Comic Lab

How do you stop polishing and start publishing? Our strategies for overcoming perfectionism! Also — Dave has a little good news about the tariffs on imported books. Today's Show Dave Kellett at San Diego Comic-Con: Booth 1228 How to conquer perfectionism How to introduce a new dialogue font into your comic UPDATE: Tariffs on imported books Susan MacTaggart Decreasing image size without losing qual...

The episode is sponsored by Dreamhost —the first step in owning and controlling your own work! Are you a shameless self-promoter? Brad thinks a little bit of shame might be a good thing. Also — how do you find good comics? Today's Show Whose house are you in? Susan MacTaggart's personal affirmation Dreamhost.com/comiclab Oval vs rounded corber word balloons Finding good comics. Summary In this epi...

What do you do when someone you looked up to turns out to be a jerk? Also, over a hundred years of comics history reveal a great deal about the importance of artists understanding business. Today's show I Met My Hero, and They're a Zero Susan MacTaggart's Personal Affirmation What 100 Years of Comics History Tells Us   You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — &nbs...

While Dave was at Alaska Comics Camp, he had the opportunity to talk with Ryan North Gillian Goerz! Ryan North is the creator and author of Dinosaur Comics , and has written for the comic series of Adventure Time and Marvel Comics ' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Fantastic Four . His works have won multiple Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards and made New York Times Bestseller lists . Gillian Goerz...

While at Alaska Comic Camp, Dave Kellett had the opportunity to speak with cartoonist Lucy Knisley, a critically acclaimed and award-winning comic creator. She specializes in personal, confessional graphic novels and travelogues. LUCY'S BOOKS Lucy has published more than a dozen books, with several fantastic publishers. These have included: Simon & Schuster, First Second Books, Fantagraphics, Chro...

The episode is sponsored by Dreamhost —the first step in owning and controlling your own work! While Dave Kellett was at Alaska Comics Camp, he had the opportunity to speak with Jarad Greene, a cartoonist who works on staff at The Center for Cartoon Studies and has helped color many graphic novels for younger readers. He is the author and illustrator of the graphic novels A-Okay , A for Effort , a...

Dave Kellet returns from Alaska Comics Camp once more rejuvinated, recharged, and reinvigorated! He shares his joy-filled experiences from a week in Juno, Alaska, with about 60 other cartoonists sharing knowledge, friendship, and happiness. In the second half, a cartoonist shares her feelings of depression after losing a couple of cartooning contests. Today's Show Alaska Comics Camp Susan MacTagga...

Today's episode is sponsored by Dreamhost . The first step in owning and controlling your own work is building a website, and Dreamhost is there to make that simple, painless, and inexpensive. Go to www. Dreamhost.com/ComicLab for details. The life of a comic artist is often a solitary one. Brad and Dave discuss ways of maintaining social connections for mental health and creativity. Later, they d...

Now that comic creators are returning to websites, SEO (search engine optimization) is once again a hot topic. We'll talk about methods to help search engines index comics. Also, if Brad and Dave were to design a four-year degree for cartoonists, what classes would be on the curriculum? Today's show SEO for webcomics Should you use alt text on social media posts? Susan MacTaggart's personal affirm...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. The first step in owning and controlling your own work is creating a website, and Brad and Dave have relied on Dreamhost for years. Check out Dreamhost.com/comiclab to find out how you can lock in a rate of $2.59/month for three years! Every beginning cartoonist agonizes over drawing eyes! Why is that — and while we're at it, what's the right way to do it? N...

Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. The first step in owning and controlling your own work is creating a website, and Brad and Dave have relied on Dreamhost for years. Check out Dreamhost.com/comiclab to find out how you can lock in a rate of $2.59/month for three years! Your social media profile needs to answer three questions clearly: Who are you? What do you do? And why should I care? If yo...

Cartoonist Scott C joins us to discuss his artistic journey. He discusses his beginnings, including art directing  Psychonauts  and  Brutal Legend  for Double Fine Productions , as well as his first webcomic, Double Fine Action Comics . He shares valuable insights on working with watercolors and creating graphic novels for younger readers. His paintings are currently on display at Spoke Art in New...

Is it OK to change your comic after you've already sent it to your audience? The guys also tackle tariffs, ISBNs, bar codes, and offering comics to charity organizations. Today's show Making a change to a comic after it's "out there" Susan MacTaggart's personal affirmation UPDATE: Tariffs on books?? ISBNs and bar codes for self-published books Comics for Charity Summary In this conversation, Dave...

