Item 1 – Creator Spotlight: Dawn Griffin on the Release of Her 1st Webcomic Collection

In this week’s Creator Spotlight, I had a chance to talk with webcartoonist Dawn Griffin, creator of Zorphbert + Fred.

1.) Dawn, big congrats on the upcoming release of Zorphbert + Fred Volume 1: Prepare to be Analyzed, the first print collection of Z+F.  What can you tell us about the book?

Thank you Tyler! I am very excited about this book. There’s few things more exciting to a cartoonist than holding your first comic strip collection in your hands, and thinking “Damn, I drew a whole lot of comics, didn’t I?”  This book contains my first 200 comics, and in about a year the second book can be released! I really wanted to make this book worthwhile to spend your hard-earned spare cash on in this economy. So, there’s a slew of bonus material to thumb through, and every single strip comes with an “artist retrospective” comment or two. It’s amazing how your view on each strip changes over time.. some become funnier, others you kind of regret. Some conjure up a funny story, or really show where your technique changed. In an industry where the consumers are paying for a product they could essentially get for free online, we have to give them a little something extra to make it desireable, and I believe I did that.

I have to say the process went pretty smoothly. I shopped around for a while, narrowing down the printers… it came down to Createspace or Lulu. I had already dealt with Creatspace a little, as I illustrate a kids’ book series “Abby’s Adventures”, and that was printed through Creatspace, so I had an idea of the quality. What sold me was the price point per book for me, Lulu was much more expensive. Createspace was very user-friendly, and gave me no issues for the most part. The best advice I could give overall is to learn Adobe InDesign if you don’t already, as well as Acrobat. That was probably my biggest hurdle- making the PDF small enough, yet high quality enough, to upload. (Createspace allows up to 100mb). Also, saving your comics as you make them in a format that InDesign can easily handle makes your life easier when creating your book. Also.. not that I am a procrastinator in any way, but if you have a con coming up, do leave PLENTY of time to make your book, upload it, wait for the mailed proof, approve the proof, and order your books! This is quite a lengthy process, time-wise.

Funny you should ask. (April 16th-19th to be exact) I joined Byron Wilkins of 1977 fame, exhibiting at Chicago’s C2E2, which now even has a “webcomics pavilion” section! Many of the webcomic “big guns” were there, and it’s probably the biggest con I’ve been to.  After C2E2, I am looking into Philly’s Wizard World (right in my neighborhood!) in June, and the Baltimore Comic Con again in late August. I would love to attend the New England Webcomics Weekend again, it was a blast last year, but it just happens to be on my wedding date- Nov. 6th 2010! Some things take priority, even over comics!

That would be SELLING the books! More cons, more P.R. work, more marketing. I have spent 3 years now working hard at making a decent webcomic, I feel it is time to take to the next level, now that I have an extensive archive and solidified characters. Not that my site will take a break, I’ll still be updating twice a week, plus blog posts and extra goodies. I would love to go three times a week with the comic, but with the side project of the kids’ book series, it eats up that time for a third update. Speaking of, I am working on the third Abby’s Adventures book, “Earth Day and the Recycling Fashionista“, and it should be released in a couple months. The publisher, writer and I hope to get some sponsors for this book, as the environment is a hot subject right now, especially in schools… it could be our breakout title! And beyond that, just.. oh.. getting married this fall! My fiance, Rick, must be wondering who will be walking down the aisle– me or one of my characters!

Item 2- Mark Millar: Kicking ASS and Nemesis

Mark Millar has had a big couple of months, now, hasn’t he?  Kick Ass is currently the #1 movie in America, and last month’s hot new book was his Nemesis.  I’m a big fan of Millar’s work.  I think he’s the best “high concept” guy in comics right now.  He’s also probably the best marketer of his own product out there.  Which just goes to show indy guys, even when you “make it,” even when you’re considered one of the top writers in the comics game- NO ONE IS GOING TO CARE MORE ABOUT YOUR WORK THAN YOU.  No publisher, no marketing staff, no business people, no retailers…no one.  So it’s YOUR job (and will always be YOUR job) to market your books to the best of your ability.

Here are a few things Millar did that I liked:

- Once again, he did a viral campaign where he agreed to post the name of comic shops who put up self printed Nemesis posters in their shops and took a picture of it.  You scratch his back, he’ll scratch yours.  Always a good move.

- He auctioned off the names of his two lead characters to raise money for charity.  This A.) is a newsworthy story, which gives free publicity to the title, and B.) raises money for a good cause.  Bravo.

- The high concept of Nemesis is so simple that it’s easy to talk about and easy to spread, and Millar’s done a great job spreading it’s message in a few words.  “The world’s only super-villain vs. America’s smartest cop.”  “What if Batman and The Joker were the same person?”  “Crime is Awesome and So Am I!”  These are all short and compelling sentences that, paired with killer art, entice readers to check it out.

Question:  Can you think of three pithy log-lines for your comic that are this good?  If not, you have some work to do.

- Even his throwaway tweet about Nemesis being on a Time Square billboard got the book some extra coverage near launch day.  (Just a Photoshop job, guys.)

Here’s one promotional miss from Millar in my book, though.  Issue #1 of Nemesis contained the tagline, “Makes Kick Ass Look Like #$%!”  Don’t get it.  Not sure putting down your work that is currently flying off the shelves and about to be in theaters to sell a new book is a good method.  Furthermore, the biggest difference between Kick Ass and Nemesis is that Steve McNiven is doing the art as opposed to John Romita, Jr.  JR, JR. could easily take umbrage with this assessment (were he not counting his big bags of Kick Ass money right now.)  Add to this the fact that without inker Dexter Vines finishing McNiven’s usually immaculate linework, Nemesis looks a little less polished and unfinished compared to what we’re used to from Steve.

And the fact that issue #2 has been delayed, something that plagued Kick Ass and many of Millar’s other projects, is a mis-step as well.  But regardless, Millar is certainly having himself a nice spring.

Item 3- FREE COMIC BOOK DAY – May 1

FBCD 2010 is almost here.

Click here for a preview of the books available.

I’ll be doing my first Free Comic Book Day event, giving out free sketchcards at Larry’s Comics in Lowell, MA.  I’ll also have copies of Tears of the Dragon on hand, and more of my “Spidey @ Fenway” print that went over so well at the Boston Comic Con.

Item 4- Upgrade to ComicPress 2.9

Using ComicPress to run your webcomics?  Then if you haven’t upgraded to ComicsPress 2.9, I really suggest you do it.  There are a number of sleek new features and enhanced widget options that definitely make it worth your while.  I recently upgraded Tears of the Dragon and Over and am very happy with the new content management system upgrade.  Definitely put it on your to-do list.

Item 5- SketchCards

With con season in now in full swing, I’ve got to tell you…I can’t sing the praises of sketchcards enough.  (Considering I’ve set the goal of doing 100 free sketch cards this year, and will likely hit that number by the end of next month, I must be a fan.)

If you’re looking to get into the sketch card game, here are a few resources:

For some premade, professional sketchcards, check out Versicolor Productions.  They have some affordable, high quality options.

