by Jon S. Lewis
My favorite component of writing comic books and graphic novels is that it’s truly a collaborative process. You work with not just an editor, but with a team of artists: a penciller, inker, colorist, and a letterer. Writing a novel is solitary—like living alone in a cave on top of a remote mountain peak. With comic books, you have an entire team to bounce ideas back and forth, and it’s energizing!
You end up working closest with the penciller. He’s the one who turns your words into images. Some people operate in what’s been coined “The Marvel Method.” It started in the early days at Marvel Comics, where Stan Lee would come up with a story idea, hand it off to an artist, and that artist would flesh into 22 pages of amazing illustrations. When he was done, Stan would go back and fill in the word balloons with dialogue and voila!
I prefer a more traditional method. I write the story and break it into panels (the squares and rectangles that frame all the illustrations on each page). I break out the dialogue and write notes about what I envisioned for the illustrations. It’s a lot like a director on a movie set. I talk about things like camera angles (close up, wideshot, aerial view, etc.), and then I explain backgrounds and which characters should be in each panel. But that’s not always what makes it to the final page.
Comic book artists are some of the best illustrators and storytellers in the world, and sometimes they have a vision for the art that’s different from mine. And you know what? I love it! I’m a firm believer that differing views not only make this world interesting, but they bring about greatness. I love to be challenged, because it forces me to consider that there might be a better way of doing something. That’s true collaboration, and when someone challenges you in life it shows they have passion.
Once the penciller and I have agreed on the panel layouts, he starts to draw. When his drawings are approved, the inker goes over the pencils to finalize those bold lines and powerful shadows. Then it’s up to the colorist to make it all pop. When he’s done, the letterer goes in and creates the word balloons.
For the prologue to Alienation, I was lucky enough to work with Mike Dubisch. He not only did the pencils, but he inked and lettered the pages as well. That’s real talent!
For those of you who want to become writers, comic books and graphic novels are an exciting format. In fact, we’ve included the manuscript that Mike and I worked from. Now you have an insider’s edge to creating your own stories.
WRITING COMICS
DIRECTIONS FOR GRAPHIC NOVEL PROLOGUE
PAGE ONE (refer to page ix at front)
Panel 1
EXPLORATION TEAM WALKING THROUGH GRECIAN RUINS, LED BY AN OLDER BRITISH MAN WITH A HANDLEBAR MUSTACHE (LORD FRANCIS BEEDLES). BESIDES BEEDLES, THERE SHOULD BE AT LEAST ONE WOMAN, AND A MALE FROM INDIA WHO IS CARRYING AN ENORMOUS PACK AND POSSIBLY A BLUNDERBUSS (FASHION CIRCA 1907). IT DOESN’T NEED TO BE A LARGE GROUP (MAYBE FIVE PEOPLE IN ALL).
Caption (1): In 1907, Lord Francis Beedles led a team of explorers to the Greek island of Crete. They were looking for the labyrinth where Theseus slew the Minotaur. What they discovered was even more remarkable.
Panel 2
BEEDLES HOLDS UP A TORCH TO REVEAL STRANGE PICTOGRAPHS OF THE THULE (WALKING LIZARDS WITH SIX ARMS, TWO LEGS AND A TAIL–REFERENCE AVAILABLE). FACES SHOULD REVEAL SHOCK AND CONFUSION.
Caption (2): deep inside a cave near the ruins of Knossos were pictographs of strange creatures that looked like walking lizards. It was a curious find.
Panel 3
THE GATEWAY SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF DOORWAY INSIDE THE TUNNEL SYSTEM OF THE CAVES. IT COULD BE RINGED WITH GLYPHS, ARCHED OR SQUARED. REGARDLESS, WE NEED A SENSE THAT IT IS MORE THAN AN OPENING . . . IT IS A GATEWAY TO ANOTHER WORLD. MAYBE THERE’S SOME KIND OF GLOW, OR SOMEONE REACHING A HAND THROUGH AND IT’S SWALLOWED BY THE DARKNESS SO YOU CAN NO LONGER SEE IT.
Caption (3): So was the gateway, a door that somehow led them to a strange new world . . .
Panel 4
BEEDLES IS HIDDEN AS HE DISCOVERS A SCENE WITH AT LEAST ONE OF THE THULE STANDING THERE, AND POSSIBLY MORE.
Caption (4): A world populated by the very creatures they had found on the walls.
PAGE TWO
Panel 1
JEREMIAH HIBBIT (ABOUT 28-35 YEARS OLD) IS RUNNING WITH ONE OF THE THULE CHASING AFTER HIM. IT WOULD BE NICE TO SHOW HIS CAMERA . . . SOMETHING HE IS HOLDING ON TO AS A PRIZED POSSESSION.
Caption (1): Of the seven explorers, only one returned—a photographer by the name of Jeremiah Hibbit.
Panel 2
PHOTOS OF STRANGE CREATURES SPREAD HAPHAZARDLY ACROSS A TABLE.
Caption (2): He brought back pictures, but they were dismissed as fakes.
Panel 3
SHOW ONE OF THE THULE IN EITHER LONDON OR TOKYO (CIRCA 1900-1915).
Caption (3): Soon bizarre creatures were spotted in places like London, Tokyo, and New york City. For the gateway worked both ways.
Panel 4
SHOW A MAN SKULKING ABOUT IN THE SEWERS (CIRCA 1900-1915). HE’S BEEN SPOTTED BY SOMEONE WEARING A HARDHAT WITH A LIGHT (SOME KIND OF SANITATION WORKER). LOTS OF SHADOWS AND PERHAPS THE PERSON DISCOVERED HAS GLOWING EYES.
Caption (4): Some witnesses even claimed that the creatures could shapeshift.
Panel 5
THE MAN HAS TURNED INTO A HULKING THULE.
No dialogue or caption.
PAGE THREE
Panel 1
SHOW SOLDIERS AS THOUGH THEY ARE POSING FOR A PHOTOGRAPH. THE CENTER FIGURE IS THE PHANTOM FLYER (REFERENCE AVAILABLE).
Caption (1): years later there were rumors that Hitler found an enclave of the lizard men, and that he enlisted to fight in his army.
Panel 2
BATTLE SCENE WITH AT LEAST ONE THULE FIGHTING ONE OR TWO US SOLDIERS. THE THULE SHOULD TOWER OVER THEM (ABOUT 7-8 FEET TALL VS. 6 FEET TALL).
Caption (2): In response, the united States formed the Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural.
Panel 3
SHOW THE THULE OVERWHELMING ANOTHER ALIEN RACE.
Caption (3): CHAOS agents learned that the lizard men were a race of warmongers known as the Thule.
Panel 4
SHOW THE THULE FIGHTING BESIDE NAZIS (AND A NAZI ROBOT).
Caption (4): Over the centuries they had expanded their empire by destroying world after world. Now that their own planet was dying, they sought the Earth as their new home.
PAGE FOUR
Panel 1
Caption (1): After the Allies defeated Hitler, the Thule went into hiding. They waited as their scientists invented a technology that could open a gateway large enough for their machines of war.
Panel 2
SHOW AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE EARTH AS THOUGH IT IS BEING TAKEN FROM OUTERSPACE. POSSIBLY SHOW A SPACESHIP OR AN ARMADA.
Caption (2): The Earth would be theirs, for according to an ancient prophecy, they would never know defeat . . .
Panel 3
SHOW “THE BETRAYER” (A THULE) STANDING WITH HIS ARMS IN THE AIR AND HIS HEAD THROWN BACK, WITH THULE LYING AT HIS FEET, UNCONSCIOUS.
Caption (3): That is until one of their own blood—The Betrayer— would turn against his people. On that day, their Empire will crumble.
PAGE FIVE
Panel 1
SHOW AN ALIEN POW BEING PARADED IN FRONT OF US SOLDIERS.
Panel 2
SHOW A GI INJECTING HIMSELF WITH BLOOD. SHOW AN ALIEN CADAVER NEARBY . . . BUT HAVE IT BE WHOLE WITH ITS ARMS ACROSS ITS CHEST (NO GORE).
Caption (2): desperate to end the war, GIs injected themselves with the blood from an alien cadaver. They hoped it would turn at least one of them into the Betrayer.
Panel 3
SHOW A DOCTOR INJECTING A CHILD WITH A SYRINGE AND NEEDLE. MAYBE THE CAMERA IS IN THE CEILING LOOKING DOWN AT A CHILD WHO IS LYING ON AN OPERATING TABLE LOOKING SCARED AS THE DOCTOR IS ABOUT TO INJECT HIM.
Caption (3): It didn’t work. But the united States government adapted the test and secretly injected thousands of men
and boys with a serum that contained alien dNA.
Panel 4
SHOW COLT MCALISTER (THE 16-YEAR-OLD STAR OF THE BOOK SERIES) FLYING THROUGH THE SKY IN A JET PACK, COMING TOWARD THE CAMERA. HE’S DRESSED IN A 1940S BOMBER JACKET AND IS WEARING AVIATOR GOGGLES AND A JET PACK. HE HAS LONG, BLOND HAIR FLOWING IN THE WIND.
Caption (4): It took more than fifty years, but they finally found a match.
Caption (5): As the Thule prepare to invade, our leaders pray that Colt McAlister truly is the one . . . that he is the Betrayer.
