The Bluenoser goes live

Enough talking about it I guess. I've started posting the Bluenoser on DrunkDuck (for now at least) and the preview starts here.

"Death of Spider-Man"

Any minute now I expect the emails to start coming in from friends asking "Did you hear that they're going to kill Spider-Man?" To which I will sigh, shrug, and respond "Yeah, I did hear about it." And then the conversation will most likely lead to what other "death" storylines in comics we've had over the last few years only to either not be a death or to bring the character back in a few months. And of course there will be the discussion that this is the "Ultimate universe Spider-Man" and not the "real" Spider-Man. At many points during this discussion I expect my friends to laugh, get frustrated, mock me, and do a whole host of other stuff but in general, they will lose interest (though a couple may go into the comic store to buy the "death" issue still convinced they'll be able to sell it for lots of money one day) and end with some disparaging remark about me still reading comics.

So yeah, Marvel's getting a lot of press and I keep hearing that getting press is good for comics but you'll forgive me if I'm not overly optimistic about the whole thing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like to take any story off the table. So if there's a good story to be told then great. But again, forgive me if I'm not overly optimistic.

Digital: It's just a matter of time for me

I know I've talked about it in past blog posts, going digital for comics at some point, but I still haven't gone that route (at least not fully). I've tried out a few readers, bought a couple digital comics, and read way too much on the move to digital but I still feel I'm just poking a toe in the waters. Besides the odd dip in the digital pool I'm currently doing the TPB thing and buying an occasional issue (like Captain America: The Fighting Avenger which was really good by the way). But the more I think about it the more I think it's just a matter of time before I move to more digital for comics (while picking up only a couple in TPBs) and other reading material.

A big reason is the issue of space. Books are really starting to build up around my place and I have to keep getting creative with my bookshelves. It's not all comics, I do buy other books as well. Perhaps one day I'll get off my butt and finally take some of them to a local library (I'm a bit of a packrat and also like having the books around just in case I want to re-read something or share it with others) but digital will keep me from building them up in the first place.

So why haven't I gone digital? I guess there's still some issues I'm having. I've tried out various readers (for my iPhone and laptop) and it seems ComiXology is winning me over so that's partly resolved. But I just don't feel that reading comics on my laptop or iPhone is as "comfortable" or enjoyable as reading a book. Perhaps buying a tablet could fix that but then comes the cost of buying a tablet just to read comic books on.

Then there's the other costs. Digital comics still seem to be rather expensive. I've heard it's part of the "early adopter" thing (prices high at first to offset cost of software development but will go down eventually) or Apple taking a cut of the revenue in some cases but it still seems rather pricey to me. And it doesn't help that for most digital stuff I don't really "own" it. Most systems are set up so that if they want to pull the book from me for any reason they can. And if ComiXology (or whomever) goes out of business I may lose whatever books I've "purchased". So paying so much for a "rental" seems a little off to me. But maybe that's just the collector in me putting value to actually owning a physical object. I've also found having the physical comic useful as I do tend to lend out books quite a bit. I've got friends hooked on various comics by lending them a couple TPBs.

There's the delay as well (digital not being released at the same time as print) but that doesn't really matter too much to me. I'm already behind due to going to TPBs so waiting for digital (provided the books I want do make it to digital) won't be a huge difference... I hope.

But despite the cost and still not feeling there's an experience as enjoyable as actually reading a physical book, I still see it as just a matter of time before I break down, buy a tablet (or something) and go digital for my reading. I just wonder when I'll finally get off the fence about it.

Coming soonish

My plan was to post my new webcomic on DrunkDuck but the recent turmoil (many images were lost and there was an extended time where some things weren't working) there had me rethinking that. But I think I'll go back, hoping they'll have things worked out. The downtime did give me an excuse not to be posting pages while I build up a buffer though. :)

I still have an issue of getting pages done. I'm currently able to get only one page done per week. Maybe as I get into a routine or perhaps I'll find some way to change my style to increase that but it's unlikely at the moment. So I'm thinking of posting a batch of pages to get into the story and then going one page per week. I just have to make sure each page is worth the wait. That each page has enough going to move the story along for the whole week. I actually contemplated revealing the page panel by panel throughout the week (maybe even limiting myself to 5 panels per page) but I think that would be a little too gimmicky, too limiting, and just not the right fit for this particular comic.