While I’ve used some of the purchased, pre-made sketch cards before, I found myself really wanting to brand my sketchcards with my website.  I was going to just make up a sketchcard template, when, through the magic of Twitter, artist Ralph Contreras posted this 8-in-one sketch card template sheet on his website.

I downloaded the template, edited the template in PS to include my branding, and then printed those cards out on some bristol board and SHAZAM! (Ralph uses that word all the time) I’ve got personalized sketcards for FAR cheaper than the standard going rate.

Don’t sleep on the sketchcards…they don’t take up a lot of time to create and don’t take up a lot of space on your table at cons, but they give you a great way to engage comics fans.

Previous Columns

ComixStreet Recap #1: Welcome to ComixStreet…Lee Nordling’s ComicsProPrep…DC’s Earth One…JAVILAND Podcast…Indy Comic Book Week

ComixStreet Recap #2: ShishKaboom…Comics Grammar…Character…Old Man Logan…Indy Comic Book Week is Here

ComixStreet Special Comment: Webcomics.com Becomes a Subscription Service

ComixStreet Recap #3: Dan Govar talks Azure 2.0…How to Say Everything E-Book…Sketch-A-Day with Cory Walker…Filling the Webcomics.com void…Pithy advice from a master marketer

ComixStreet Recap #4: The iPad and Comics…Panel One…Indy Comic Adverts…Public Domain Characters…Ads in Comics

Item #1- Improve Your Lettering

Good lettering won’t make your comic, but bad lettering could break it.  For a while now, I’ve encouraged aspiring comic writers to learn to letter themselves.  With the prevalence of decent lettering fonts and software, there’s no reason anyone can’t train his or her self to be a serviceable letterer.

But the operative word in the above statement is TRAIN.

Lettering is still an art to be learned, and one that requires practice.  Personally, my lettering has come a long way (and still has a ways to go.)  Even a very well written and drawn book can be seriously damaged by less than professional lettering.  Honestly, I don’t love reading early issues of my first book Super Seed anymore.  The lettering is the biggest turn off for me, and I’ll be relettering the entire series when it gets collected for the trade.

Part of the problem with the Super Seed lettering was that I was using Photoshop.  It wasn’t until I switched to Illustrator that I was able to take my lettering to the next level.  In addition to making that move, here are a few additional resources I recommend:

• Blambot fonts are the way to go.  They have a wide selections of high quality free fonts, along with affordable premium fonts.  They break them down into useful categories: dialogue, sound effect, design and symbol fonts.  Download, unzip, and copy to your fonts folder, and you’re ready to go.

• ComicCraft’s Balloon Tales website is a great spot for advanced lettering tips and tricks.  Overlapping balloons, special sound effects, and general dos and don’ts can be found there.

• A solid book on both lettering and coloring is the DC Comic Books Guide to Coloring and Lettering.  It’s a resource worth adding to your library.  (Now if only I could remember who it was I loaned my copy out to…hmm…)

EXERCISE: Finally, for those of you who are having trouble getting their word balloons to look right, I recommend this exercise:

- Scan in a favorite comic book page done by a professional letterer.

- Bring the scan into Illustrator, and dim the layer.

- Create separate text and balloon layers, and do your best to duplicate the lettering on that page.

Pay special attention to word arrangement and shape, balloon shape, and placement on the page.  While I recognize this might seem like a waste of time, the practice will come in very handy when it’s time to letter your own page from scratch.

Item #2- Sacrifice and Breaking In

Last week, I wrote an article for Comic Related titled, “Going All In.” In it, I asked other aspiring creators to weigh in on how much they’re willing to sacrifice to “make it” in comics.  The article led to some interesting discussion, and a wide range of opinions, and even spawned an entire episode of the Javiland Podcast.  (Check out Episode #35: Sacrifice for a great discussion.)

Cary Kelley, creator of Fallen Justice and the upcoming ongoing webcomic Dynagirl admitted he’s willing to sacrifice “pretty much everything. I’ve been through two wives, a couple of houses, cars, the works” in pursuit of his comics dreams.  On the other hand, Hotshot creator Victor Dandridge didn’t view creating comics as a sacrifice, and argued creators should work smarter, not harder. And as he often does, writer/editor Steven Forbes interjected some common sense truth:

“…There is a level of sacrifice needed for everything. No one comes out of the womb being able to create effectively. The honing of talent takes time, and the taking of that time is sacrifice in and of itself. Study, practice, research–all are investments in time, and any investment of time in those areas means you’re not doing something else that you could be doing: going out to dinner, going to the movies, reading a book for pleasure. It is all sacrifice.”

One of the pleasant outcomes of the discussion that followed my article came from Scott Dubin over at the Webcomics.com private forum, who pointed me to the essay “Breaking In Without Rules” by writer Kurt Busiek.  This is must read stuff for aspiring creators.

Particularly insightful:

“…The people who break in are the people who keep trying until they find a way. They’re the people who figure out their own rules, whether it means maxing out their credit cards to make a movie or Xeroxing their own comic book to sell locally and show around. None of them have any guarantee that it will work. And for some of them, it doesn’t. But the folks it doesn’t work for either quit, or they try something else. And the ones that keep trying either figure out their road in, or they quit. Or they die still trying…

…But don’t look at the great gulf of distance between where you are and where you want to be and complain that you can’t get there without help. Look for the closest opportunity you can find, finagle or create. And go for it. Then, whether it worked or not, look for the next one. And if it takes you 18 years between deciding you want to be a comics writer and actually making a dependable living at it, well, welcome to the club. That’s how long it took me, too.”

Plenty of wisdom packed into that article.  Worth reading, bookmarking, printing, and saving.

Item #3- Talent Registration for San Diego

A heads up for any creators thinking of attending San Diego Comic Con this year (July 22-25), professional talent registration has already begun.  In fact, it may soon be difficult to attend the show on anything other than an pro badge, as Friday and Saturday badges are already sold out for the general public.

Online registration for Pro badges started March 9, 2010, and is free until May 8, 2010.  You can find all the details to submit your pro registration requests here.

Item #4- Check Out NOLA from BOOM!

Next time you stop by your LCS or a Boom! Studios table at an upcoming con, keep your eye out for the four issue limited series NOLA, written by Chris Gorak and Pierluigi Cothran, and drawn by Damian Couceiro.  Damian is the extremely talented artist I worked with on ICE: Interrogation Control Element.  I said last summer I thought he was a few years away from getting regular work from the big two, so it’s nice to see he’s well on his way to making my predictions come true.  I’d argue no studio took a bigger leap forward last year than Boom! Studios, and Damian hinted that he’ll be doing more work for them in the future.  (Of course, I’ve got him in mind for a couple of projects, so I hope he’s doesn’t get TOO busy.)

A bit about Nola from the publisher:

After cheating death, Nola Thomas wakes up alone in a deserted New Orleans hospital. Bruised, broken, and badly burned, she emerges from the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina with one thing on her mind…revenge. From Chris Gorak, the writer/director of the critically-acclaimed film, Right at Your Door!

Having lived in The Big Easy for a few years, I’m definitely checking this one out.

Item #5- Project Rooftop

Power Girl Redesign by Ross Campbell, posted on Project Rooftop

I’m not sure how much overlap there is between the millions of comic book fans and the millions of “Project Runway” fans of the world, but I’d have to assume there is some.  If I’m right, those people seriously need to check out Project Rooftop, a site devoted to Super Hero Fashion.

From the Project Rooftop blog:

Project: Rooftop is where cartoonists and illustrators bring their costume design skills to task in tribute to the superheroes and villains we’ve grown up with. This site is intended to promote the idea of superhero costume redesigning as a skill, specific to superhero media. We also aim to foster continued interest for these amazing characters and spotlight up-and-coming creators.

Project Rooftop was “created by comics creators Dean Trippe and comics journalist Chris Arrant…as a way to showcase this artform in tribute to classic superheroes, and as a catalyst to improve costume design in the industry.”

Occasionally, they run costume redesign contests, complete with prizes and great guest judges.  Check out the recent Wolverine redesign contest.  Some spectacular art there.

This is one comics blog that is definitely “In.”  And I’m sure Heidi would agree.

***

The ComixStreet Recap posts every other Thursday at TylerJamesComics.com.  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet @tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment below.

Previous Columns

ComixStreet Recap #1: Welcome to ComixStreet…Lee Nordling’s ComicsProPrep…DC’s Earth One…JAVILAND Podcast…Indy Comic Book Week

ComixStreet Recap #2: ShishKaboom…Comics Grammar…Character…Old Man Logan…Indy Comic Book Week is Here

ComixStreet Special Comment: Webcomics.com Becomes a Subscription Service

ComixStreet Recap #3: Dan Govar talks Azure 2.0…How to Say Everything E-Book…Sketch-A-Day with Cory Walker…Filling the Webcomics.com void…Pithy advice from a master marketer

ComixStreet Recap #4: The iPad and Comics…Panel One…Indy Comic Adverts…Public Domain Characters…Ads in Comics

Item 1- The iPad Cometh

So…The iPad.

On the off chance you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard, Apple has finally unveiled its long rumored new tablet/e-book reader/ portable digital media device.  It’s been both lauded as the next must have device and a Kindle killer, and dismissed as a let down…nothing more than an oversized iPod touch.

Regardless of your take, members of the comics creating (and consuming) community are paying major attention to the device.  Is the iPad the future delivery platform of comics?

Why I’m going to get one (eventually)

- I’ve been in the market for a new laptap.  However, when I think about it, I really only want a laptop for portable play- music, internet, that sort of thing. I’d still do the real work (writing, coloring and lettering comics, etc.) tethered to my desktop.   This device looks like it could satisfy my laptop needs and save me from buying one.

- I want an e-book reader- for comics, for PDFs, etc.  I had no interest in the Kindle with its black and white screen, but this…I could get very into.

Why I’m waiting for iPad Rev 2 (at least)

- The price tag- While Apple made a point to price the iPad aggressively, given their history of dropping price points relatively quickly, I’m willing to see if I can get more bang for my buck later.

- No front facing camera- This seemed like a no-brainer.  Given the explosion of live streaming sites like…er, LiveStream and UStream, an integrated front facing camera would allow easy real-time broadcasting and simple video conferencing.  I’m sure this will be coming to the device…and I’m gonna wait for it.

- No multitasking?  This was a major bummer.  Can you really not listen to music and read a book at the same time?  That just seems like a bizarre design decision, given the way people operate these days.  I’ve got to think they’ll fix that immediately.

What I’m worried about

Many comic creators are excited about the iPad as a distribution vehicle for comics, and over the next several months, both indy and mainstream publishers will be rolling out plans to get their stuff on the iPad.  But this Twitter exchange between creator Stephen Lindsay and ComiXology gave me pause:

@comiXology – how come the link to Jesus Hates Zombies on this page no longer works?!? http://tinyurl.com/ygd4dqx

@StephenRL Apple deemed it inappropriate according to their SDK guidelines, unfortunately. We signed on to those guidelines, so… =(

Note, ComiXology was publishing JHZ on it’s iPhone app, but recently removed it, which is what Stephen was asking them about.  What scares me here is that Apple already is censoring comics material that is being released for the iPhone and will likely extend that to the iPad.  And if the iPad becomes the new newstand for comics, I’m worried many great comics will be banned.  Apple reserves the right to reject any comic it determines to be “obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory.”  Jesus Hates Zombies, in their opinion, falls in under that broad umbrella.  Apple could quickly become the defacto arbiter of what makes it on the virtual shelves of its device, and could potentially be more powerful than the comics code authority ever was.  I’ll be keeping my eye on this as it plays out.

BTW, worth a listen is this great podcast featuring some major players in digital comics from Iverse, IDW, and ComiXology.

Item 2- Comic Book Scripts

There is no one way or standard format to write a comic script.  However, some approaches are clearly better than others.  Still, I always encourage writers to not get hung up on issues of formatting at the expense of working on their story.  Find a basic format or approach to scripting that works for you, and roll with it.

The best book I’ve come across as a resource for comic book scripts is Panel One: Comic Book Scripts by Top Writers.  It’s a great book with excerpts from actual comic scripts along with interviews from the authors, including the likes of Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, Greg Rucka, Kevin Smith, Marv Wolfman and more.

Another great online resource is the Comic Book Script Archive, a blog that’s been posting actual scripts from top talent.  There’s some quality content over there, including scripts from Ron Marz, Brian Bendis, B. Clay Moore, and (er) more.  Check it out.

And while you’re looking at scripts, to get a sense of how I do it, check out my script to ICE: Interrogation Control Element, a comic that was featured last summer at Zuda comics.

Item 3- Indy Comic Adverts

Indy Comic Adverts is an idea that seemed to spring on the heels of Independent Comic Book Day.  In their words:

“Indy Comic Adverts is an organization for independent comic book creators. We give free samples of our comics to comic book stores to give out to their customers once a month every month. This gets indie comic book creators into stores and out to the public. By giving stores 1 copy of our comics each month, they can see which comics are doing the best. At that point they can request to purchase your comic directly from you cutting out the distributor!

Joining ICA is easy. There is very small monthly fee of $2 USD. The fee is mainly to help with shipping cost. After that you just send us at least 1 to 5 comics each month to be shipped to the comic shops and fill out a sign up form and you’re done!”

My take:  First, I do love the spirit of ICBW, and I admire any creators in the comics space willing to try new things and think outside the box.  However, I don’t quite see the value premise here.  Paying a middleman a monthly fee to ship your books to a comic shop willing to give your comic away for free doesn’t seem like a great use of your marketing budget.  I really don’t understand the line about stores being able to see which comics are doing the best, because they’re giving them away.  Am I missing something?

Item 4- Public Domain Hero’s

Kid Tyrant by Greg Giordano

Greg Giordano’s been doing a cool project on his blog.  Check out his Public Domain Character of the the Day sketches.

Greg’s been drawing guys like Kid Tyrant, Black Satan, Miss Masque, Atoman, and a host of other characters you and I have probably never heard of.

Who knew all of these characters were free to use and abuse?

