Moore wrote this before the decompressed storytelling era (2000s Marvel/Image) and before digital scrolling. His advice on the (how panels pull the eye) is timeless. His advice on captions vs. narration is still taught in graduate sequential art programs.
It covers why the book is legendary, the legal gray area of PDFs, and where you can legally find the content today. If you have ever tried to move beyond “how to draw a fist” and into “how to structure a page ,” you have almost certainly heard of Alan Moore’s Writing for Comics . alan moore writing for comics pdf
But his opinions on "thought balloons are always bad" have been rightfully challenged by later cartoonists like Kate Beaton and Giant Days writer John Allison. Don’t waste 45 minutes clicking through broken PDF links. Pay the $6 for the official eBook. Not just out of respect for Moore (who, yes, has famously asked for his name to be removed from some works, but not this one), but because the 2003 edition includes page layout diagrams that are illegible in most free scans. Moore wrote this before the decompressed storytelling era
Did you find a legal PDF link? Share it in the comments. If you found a bootleg? Keep it to yourself—Moore might write a curse into your next script. narration is still taught in graduate sequential art
Search for: “Alan Moore – What is a Comic? (Fantasy Advertiser, 1984)”