Brian Michael Bendis - Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels

Copyright 2014 by Jinxworld, Inc.

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
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WATSON-GUPTILL and the WG and Horse designs are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

is Frank Miller and Lynn Varley.

Concrete is and Paul Chadwick.

Marvel and related characters: and 2014 Marvel.

Usagi Yojimbo is and Stan Sakai.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bendis, Brian Michael.
Words for Pictures : the Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels / Brian Michael Bendis. First Edition. pages cm
1. Comic books, strips, etc.Authorship. 2. Graphic novelsAuthorship. I. Title.
PN6710.B46 2014
741.51dc23
2014000732

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-770-43435-9
eBook ISBN: 978-0-770-43436-6

Design by Daniel Lagin

Contributing artists: Michael Allred, David Aja, Filipe Andrade, Chris Bachalo, Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Paul Chadwick, Olivier Coipel, Mike Deodato Jr., Steve Ditko, Steve Epting, David Finch, Francesco Francavilla, Bryan Hitch, Frazer Irving, Klaus Janson, David LaFuente, David Mack, Alex Maleev, David Marquez, Ed McGuinness, Jamie McKelvie, Mike Mignola, Michael Avon Oeming, Sara Pichelli, Joe Quesada, Humberto Ramos, John Romita, John Romita Jr., Stan Sakai, Bill Sienkiewicz, Walter Simonson, Ryan Stegman, Jill Thompson, John Totleben, Skottie Young, Leinil Francis Yu, Patrick Zircher

Cover art (clockwise from top) by: Sara Pichelli, David Marquez, and Michael Avon Oeming
Cover Design: Blue Cup Design

Title page art (from top) by: Michael Avon Oeming, Sara Pichelli, Francesco Francavilla, and Mike Deodato Jr.

v3.1

T HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY WIFE AND CHILDREN.

Because I know exactly who I was before they entered my life, and that person would not have been able to do any of the things that led up to this book becoming a reality.

Thank you, Alisa. Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for our kick-ass children. Lets renew our vows on the moon.

And to my mother, whos voice is ringing in my head as I type this, You know, Steven Spielberg got his mother a credit card at Macys with an unlimited account.

Well, I think you realize by now that THAT is never going to happen, but you always supported my love of comics and storytelling, even though you werent sure where I was going with all of it. I know you, more than anyone else, take pride in the fact that everything kind of worked out for me. You raised me and my brother by yourself, and you told me I could do whatever I wanted for a living as long as I did it smart.

Well, I did it smart enough that they asked me to write a book about it. So, hey, I listened!! Seriously, the existence of this book is a testament to your fantastic parenting.

Art by Sara Pichelli

Art by Joe Quesada

W HEN I WAS FIRST TRYING TO BREAK INTO THE world of comics, I was thirsty for knowledge, looking for any little morsel of information that could help me get closer to my goal. This is a common trait that youll find among every one of us working professionally in the field. A burning desire, eye of the tiger, wanting it so badly we can taste it, blah, blah, blahyouve heard it all before, so I wont bore you with the clichd untruth that somehow I wanted it more than the other guy and thats why I made it. Because whats unfortunate is that youll find those exact same traits as common among just as many who never did make it. Whats the difference, what separates one creator with a burning desire from another with an equal if not greater desire? Is it talent? Sure, to some extent, but I would argue thats only part of it. I could show you drawers filled with some of the most amazing scripts and art from some of the most brilliantly talented people that youll never hear about. The answer goes much deeper than talent. While talent will certainly open the door for you, its about failing and knowing how to do so properly.