Comic Lab

Latest Episodes:

Practicing to be a pro... or a pro practicing? Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

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 marathon not a sprint
Marking an anniversary with a book

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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Special guest Karl Kerschl ("The Abominable Charles Christopher") Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

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 strategy for Kickstarter
Juggling multiple projects
Pitching a comic to Images Comics
Collaborating with another artist on a project

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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Special guest Lar deSouza ("Least I Could Do" and "Looking for Group") Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

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 Patreon

$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Special guest Caitlin McGurk (The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum) Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

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's 2Fa isn't as bad as you're being told
UPDATE: Reddit's IPO
UPDATE: New YouTube CEO is pro NFT
Caitlin McGurk, The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.

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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Nobody does thumbnails Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

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 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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Should I be embarrassed about my floppy? Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

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 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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Special Guest Scott Kurtz ("PvP") Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

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 on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Enshittification Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

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 participate in Free Comic Book Day.

ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...

Cory Doctow's theory of Enshittification
Update: Dave's Kickstarter
What can webcartoonists do for Free Comic Book Day?

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-tier rewards.
$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewards

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Special Guest Kevin McShane ("Kevin Comics") Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

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 microphone for the first 15 minutes of the show. Our audio engineer Matt made a tremendous effort toward improving it, but you may still hear a small difference in the opening moments of the episode.

ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...

Interview with Kevin McShane

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-tier rewards.

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

Listen to ComicLab on...

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-tier rewards.

If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!

Special guest David Betancourt, comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

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... Perfect!
UPDATE: D&D using Creative Commons
UPDATE: Getty Images is suing Stable Diffusion
Interview with David Betancourt, the comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post.

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon