I agree with Patrick on the issue of “show v. tell”. It’s arbitrary and if you really examine the issue the two categories are artificial. The concept is most often applied to writing, where, in a great sense, everything is “tell.”

I think Genette has some good arguments about this, I should look up again.

I do agree, Andrei, that writing “breathtaking view” would be cliche, it’s not the best example. My point is that we can use words in comics that way. I should be adding that it should be an effective use.

I can appreciate both sides of the planning/drawing(writing) aspect. For me, the planning is the part that really has me thinking more. The drawing is fun, but it’s a different kind of activity.

As far as plotting and thumbnails go, I deliberately break down making my webcomics into as few stages as possible. If I plot, then script, then thumbnail, then pencil, then ink, each stage robs the finished piece of immediacy and vitality, and the process of fun.

For my current comic, The Cattle Raid of Cooley, I wrote an outline and am improvising it in ink, page by page, based on that (for the prequel, Ness, I didn’t even bother with an outline, but it was a shorter story with fewer characters). The only other preparation I do is if I have to draw something I’m not familiar with, I’ll find reference and sketch until I know what it looks like and I’m confident I can draw it from memory.

As for thumbnails, etc., am I the only cartoonist who finds inking the most exciting part of the job? I also think my favorite comics are exactly the ones where I can tell the artist found the drawing to be the most engaging aspect: Gary Panter, Tony Millionaire, Kirby, Ditko. Going back to a comparison with novels, what if Flaubert had thought that the planning is the exciting part and the writing is just a drag? On the other hand, Queneau did say something like that, and he still came up with some pretty amazing books.