Alright so you have decided to create your own comic book, but aren’t sure how to get started. Well there are a couple of ways to get going on the comic. You can create a character and then create a story around them, or you can create a story and then create a character to fit the story. There is no wrong or right way to create a comic. You could even get a story from a friend and you handle the artwork portion. Now remember your story will need a beginning, middle, and an end. Don’t just open the story into a gun fight and keep it going for 32 pages, it will drive everyone crazy that reads it. Make sure your story is interesting to your readers, yet moves along at a decent pace. I seem many writers get bogged down with too many details and never get to the finish. Here is the process for getting started.
Figure out how many pages you want your book to be. Page counts of 24 and 32 are common for single comics, but you can make them any length you want if you are printing them yourself. Write out your story and figure out what is going to happen on each page. A script comes in handy at this point. A script tells you what each person will actually say in each frame. At this point thumbnails of the action are a good idea before starting to draw up the actual pages. Once you have written your story it is a good idea to have someone else read it to make sure it makes sense. Many times when we are writing we fill in blanks because we have the story in our head, but forget to put it on paper. It is a lot of work to write a story, but very rewarding to see the finished product so keep at it. I look forward to reading it someday.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a comic book artist and cartoonist from the Southern Ontario area of Canada. You can view more of his work on his Pride Junkie website at www.pridejunkie.ca or his business website at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com
Bruce Outridge Productions 
Thanks very much for your post. I loved and lived all types of comic books, many years ago. It was typical to have in the local barber shops, comic books of all types to keep us youngsters occupied. Barber shops have been replaced by “hair salons” . My local drugstore would always have comic books on the magazine rack also. All this is ancient history. I have a strong interest in publishing a comic and will follow through this year.
Thanks for the comment Hoboduke. Any story is better if it is based upon real life.
Bruce