this stage, you can be as specific or as general as you want. Here's my scripts, and what started them, if it helps:

Miner's Glory: I just wanted to do a Western. I'm a big fan of A Man Called Horse, and I wanted a gatling gun. I was in South Dakota, and so it's Gold Rush and Native American culture fitted in. Also, I wanted a woman avenging her slain fiance.

Ogre's Pendant: I wanted something fantasy. Also, ever notice how easy it is for someone who has never met anyone in the party can become friends so quickly, betray them, and the party never blames the new member? Wouldn't it be great if they had protocols in place to deal with it?

Chinese Chess: Don't you get tired of seeing dragons slain or gone to as sources of wisdom? How about making a treatu with one for self-defense?

Hinami Neon: I'm a big BubbleGum Crisis and Blade Runner fan. Plus, I wanted to see just how nasty I could get. This answered a lot of questions in that regard.

Sex Percussions: Someone entered a title contest with this. I had to steal it. It started with a group of performing capoieristas, and degenerated from there. Now, I am using to systematically make fun of everything that I can...

Brass Ring: The basic idea was that there is always a another chance (some carousels have a brass ring that you can toss into a hole for a prize; you have a chance at the brass ring at every pass). In the Champions RPG, it's mentioned that the worst enemy a hero can have isn't the most powerful villain in the universe, but a detective with obscene skill at observation. So, what would happen if a telepathic detective went after super-heroes' secrets, and used them to make them play fair? And what would happen if those secrets were released?

Strip Poker: Everyone that is a big fan of 80's movies knows that there were a lot of movies that featured the beginning of a strip poker game, the middle of a strip poker game, or the end of a strip poker game. I wanted a full game, darn it.

Shorn Wool: Ever notice in the stories of the Three Fates you rarely hear of where the wool comes from? What if it's a metaphor for beginning your life? (Yeah, I know it's from a herd of Apollo's sheep, but what kind of story is that?)

Hope's Last Stand: I wanted a sitcom pilot script, and all I could think of was combining my work experience (at the time I was working at Taco Bell), and T-NBC was sort of fun to watch. So you got this woman reforming a fast-food joint on the edge of the parking lot with a crew of teen-agers and a pair of misfits as her assistant managers.

So what ideas have you thought of?

How To Create Comic Books Handbook

[Remember I said I would be plugging my products? This is because I'm trying to help beginners (and some more advanced people) make their lives a lot easier. I'll publish an "instruction book" a bit later...]

With this handbook, you will be able to: ---Plan your comic; ---Be able to set up your comic online; ---Know what your characters look like, how they interact with your world, and possibly even why they do what they do; ---Have pictures of your settings, and know who hangs out there; ---Have pictures of your bases, vehicles, weapons, and other sundry equipment; and ---Have plenty of space for notes and drawing!

Cafe Press: $7 Lulu: $.60 (download)/$9 (book)

Publishing Info Making A Plot Character Info Group Info Setting Info Equipment Info

Enjoy!