One other thing that this time has allowed me to do is really think about where I want to go with the story. I've come up with some ideas that I'm really looking forward to writing up. Some of the ideas are not quite as upbeat and optimistic as I originally intended but I think mixed in with some lighter, fun stories that it will work.

A Quick Update

I know it's been a while since I mentioned working on a new webcomic. To make a long story short, I went through a period of time where I was having a lot of doubts as to whether I wanted to get into doing another webcomic and having a lot of second thoughts about it. But I think that's behind me now and I am working on it. I'll have to figure out the art, changing things up as I go. I need to experiment a bit in order to get the pages done a lot faster while not sacrificing quality too much. And I figured I may as well experiment as I go so I can at least get posting some pages. So it may not be consistent but we'll see what works and what doesn't. I'll probably also play around with costumes and such too.

The synopsis so far: A veteran superhero returns home to fight crime in a city that's seen as too small and unimportant by the other superheroes. Though there may be serious tidbits I'll be trying to keep the tone fairly light. It's not like the city will be overrun with criminals or anything like that.

Getting Back to "Work"

Since the end of Divine Leap I've been debating doing another webcomic. There are the cons like it ate up a lot of my time and I learned that I really sucked. The benefits included learning a lot about making a comic (or webcomic in this case) and why I sucked, getting to know some DrunkDuck members who came across my book, and having some fun along the way.

I had a few ideas that I was playing around with as Divine Leap was coming to a close but once I was done they just didn't feel right. Some were sweeping stories that would require 400+ pages to tell and I didn't really want to do that again. Others just didn't feel exciting enough. Then this past weekend I had a thought (yep, just one). I got into comics reading "simple" superhero comics so why not do a simple superhero comic. Not "something that nobody has ever seen before". Not "something that will blow your mind and make you second guess your sanity". Just a superhero story. A good guy (well there will be more than one good guy eventually but we'll concentrate on one) versus some bad guys. And I could do it in small, 10 or so page, stories. Just get back to doing something small and simple. I think even for the art I'll try to be "looser" and let myself play around a bit more (less time sweating the small details).

So the designs are getting drawn up. The first 7 pages of the first 10 (or so) page story are written. The second story is currently building up in my head. And hopefully it'll be fun.

To be continued...

A Hulk Sketch

I really hate/suck at colouring.

Visiting the Local Shop

So after not setting foot in my local comic shop for a couple months I decided to make the trek downtown. I was reminded of what I miss about the shop (the friends, the comics) and what I don't miss.

The first thing is that I'm not entirely at my best in crowds or even small groups. So when the numbers start growing I feel pretty out of place. But secondly, I don't have the thickest skin and one of the things that gets through that skin the fastest is people not listening, talking down to me, and treating me like I don't know what I'm talking about. And I find that happens quite a bit in comic stores, I could probably find at least a few people who feel I've done it to them. So I guess I deserve it but that doesn't make me feel any better when it happens to me.

So yeah, a nice visit ends up with me grumbling to myself on the way home. Did I mention that I tend to hold a grudge with that thin skin of mine?

Done! ... Now what?

So last night I finally finished Divine Leap, completely. I had finished the main book (with some lettering I had put off until the end) over the weekend so it was the side story I finished last night. And it all gets posted tomorrow night. It took me a long time to get here (too long in my opinion, I've lost track of how many years it took) but over 460 pages later it comes to an end. It's going to feel weird going home after work and not thinking "I really need to get that page of Divine Leap finished tonight." Or worrying about my buffer of pages shrinking and wondering if I should change my update schedule.

It was quite the experience. I quickly learned just how I little I knew about making comics and how naive I was. But I definitely don't regret it, I appreciate so much of the medium that much more and made a few friends along the way.

So I'm left wondering "What now?" I've had a few ideas brewing in my head but I don't really know which one I want to tackle first. I know I don't want to take on another 400+ page comic, that's for sure. So perhaps something that fits into individual strips. Or perhaps short little 10-15 page stories. But I think first off it'll be a little bit of a break for me as I really mull over my ideas and see which one really shines for me. And perhaps I'll actually post on this blog a bit more often.