Item 5- Great Marketing/Annoying Comic Reading Experience

Great piece recently on Comic Vine.

A rule of good marketing is that it’s something that is “remarkable” or worth talking about.  Clearly, Mass Effect’s campaign in recent DC books did just that.  But boy does it hurt the comics reading experience.

You know, sometimes I belabor price points and such, not wanting to charge more than the cheapest books put out by the Big Two for my comics.  But hey, my books at least offer an uninterrupted reading experience.  And you just can’t get that from Marvel and DC these days.

***

The ComixStreet Recap posts every other Thursday at TylerJamesComics.com.  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet @tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment below.

Previous Columns

ComixStreet Recap #1: Welcome to ComixStreet…Lee Nordling’s ComicsProPrep…DC’s Earth One…JAVILAND Podcast…Indy Comic Book Week

ComixStreet Recap #2: ShishKaboom…Comics Grammar…Character…Old Man Logan…Indy Comic Book Week is Here

ComixStreet Special Comment: Webcomics.com Becomes a Subscription Service

ComixStreet Recap #3: .Dan Govar talks Azure 2.0…How to Say Everything E-Book…Sketch-A-Day with Cory Walker…Filling the Webcomics.com void…Pithy advice from a master marketer

Item 1- Talking Azure 2.0 with Dan Govar

Last week, the post-apocalyptic webcomic Azure started up its second season at Zuda Comics.  I had a chance to check in with series creator Dan Govar about the launch of Azure 2.0.

Dan, congrats on getting another season of Azure at Zuda!  Tease us with something we can look forward to seeing as the story continues this month.

DG: Thanks so much, and to everyone who demanded it! As for a tease with what to expect…Let’s just say it starts with a bang, and things pick up a year after the events of Season 1. This month we get a crash course on the state of the world circa 2023 AD.

I’m deathly afraid of sharks, and damn near soiled myself when I got to page 8 of Azure when it first came out. What’s the shark count looking like in 2.0?

DG: Haha! The shark count…they do make an appearance, and there are many more than in Season 1. I can’t say much more than that.

Do you have any snarky come-backs to people who are still saying they’d check out comics on Zuda if it wasn’t for the flash viewer?

DG: That horse isn’t dead yet? To those nipping at the flash viewer on Zuda, there is little that I haven’t said about my love for it, especially since the new viewer modifications went into effect. The text is legible at any resolution, the images are crisp and non-pixelated, the fullscreen mode has a quick load and is a must for comics like High Moon, Supertron, Deadly, and Azure. I’m a huge fan of the zoom slider, as I and other creators work on the imagery at much higher resolutions than the 800 x 600 the comics on Zuda launch at. Who doesn’t have a relatively high bandwidth connection and FLASH installed on a browser? In this day and age it comes standard with nearly every system produced,  so I’m truly baffled at the gripe. Is it the ability to trade and send the comic pages that you are thirsting for? The comics are free! Why gripe at all?!

You’re a talented all-around artist, but for Azure, you work exclusively digitally.  Tell me about your process?

DG: Why thank you for the kind words. And yes, since page 8, Azure is completely digital.

Here is a process study showing how I generally work to build pages for Azure:

1 – Loose gestural sketch for placement of characters/objects/balloons

2 – Linework or inking pass on individual layers for each object. This allows me to put glows and shadows easily behind objects.

3 – Flat color pass on all layered objects/characters

4 – Detail lighting/shadow pass

5 – Final details with overlay layers of colors to add brightness and warmth to certain areas. By adding specific colors here you can cool or warm certain areas.

Click for Full Image

Any advice for artists thinking about making the switch to digital?

DG: My advice when making the transition or toying with the switch, is:

a.       Invest in a decent tablet – Wacom Intuos 3 or better – the size is your preference, but note that the larger tablets allow you to draw with your arm instead of your wrist.
b.      Figure out your tools for yourself – Everyone has a different technique for working digitally. Looking at Livestreams and Ustream, you will find tons of digital creators who share their process. The key is figuring out how to work faster – the real impetus for my moving to a digital environment.
c.       Brushes and textures – there are tons out there, people give them away, some sell them – find ones you like and don’t just use the standard set that come with Photoshop or Painter. If you just use what comes out of the box, you will lessen the chance of a good digital experience
d.      Use the techniques you know from traditional mediums – Simple principles of composition, perspective, light and shadow, line weight, colour balance, etc, all translate to the digital world. Having a strong traditional foundation will only make you better when working digitally.

Anything else coming up from you we should keep an eye out for?

DG: Hrmm…A few things I can and some I can’t talk about. One big one will be kicking off next month – A Comic Challenge blog. It’s a monthly challenge for artists to hone their skills and ideas. This is actually something that was spawned from your November 30 Characters 30 Days challenge, and during the month of November the Comic Challenge blog will go on hiatus for artists who wish to jump in on the 30/30 challenge that month. I was hoping to kick things off this January, but with Azure’s launch and the holidays, I ran out of time to finish off the blog. The first challenge will begin on February 1st and it’s a doozy. There are a good number of artists I’ve lined up to participate and it is open for any who wish to participate. Information on what to do and when will be up soon. Probably best to follow me on twitter or facebook for the info.

Again, a special thanks to Dan for taking time away from the Wacom to talk about the cool stuff he’s doing.  Make sure to check out Azure each week at Zuda and leave him a comment telling him to keep up the great work!

Item 2 – How To Say Everything E-Book

I stumbled across a free E-book recently that is worth adding to your digital collection.  How to Say Everything by Tom Hart is a great book full of practical tips and exercises for artists and cartoonists.  Later this month, I’ll be starting a new Creating Comics! class for kids in grades 4/5.  I’ve already found a few lessons in this book I’ll be adding to my syllabus.

Check it out.  You can grab the book from this link here, and if you like it, you might as well stumble it forward as well.

Item 3 – Sketch-A-Day Blog with Cory Walker

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year?  Cory Walker, co-creator with Robert Kirkman of Invincible (a book I finally got around to reading this month) did.  Cory is doing a sketch-a-day this year.  Okay, so most professional artists draw every day.  But Cory’s posting his sketches each day at his blog. Additionally, Cory posted this offer:

“I’ve added a link list to the sidebar for sketch-a-day (s.a.d.) blogs. If you’ve got one going, let me know and I’ll add it to the list. Doesn’t matter if I’ve already got you linked elsewhere.”

Super Girl by Cory Walker

So, if you’re doing a sketch-a-day blog as well, why not share it with Cory?

Item 4- Who Will Fill the Webcomics.com Void?

It’s been two weeks since Webcomics.com surprised the webcomics community by switching to a paid subscription service.  I thoroughly covered my feelings about the decision in a recent ComixStreet Special Comment, and many creators chimed in on the comments thread, mostly agreeing with my assessment.

As I said I would do in the comment, I subscribed to the new Webcomics.com.  I can say that Brad Guigar has been working to deliver on what he promised the changes would bring.  He’s negotiated a special deal for subscribers at the big C2E2 Convention, already posted an contribution from PVPs Robert Khoo, and written a few columns with some ideas I’ve already put into practice.

