Creating Comics!

Creative Process

For my autobiographical stories, I begin with a general idea for

the story in mind. I make an outline of the most important ele-

ments, and then refine that into a more specific outline where

each element is assigned the appropriate number of pages.

I usually work with a six-panel grid and I have a good sense

of how things will flow in that format. I refine this outline until I’m

satisfied that the story will express my idea properly.

For Little Things the outline went through eight versions

before a basic script emerged that properly captured how

seemingly insignificant moments in life can end up meaning

the most.

From the final outline I write a panel-by-panel script. Some-

times this will alter the outline; some parts may end up requiring

more panels to achieve the right pacing, while others may have

redundant panels cut. The final script is written out on one or

two small sheets of paper.

Much of the script will consist of mnemonic notes of one or

two words rather than exact descriptions or dialogue. Since I

draw in small blank sketchbooks, I can carry the script with the

book, making the whole project portable.

Rar Rar Press in Chicago drew Little Things in a handmade

book, but I will also draw in bulking dummies from printing

presses or in the blank sketchbooks available from Watson-

Guptill. The book used depends on the page count; I want each

book to contain just one story or collection of stories. I also test

the paper quality to ensure that the pen I’m using will work on

it. With Little Things, as with most of my work, I used a Uni-ball

Deluxe Micro.

Title: Little Things

Client: Simon & Schuster

Media: Pen on paper

A

fter growing up in Michigan, Jeffrey Brown

moved to Chicago in 2000 to pursue his M.F.A.

at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

After rediscovering alternative comics like Eightball and

Acme Novelty Library, he abandoned fine art painting

and completed his M.F.A. by drawing two autobiographi-

cal graphic novels, Clumsy and Unlikely. Initially self-

published, Clumsy was featured on NPR’s This American

Life and was subsequently picked up for publication by

Top Shelf.

Since then, Brown has published nearly a dozen books

of autobiographical and parody comics. His work has

appeared in anthologies from McSweeney’s, Drawn &

Quarterly, and Fantagraphics. In 2006 he directed an

animated video for indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie,

and in 2007 Chronicle Books published Cat Getting Out

of a Bag and Other Observations. Simon & Schuster pub-

lished Little Things: A Memoir in Slices in April 2008.

Brown is currently working on Funny Misshapen Body

for Simon & Schuster as well as a quarterly comic book

series, Sulk, for Top Shelf.

Jeffrey Brown

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Creating Comics