The 'Marvel Method'
- Dec 11, 2022
- 3 min read
There may be things we can learn from the wonderful world of comics when it comes to putting a story together. Comics obviously use both a plotter and an artist - though sometimes these are the same person - but the way that these two aspects of a story can work together can serve to illustrate certain things about a piece of fiction which we might not be able to grasp in any other way.
The classic method of producing a comic book story, as used by DC Comics for decades, started with the plotter or writer. He (or much more rarely, she) would break the story down in sequence, page-by-page, panel-by-panel, describing the action, characters, and even sometimes what should lie in the background of each panel and from which point of view it should all be seen. In addition, all captions and dialogue balloons would be specified. This led to a neat but rather ‘fixed’ and formal look for the resulting comic. This is much more like the traditional way of writing a novel, with the visual part of the story being no more than an illustration of what the words were saying.
Stan Lee, creator and co-creator of some of the most popular comic book characters and stories of all time, is credited with also having introduced the ‘plot script’ method which became known as the ‘Marvel Method’ or ‘Marvel House Style’. In a plot script the artist works from a story synopsis from the writer or plotter. Using only this rough outline of a story, the artist then creates page-by-page panels through which the plot develops, after which the work is returned to the writer for the insertion of dialogue. It’s a kind of ‘ghost writing’ in a new form: the writer generates the basic plot but the details are completely created by another person.
This method supposedly arose because Lee was overloaded with work. Rather than have time to develop full scripts, he started handing over outlines to artists like Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, relying on their story-telling abilities to bring the thing to life. The result was a more flowing, cinematic style: instead of panels being carefully composed by a writer, the artist was freer to explore scenes from unusual angles and to create variations in the sequence of a tale.
The whole method was very flexible, depending on how much detail the writer wanted to put into the synopsis: these varied from one page in length to twenty-two, apparently. For example, when working with Ditko on Amazing Fantasy and other pre-superhero Marvel science-fiction/fantasy anthology titles, Lee later said, ‘I'd dream up odd fantasy tales with an O. Henry type twist ending. All I had to do was give Steve a one-line description of the plot and he'd be off and running. He'd take those skeleton outlines I had given him and turn them into classic little works of art that ended up being far cooler than I had any right to expect.’
Apart from giving the writer more time and the artist more freedom, the ‘look’ of comics was changed by this approach, with stories leaning towards more visual interpretations.
As writers, I wonder if it would be possible to learn from this and to split ourselves into two halves - one acting as an ‘outliner’, giving only the loose framework in which a story is to take place, while the other concentrates on the visual elements of a story: from what viewpoint could a scene be viewed? How could the story unfold as to be more visually exciting? How far could the rough outline be stretched in new, unexpected directions? Then, having achieved a more detailed version of the story, we could hand the whole thing back to the ‘writer’ part of ourselves for the addition of dialogue and other details.
It would be an interesting experiment, and is probably how screenwriters think when putting a tale together.
This was a really interesting read, especially the part about the 'Marvel Method' leading to more visual interpretations and artist freedom. As someone who works a lot with visual elements in my own projects, I find that focus incredibly inspiring for storytelling. Sometimes, ensuring all my images are in the right format for different platforms can be a hassle, so a reliable tool for converting heic to jpg is always helpful.
I found the anecdote about Stan Lee giving Steve Ditko 'one-line description[s] of the plot' and Ditko turning them into 'classic little works of art' incredibly inspiring. It highlights the power of a concise, yet powerful, initial concept. When I'm trying to quickly capture those 'skeleton outlines,' I often use markdown, and then a [Markdown Converter Html For Free] is super useful to share or publish those ideas easily.
This really got me thinking about the process of developing a story, especially the idea of splitting yourself into an 'outliner' and a 'visualizer' before adding dialogue. It reminds me how important a structured foundation is before diving into the details. For creating those initial outlines, a tool like a Markdown To Html Free Tool can be really helpful to keep things organized and flexible as you experiment with ideas.
Fascinating analysis of the Marvel Method! It's intriguing to think about how this collaborative, visual-first storytelling approach can apply beyond comics. It actually reminds me of the creative process behind some innovative indie games, where a core, provocative idea often drives the entire design. Speaking of unique premises, the rage-bait platformer Trees Hate You is a perfect example—the entire game is built around the simple yet brilliant concept of a forest that actively hates you. It feels like the game designers started with that one-line “plot synopsis” and ran with it visually and mechanically, much like the artist in the Marvel Method. Thanks for the thought-provoking post!
I never thought about comics and storytelling like that! It's cool how different methods come together. Speaking of creative ways to handle challenges, have you tried trees hate you free online ? It's a fun rage game that really tests your patience!