Crafting and Printing a Comic Book: Behind the Scenes

The comic book is a captivating visual art form that combines storytelling with illustrations. Behind every comic we read, there’s a complex process of creation and printing. Let’s delve into the fascinating world of comics: their origins, the variety of genres, the production process… and see how online printing greatly facilitates self-publishing these works.

The Origins of the Comic Book

The comic book is a narrative art form that melds images and text to tell a story. Everyone knows this! But are you familiar with its origins? They date back to antiquity, with examples of visual storytelling in Egyptian frescoes, Greek and Roman narratives, and illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages.

However, the modern form of the comic book as we know it today emerged in the 19th century. In Europe, the publication of “The Yellow Kid” in 1895 by American artist Richard F. Outcault is often considered the first modern comic book. This humorous strip, consisting of just a few panels, popularized the use of speech bubbles to depict characters’ dialogue! And we’ve never tired of it since!

In the early 20th century, artists like Winsor McCay, creator of “Little Nemo in Slumberland” (1905), and George Herriman, creator of “Krazy Kat” (1913), contributed to the evolution of the comic book with more complex and experimental narrative elements.

Meanwhile, Japan developed its own style of comics, the now-famous manga! Its origins date back to the 12th century with illustrated scrolls, but it gained popularity in the 20th century thanks to artists like Osamu Tezuka, often regarded as the “father of modern manga.” Tezuka created “Astro Boy” in 1952 and introduced innovative narrative techniques to Japanese manga.

Over time, the comic book has evolved and diversified globally, encompassing various styles, genres, and formats. Today, it’s a major artistic genre, touching many fields such as humour, adventure, science fiction, autobiography, and many more.

Different Genres of Comics

Like cinema, the comic book isn’t confined to one genre but includes a wide variety that reflects the diverse interests and tastes of readers. Here are some of the most common genres in comics:

• The Western: Who hasn’t read Lucky Luke in their childhood? Or The Bluecoats? Welcome to the world of the Western and the vast American West.
• Adventure: Does Asterix and Obelix ring a bell? How about Tintin? They too have traversed generations and continue to charm both young and old. They take us on their journeys and quests, and let’s admit it, we love it!
• Humour: If I mention Gaston Lagaffe, you get the idea, right? This genre focuses on entertainment and comedy, including parody, self-deprecation, and comic series. The comic strip is a short comic, spanning just a few panels where the story is conveyed in a single line. And it’s most often found in the press.
• Science Fiction: Authors explore futuristic worlds, advanced technologies, aliens, and scientific concepts. It can cover subjects such as space travel, dystopias, parallel universes, etc. A dystopia, you ask? Well, it’s a dark futuristic world…
• Fantasy: By blending supernatural elements, magic, and mythical creatures into stories, fantasy comics often focus on the world of fairies, monsters, vampires, werewolves, etc. We also talk about heroic fantasy.
• Autobiography focuses on the life and personal experiences of the author, offering an intimate look at topics such as family, relationships, memories, travels…
• Manga: No need to introduce Naruto or Dragon Ball! Did you know the Japanese word Manga means “aimless” in French? In black and white, read from right to left, manga distinguishes itself from Western comics. And judging by its millions of fans worldwide, it’s quite enjoyable!

Creating a Comic Book

The creation of a comic book involves several steps:

1. Writing the Script: It all starts with the script. The writer imagines the story, designs the characters, and establishes the narrative structure, using scripts or storyboards for visual organization.
2. Drawing the Panels: With the script ready, the artist begins the comic book panels, working on drawing paper or using digital tools for illustrations, settings, and characters.
3. Inking: After drawing, the main lines of the illustrations are inked. Black or coloured ink is used to enhance outlines, add details, and give depth. Inking is done either by hand with pens, brushes, or digitally with a graphics tablet and drawing software.
4. Colouring: Once inked, the illustrations are coloured, bringing life to characters and settings. This is done either by hand using traditional techniques like watercolours, markers, or coloured pencils, or with colouring software.
5. Lettering: This step involves adding speech bubbles, narrative texts, and sound effects to the comic book panels. This is usually done using specific typography and layout techniques to guide the reading.
6. Layout: The completed panels are arranged in the correct order to create a coherent narrative. Adjustments to the size, layout of the frames, and the addition of smooth transitions between scenes are part of the possible modifications.
7. Printing: This is the final, eagerly awaited step! The digital files are prepared according to the printer’s specifications, and then the panels are printed either offset or digitally.

Printing a Comic Book

As printers, let’s focus a bit more on the printing of the comic book. A comic book, combining text and graphics, is almost an object that we love to read and re-read, preserve and showcase in a library. A complete collection is the ultimate goal! Therefore, as an author, ensuring a successful print of your book is crucial. Indeed, it is the final step before you can finally hold the fruit of your long labour. The print is the culmination!

Online printing has greatly facilitated access to self-publishing, and many authors choose this route. On our online platform, it is accessible to everyone with just a few clicks to configure your printing. Paper, weight, binding, pagination, finish – it’s up to you to decide!

Let’s still look at some characteristics specific to different types of comics.

The Standard Comic Book It’s A4 format and is printed in four-colour process. The cover, often hard, is enhanced with varnish and lamination. The binding must be sturdy; perfect bound or saddle-stitched are ideal! The internal pages are either matte coated, glossy coated, or offset paper.

Note that there are comics with a flexible, soft cover. For durability, opt for a sewn or stapled binding.

The Comic Smaller than the standard comic book, A5 format, the comic typically relates the adventures of a superhero. It is also printed in four-colour process on both sides. The interior is made of coated or offset papers and is deliberately “vintage”. The cover is often soft, with or without flaps. The binding is either stapled if the pagination is less than 96 pages, or perfect bound.

The Manga Arguably the most challenging literary genre to print, at least in Europe! Remember some criteria specific to manga:

• The cover is printed in monochrome on the front, on one-sided coated card.
• It uses bulky (very thick) paper.
• It has numerous solid areas of colour.
• The binding is reversed.
• Digital printing is not possible.

That concludes our overview of the incredible world of comic books. In terms of creation, some authors prefer to work entirely digitally, while others use more traditional methods. And this also applies to printing: with technological advancements, more and more comic books are even created and distributed in digital form, bypassing traditional printing stages. But nothing beats the charm of a paper comic book, in our opinion!