How it works
Each of these action adventure comic ideas gives three things: where it happens, what goes wrong, and the splash, the big picture that opens the story. The action is chases, climbs and escapes. Nothing here needs a fight to move.
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Draw the splash first
Draw the splash wide: the whole gorge, the whole roofscape, with your hero small inside it. Once the reader has seen how far the drop is, every later panel can be close and quick.
Make the problem worse twice
The problem in the hint is where the trouble starts. Before you draw, write two ways it gets worse: the planks are rotten, then the mule will not go. Three steps of trouble and one way out is a whole adventure.
- Tilt the horizon in a chase panel. A level one reads as calm.
- Give the hero one piece of gear and use it for a job it was not made for.
Questions and answers
What are good action adventure comic ideas?
Ones where the place is the danger: a causeway the tide is taking, a mine cart on an unfinished track, a zip line one tree short. A setting that can go wrong gives you action without anyone throwing a punch.
What is a splash page in a comic?
The big picture that starts a comic story, often filling the whole first page. It is there to catch the reader's eye, and it can set the time, the place and the mood before a word is read. Every idea in this list names one.
How do you draw action in a comic without a fight scene?
Use speed, height and a deadline. A chase, a climb, a crossing and a race against the tide all move fast and have something to lose. The group Action: chases and escapes holds eighteen of them.
Are there treasure hunt comic ideas?
Yes. Choose Maps and treasure hunts: a map whose X was on the missing corner, two halves owned by people who do not get along, a compass that points at something that is not north.