Promoting Your Webcomic

The creators of the webcomic "Smash" asked on Twitter what days work best for webcomic updates, especially if you were doing two pages per week. My advice, right or wrong, was that I find the day of updates typically doesn't matter. If people like you're work they'll check it out on days that work for you. I would point out however that updating on DrunkDuck did lead me to updating on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I had noticed Mondays and Wednesdays were particularly busy so you got bumped off the "Most Recently Updated" list on the front page. But that tended not to matter too much as less and less people went to the home page on DrunkDuck and just went straight to the comics they favourited/subscribed to/whatever. And if you're on your own website then this matters even less.

So what did work for me in terms of getting attention? Now I have to say I suck at promoting myself. Heck, I used to avoid talking about my comic here and at one point I even had the link on the right listed as something like "My crappy little webcomic..." I'm still pretty hesitant to talk about it as I actually hate people looking at how bad it was to start. But that's another story.

So again, what did work for me? Participating in the community. Commenting (and not just blindly) on other people's comics, offering constructive (and keeping them positive) comments, posting in the forum discussions (and not necessarily about my comic), taking part in forum games or networking events (Secret Santa is always a hit), doing up some fan art for others, and just being involved.

And I think to go beyond DrunkDuck I would (and did) suggest getting involved in "comic community" stuff. I'm sure the artists who work on The Line it is Drawn on CBR or in other communities for artists to show their stuff do benefit from that. Though yes, you have to make sure people don't take advantage of you and you really are benefiting from the time you spend on these things (don't get sucked in to doing art for your friend's company's website because it's "good exposure" for you, it's not). And putting up your portfolio on one site (like deviantart or something) is a good thing, promoting your art on various sites with new stuff they can't see there along with other artists seems like a good idea to me.

Now what about Twitter/Facebook/whatever? Sure, they have some benefits. Have a few followers on Twitter or a fans on Facebook, post some pictures and hope they retweet or pass them along (I tend to avoid flat out asking for retweets, but that's just me). But I don't know how many people really are actively looking on Twitter for new artists or webcomics to check out. They have the people/things they follow and periodically they find someone/something new through them but it's not guaranteed. They may see some art that gets retweeted or passed along but a lot of the time they won't look beyond that or the information about who drew it and where you can see more is lost (filtered out by someone who passed it along but didn't think to credit the source). I'm sure some people will have different experiences from Twitter or Facebook but that's just how I see it. They can be good for getting the word out but they aren't perfect and they shouldn't be all you rely on. In the end, I find they're more about engaging with the fans you have and letting them do the promoting for you.

And conventions? Well again, you'll get some people picking up a free bookmark from you or maybe buying a commission (these are comic fans after all) and that's great but just doing a couple conventions isn't going to be the end of the road. Not to mention how pricey some can be for a table. And by the way, please have something, even a cheap business card, to give to people that has your URL on it. I see too many comic/webcomic people have nothing to give out to promote their work so unless I have something to write down the URL and something that reminds me as to what the URL is by the time I get home I've completely forgotten about it.

So yeah, the way I see it, just being active in the comic/webcomic community is your best bet. If you're producing good stuff then someone will eventually notice (I hope) and it won't really matter what days it comes out.

This may not appear to help the writers out there but I'm sure if you're writing a couple webcomics and the artists of those books are out there getting attention, the webcomic and your writing will get the attention it deserves as well (at least I hope that's the case).

So any thoughts on the subject? I know I'm sort of all over the map there but am I way off base or is there a nugget of truth in there somewhere?

A little late...

Sorry, I meant to post this earlier and just forgot. It's a little piece of fan art for Caanan Grall's Max Overacts. He posted it on his site as well but in case you missed it:


Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Some Christmas-y art (sorta)

For the annual Drunk Duck Secret Santa project (though I guess it's not annual since they started doing a summer one that I missed) I got Salsa (that would be his username) who had asked for Christmas themed "nose art". I had to double check what nose art was (artwork for the nose of an aircraft/shuttle) and still not really knowing too much about it here's what I came up with:


And with a little bit of red:

2010

I'm starting to see more and more "2010" stuff coming out. Such as the "Best Comics of 2010" or whatever else. So I considered doing something myself but to be honest, I'm not sure what I could come up with for "Best of" lists. For one thing, many of the books I'd put as the best books I read this year were ones that came out in 2009 (*cough*Asterios Polyp*cough*) and I found out about from other "Best of 2010" lists. So I guess I'm just behind the times and who wants a list by someone who's late to the party. So in the end, here's a breakdown of my 2010.

