Creating Comics!

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Creative Process

Prior to creating Night Business, the comics

I created were thoroughly planned out. I

found that I had a lot of trouble finishing

comics when I worked that way. I guess

I ran out of energy or excitement in the

subject matter or story. Or maybe I’d let too

much doubt into my head about the quality

of the work. With Night Business I didn’t

plan anything out and decided to ignore any

sort of voices of doubt that might creep into

my head while I was making the comic. In

the first page of Night Business, Issue 1, we

meet Jazzie, a self-involved, cruel, coke-

addicted stripper who gets off on the fact

that men want her but can’t touch or have

her. Here in the second page we see her

backstage indulging in some drug abuse. In

this scene I wanted to establish that Jazzie

isn’t a nice person, so her violent fate is a

little easier to take later on.

When I created these pages for Night

Business I didn’t plan anything out, I never

made any thumbnail sketches or tried to

work out any of the story’s architecture, or

solve any of the panel-to-panel problems

beforehand. I was afraid that if I did this I’d

lose interest in the project. So, I just went

straight to drawing on the board. I had a

very clear image of the panel sequence on

each page in my head before I started. I

also never penciled tightly at all. I wanted

to leave a lot of the drawing to be done in

the inking stage, again, to keep my interest

sustained. The pencils I made were very

abstract, just blocking out the composition

in each of the panels. Then I would go back

and write the script after I had the loose

pencils in place. The next step was to letter

the entire book. Then I went to the ink stage.

On this page our initial impressions of

Jazzie as a character are reinforced. She’s

manipulative of men to get what she wants.

She leads a fast and dangerous lifestyle. At

the end of the page is the setup for what

befalls her on the following page.

Title: Night Business

Tools: Bristol board, 3F drawing pencil, Micron pen (various

sizes), whiteout, Photoshop

© Benjamin Marra 2008

T

he notorious and controversial Benjamin Marra is

the creator of the comics Night Business and Gang-

sta Rap Posse. His illustration work has appeared

in Playboy, the New York Times, Radar, Paper, and Rolling

Stone. He’s received awards and recognition from the Society

of Illustrators, American Illustration, and the Society of Pub-

lication Designers. In 2006 he was named as one of the Art

Directors Club’s Young Guns. Marra’s philosophy regarding

comic books is to strip them of their lofty, literary ambitions

as a medium; have them accept their sordid, tragic past; and

return them to their rightful place in the sewer of popular

culture. Currently, he is at work on the next issue of Night

Business, along with several other comic book projects.

Benjamin Marra

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Creating Comics

Job:05-19413 Title:Creating Comics

#175 P DTP:204 Page:98

(RAY)

060-119_19413.indd 98 5/25/10 8:47:54 PM