I do wonder, however, if by moving to a subscription model, Brad has shifted too much of the burden onto himself.  Prior to this change, Webcomics.com was a great venue for creators to freely submit interesting and informative articles to be read and evaluated by fellow cartoonists.  Getting an article on the front of Webcomics.com was good exposure.  It’s unlikely non-subscribers will be submitting articles, and less likely that subscribers will submit content (why give away content for free to a site you’re already paying for?)  Thus, the burden will be primarily on Brad (and Half-Pixel) to keep the great content coming.  I hope he realizes the challenge he’s taken on here.

And, as I predicted last week, the void for a free webcomics community site is trying to be filled by a number of sites.  Webcomic Planet, We Make Webcomics, and Webcomics Community are three such sites that seem to be stepping up their game to fill the void, and I’m sure there are and will be others.  It’ll take a while before one rises to front runner status.  It’ll be interesting to see which one does.

Item 5- Advice for the Week

I’m currently reading Seth Godin’s Small Is the New Big.  It’s basically a book collection of his better blog posts over the past several years.  I’ve mentioned Godin before, and likely will again.  Here’s a a quote:

“Sales

…in just one easy step: Make something people want to buy.”

He goes on to describe an awful sales pitch he sat in on with Yahoo execs that ended in a multi-million dollar deal.  Why?  Because the product Yahoo had to offer, was just that good.  One of the running themes in Godin’s work…it pays BIGTIME to be the best in the world at something.

This simple advice applies to creating comics:

“Comic Success

…in just one easy step: Make something people want to read.”

It sounds obvious, but I’m not so sure that everyone gets it.  Yes comics (and writing, film, art, etc.) are great forms of self-expression.  And yes, you should do work that you are passionate about and meaningful to you.  But if you want to be successful, if you want to reach an audience, you HAVE to make sure you’re doing work that people want to read.

***

The ComixStreet Recap posts every other Thursday at TylerJamesComics.com.  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet @tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment below.

Previous Columns

ComixStreet Recap #1: Welcome to ComixStreet…Lee Nordling’s ComicsProPrep…DC’s Earth One…JAVILAND Podcast…Indy Comic Book Week

ComixStreet Recap #2: ShishKaboom…Comics Grammar…Character…Old Man Logan…Indy Comic Book Week is Here

ComixStreet Special Comment: Webcomics.com Becomes a Subscription Service

The webcomics community received a New Year’s shocker this Monday when Webcomics.com, an exceptional website and probably the premier online resource for webcomics creators, announced that it was now a members-only service for paid subscribers.  This article will examine this decision and its fallout, explain why I believe this was an unwise move, and justify (seemingly contradictory, I know) why I just plunked down my $30 to become a member.

Webcomics.com was, in my mind, the absolute best place to find quality advice on how to make webcomics.  The guys behind it, the Half-Pixel crew, wrote the book on webcomics.  Literally.  While all four members of Half-Pixel have contributed to the site, the heavy lifting on Webcomics.com is done by Editor-in-Chief Brad Guigar.  The site has featured almost daily updates from Brad, or by other webcomicers who freely submit articles that are chosen by Brad to be featured on the site.  The Webcomics.com forum is also a vibrant place for the exchange of ideas, one of the better places for webcomics creators to commiserate on the web.  Personally, I’ve found great value in a number of Brad’s special features, including monthly T0-Do lists, art tutorials, and killer usability analysis of submitted webcomics sites with actionable feedback on how to improve them.  (I would have hyper-linked the features I just mentioned.  But I can’t.  ’Cause they’re now behind the paywall.  But I’ll get to that shortly.)

Before I continue, a word about Brad Guigar.  He is one of the good guys.  I’ve only met him once, but in the short conversation I had with him, he was just as I expected- engaging, encouraging and ebullient. (I had an alliteration thing going, sue me.)  To top it off, he’s got the best laugh in all of comics…if you’re a Webcomics Weekly listener, you know what I’m talking about.  In addition to being probably the single most helpful person to know or listen to when it comes to self-publishing comics on the web, the guy is a HELL of a cartoonist.  Evil, Inc. is incredible, and his other strips are quite good as well.  It’s hard to believe he also holds down another full-time gig, but yup, he does.   So while I’ll be leveling some criticism at his decision, I’m in not criticizing the man.  He’s still A-okay in my book.

The reason formally given for the decision to begin charging a $30-per-year subscription fee for Webcomics.com by Brad was that a fee was necessary “to help support what the site has become — and allow it to achieve its full potential.”  In exchange for the fee, Brad promised all the same great features readers have become accustomed to, along with monthly contributions from PVP’s Scott Kurtz and Penny Arcade’s Robert Khoo, some new tools and features, the lure of more personalized guidance for subscribers’ comics, and a few other bells and whistles.  Defending the decision to charge a subscription fee, as opposed to running ads and selling merchandise (in other words, using the webcomics business model Half-Pixel teaches in their book), Brad called Webcomics.com a “niche site” without much value to advertisers.  He also said that a subscription fee will weed out folks not that serious about webcomics and create a stronger community.

In the comment storm that followed this announcement, it was also suggested by Brad and Scott that had this move not been made, Webcomics.com would have shut down.  In short, the site needed to start generating income in order to justify the hours and time commitment Brad was putting into it.  Afterall, Brad has a family to feed and his time (just like the rest of us) is money…or at least it should be.  At the end of the day, this was a business decision.  While I’ll go on to argue this was a short-sighted business decision, that’s not the primary reason I’m opposed to it.  The main reason this was a wrong decision is this:

Brad and Half-Pixel let their tribe down.

Now, I use the word “tribe” deliberately.  In his latest book, Tribes, Seth Godin- pretty much the sharpest marketing mind on the planet- describes a tribe as a group of people connected to each other, an idea, and a leader.  As I was reading the book about how crucial leadership and community is today, I couldn’t help but think of the tribe that Brad and co. had built at Webcomics.com, a tribe organized around the passion for creating great webcomics and building businesses around them.  Tribes is a book full of advice for anyone looking to lead a tribe, and I remarked at how many of the rules Godin laid out that Brad and Half-Pixel followed while building theirs (whether they realized it or not.)

Until, of course, this decision to erect a pay wall and change Webcomics.com.

Here are a few pithy rules I took from Godin’s book, and my analysis on why the change to a subscription model violates those tenets.

• “Ideas that spread, win, and movements that grow, thrive.” Webcomics.com was still growing. Like most blogs, it was optimized to spread naturally and organically because it featured good content.  Tweetable content.  Content worth blogging about.  Content worth linking to.  Hell, I linked to a Webcomics.com resource in my last ComixStree Recap article, and now that link is no longer good.  (Hate that.)  A pay wall is going to significantly limit the growth of the community.

• “Realize that money is not the point of a movement.” Now, Godin by no means is against monetizing good ideas.  But leaders are always better served putting their community and tribe above the bottom line.  That’s how they remain leaders and keep their tribe’s trust.  As it stands, the sudden subscription wall came across as a jarring move to cash-in on the community.

