Comic Lab

A ComicLab listener would like his friends to give him feedback on his comic — and he wants them to subscribe to his Patreon to do it. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... A Patreon level for constructive feedback Dave at WorldCon? UPDATE: Clip Studio update... feeling kinda screwed What happens to your books after you die What extras should go into a digital book? You get great rewards when you join the ComicL...

Is it wise to exploit parasocial relationships to get more Patreon backers? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Drunk ComicLab Parasocial relationships on Patreon Are ads making a comeback? After the Thanos Snap — would Brad and Dave do a podcast? You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the...

Patreon has unveiled a massive update to its service, and we'll discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The Good The user experience has some significant improvements Collections eStore — Buy digital goods. Find Creators You Love — a somewhat improved attempt at discoverability Member Posts section is being sunsetted The Bad Anemic analytics. Graphtreon still beats Patreon'...

Sure, making comics is fun, but do we ever do serious work, like painting, sculpting, or other classical art forms? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Do we ever do "classical" work? If tenacity is #1, what's #2? UPDATE: Dave's booth cost for SDCC '24 UPDATE: NCS networking UPDATE: Alaska Comics Camp Which to work on... popular, fun Series A or almost-done Series B? Black gutters You get great rewards when yo...

The Gannett newspaper chain, which includes USA Today and about 200 other daily newspapers, has selected 34 syndicated comics. Each of its newspapers will be limited to running comics from that list. Any comic that didn't make the list has been shut out of roughly 20% of the existing market. Not surprisingly, most of the 34 are legacy comics whose original creators are long since deceased. This is...

We're thrilled to welcome Jamar Nicholas , creator of Leon The Extraordinary , to talk shop with us! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Jamar Nicholas UPDATE: NCS and Planks Principle UPDATE: Musk to take Twitter behind paywall? You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips...

Dave and Brad return from the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Awards with stories, anecdotes, and  reflections. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... What is the NCS? The Reuben Awards week Phil Foglio wins the award for Best Online Longform Comic Meeting Mike Peters ("Mother Goose & Grim") Brunch with the NCS — "Ya wanna hear about MY heart attack?" Outgoing NCS president Jason Chatfield NCS is reaching out...

New Yorker cartoonist Jason Chatfield and " Sarah's Scribbles " cartoonist Sarah Andersen join Brad and Dave at the Farewell Brunch, closing out the National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Awards events. You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2...

Is comics a young person's game?  Pull up a (rocking) chair, and let's talk about it! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Are you too old to start in comics? Battling procrastination One-and-done publishing strategy? The TinyView app Eye problems due to comics You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show...

Which is more important for a cartoonist to learn — writing or drawing? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Is it worth my time to learn how to draw AND how to write? UPDATE: Dropbox in decline UPDATE: Brad writes a "Tales from the Drive" story Using social media to direct traffic to website Working 7 days a week to achieve work-life balance You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon...

Thanos snaps his fingers and erases Brad and Dave's careers. They have all their current knowledge, talents, and skills. But they don't have their titles, audiences, or archives. What, where, and how do they RESTART? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Celebrating 300 episodes of ComicLab and 300 episodes of Pro Tips. The Thanos snap You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  E...

There's a  definite benefit to making mistakes early in your career. They have a much lower impact than the ones that come later. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Making small mistakes early so you can avoid big trauma later Re-releasing old merchandise Visual novels Luck in social media You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a questi...

Has manga overtaken American-style comics in the hearts and imaginations of readers?  ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Did manga win comics? UPDATE: Threads usage declines — is this the end of the Social Media Age? Kickstarter reaffirms commitment to AI technology You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on t...

Dave and Brad return from Comic-Con International in San Diego, and they have much to discuss! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... San Diego Comic-Con recap UPDATE: Do we need to reintroduce "free?" UPDATE: Musk rebrands Twitter to "X." Sticking with a failing project too long Procreate for print You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a...

This week a ComicLab listener writes to thank us for talking him out of a mistake — and to say he'd like to get back to making it as soon as possible. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Going back to making the same mistake Patreon for a short-term comic UPDATE: Patreon Free Trial UPDATE: Jerry Garcia — "Not everybody likes licorice, but people who like licorice... REALLY like licorice!" That's sage advice fo...

Today's show is sponsored by DriveThruComics.com ! It's the first download comic shop — and we think it's the best! You should build a following on social media. You should launch a website. You should focus on the quality of your comic. How do you manage all of these "SHOULDs?!"  ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Too many "SHOULDs" UPDATE: ComicLab LIVE at NCS Reuben Awards Weekend : Sept. 8, 11 a.m. Specia...

Today's show is sponsored by DriveThruComics.com ! It's the first download comic shop — and we think it's the best! Social media giant Meta launched Threads and acquired over 40,000 users within the first 24 hours. Will this be the death knell for Twitter? And if it is, will that be good news for comic creators? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Threads Free Trials on Patreon TweetDeck is going to become sub...

Today's show is sponsored by DriveThruComics.com ! It's the first download comic shop — and we think it's the best! With Marvel, Netflix, Sony, HBO, and Universal pulling out of Hall H, what will San Diego Comic-Con be like? Some say that removing the Hollywood sightings and signings will allow the attendees to return their focus to the comics creators the show was initially founded to celebrate....

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work with a website, Dreamhost can help you get started. Phil Foglio joins us to discuss his long and storied career as an independent cartoonist! Best known for co-creating " Girl Genius "  with his wife Kaja, Phil talks about his breakout hit, " What's New with Phil and Dixie ," his milestone NSFW series, " XXXenoph...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. Patreon's WordPress plug-in enables you to host Patreon-exclusive content on your website. We'll talk about how you can use this to grow your membership. Also, we'll talk about #comicsbrokeme ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Different ways to use the Patreon API #comicsbrokeme "My art s...

Let's talk about storytelling. What are some good ways to learn to do better storytelling? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... How to learn storytelling ComicLab LIVE at Comic Con International in San Diego (SATURDAY 8 p.m.) UPDATE: BlueSky Nothing's happening on Discord! You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 —  Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. We hear from a listener who took our advice and launched their own website. And now they have only one question: "What the heck am I supposed to DO with it??" ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Alaska Comics Camp I've got a website... now what do I DO with it?? Photoshop AI Using 3D backg...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. It's bad enough if a reader makes an unkind comment toward you, but what do you do when readers attack each other? When it results in some of those readers leaving your community, it's a problem that demands attention! Also: Patreon is offering a new feature: Free Trials! And...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. It happens at the beginning of every month — you lose a few Patreon backers. It can be demoralizing, so let's discuss ways to survive the churn! Also, how do you restart comics after a long hiatus? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Surviving the churn Restarting after a long hiatus Learn...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. We often get asked by our listeners, "How can I increase my audience?" Well, in this episode, we've got you covered! We'll give you some great tips on how to grow your readership. Plus, we'll be discussing some fundamental rules of typography. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... How to bui...