Creating a new comic book part 3
Character arcs, or how characters change during the story, aren't your typical comic book fair. If anything, mainstream comic books lack of an arc is one of their distinguishing features.
Debuting in an underground comic series in the seventies, Captain Cannabis dares to be different with extensive use of story structure and characters that do change over time. Just like all great stories!
Character arcs play out in a fictitious story-world that provides valuable context; location, year, and etc. defines the boundaries within which drama unfolds. When done with a well designed symbol-world, our ability to "dispel our disbelief" increases dramatically - a requisite for a story whose central premise is:
Intragalactic weed transforms love-stuck slacker into superhero to save earth from itself!
The book currently under discussion, Captain Cannabis No. 3, is part of this on-going series including:
• Captain Cannabis 1 and 2 comic books (re-released in 40th Anniversary editions),
• the first "420" comic book, and
• "The Ultimate Hit" feature film.
By the time the original nineteen-seventies Captain Cannabis No. 2 was out, Canada's aspirations to legalize cannabis had come to a full stop in the face of the "war on drugs" followed by Nancy Reagan's "just say no" campaign. Notwithstanding my Captain Cannabis being a legitimate artistic and literary work, those events drove significant headwinds; a read of "The Cultural Cold War" by Frances Stonor Saunders provides insight.
The Captain Cannabis story arc starts in the first two books with "The Ultimate Hit" feature completing it; "420," the first of thirteen comics making up the "The Ultimate Hit," is the series mid-point.
In terms of a 3-Act structure, books No. 1 and 2 contain Act 1, "420" is the Act 2 mid-point with "The Ultimate Hit" comprising the second half of Act 2 and all Act 3.
It breaks down like this:
• The first two Captain Cannabis comic books set the story in a post-prohibition coastal city in the nineteen-seventies.
• Protagonist Hal Lighter is a svelte young man sharing an apartment with high-school sweet-heart, the beautiful and talented Marion Jones.
• Hal partakes of a mysterious glowing joint (triggering event synonymous with Spiderman's first spider bite) that unleashes powerful forces transforming him into "Captain Cannabis."
• Captain Cannabis gets his "mission" in No. 2 leaving Hal scrambling to find the mysterious joint needed to complete it.
• We find Hal older, overweight and living alone on a boat with no memory of Marion in "420."
• "The Ultimate Hit" completes the Hal Lighter/Captain Cannabis arc leaving him profoundly changed and the universe a better place - maybe. Sorry, no spoilers!
Our story plays out over a period of time - approximately 20 story-years. In fact when we include the backstory, which starts some 30 years earlier, our story-world covers a much longer span of time!
As can be seen, the latest installment's (Captain Cannabis No. 3) story-line needs to fit between No. 2 and "420." No. 2's ending provides the perfect No. 3 desire-line - Hal desperately needs to find the cosmic joint - to propel the tale of how young, svelte Hal from No. 1 changes into the old, fat slob in 420. That's a big transformation requiring an equally big story.
While the basic 3-act structure is a good way to start a new work, I like Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet approach, described in his "Save The Cat!," to rough out what story "business" needs doing and where:
1. Opening Image
2. Theme Stated
3. Set-up
4. Catalyst
5. Debate
6. Break into Two (Act 2)
7. B Story
8. Fun and Games
9. Midpoint
10. Bad Guys Close In
11. All Is Lost
12. Dark Night of the Soul
13. Break into Three (Act 3)
14. Finale
15. Final Image
I use it for individual books as well as the overall series; Captain Cannabis No. 1 and 2 cover Beats 1 through 5 while "420" is Beat 9 with "The Ultimate Hit" carrying the story to its Beat 15 ending. Having a crystal-clear final image is critical to keeping the story from wandering along the way.
This means Beats 6, 7 and 8 are needed to move the story from Beat 5 (No. 2) to the Beat 9 midpoint ("420") where "The Ultimate Hit" picks up the story and finishes this series arc.