• “As a leader, transparency is your only option.” In the more than 250 comments on Brad’s announcement as of this writing, there was a palpable sense of shock at the decision.  To many site regulars, this seemed like a sudden decision, made behind closed doors, and one that was sprung on them on a Monday.  (And not just any Monday.  The first Monday of the year after a long weekend and the end of the holiday season.  That’s like a Monday on steroids. ) I’d argue many readers never felt that Webcomics.com was simply Brad’s site.  Frequent article contributers or contributers to the forum I’m sure felt a sense of ownership or at least partnership in the community that was created there.  It’s analogous to a longtime patron of a neighborhood bar suddenly being charged a cover to get in.  At least that’s what it feels like.  This would have been alleviated had Brad been more transparent.  While some members of Half-Pixel argued that the community’s reaction would have been the same whether he told us before or after, I don’t think they’re giving the group enough credit.  Had Brad made a post that expressed his concern that the demands of Webcomics.com were becoming too much and there needed to be changes, the community may have brainstormed some solutions Brad could have adopted.  At the very least, they would have likely been more comfortable with the change in terms, and not felt like the rug was swept out from beneath them.

• “Authenticity is key to leadership.” Now, don’t get me wrong.  I think Brad’s about as real as it gets, and Scott Kurtz is never one to not let his true feelings be known about something.  But the biggest point of contention in the comments was that erecting a paid subscription service clearly contradicted the advice they’d been giving for years!  I get that there’s a difference between the content on Webcomics.com and the webcomics that the Half-Pixel crew make, and Brad and Scott made an argument that that difference is enough to make a subscription-based service make sense.  I just don’t buy that.  In Brad’s own words from How to Make Webcomics:

“Online readers have shown again and again that they’re not willing to pay for content online…You enter a Catch-22 when you try to cash in on your readership by charging them a subscription fee…You’ll have a slow attrition of  readers who stop paying – for all the reasons people normally stop a subscription.  Where do your new readers come from to take the place of those leaving?  More to the point, how will you ever grow readership?…Trust us: As much as we’d love them to, subscription walls don’t work.”

Now, I will point out that in that section Brad mentions the Wall Street Journal Online as an exception to this rule, and that it is a business tool and a tax write off.  And that is how he is positioning the new Webcomics.com.  But it’s a hard pill to swallow for most of us. While there are differences, online content is online content.  And it seems inauthentic, out of character, and disheartening that a vet like Brad Guigar can’t monetize Webcomics.com with the techniques he espouses and instead adopts those he and his crew have actively railed against.  What’s the young webcomicer who would KILL to have the community and traffic stats of a Webcomics.com supposed to think?

I believe it’s the violations of these tenets of leading a tribe that contributed to the roughly 3 to 1 negative to positive reaction in the comments thread.  (Okay, some of that was just people belly aching because the free gravy train is over.  But still.)  The fact is, by making this move, Brad is changing his tribe.

Webcomics.com used to be the best spot on the web for people with an interest in making webcomics to learn how to do it.  Whether you’re a seasoned vet looking to trade advanced techniques, or a guy who read his first webcomic  and thought maybe he’d like to make one himself some day, Webcomics.com was the best place to go.  Brad and Half-Pixel have decided they no longer want that tribe, and have decided to make it a place where only serious, business-minded creators need apply.  Their small niche community just got a lot smaller.

Now, it’s well within their rights to do so.  I get it that Brad and Scott are tired of answering the same questions over and over again.  They’re tired of teaching “Introduction to…” and want to do a “Master’s course.”  I get that.  I really do.  (But guys, that’s not a good enough reason not to do more episodes of Webcomics Weekly.  Your listeners want more of the podcast because they like your personalities and the entertaining conversation that naturally occurs when you four get together, it’s not just the advice you give.  You understand that, don’t you?)  Still, I think it was a bad business move to make the change they did, when other alternatives were available, and I think they dismissed the value and longterm potential of the site they built as it was.  I can tell you this…there is definitely room for another webcomics community site to capitalize on this decision.

What could or should Webcomics.com have done instead?

• Get Brad some help. The guy was clearly overwhelmed, and I imagine had a hard time justifying the hours he was putting into Webcomics.com.  But I know he could have found one or two other capable administrators to pitch in and help him.  All he had to do was ask.

• Annual donation drive. This could have worked and been a big, successful annual event.  Probably even something people would look forward to.  The $30 subscribers are plunking down now is not in anticipation for the information to come, but more a reflection of the value the site has been to them in the past.  Were the Half-Pixel crew to be authentic about the need to support the site, and creative about it’s execution, a donation drive could have been huge.  Imagine Scott doing his best Jerry Lewis in a U-Stream or Talkshoe run telethon.  Special give aways, auctions, and incentives for both individual donors and collective cash milestones reached.  A portion of proceeds going to a charity of some sort, because you guys are good like that.  Not only would such an event be successful, it would continue to raise all of your profiles and grow the community, something a pay wall will not do.

• A Free-mium service model. Keep the site free, but offer a number of paid services.  I’m POSITIVE Brad could have monetized the webcomic site usability consulting service he did as a feature a few months back.  (Knock off $5 in the cost if they allow you to run it as content on the site.)  I’m sure there are other consulting services, print and digital books, t-shirts, merchandise, etc. that the crew could offer successfully that would have allowed the site to continue to run as it had.  You’ve told us it’s not how big the community is, but how passionate they are.  And we webcomic creators are quite the passionate bunch.

• Launch a spin-off. Instead of changing the existing site, Brad could have offered a new, paid service to address the serious, business minded “Master’s class” for webcomicers that Webcomics.com is being repositioned toward.  If this is the tribe Brad wants to focus his efforts on, why not do that too, without shutting the door on a good portion of his existing tribe?  Again, by pulling in others to help administer Webcomics.com, Brad could have switched gears to focus on this new experiment.  Webcomics.com would have continued to grow and thrive, and would in turn be a feeder system to the premium “master’s class.”

These are some alternatives I thought of.  And had Brad brought this up with his community, I’m sure more good ones could have been generated, and he could have tapped into the strength of the community he’s brought together.  I believe one or a combination of these alternatives would have been a better decision than the one he chose.

All that said…I just subscribed to the new Webcomics.com.

Hypocritical?  No, not at all.

A year’s worth of Brad Guigar’s blog posts and advice are worth $30 to ME.

Comics and webcomics are my thing.  It needs to be my business to pick the brains and minds of the top thinkers and doers in this space.  Whether I think it was a smart move or not, the discussions going on behind the Webcomics.com wall are ones I’d like access to.

If I’m wrong, and the move is a whopping success, then I’ll be glad to be a part of it.  If it’s an abject failure, then I’d like to see that from the inside as well. I’m sure there are lessoned to be learned, regardless.  Likely, the move will fall somewhere in between, but as long as Brad is there, I know I’m going to find value in it.

Regardless of what you or I think of the decision, Mr. Guigar is a man of incredible drive, initiative, and insight.  I respect that tremendously.

And yup, I’ll pay for it.

Item #1- ShishKaboom: New Publisher, Sound Familiar?

