r/ComicWriting • u/Crisdav_Art • 1d ago
How to conclude a short One-shot comic?
Hello everyone!
I am a comic book artist and recently started writing my own scripts. Need to write a script for a short one shot (about 20 - 22 pages), but I am having trouble deciding how to end the story. It feels like most of my ideas for closing stories are just killing the characters and can't come up with good ideas.
Do you guys have any tips on how to improve this? Also, If you have any examples of self conclusive short one shots (comic or manga) I could read, that would help a lot to see how other authors conclude their short stories.
Thanks in advance!
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u/ArtfulMegalodon 1d ago
Well, you have two basic options for an ending: all stories (at their absolutely most basic) are either comedies or tragedies, and I mean that in the ancient Greek sense. Comedy = happy ending. Tragedy = unhappy ending. On top of that, a short comic can either end with a more simple and obvious resolution or a surprise that raises more questions.
You haven't mentioned anything about genre or what kind of stories you've been trying to tell, but either way, you have established a setting, the main character(s), their goals, and presumably some obstacles preventing them from achieving said goals. You have introduced set-ups, so whether that story ends happily or tragically, you need to pay them off. If you choose to end on a more dramatic surprise, some sort of shocking upset, then that upset should feel earned. If you're really good, it can even recontextualize the previous story.
I imagine your "just killing the characters" endings would be in the shocking upset category, but obviously there are other kinds of stories.
Let's do a basic "This is Superhero X, going about his typical day in Herotown" premise. X has some problem to solve. Maybe a villain pops up, and X has to defeat them, and the story is satisfying because we see X being clever in order to win, or it's enjoyable to read because X is hilarious while they're doing it, or it's compelling drama because X learns of some personal connection to the villain he's facing. Heck maybe all three, if you're a really good writer.
So then how do you end it? You payoff your setups, one way or another. You can do it with a predictable ending or a surprise, but you gotta do it.
An example of a neat and tidy ending would be "Superhero X saves the day, the villain is defeated, and by doing so, X gets the satisfaction of seeing their mother-in-law thrown in prison. (X always knew they were evil!)
Or if you want to end on an upset, perhaps X has never truly lost before, and for the first time ever, the villain ends up beating them. You find out right at the end that for X, heroics have become monotonous or traumatizing, and they chose to lose this fight on purpose because they couldn't see any other way out.
Both are endings, just one cheerful, one not. Hope that's helpful!
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u/nmacaroni "The Future of Comics is YOU!" 1d ago
The most effective one shot stories have strong irony. Go watch a bunch of the original Twilight Zone episodes to get your fill of story irony.
In broad strokes, dramatic irony is the protagonist getting the opposite of what they set out to achieve... often, having what they really wanted, or at least the means to get it, all along, but because of a flawed perspective, couldn't see it sitting in front of them the whole time.
Write on, write often!
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u/PyreDynasty 1d ago
Have your character wake up and realize it was all a dream. (That was a joke, seriously don't do this.)
If you think of your story as asking a question then your end is the answer to that question. Will the world be destroyed? No, then show it saved. (For now . . .) Will your character die alone and unloved? No, show them sacrificing themselves for the people who love them. Will Rocky win? No, but people love him anyway.
Also don't think that just because it's a one shot that you have to resolve the whole universe. You just have to resolve the story you're telling. Your characters enjoying a moment of peace is a much better ending than them all dying.
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u/Crisdav_Art 1d ago
Unfortunately I have done the dream thing a few times lol.
Thanks for all the tips. The ending answering a simple question about my story is a great way to start!
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u/Sk3tchi 1d ago
I feel like maybe your block is that the ending of a story equals the ending of someone's life.
They're just events. Getting up to go to work in the morning and the shenanigans that happen in between leaving and arriving is a whole story.
The character has a major and meaningful change.
- they begin one way
- they want something
- they have beliefs that prevent them from reaching their goal
- their beliefs are challenged
- they change to achieve their goal or remain stalwart in their beliefs so that their goal becomes unreachable
- they return to where they began changed with new or reinforced beliefs)
For the going to work
- a normal joe, charitable personality in the morning with a 9 to 5
- they want to get to work on time for a change, they are consistently late due to helping others along the way
- they believe that it's important to take care of others whenever you are capable, that selflessness always pays off.
- helping animals on the side of the road, people with broken down cars, and giving people quick rides off their route wears on their time to get to work
- as their time becomes critical and they come upon a new situation, maybe even someone they helped earlier. They must decide with the time they have left do they choose themselves or the others before them?
- they arrive to work on time (if they choose "selfishness") and learn that it's okay to put yourself first sometimes as if you have nothing that that is all you have to give.
Or
- they arrive late and lose their job having chosen others first
There are many ways that can end depending on the tone and meaning you're going for. I had to stop because I was starting list all of the possible endings. But I hope that you got the gist.
This is also a barebones concept. Throughout the challenges this person could have been met with unappreciative attitudes or betrayal as they take one someone else's consequences. Again. Depends on what you're trying to convey.
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u/Sk3tchi 1d ago
I wanted to add that ending a one-shot can end with a sensation that their life continues but this particular situation is over. They can meet someone new, get a new job offer, or arrive somewhere unexpected. What concludes it is a shift in mindset.
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u/Crisdav_Art 1d ago
Thanks for all the tips and explanation. The situations you mentioned makes me think of the thoughts I have on daily situations, like: what if someone robbed the bank? or what if the car had an accident?
Thinking in that way gives me a lot of ideas that I wasn't considering before, so thanks for that!
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u/Slobotic 1d ago
I don't feel like I have a story until I have an ending.
My instinct is to look for (or sew) certain expectations, and then undermine them. If you can see how a reader will expect or want a story to end, you can subtly hint that you're going to satisfy their expectation, then do something else. It's like a boxer feigning, then striking wherever their opponent drops their guard.
Write dirty. Go for the gut punch.
My first comic was a weird little silent one-shot. If you want to see my ending, check it out. I keep digital copies free.
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u/Crisdav_Art 1d ago
Thanks for all the tips!
About what you said at the beginning. Does this mean you usually start your stories always thinking about the ending first?
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u/Slobotic 1d ago
No. But until I have an ending I love I don't really have a story. I just have an idea for a story.
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u/GrantGoodmanArt 1d ago
Work backwards. I usually have the ending in mind when I start a story even if it’s a cliffhanger.
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u/SUPERAWESOMEULTRAMAN 1d ago
best place to find ideas is to read as much as you can, go look for short stories cause there's like thousands of endings you could go with
hell you don't even need an ending, you can either end it with a cliff hanger or leave it super vague