Mission Statement:
Regent University serves as a center of Christian thought and action to provide excellent education through a
Biblical perspective and global context equipping Christian leaders to change the world.
School of Communication & the Arts Mission Statement:
To prepare emerging and established Christian leaders to inspire, enrich and transform the media, the arts, and
the academy through excellence and innovation in scholarship and practice.
SUMMARY
Regent University
School of Communication & the Arts
SSW 614: Topics in Script and Screenwriting:
Writing Graphic Novels and Comics Books
Spring 2016
January 11 – April 30
Wednesday, 6-9pm
Location (Online)
Instructor: Leo Partible
Location: Online
Office hours: (By Appointment)
Phone: (661) 313-8347
Email: leopartible@hotmail.com
Course Description
This class looks at the elements necessary for great comic book writing, including structure, dialogue
and action. We will pay especial attention to finding strong comic book ideas with characters and
themes that resonate, as well as the impact and relationship of the comic book to Hollywood
Transmedia Storytelling. We will explore how faith informs the core of comic book storytelling, as well as
how faith permeates the business of comic books. Over the semester, each student will write comic
book scripts, as well as develop a comic book from idea through outline into the first pages. The student
will also learn how to apply those skills to other mediums and lay the groundwork for adaptation in film,
TV, animation and video games.
Theme Scripture:
Joel 1:2-3 “Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the
next generation.”
Description of how faith and learning will be integrated in the course
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Story is important in the development and expansion of culture and its power lies in the ability for an
individual to remember. The preservation of culture happens when truth resonates on an emotional
level so that the mind can easily remember. Visual expression is the dominant form of communication.
In the age of technology and media, visual literacy is more important than ever. The comic book medium
is unique in that it is a bridge between prose and film. It allows for the possibility of a collaboration of a
Shakespeare and a Da Vinci and the emergence of a true auteur. Comic book stories explore the deep
and mysterious; images that are simultaneously literal an symbolic; dialogue that tells yet is ripe with
subtext; scenes that reach the mind while also touching the heart and soul. We can’t study the
construction of a comic book script without naturally infusing every discussion with the ideas of theme
and subtext and symbol. The comic book allows the storyteller to act as a sub-creator (a term coined by
J.R.R. Tolkien) under the Creator in a way that is immediate and impactful. It is high art that can pass
down the Gospel from generation to generation in an extraordinary way that captures the imagination.
Required and Supplemental Resources
Students are responsible for acquiring the following books and materials for this course before
the first class meeting:
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How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, Reprint Edition, (Touchstone, 1984), Stan Lee, (ISBN 9780671530778)
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Reprint Edition, (William Morrow Paperbacks, 1994),
Scott McCloud, (ISBN 978-0060976255)
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels, 2006 Ed, (William
Morrow Paperbacks, 2006), Scott McCloud, (ISBN 978-0060780944)
Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels, (WatsonGuptill, 2014), Brian Michael Bendis, (ISBN 978-0770434359)
Recommended
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Behind the Screen, (Baker Books, 2005), Barbara Nicolosi, (ISBN 978-0801065477)
The Hollywood Standard, 2nd Original Edition, (Michael Wiese Productions, 2009), Christopher
Riley, (ISBN 978-1932907636)
The Writer’s Journey, 3rd Edition, (Michael Wiese Productions, 2007), Christopher Vogler, (ISBN
978-1932907360)
Story, (Methuen Publishing), Robert McKee, (ISBN 78-0413715609)
Final Draft (software), Version 8, (Final Draft) (ASIN B0064562B6) or
Movie Magic Screenwriter (software), Version 6 (ASIN B000V5SRAE)
Method of Evaluating Student Performance
Assignments
Points
Weight
Class Participation
100
10%
Script Analysis Exercises
100
10%
Faith & Hollywood Exercises
200
20%
Comic Book Writing Exercises
150
15%
Quizzes
50
5%
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Comic Book Script (Premise line, 7pt & Arcs, Synopsis, Beatsheet, Character,
Theme, Outline, Pages, etc)
TOTAL
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400
40%
1000
100%
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