I received an e-mail recently from Scott Davis, founder of ShishKaboom, a self-described “independent competition-based comics publishing company,” alerting me that they were now accepting submissions for new comic properties from creators.  Scott explained the following in the email:

How It Works:

1. Creators share their comics.

2. Fans rate the submissions and help decide the “winner”.

3. Winners get a cash prize ($500), retain their ownership, and get a publishing deal with ShishKaboom.

4. We get to make cool stuff together.

This model sounded oddly familiar (ahem, Zuda), so I went to the ShishKaboom website to take a closer look.  As many of you know, I’ve been involved in a few Zuda Comics competitions, and the similarities between their approach, the competition model, and even language in the contracts were striking.  While I generally try not to be a skeptic, my initial response was that ShishKaboom is Zuda without:

• The DC Comics connection
• $500 for making it into an online competition
• $1000 for winning a competition and signing the services agreement (They offer $500)
• A page rate for further work AFTER winning the competition
• A clear picture of what happens AFTER signing on with ShishKaboom.

I wrote Scott an email with a number of questions I (and likely other creators) have about ShishKaboom.  Here are the questions I asked him:

1.)  You’ve mentioned that the Zuda Comics publishing model was an inspiration for ShishKaboom, and the language and similarities in the contract and approach are very similar.  Besides Zuda, there are other competition based publishers (ex. Dimestore’s Small Press Idol.)  How is ShishKaboom’s approach different than these other publishers, and what is ShishKaboom’s unique value proposition for creators that should make them give you guys a shot.

2.)  Your site recently launched and you are now soliciting submissions for your inaugural competition.  When do you expect this competition to go live?  Are you planning on making the competition for future contests a monthly thing?  Yearly?  Does it all depend on the relative success of the inaugural competition?

3.)  What means of distribution is ShishKaboom planning on pursuing?  Print?  Webcomics? Mobile?

4.)  The comic market is a very crowded and extremely competitive one.  What successes or experience in publishing comics does the ShishKaboom team bring to the table that would make a comic creator interested in partnering with ShishKaboom, rather than going at it alone?

5.)  Your site is very ambiguous about what happens after a competition winner is selected.  It’s not clear whether you expect the winner to produce an ongoing series, a mini-series, a graphic novel, etc.  The Zuda contract, by comparison, clearly sets up the terms that winners are offered a additional 52 pages of contracted work.  So, what are you looking for from your winners?

6.) Your tagline is “Destroying the barrier between indy comic creators and their fans, one contest at a time.” What, in your opinion, are the biggest barriers indy comic creators are facing today?  What’s the top thing ShishKaboom is going to do to help break down those barriers?

Scott did get back to me, saying he planned on answering those questions eventually, and:

I appreciate your interest, and think you’ll find upon closer comparison that we’re pretty different from Zuda outside of the competition format. For some, that will make us a better choice–as we provide better ownership terms, royalties, and freedom/flexibility, but for others seeking a bigger guaranteed paycheck and the chance to work for DC, we won’t be a good fit.

I told Scott this article would post today, and I welcome him to still respond to my questions, either in the comments thread here, or via email.  I will update this post if he does so.  But, until then, here’s more of my analysis.

After getting Scott’s reply, I decided to do a comparison of the “better ownership terms and royalties, and freedom/flexibility” between Zuda and ShishKaboom that Scott mentioned.  To both companies’ credit, they put their contracts online for anyone to read.  (Read Zuda’s Submission Agreements, Rights Agreement and Services Agreement.  Read ShishKaboom’s Submissions Guidelines and Rights Agreement.)  I dug into the language of both companies’ contracts, and here is what I’ve gleaned:

Looking at the Zuda and ShishKaboom terms side by side, Scott is correct that ShishKaboom is offering better back-end terms than Zuda.  I’ve always thought that most Zuda creators would struggle to cash in on the back end.  With Zuda currently only publishing one print collection per year, and those lucky creators reaping just 1% of net print work sales, the promise of the back end doesn’t seem to lead to a big payday. (Now, when High Moon becomes a big budget movie franchaise, I may eat my words.)  But for now, earning potential for Zuda creators comes from the page rate, and parlaying the exposure into other opportunities for work, as High Moon’s Gallaher and Ellis have done quite nicely.

For ShishKaboom, there is no pay rate.  While their back end terms are better for creators (%5 of net print work sales vs. 1%), 5% of nothing is still nothing, last I checked.  In addition to the financial reserves that Zuda has to pay creators for their work and the rights to publish it, Zuda has the connections of DC/Warner Bros. to actually get books to print, to license and distribute.  I’m not sure what, if anything, ShishKaboom has, besides a $500 bonus check for the “winning” submission.

I hope Scott will answer my questions and clarify why creators should give ShishKaboom a chance.  Sure, winning a competition is nice, and who wouldn’t love $500?  But giving up a big percentage to a publisher with an unproven track record of success is something I’d be very cautious about.

Item #2: Comics Grammar Rules Courtesy of Webcomics.com

I’ve never been a fan of grammar.  Diagramming sentences was never my thing.  When I taught elementary school for a few years, I had to teach the stuff, and there were certainly times I was scratching my head at the rules of our our magical language.

But if you want to write comics, you need to know your grammar rules.  (No, it’s not good enough to say you’re editor will fix that stuff.)  Writers need to be highly proficient at their craft, and comic book writers are no different.

There are some grammatical errors that seem to be particularly prevalent for comic writers.  Recently Brad Guigar highlighted some of them over at the always informative Webcomics.com.  Here are your lessons for the day:

Mixed Punctuation.

Uh-oh, More Comics Grammar

Pet peeve: Yeah, Yay, Yea and Ya

Item #3: Character Matters

Came across a great YouTube series deconstructing why Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was such a pile of dung.

The guy doing the voice over work is no Morgan Freeman, but he kind of grows on you after a while.  And watching people near the end struggle to describe the characters in Episode 1 is a hoot.

Item 4: Read Old Man Logan, Bub

I don’t often gush about comics.  I’m enthusiastic about them, sure.  And I’m almost always positive about them.  (Generally, if I don’t have something nice to say about a particular comic, I don’t say much at all.)  But rarely do I talk in superlatives.

Breaking that trend here, however.  Pick up the Old Man Logan hardcover ASAP.  It is far and away the best damn Marvel graphic novel I’ve read in a long, long time.

Old Man Logan is a classic western taking place in a post-apocalyptic future of the Marvel Universe where the villains won and all the heroes are gone.  Well, almost all of them. Wolverine is now an “old man” living the simple life, struggling to make ends meet and take care of his family.  Wracked by guilt over what happened the day the heroes fell, Logan hasn’t broke out the claws in years.  But when a blind Hawkeye shows up, needing his help on a cross country errand that will bring them through this dystopian future world carved up by super-villains, that resolve will be put to the test.  And before it’s all over, SNKT! he will.

A thoroughly enjoyable read, through and through.  The most I’ve enjoyed Mark Millar’s writing, who basically decided to write Unforgiven, with Wolverine stepping in for Clint.  It is a gorgeous book, drawn by Steve McNiven (who may be my favorite artist at the moment), Dexter Vines, and Morry Hollowell (aka Team Civil War.)  The art in this book is BETTER than Civil War.  I can already tell, this is a book I’ll be pulling off my shelf frequently.