It's a jam-packed show this week! Brad and Dave argue over the better delivery for story exposition — dialogue or narration. Dave is discontinuing international shipping; Brad gets his Wikipedia updates; and the guys agree that Dee Fish does autobio comics right. Then Dave does another behind-the-scenes analysis of his recent Kickstarter, talking about his pricing strategy for stretch goals and ho...

In a recent interview for the National Cartoonists Society, Greg Evans (the creator of the newspaper comic strip "Luanne") spoke about painting a single wall in his studio red. Mel Lazarus, creator of the syndicated strips "Momma" and "Miss Peach," told him that the color red was proven to increase creative thoughts. This resulted in one burning question for the cartoonists assembled to watch the...

Where's the line between an autobiographical comic and a semi-autobiographical one — between "based upon" and "inspired by"? And when does the whole thing veer directly into fiction?? Plus... Dave Kellett shares real numbers from his recent Kickstarter, and we arrive at a jaw-dropping conclusion: Bluesky is it. The Webcomics Handbook will publish a visual breakdown of Dave's analytics on April 14t...

As they attempt to save the marriage of one of their listeners, Brad and Dave consider the best path for a cartoonist who wishes to pursue a master's degree. Would a Master's in Fine Arts be the right choice, or would a Master's in Business Administration be the better option? Considering the expense, perhaps the best choice is to avoid both! After grappling with that dilemma, Susan MacTaggart sto...

When does a running gag stop being funny — and where does it start, for that matter? Cartoonists Brad and Dave must first agree on what a running gag is! Next, they'll talk about aesthetics — in other words, how does one develop their editorial eye? Finally, Dave reviews his accounting from last year's San Diego Comic-Con and discusses how it influences his decisions for this year's show. Today's...

Social media has convinced an entire generation of creators to focus on numbers — followers, subscribers, likes, shares, and other engagement metrics. However, focusing on numbers can often lead an artist to make bad decisions. Today's Show Focusing on numbers Limiting comments on BSky UPDATE: Hoganmag.com Lost the Kickstarter mojo Comic book vs graphic novel Summary In this conversation, Dave Kel...

Brad and Dave discuss finding the right balance between visual and verbal. Dave asks if too much worldbuilding is an excuse to avoid actually writing the story. And a listener asks if it's a good idea to approach your Patreon as a customer-service job. Today's show Verbal vs. Visual UPDATE: DogKickstarter.com UPDATE: The Wrong Way Show draws Shrek Worldbuilding vs. actual writing Is Patreon like a...

A listener seeks writing advice. How can you motivate readers to engage with a story that has an unhappy ending? Additionally, Dave's new DogKickstarter.com, tips for responding to inquiries from "civilians," and the importance of personal branding when posting on social media. Today's Show How to write an unhappy ending UPDATE: DogKickstarter.com Questions from civilians Posting politics on socia...

What are independent comic creators' most reliable revenue streams — and which are the worst? Brad ranks them from top to bottom, and Dave shares his own experiences with each. Also, the guys share the strategy that's making Patreon's "Collections" feature a solid income generator. Today's show Webcomics Revenue Streams Ranked Best to Worst UPDATE: USPS Ground Advantage UPDATE: Patreon Collections...

Brad Guigar has categorized the information shared by creative individuals into three groups. Dave Kellett has a couple of his own to contribute. Of the five, only one is useful. Identifying the others can help you avoid making some significant mistakes. Today's show Types of information creative people share UPDATE: Brad Guigar celebrates 25 years in comics Story pacing Summary In this episode, B...

This week's episode is sponsored by Hogan's Alley magazine! We'll discuss those moments in our careers when we said, "F*** me! That actually worked!" Also, a listener writes in to say that they want to take our advice and make the jump to Bluesky, but it causes too much anxiety. Sponsor Hogan's Alley magazine sponsors this week's episode!  In the next issue, they'll cover the Tijuana Bibles and mu...

We're heading into a year promising significant upheaval — in business, social media, publishing, and more. But, after twenty-five years of self-publishing, cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar have learned an important lesson: Discomfort is crucial in growing as an artist — and as a businessperson. Today's show Embrace discomfort Listifications on Bluesky —  https://bsky.app/profile/listifica...