Comic Lab

A listener asks if OnlyFans could be a Patreon alternative. Also, how do you know it's the right time to launch a Kickstarter? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Could OnlyFans be a Patreon alternative? Is this a good time for a Kickstarter? UPDATE: New Yorker cartoonist Taking a break from cartooning You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Sub...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. A listener is planning to exhibit at a comic con — and their five-year-old wants to sell their own comic there, too! Should children be encouraged to sell their crayon-crafted cartoon books at conventions? Also, we discuss the difference between thumbnailing and penciling. ON...

A ComicLab listener asks for advice on publishing two versions of the same book — one rated PG-13, and another rated R. Sounds an awful lot like what Brad does. So why is he so against it?! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Two versions of the same book UPDATE: New York Times portfolio review UPDATE: Brad's birthday present How many hours spent drawing? Building narrative tension Hiring an assistant after an...

Let's talk "comics" — literally. A comic could be a single piece or an entire book. It could be a single panel or a series of panels. And although the word implies humor, many comics aren't supposed to be funny at all! Isn't there a better word for this thing we do?! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The word "comic" Lettering ... the invisible art "Traditional artist" Hi-res art as a Patreon reward? You get...

Today's episode is sponsored by DreamHost — your first step in owning and controlling your own work! Artificial Intelligence continues to loom large in the comics world. New projects purportedly written and drawn entirely with bots are garnering mass attention. Is the breathless exaltation justified — or does it come down to novelty? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... AI novelty Does a certain level of succes...

Writer's Block often boils down to a crisis of confidence. How do you conquer that? Also, a listener asks for advice on a hybrid comic — half sequential art and half prose.  ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Writer's Block UPDATE: Joy-con mapping for your digital tablet Hybrid comics You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question fo...

This week, we're joined by Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (" War and Peas ") to talk about their unique collaboration. Also, will a wordy title hurt your comic's chances of success? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Wordy titles Public-facing Patreon numbers UPDATE: Silicon Valley Bank crash UPDATE: A DIY digital-drawing tablet controller Interview with Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (" War and Peas ") You g...

A listener asks about doing a practice project — and Kickstarting it later. Also — more than one hundred years of comics history tell everything we need to know about how comics companies treat creators. (And it ain't good.) ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Practicing to be pro Comic History - corporate comics UPDATE: Brad won the argument on ECCC UPDATE: when 250k viral moment tells you that this is a mara...

We're talking comics with our special guest Karl Kerschl , who talks about working in both corporate and independent comics, and prepping the Kickstarter campaign for "Death Transit Tanager." ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Working in both corporate and  independent comics Prepping a Kickstarter Shipping from Canada Launching a Kickstarter on Patreon vs Kickstarter pre-launch notifications Social-media str...

This week, we're talking comics with Special guest Lar deSouza , the artist of  " Least I Could Do " and " Looking for Group ". Also: is it time to hire a marketing manager for your social media accounts? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Hiring a marketing manager for social media Lar deSouza (" Least I Could Do " and " Looking for Group ") You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patre...

This week, we're talking comics with Caitlin McGurk! She's the curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum , and she's got some terrific stories about her work there. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The Marvel Method of Comics was bonkers! UPDATE: "The Mysteries" - Bill Watterson and John Kascht UPDATE: 50 minutes of book-printing advice in ProTips #270 UPDATE: Twitter...

Thumbnailing is one of the most often-repeated pieces of comics advice — and yet almost everyone skips this step. We're gonna talk about it anyway. Also — is there a hidden problem with a "fake it 'til you make it" attitude? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Comments on Scott Adams Thumbnailing Drawing hands and feet UPDATE: Taxes Fake it 'til you make it? Continuity errors You get great rewards when you joi...

Should an independent comics artist publish "floppies" — those 20-30 page stapled comics similar to those that Marvel and DC publish monthly? Also — will the occasional "wholesome" comic ruin your image? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Should I be embarrassed about my floppy? Wholesome comics UPDATE: Eisner Awards UPDATE: SDCC Panel Discussions Where to place house ads Inverted word balloon tails You will...

Our special guest Scott Kurtz ( PvP , Table Titans , Mort ) joins us to answer questions from the ComicLab community! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Studio layout How to create different personalities for characters What to do if your art doesn't match your writing You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use o...

Cory Doctorow's theory of enshittification describes how platforms die: "First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die." We'll talk about that in detail and answer a ComicLab listener who wonders what webcartoonists can do to...

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Special guest Kevin McShane talks about his return to comics, his "boring" approach to creativity, dancing on TikTok, and A.I. comics. One quick show note: Our recording software failed to capture a clean recording of Kevin's mi...

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Is it "cheating" to use copy-and-paste in your comic? The answer may surprise you! Then we're joined by Special guest David Betancourt , the comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post . ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Copy... Paste...

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Everyone seems to be wondering where to post/publish their comics. So we'll talk about what it really means to "own and control your own work." Then we're joined by Ellen Woodbury of " Pizza Cake Comics ." ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Where should I post my comic? UPDATE...

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. It's often hard to get creativity started, but how do you turn OFF creativity when it's distracting you from your main project?? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Turning OFF creativity Stories from quitting your day job UPDATE: I have *tried* to incorporate a.i. into my sket...

Today's show is sponsored by the Lucy Cavendish College, the fastest growing constituent college of the University of Cambridge. We'll be talking to  Dr. Joe Sutliff Sanders, an American scholar of the genre, launching the first world-class collection of graphic novels at Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College. Make a donation to the graphic-novel library. Get in touch with Dr. Joe Sutliff Sanders ALS...

To celebrate what would have been the legendary cartoonist's 100th birthday, the Charles M. Schulz Museum invited Dave and Brad to come to Santa Rosa, California, to talk about the influence Sparky still holds over today's comics artists. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The influence of Charles Schulz Q&A from the audience You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early ac...

It's the first show of our SIXTH YEAR of podcasts! As we head into 2023, we're going to make some bold predictions of what the next 365 days have in store. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Patreon will use new features to slowly entice people away from the Founder's level TikTok will be banned in the US Clip Studio will unveil such amazing features that no one will complain about the paltry subscription pri...

At the beginning of the year, Dave and Brad made some bold predictions — involving Kickstarter, Substack, NFTs, blockchain, and more! As they bid a fond farewell to 2022, they take a moment to see how many they nailed... and how many they failed. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... NAILED IT: Kickstarter will back off blockchain FAILED IT: Patreon will launch a Kickstarter competitor NAILED IT: Cryptocurrency...

Today's show is being brought to you by Comicraft. Mark your calendars — their New Year's Day Sale is right around the corner. Each font will be priced to ring in the new year — $20.23! We often talk about achieving success, but this week, we tackle another question — What if it actually happens?? Success rarely shows up looking like we thought it would. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Comicraft New Year's...

Today's show is being brought to you by Comicraft. Mark your calendars — their New Year's Day Sale is right around the corner. Each font will be priced to ring in the new year — $20.23! Is this the perfect time for nostalgia over old-school webcomics? Also... when Dave attends a sci-fi convention, and kind lady walks up to his booth with some helpful advice. AND THEN SHE APPEARS IN BRAD'S STUDIO T...