📘 Sample Comic Title – Issue 1

Written by John Smith
Art by Jane Artist
Lettering by Lex Graphix
Published by Sample Press Publishing
First published: 2025

© 2025 Sample Press Publishing, licensed CC-BY-NC-SA.
This work is licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This script is part of the Sample Series series.
Sample Series™ is a trademark of Sample Press Publishing.

🗂️ Issue Overview

Title: Sample Issue Subtitle
Series: Sample Series
Arc: Urban Echoes
Arc Placement: Issue 1 of Arc
Issue: 1 of 4
Continuity Date: Winter 2025
Setting: Sample City, Modern Day
Main Characters: Jane Doe
Synopsis: Jane Doe uncovers a sinister plot beneath the streets of Sample City. As reality bends and fractures, the line between memory and magic begins to unravel.

Logline: A reluctant hero navigates a city haunted by past trauma and future horrors.
Tagline: Magic hides in the cracks of the familiar.
Genres: Horror, Urban Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: Teen+
Keywords: supernatural, memory, urban decay

Runtime (Adaptation Estimate): Estimated 90 mins if adapted to screen
Aspect Ratio (Suggested for Screen): 2.39:1
Language: English
Subtitles Available: Spanish, French
Adaptation Notes: This comic is structured for both print and screen adaptation. Each page maps to a scene beat, with room for pacing and visual rhythm.

📝 Script Notes

🎨 ARTIST: Maintain realism with subtle surreal cues. Use strong shadows and ambient details to create unease.

🎭 COSTUME: Jane’s trench coat should appear increasingly worn through the issue.

📦 PROP: The pendant must always be visible when Jane speaks with the ghost.

🌫️ ATMOSPHERE: A humid, cold quality to all indoor scenes. Mist clings to windows.

📎 REFERENCE: Inspiration for city layout from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

📎 REFERENCE: See aerial image reference: /images/skylines/sample.jpg

📄 Page One

🔲 PANEL LAYOUT: Full-page splash panel.

🖼️ PANEL ONE

🎨 ARTIST: Bird’s-eye view of Sample City skyline at dusk, Jane walking alone. Cold palette. 🌆 BACKGROUND: Include faded billboard advertising “DreamTech” 🌀 FLASHBACK: Color tones shift to pale sepia. 📎 REFERENCE: https://unsplash.com/photos/cityscape

  • 🎙️ CAPTION (JANE):
    You never forget the first time you see it from above.
  • 🔊 SFX (AMBIENT):
    wind whistling

📄 Page Two

🔲 PANEL LAYOUT: 3 top panels, 1 wide panel below.

🖼️ PANEL ONE

🎨 ARTIST: Close-up of Jane’s eye. Reflections hint at a ghostly figure.

  • 🎙️ CAPTION (NARRATOR):
    There are cracks in every surface.

🖼️ PANEL TWO

🎨 ARTIST: Side view of Jane on a subway train. Reflections distort in the glass.

  • 🗣️ JANE (BALLOON):
    You see it too, right?

✍️ LETTERER: Jane’s dialogue should have a whispery tail.

🖼️ PANEL THREE

🎨 ARTIST: Insert of a pendant glowing faintly against her coat.

  • 🔊 SFX (MAGIC):
    thrum-thrum-thrum

🖼️ PANEL FOUR

🎨 ARTIST: A wide shot of the train speeding into the underground tunnel. Mist trailing.

  • 🎙️ CAPTION (JANE):
    It always begins underground.

📄 Page Three

🔲 PANEL LAYOUT: 2x2 grid

🖼️ PANEL ONE

🎨 ARTIST: Interior hallway, flickering lights. Jane’s shadow splits into two.

  • 🗣️ VOICE (OFF-PANEL):
    Jane…?
  • 🔊 SFX (ELECTRICAL):
    bzzzZT

🖼️ PANEL TWO

🎭 COSTUME: Jane’s scarf is now twisted unnaturally.

  • 🗣️ JANE (THOUGHT BALLOON):
    Not again. Not this soon.

🖼️ PANEL THREE

🎨 ARTIST: Flashlight beam reveals a sigil on the wall.

  • 🎙️ CAPTION (JANE):
    I’ve seen that mark before.

🖼️ PANEL FOUR

🎨 ARTIST: Close-up on Jane’s hand brushing over the sigil.

♻️ REUSE PANEL: Page 2, Panel 3 (same pendant glow and composition).

  • 🔊 SFX (MAGIC):
    humMMM

📎 REFERENCE: Arcane sigil sketch: Arcane Sigil

Layout Examples

Panel Layout Descriptions

  • 🔲 STANDARD SIX-PANEL GRID: Two rows of three panels each
  • 🔲 NINE-PANEL GRID: Three rows of three panels each
  • 🔲 WIDESCREEN: Three horizontal panels stacked
  • 🔲 VERTICAL STACK: One tall panel on left, smaller panels on right
  • 🔲 SPLASH PAGE: Full page single image
  • 🔲 DOUBLE-PAGE SPREAD: Image spans across two facing pages

Notes for Graphic Novel Script Writers

  1. Visual Storytelling: Remember that comics are a visual medium. Show don’t tell.
  2. Panel Economy: Each panel should advance the story or reveal character.
  3. Page Turns: Use page turns for reveals and cliffhangers.
  4. Dialogue Brevity: Keep dialogue concise. Comics have limited space.
  5. Artist Collaboration: Leave room for artist interpretation while being clear about essential elements.

📌 Legend of Tags

Script Formatting Elements

📘 - Issue/series markers
🗂️ - Organizational sections
📝 - Script notes for overall script
📄 - Page markers
🖼️ - Panel designator
🔲 - Panel layout instructions
🎬 - Panel markers and layout instructions (alternative to 🖼️)
🎨 - Artist notes and visual direction
🎙️ - Captions (narrator or character internal monologue)
🗣️ - Character dialogue (spoken)
🔊 - Sound effects (SFX)
✍️ - Letterer notes
🎭 - Costume notes
📦 - Prop notes
🌫️ - Atmosphere/mood notes
🌆 - Background/setting notes
🌀 - Flashback/time shift indicators
♻️ - Panel reuse instructions
📎 - Reference links/images

Dialogue Types

  • (BALLOON) - Standard speech balloon
  • (THOUGHT BALLOON) - Internal thoughts
  • (OFF-PANEL) - Voice from outside the panel
  • (WHISPER) - Quiet/whispered dialogue
  • (SHOUT) - Loud/shouted dialogue
  • (ELECTRONIC) - Radio, phone, or digital voice

Sound Effect Types

  • (AMBIENT) - Environmental sounds
  • (IMPACT) - Collision/hit sounds
  • (ELECTRICAL) - Electronic/energy sounds
  • (MAGIC) - Supernatural sounds
  • (MECHANICAL) - Machine/device sounds

GNSF Template Version History

  • v1.0 - Initial draft template (Current)

End of GNSF Template