'Words For Pictures' Review: 'Miles Morales' Creator Brian Michael Bendis Delivers "Fascinating" How-To Book!

Before Powers is brought to life on the Playstation Network, best-selling writer Brian Michael Bendis shares his storytelling know-how and creative tools in Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels. A fascinating read, the creator of Miles Morales, The Ultimate Spider-Man, brings together an A-list of talent to discuss the creative process.

In order to make it in the comic book industry, there's no better than advice than from the actual talents, such as Sarah Pichelli (Guardians of the Galaxy)  and Matt Fraction (Hawkeye). This tell-all book offers insights and reveals business secrets for up-and-comers who want to make a name for themselves. 

During the New York Comic Con, Charlie Cox researched through the Daredevil comics to understand his character. Cox found inspiration from the superhero/court drama written by Bendis and artist Alex Maleev. From the rough sketches to the finished artwork, Maleev describes the painstaking process of getting many pages done before deadline. 

Midway through the book is a spotlight on artist Michael Avon Oeming (Victories). As we previously mentioned, Powers combines two distinct genres, capturing the superhero action with police procedural work. Oeming describes the breakdown of a script, starting with a simple sketchbook to scanning on Photoshop. In these pages, we get to see unlettered black and white pages, which emphasize the emotion and atmosphere. Before Powers shows up on Playstation, this is a great way to be introduced to the source material.  

The reason why the Oeming/Benids partnership lasted is because of the collaborative communication between writer and artist. Bendis emphasizes the the artist's role in the project, which can either make or break the creative team. Top names in the industry, such as Michael Allred (Silver Surfer) and Klaus Janson (The Dark Knight Returns), explain what they look for in the story. No one hides in the shadows as everyone speaks freely about what makes a bad script. 

An interesting section of the book is the editors' roundtable. What is an editor from Marvel, Dark Horse looking for in a writer? The conversation steers towards creators making their own independently published comic, through either web or print,  to showcase their talents. If you say you want to write comics, then you should already have one to present to an editor. 

Highly recommended, Words For Pictures will inspire readers to craft their own ideas and become better storytellers.  

Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels is out in stores now. 

RATING: BUY IT