Now that we've got that sorted out, join me next time as I ready Captain Cannabis No. 3 to "Break into 2" on Beat 6 business.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Debuting in an underground comic series in the seventies, Captain Cannabis dares to be different with extensive use of story structure and characters that do change over time. Just like all great stories!
Character arcs play out in a fictitious story-world that provides valuable context; location, year, and etc. defines the boundaries within which drama unfolds. When done with a well designed symbol-world, our ability to "dispel our disbelief" increases dramatically - a requisite for a story whose central premise is:
Intragalactic weed transforms love-stuck slacker into superhero to save earth from itself!
The book currently under discussion, Captain Cannabis No. 3, is part of this on-going series including:
• Captain Cannabis 1 and 2 comic books (re-released in 40th Anniversary editions),
• the first "420" comic book, and
• "The Ultimate Hit" feature film.
By the time the original nineteen-seventies Captain Cannabis No. 2 was out, Canada's aspirations to legalize cannabis had come to a full stop in the face of the "war on drugs" followed by Nancy Reagan's "just say no" campaign. Notwithstanding my Captain Cannabis being a legitimate artistic and literary work, those events drove significant headwinds; a read of "The Cultural Cold War" by Frances Stonor Saunders provides insight.
The Captain Cannabis story arc starts in the first two books with "The Ultimate Hit" feature completing it; "420," the first of thirteen comics making up the "The Ultimate Hit," is the series mid-point.
In terms of a 3-Act structure, books No. 1 and 2 contain Act 1, "420" is the Act 2 mid-point with "The Ultimate Hit" comprising the second half of Act 2 and all Act 3.
It breaks down like this:
• The first two Captain Cannabis comic books set the story in a post-prohibition coastal city in the nineteen-seventies.
• Protagonist Hal Lighter is a svelte young man sharing an apartment with high-school sweet-heart, the beautiful and talented Marion Jones.
• Hal partakes of a mysterious glowing joint (triggering event synonymous with Spiderman's first spider bite) that unleashes powerful forces transforming him into "Captain Cannabis."
• Captain Cannabis gets his "mission" in No. 2 leaving Hal scrambling to find the mysterious joint needed to complete it.
• We find Hal older, overweight and living alone on a boat with no memory of Marion in "420."
• "The Ultimate Hit" completes the Hal Lighter/Captain Cannabis arc leaving him profoundly changed and the universe a better place - maybe. Sorry, no spoilers!
Our story plays out over a period of time - approximately 20 story-years. In fact when we include the backstory, which starts some 30 years earlier, our story-world covers a much longer span of time!
As can be seen, the latest installment's (Captain Cannabis No. 3) story-line needs to fit between No. 2 and "420." No. 2's ending provides the perfect No. 3 desire-line - Hal desperately needs to find the cosmic joint - to propel the tale of how young, svelte Hal from No. 1 changes into the old, fat slob in 420. That's a big transformation requiring an equally big story.
While the basic 3-act structure is a good way to start a new work, I like Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet approach, described in his "Save The Cat!," to rough out what story "business" needs doing and where:
1. Opening Image
2. Theme Stated
3. Set-up
4. Catalyst
5. Debate
6. Break into Two (Act 2)
7. B Story
8. Fun and Games
9. Midpoint
10. Bad Guys Close In
11. All Is Lost
12. Dark Night of the Soul
13. Break into Three (Act 3)
14. Finale
15. Final Image
I use it for individual books as well as the overall series; Captain Cannabis No. 1 and 2 cover Beats 1 through 5 while "420" is Beat 9 with "The Ultimate Hit" carrying the story to its Beat 15 ending. Having a crystal-clear final image is critical to keeping the story from wandering along the way.
This means Beats 6, 7 and 8 are needed to move the story from Beat 5 (No. 2) to the Beat 9 midpoint ("420") where "The Ultimate Hit" picks up the story and finishes this series arc.
Now that we've got that sorted out, join me next time as I ready Captain Cannabis No. 3 to "Break into 2" on Beat 6 business.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
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