I've heard so many different things over the years about Alan Moore's dense scripts, but I still feel rather amazed at that page of Watchmen script you shared. I know that Dave Gibbons loved Alan's scripts, looking at them as a treasure trove of ideas... and Bill Sienkiewicz, more accustomed to "jamming" with Frank Miller, felt constricted by them... and Chris Sprouse was delighted by them and kept every one he received.
I've also heard about those epic plotting sessions Stan Lee used to have with Jack Kirby, John Romita Sr., Gene Colan and others. He apparently used to get up on his desk and act out the stories... a pretty wild way to plot, if you ask me.
In my comic projects, I'm generally both writer and artist and even so, it's amazing how much the drawn page can differ from the written script! Maybe comics in general are just a wild way to tell a story...
I read about that commute. From the suburbs to the City. I read about that in Michael Chabon's __Cavalier & Clay__, when the family is at Christmas, Passover. It was great stuff. The Winter's though... that gnawing anxiety of replacing my rusting automobile... it scares me into place.
"Thus speaks God to Eli, because you are just like him:
"²⁷ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
²⁸ And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?
²⁹ Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
³⁰ Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
³¹ Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
³² And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
³³ And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
³⁴ And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
³⁵ And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed for ever.
³⁶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread."
Absolutely loved this. I'm a sucker for Marvel Bullpen lore :)))
The news about the move to Burbank feels kinda weird, but in with the new I suppose.
One time when I was a kid, at Comicfest 93 in Philly, waiting in line for a sketch from JRJR, I talked to a nice old man about Spider-Man for 20 minutes, when we were done he walked behind the booth. Turned out it was Jazzy Johnny himself!
When writing stuff I'm not drawing I almost never give artists finished dialogue.
It's a waste of time to polish something that really should be interacting with the finished art.
I LOVE Alan Moore, but don't think I could survive one of his scripts.
I just did a three page sequence this week completely informed by the lessons here.
All about the rhythm of the panels per page, their size, the spread layout, and the page turn reveal. Tales of Illuminatus! #3 coming next month!
I’ve always said that if I could travel to any place, any time, I’d go in Stan Lee’s cadillac when he was carpooling!
What a thought, to be in that Cadillac! The creativity in the ashes from Jack's cigar on the floor is gold alone.
I've heard so many different things over the years about Alan Moore's dense scripts, but I still feel rather amazed at that page of Watchmen script you shared. I know that Dave Gibbons loved Alan's scripts, looking at them as a treasure trove of ideas... and Bill Sienkiewicz, more accustomed to "jamming" with Frank Miller, felt constricted by them... and Chris Sprouse was delighted by them and kept every one he received.
I've also heard about those epic plotting sessions Stan Lee used to have with Jack Kirby, John Romita Sr., Gene Colan and others. He apparently used to get up on his desk and act out the stories... a pretty wild way to plot, if you ask me.
In my comic projects, I'm generally both writer and artist and even so, it's amazing how much the drawn page can differ from the written script! Maybe comics in general are just a wild way to tell a story...
Will the real Joe Quesada, please, stand up.
I read about that commute. From the suburbs to the City. I read about that in Michael Chabon's __Cavalier & Clay__, when the family is at Christmas, Passover. It was great stuff. The Winter's though... that gnawing anxiety of replacing my rusting automobile... it scares me into place.
"Thus speaks God to Eli, because you are just like him:
"²⁷ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
²⁸ And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?
²⁹ Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
³⁰ Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
³¹ Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
³² And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
³³ And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
³⁴ And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
³⁵ And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed for ever.
³⁶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread."
( 1 Samuel 2:29)
Absolutely loved this. I'm a sucker for Marvel Bullpen lore :)))
The news about the move to Burbank feels kinda weird, but in with the new I suppose.
One time when I was a kid, at Comicfest 93 in Philly, waiting in line for a sketch from JRJR, I talked to a nice old man about Spider-Man for 20 minutes, when we were done he walked behind the booth. Turned out it was Jazzy Johnny himself!
When writing stuff I'm not drawing I almost never give artists finished dialogue.
It's a waste of time to polish something that really should be interacting with the finished art.
I LOVE Alan Moore, but don't think I could survive one of his scripts.
I just did a three page sequence this week completely informed by the lessons here.
All about the rhythm of the panels per page, their size, the spread layout, and the page turn reveal. Tales of Illuminatus! #3 coming next month!