Writing Superhero Comics The Roy Thomas Way

Roy shared the dirty little secret of superhero comics with me decades ago, so I’m passing it along to you now.

Here’s what Roy Thomas said you needed to write a superhero comic:

1. A superhero

2. A colorful villain

3. (Sidekicks / minions / love interests / henchmen / victims / etc. as desired / needed)

4. A MacGuffin* to be fought over

5. A fight

6. A chase

7. Another fight

And there you have it, the formula for your minimum basic superhero story, be it 8 to 88 pages.

While you may not realize it at first, but there’s an awful lot you can do with this basic formula. 

Consider:

Villain tries to steal MacGuffin, superhero thwarts this.  Villain flees, superhero chases.  Superhero confronts villain for final fight, capturing them.

We’ve all read and enjoyed that story, right? 

But here’s a variation:

Villain and superhero fight but villain manages to steal MacGuffin and escape.  Superhero chases villain to recover MacGuffin.  Final fight ends with superhero capturing villain and recovering MacGuffin.

Another story we’ve read and enjoyed repeatedly.

But wait!  There’s more:

Villain and superhero fight but superhero recovers MacGuffin.  Villain chases superhero to recover MacGuffin.  Final fight ends with superhero capturing villain.

We’re not done yet:

Villain defeats superhero who flees to avoid being killed.  Villain chases superhero to finish them off.  Superhero defeats villain in final fight.

(Bonus:  Superhero deliberately leads villain into a trap to capture them.)

Our penultimate version:

Superhero defeats villain who flees.  Superhero chasses villain.  Villain leads superhero into a trap, defeating them.

And finally:

Villain defeats superhero who flees.  Villain chases superhero.  Villain catches and vanquishes superhero.

(These last two variants appear mostly in satirical or alternate comics, especially in the classic underground era.)

Six variants off the same basic elements, seven counting the bonus round (let’s split the different and call it six-and-a-half).

Now on top of all this you can change the setting, add different subplots involving supporting characters, play it grim or funny, and easily get dozens of stories out of it -- hundreds if you can create a steady stream of colorful bad guys.

But here’s the dirty little secret:

This formula works with every genre in every medium on every scale!

Roy talked about superheroes and supervillains, but any protagonist / antagonist match-up fits.

Our protagonist might be

…a teenage girl trying to keep a rival from poaching her boyfriend.

…a sheriff tracking bank robbers across the Wild West.

…a detective hunting the guy who stole a rare stamp.

…a cat versus a mouse wanting to steal some cheese.

All that’s needed are two diametrically opposed characters striving for the same thing.

Next, while Roy said “fight” because that’s what superheroes do, but he meant this in the sense of any form of conflict.

You don’t need bloody fisticuffs, a terse underplayed dialog scene can function just as well.

The chase?  Again, literally in Roy’s example, but in practice it’s any scene or sequence where the protagonist tries to figure out how to deal with the antagonist and the threat they present.

…online research on how to solve the problem.

…question supporting characters to get necessary information.

…go into the mountains for special training (Dragonball Z stories only).

…ask Jocko Madigan.**

“But wait!” some of you are saying.  “This sounds like it works fine for short stories or single issue comics, but what about longer works?”

Just keep repeating the formula, folks.  That’s how comic book companies turn single issues into lengthy multi-volume collected epics.

Look at a typical James Bond movie.  Bond goes to find out what the villain is up to.  He encounters a low grade minion, they fight, Bond follows him to the next level henchman, that henchman captures Bond, Bond cleverly escapes and chases down henchman to learn vital clue that takes him villain, villain sends right-hand man to kill Bond, Bond kills right-hand man, Bond confronts villain, volcano blows up, Bond and that adventure’s love interest sail off into the sunset.***

Doing an epic fantasy?  Side quests.  Mystery?  Several smaller puzzles to solve in order to find the grand solution. Romance?  Misunderstandings of various stripes to keep the couple apart until the final clinch.

No hero’s journey.

No saving the gawddamn cat.

No complex story structure and by-this-page plot beats.

A protagonist, an antagonist, a MacGuffin, a fight, a chase, and then a final fight.

It’s just that simple.

© Buzz Dixon

*  Though “MacGuffin” was coined by screenwriter Angus McPhail, director Alfred Hitchcock popularized the concept with this joke:  “Two men are on a train. One man asks, ‘What's that package in the baggage rack?’  The other says, ‘That's a MacGuffin, an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.’  The first man says, ‘But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands.’  The second answers, ‘Well then, that's no MacGuffin!’"

** Are you an old-time radio fan familiar with Jack Webb’s Pat Knovak, For Hire?  No?  Well, tough, this joke’s not for you.

*** I don’t really need to explain the symbolism of Bond and his female companion ending almost every damn 007 movie floating in a boat, do I?