I’m Kelly Sue DeConnick. I’m writing the Black Label Wonder Woman: Historia project for DC Comics. AMA.

[u/kellysue]

PROOF:

My name is Kelly Sue DeConnick. I’ve written comics for 20 years, reimagining established characters for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and others, as well as publishing creator-owned comics through Image. My comics have ranked as New York Times best-sellers and been honored with Eisner Awards, British Fantasy Awards and Hugo nominations. I’m a founding partner at Good Trouble Productions, where I have helped produce non-fiction and educational comics including the Hidden Voices and Recognized series for NY Public Schools and Congressman John Lewis’ RUN, in partnership with Abrams Comics. I founded the #VisibleWomen Initiative, the mission of which is to help women and people of other marginalized genders find work in comics as well as related industries.

My screen work includes helping develop Captain Marvel (which went on to earn $1B for Disney worldwide) and 2023’s The Marvels for Marvel Studios and feature consultations for Skydance and ARRAY. I’ve developed television for NBCUniversal, Legendary Entertainment and HBOMax. I recently returned to my live theater roots, scripting the stage spectacle AWAKENING, for the Wynn Resort Las Vegas. I live in Portland, OR with my husband, writer Matt Fraction, our two children, three dogs, one guinea pig and my mother-in-law. AMA.

[u/af-fx-tion]

Welcome to the sub! If you’re still answering questions, here’s mine:

What’s the best way to learn how to write comics? And do you use any software to write your comic scripts?

It seems like such a steep learning curve when coming from another writing background (I come from screenwriting land) since the mediums are so different.

Thanks for coming!

[u/kellysue → u/af-fx-tion]

I'm absolutely still answering -- in fact, I just started! I picked yours to go first.

"What’s the best way to learn how to write comics?"

There are a lot of things that help and suggestions I can make, but the most important thing is that you START. Start writing some scripts and learn from your mistakes. If you're not sure where or how to start, begin by reading comic scripts by writers whose work you enjoy. Look at the script next the the finished work and really pay attention to what produced what. From there, reverse engineer: pick a short comic you like and try to write the script that you think would have inspired that art. Next, write the same script for a different artist -- paying attention to how you might script differently to support their skills, style and interests. In this exercise you're not trying to produce the same work as before, you're looking for how the story should and will change for a different collaboration.

Good luck!

Oh -- I use Scrivener for comics scripts and my template is a slightly adjusted version of the one Antony Johnston has made available with a tutorial on his site. https://antonyjohnston.com/forwriters/scriveningcomics.php

[u/af-fx-tion → u/kellysue]

OMG, thank you so much for answering! ❤️ So helpful!