After weeks of waiting, comic book writer Ryan Garcia finally has some artwork to look at and approve. But does it live up to the story in his head! Ryan continues his regular column on How To Write A Digital Comic with The Garcia Method: All About Those Inks, About Those Inks, No Pencils!

The pen is mightier than the sword.  We’ve heard the expression and as writers we appreciate the perception of power, even if as the most skilled wielders of pens we would still lose in virtually every fight against someone equally skilled with a sword.  When it comes to writing we are generally aware of the difference between pencil and ink–the temporary nature of the erasable pencil and the permanence of an ink pen.  When we see someone challenging a difficult crossword puzzle with just a pen we all collectively shudder at their might.

Yes, we’re aware of the erasable ink pen.  It’s a ruse.  Moving on.

There are two significant steps of the lined drawing process in comics – the Pencils and the Inks.  Besides being a fantastic band name this sets up a mental division between the largest phases of artwork – the sketches and the final result.  Sometimes you will even have different artists tackle the two phases, although with the rise of digital tools it is now more common to have single artists tackling both phases.

As the new comic book writer it is natural to think “Ah, we are at the inking phase and nothing shall change – so I really hope these inks work!”  And then the inked pages start coming in and, of course, they mostly work because of all the great feedback you provided during the pencils/sketches phase.  But then there are some things that don’t quite match.  But they’re in ink.  INK!

Rather than get into the details of what comic book artists do (because I’m completely unqualified to explain it…although I’m pretty sure it involves magic and sacrificing a chicken) just rest assured that inks can be changed.  If there’s a mistake, it can be corrected.  The question for you will be whether it is worth correcting.

Just like we discussed during the sketches phase, it may be that while the inks are different from what you imagined or even wrote they could still be better.  They could reveal something you missed, they could make a smoother transition in the character’s motions or emotions.  Comic books are a collaboration and you should consider why the page or panel is different and whether it works.

And if it doesn’t work, then let your artist know.  Because there may be things that matter in your story that didn’t come across in the script and now don’t carry the same weight on the page.  And there may be panels that just don’t feel right, action that doesn’t carry from one panel to the next, or odd tricks on how panels interact that make objects or characters seem out of place.

As you review the inked pages and provide feedback to your artist, keep these things in mind:

• If you’ll be using a colorist later then there are many details you won’t see at this point.  If you aren’t sure a missing detail matters to the inking phase – ask the question!  Ask your editor if you have one, ask your inker or colorist if you don’t.  But don’t be silent.

• I found it helpful to review inked pages two ways: first sequentially, to see how the overall visual story flowed from panel to panel and page to page; and second at random, to see if anything stood out.  That random review was incredibly helpful–nobody knows the story better than the writer and as we fall into the rhythm of our tale we may fill in details that are actually missing.

• Know your formats. If you have an experienced inker they should already know the page sizes and safe margins for both print and digital pages.  If it’s a new inker you’ll want to make sure they check out various publication guides by both paper and digital publishers.

Once your pages are inked and finalized, then you get to move on to the finishing touches: letters, colors, and final production.

Ryan Garcia (@SoMeGeekLawyer) is a social media lawyer, professor, and podcaster (GabbingGeek.com).  He’s still convinced Age of Ultron will make more money at the box office than The Force Awakens.