Buy it here.  Thank me later.

Item 5: Indy Comic Book Week is Here!

I mentioned it in the last installment of The ComixStreet Recap, and I’m mentioning it again- Indy Comic Book Week is here!

Diamond balked on shipping their usual allotment of books this week, but independent creators around the country are filling the void.  New books from creators doing it themselves will be stocked on the shelves of finer comic shops around the country.  Do yourself a favor, and give some of these books a shot.

Check here for a list of stores supporting Indy Comic Book Week.

Read The Blog for more details on the books you might find at an ICBW supporting store near you.

And follow the hashtag #indycomicbookweek on Twitter for the latest buzz about this cool, community-driven event.

***

The ComixStreet Recap posts every other Thursday at TylerJamesComics.com.  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet@tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment below.

Previous Columns

ComixStreet Recap #1: Welcome to ComixStreet…Lee Nordling’s ComicsProPrep…DC’s Earth One…JAVILAND Podcast…Indy Comic Book Week

Item 1: What is ComixStreet?

Welcome to the first installment of ComixStreet!  ComixStreet is a new brand I’ll be building in 2010 and years to come.  Tied closely to the personal brand I’ve been building for myself, I want ComixStreet to be synonomous with great comics, and more importantly, helping others to make great comics. I have whole host of ideas and plans in the works for what ComixStreet will eventually become, but even big ideas must start with small steps.

And thus, I’m introducing the ComixStreet Recap, a bi-weekly column in which I highlight five key items that catch my eye and seem relevant to the comics creating community.  I make an effort to stay tapped into the the comics community at large (it’s actually not that big a world after all) and often come across things that I find useful, interesting, puzzling or frustrating regarding comics.  The ComixStreet Recap will be the soapbox from which I share these things with you.  Items may range from a column I’ve read, a podcast I’m listening to, a video clip you need to see, or a forum discussion you need to follow.  A new installment of the CSR will post every other Thursday. I hope you’ll enjoy it, and find the things I have to share as useful or interesting as I do.

That said, let’s get on with it…

Item 2: Lee Nordling’s Comics Pro Prep will improve your pitch

I strongly recommend all aspiring comics creators (and hell, even pros wanting to stay in the biz) check out Comics Pro Prep with Lee Nordling, a new column featured over at Project Fanboy.  I must admit, I’ve been going through a bit of withdrawal over the past several weeks since Steven Forbes’ Bolts & Nuts column went on hiatus.  And while I look forward to that column returning, Lee’s column will go a long way to filling the void in weekly comic advice from a pro.

Lee kicked off his new series with a revised and edited version a previously published series of articles on pitching.  This is MUST READ stuff, and I can’t stress that highly enough.  So, give it a read and tell him I sent ya.  For your convenience, here are the links to the three part series:

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 1

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 2

What It Takes To Sell Your Pitch, Part 3

If you like what you read there, you’ll likely want to tune in to Lee’s column each Tuesday.  I know I will.

Item 3: Reading the tea leaves regarding Earth One, DC’s new Direct-to-Graphic Novel line

Last week, DC announced Earth One, a new publishing initiative relaunching their flagship characters in a real-world setting.  While comic fans will debate the pros and cons of DC’s decision to “Ultimatize” Superman and Batman, that’s not what I want to focus on.

What I find interesting is the fact that DC plans to release these as Direct-to-Graphic Novel books, and not as traditional comic floppies.  This makes me question what this move portends for the future of monthly comics.

Afterall, DC Comics is a business.  Sure they want to tell great stories and entertain you and I every week, but at the end of the day, they’re in it to make a profit.  So logic would say they are making this move because they expect it to be a profitable one, MORE profitable, say, than releasing it first as a monthly series.

Now, I’ve always understood it that graphic novels and trade paperbacks are more profitable than floppies.  They have much longer shelf lives and can be sold through major booksellers and Amazons, not just in the direct market.

What I don’t understand is why DC wouldn’t first put these longer graphic novel stories out in floppy form?  With top talent like J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis on Superman: Earth One and Geoff Johns and Gary Frank on Batman: Earth One, surely these comics would sell extremely well in floppy form.  So why abandon the release as floppies and collect in a trade model that’s been the standard?

What do you think DC is thinking here?  And what does this say about the prospects for independent guys trying to release standard size comics in the mainstream market?  Are the days of the floppy numbered?

Item 4: Take a trip to JAVILAND

Pack you bags and head to JAVILAND!  About a month or so ago, I discovered the JAVILAND Podcast, an informative show hosted by cartoonist Javier Hernandez, and featuring a weekly roundtable of independent (or as Jav likes to call it DIY: Do-It-Yourself) comic creators.  Jav and the gang put on an enjoyable bi-weekly show worth listening to.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I will be a guest on JAVILAND this Sunday, December 20th at 9pm. This will be a first trip to JAVILAND for me, but I look forward to joining Jav and the gang in their end of the year podcast spectacular.  The show is recorded live on the TalkShoe Podcast Network, so feel free to listen in, or join the chat and participate in the show.

For your convenience, listen to an episode of JAVILAND right here:

Item 5: Support Indy Comic Book Week

Indy Comic Book Week is fast approaching.  Diamond will not be shipping its usual allotment of mainstream comic books to stores the last week in December.  However, an army of independent comic creators are working hard to make sure there will in fact be new comics on the shelves that week.

Indy Comic Book Week, the brainchild of a group of independent comic creators including Jake Ekiss, Vinh-Luan Luu, Paul Milligan & Matthew Warlick, was a call to action that’s been answered by indy comic book creators and comic shops around the country.  For a list of participating creators and shops, go here.

I’m impressed and inspired by what the Indy Comic Book Week guys have built here.  Alas, I decided not to put a book out for the week.  The reason was purely financial…I couldn’t justify taking a loss on every book sold, which I would have had to do given the realities of the cost of printing.  Basically, many comic shops are happy to sell indy books…for 50% of the cover price.  It’s certainly understandable…they’ve got to get their cut.  Unfortunately, the current realities of the cost of printing make that impossible for me to turn a profit (or even break even) on books sold through the direct market, since I’m not printing my books in large enough print runs to drive the per book cost lower than 50% of a cover price I could reasonably charge.

While this dilemma was faced by nearly all Indy Comic Book Week creators, I’m very impressed with creators like David Hopkins, who found an extremely clever way to use social media to support his Indy Comic Book Week ambitions and not go broke in the process.

I think it’s highly likely this becomes an annual event, so if you’re like me and weren’t able to get your act together for this year, it’s never to early to start scheming and prepping for ICBW 2010.  As for this year, I’ll be looking to support the event with my wallet, and hopefully discover some cool new independent comics.

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That’s all for now.  Thanks for reading the first installment of ComixStreet!  Pass it along if you know someone who might enjoy it.  And If you’ve got a story or a link you think might interest me and the readers of ComixStreet, feel free to email me at tylerjamescomics@gmail.com, send me a Tweet @tylerjamescomic, or leave a comment here.