Tips for How to Kick Start Your Comic Book It's a great time for graphic novels. Not only is the market for independent and self-published graphic novels expanding, but the medium is finally beginning to earn the critical acclaim that it has long deserved. Many comic fans who would've never seriously considered publishing their own graphic novels are now doing just that. I have not yet published my own graphic novel, but my first script is nearing completion, I've done considerable research, and I've been in contact with independent comic book writers in New York City since the 2007 New York Comic Book Convention. Here are some things I've learned in the course of penning my first 5-chapter comic book script. Getting Started If you're reading this, chances are you already have a concept and characters for you graphic novel hammered out. Now comes the hard work of committing the story to paper. One resource that fast-tracked production on my script was Dan Wickline's excellent Twelve Step Program for writing graphic novels. In the series of articles, Wickline walks readers through the creative process using his (then) new mini-series as a guide. Two of Wickline's getting-started tips were particularly helpful to me. The first is a five-pronged plan for presenting your concept to your readers: develop your idea, find a hook, choose the storytelling style, find a connection point and set limitations. If any of this sounds alien, read the article and all will be made clear. You'll be astonished how Wickline's advice helps you organize your concept into a work-in-progress. The second is his plotting advice. Wickline stresses the importance of writing out a synopsis for each chapter/issue, but the best advice is also the simplest. When plotting the scenes in a given issue, Wickline merely lists 1-22 ( the average number of pages in a comic) on a sheet of paper and guesstimates how many pages he'll need for each scene. To me, issue plotting seemed like a major obstacle at first, but after I tried this method, it became a snap. Reader recommendations for best graphic novels After the talk of the growth and acceptance of graphic novels as literature, I stopped into the local, independently owned bookstore around the corner from where I work. The selection was sparse and heavily geared toward DC and Marvel super hero novels. Not that I have anything against spandex laden men and women (capes optional), but I wanted to know what were the best graphic novels NOT based on super heroes. I posted by question on Twitter and in rapid order, the recommendations came pouring in. I’ve sorted the suggestions by number of recommendations offered. Here is the list: Votes Title 5 Maus 4 Scott Pilgrim 3 Black Hole 3 Box Office Poison 3 Tamara Drewe 2 Age of Bronze 2 Army of Darkness 2 Beanworld 2 Blankets 2 Bone 2 Girl Genius 2 Local 2 Road to Perdition 2 Salon 2 Strangers in Paradise 2 The Alcoholic 2 True Story Swear to God 1 A Drifting Life 1 American Borne Chinese 1 Atomic Robo 1 Chiggers 1 City of Glass 1 Clockwork Girl 1 Contract With God 1 Daisy Kutter 1 Dare Detectives 1 Disappearance Diary 1 Dream Sequence 1 Epileptic 1 Exit Wounds 1 Fables 1 Finder 1 Flight 1 Flight Explorer 1 Franklin Richards 1 Fun Home 1 Ice Haven 1 Jars of Fools 1 Jellaby 1 Jimmy Corrigan: the Smartest Kid on Earth 1 King David 1 Louis Riel 1 Monster 1 Mr. Blank 1 Ooku (comes out in August) 1 Out of the picture 1 Pedro and me 1 Pluto 1 Rapunzel’s Revenge 1 Skim 1 Solanin 1 Stuck Rubber Baby 1 Talisman 1 The Last Man 1 The Last Train 1 The Name of the Game 1 The One-Trick Rip Off 1 The Stone Keeper 1 Three Shadows 1 Ticking 1 Torso 1 Why I Hate Saturn 1 Wonder Woman 1 Y the Last Man 1 You Can’t Get There from Here 1 Zot Do you agree? Want to add others? Do so in the comments