- ENd -
BIG QUESTIONS
1. One of the stipulations for attending the CHAOS Military Academy is that cadets are not allowed to use cell phones, portable music players, or laptop computers. They have no access to the Internet or their families for eighteen months. What would it take for you to make that kind of sacrifice?
2. The night before Colt moved to Virginia, agents from the Department of Alien Affairs detained him. They detained Lily too. Colt wanted to call her and apologize for what happened, but he was worried that she’ d be upset, so he put it off until it was too late. Are you the kind of person who prefers to ignore interpersonal conflict, hoping that time will help the problem disappear? Or do you like to talk things out right away and get it over with?
3. Colt has strong romantic feelings toward Lily. In fact, he thinks that he might be in love, but he isn’t sure. What are the odds of two sixteen-year-olds falling in love and staying together for the rest of their lives? Do you know married couples that met when they were in high school?
4. Colt went through a series of dangerous tests sanctioned by the United States government when he was a child. They wiped his memory, but his parents and his grandfather knew about them. They never told him. When Colt finally found out they knew, he felt betrayed. Is withholding the truth the same as lying? Is there ever a time when withholding the truth or lying would be the upright thing to do?
5. All his life Colt dreamed of saving the world from supervillains and alien invasions. But now that he has the chance to actually do it, he isn’t sure if he’s ready. Has there been a time in your life when you were called on to do something, but you didn’t feel qualified? What happened?
6. Colt appreciates that Danielle tells him the truth, even when it might upset him. Do you have friends in your life who are willing to be honest with you, even if it means that you might get upset? Are you willing to be honest with your friends regardless of their reactions?
7. Pierce Bowen attacks a cadet at the CHAOS Military Academy because he was different. Colt steps in to protect the cadet even though he risks getting jumped by Pierce and his friends. What would you do if you saw someone getting bullied?
8. In the book, government agents manipulate evidence and two career criminals are incarcerated for crimes they didn’t commit. Do you think governments have that kind of power? If so, do you think they’re willing to exercise that power?
9. In the story, Colt’s grandfather talks about seeing fellow soldiers die in combat. He thinks video games glorify death. Do you agree? Is there anything wrong with killing people in a video game?
10. Colt’s grandfather gives him a medallion inscribed with Psalm 46:1. It states that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Has there been a time in your life where that was true?
TEAM THANKS
I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love comic books. Maybe it started with the Spider-Man segment on Electric Company. Or it could have been the Super Friends Saturday morning cartoon. There was the Marvel superheroes lunchbox that I had in kindergarten (the one where my mom always packed Spaghettios in my thermos), and reruns of the live-action Batman series starring Adam West. Regardless of where it all started, I wish novels took a page from comic books. You see, the title page on a comic book doesn’t just list the writer, but it also lists the artists, editors, and sometimes the executives who work tirelessly behind the scenes.
This book wouldn’t have happened without contributions that went way above the norm, starting with Lee Hough from Alive Communications. He is not only the best agent in the business, but he’s a wonderful mentor and sounding board. As I write this, Lee is battling a Boogeyman in the form of a cancerous brain tumor. So if you’re the praying sort, remember Lee and his family as he gets ready for radiation and chemo.
I am honored to work with Thomas Nelson’s incredible team, and in particular, Amanda Bostic and Allen Arnold. They were encouraging, patient, and are a talented and innovative team with an astounding vision. I’d also like to thank Becky Monds, Eric Mullett, Ashley Schneider, and Kristen Vasgaard.
Thank you to LB Norton for jumping into the eye of a hurricane and offering a sense of calm and finesse. She worked around the clock to bring the story to the next level, while helping me hit critical deadlines.
I’d like to thank my wife (Kelly), and my three daughters (Bailey, Olivia, and Lauren), who suffered through the emotional maelstrom that is often part of the package when you live with someone who works in the arts. They were steadfast and loving, a wonderful testimony to the amazing women that they are.
Thanks to Dean Lorey and James A. Owen, who offered encouragement when I desperately needed it.
Thank you as well to Dr. Joshua Lewis for supplying his medical knowledge, which allowed me to assassinate a fictional senator in a creative and believable manner. And to Derek Benz, whose knowledge of the cyber community’s underbelly helped me understand what Tempest shielding is.
I’d also like to recognize the artists who lent their talents to this book, including Mike Dubisch, Todd Nauck, Enrique Rivera, Danny Araya, and Kyle Latino.
And very special thanks to Grey Arnold, who helped keep me on point.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon S. Lewis is the coauthor of the Grey Griffins trilogy and the Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles. He also writes for the DC COMICS family of publishers. He resides with his family in Arizona.
visit JonSLewis.com and ChaosNovels.com