The most memorable would probably be Fan Expo Canada. There were parts that were horribly organized but getting to spend three days geeking out is just too much fun. The Stan Lee package was worth it (though I've heard from others who felt otherwise) and getting to meet him was a big moment for me. The brief pass by William Shatner's table as he signed my photo was a little disappointing. But hey, I'm one of those really weird guys who enjoys being able to say I saw these celebrities in person. And a few of them really made the experience better. Felicia Day was very nice and outgoing. Summer Glau was very friendly. And I heard experiences from other Convention goers that many of the celebrities made it well worth the hassles we went through (for the most part). And of course there was the comic creators for me. Getting artwork from Darwyn Cooke, Andy Belanger, Caanan Grall, Steve McNiven, and others was awesome. The panels (the sketching duels, Darwyn Cooke's panel, etc) were all very entertaining. It was just a great weekend and as soon as I got home I couldn't wait for next year's Fan Expo.

As for comics, after hating Jeph Loeb's Hulk run I was glad that Greg Pak got the Incredible Hulk series back with the big green guy front and centre (with a somewhat new supporting cast). But as I moved to TPBs this year I haven't read the book in a while (since World War Hulks ended). Despite being a lifelong Marvel fan, The Incredible Hulk and possibly the She-Hulks series will be my only two Marvel books.

My favourite "new to me" series would be Atomic Robo. It's still a fairly new series with just a few TPBs out but I definitely recommend checking it out. You can even grab the Free Comic Book Day issues off the web.

In terms of WebComics my favourite remains the Abominable Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl. Absolutely beautiful artwork with a great mix of strips, from funny to heartbreaking. My favourite new strip would be Max Overacts by Caanan Grall. A fun storyline with unique characters and it keeps getting better and better.

And while we're on the subject of WebComics, we saw Zuda come to an end with several of their books going to ComiXology which obviously had a lot to do with the release of the iPad. You'd think I'd have a lot to say on that but I think I'm talked out about it. And the truth is that although I've read a few comics that were available for free on ComiXology I've never bothered to buy one there. There are a lot of factors that lead to this (not owning an iPad, the price, that I prefer to physically own books so I can feel confident that I'll be able to pull them out and read them 10 years from now, etc) but I don't really want to get into that either.

One thing I'm starting to get into is the online studios or whatever you call it. Where a group of artists share a location (a blog, a webpage, or whatever) to display their artwork. They'll often pick weekly themes or something to add some consistency. Some of the ones I really enjoy include the Comic Social Club, Comic Twart, and The Line it is Drawn on CBR (which is something a bit different but really cool). I think this is a great way for artists to get their work out there and for fans to see some really nice stuff. I just hope it works in helping the artists find a source of income for their work and not just a place where people steal artwork from for their own blogs or webpages. But that's a rant for another day.

Moving off comics to movies (and comic based movies) we had Iron Man 2, I'd agree it may not have been as good as the first but I still enjoyed it. Toy Story 3 may have been the best movie I saw this year but I don't see many movies. And as for Inception, I didn't care for it. It was pretty and had some cool scenes but I couldn't get into it. Though to be fair, by the time I saw it the ending was pretty much spoiled for me (nobody told me outright but I had it figured out).

And lastly, in terms of television I seem to be watching less this year. And the shows I am watching I don't even give my full attention (usually drawing while the TV is on so I can listen to it). I do still enjoy the Big Bang Theory, I know some "geeks" hate it for the stereotypes it pushes but I know so many people (myself included) who have little bits of each of the 4 guys in them. There was also the Walking Dead. I've been reading the book for a while now but I don't find it really thrilling me as much as it did early on. There's some intriguing stuff happening but it may be wearing a bit thin for me. Seeing it on TV was interesting but I wonder if the show will end up wearing thin for me as well, or maybe I'm just not giving a fair chance because of my feelings for the books. Either way, I'll be giving the second season a go.

I can't really think of anything else from this year which is rather sad. But I suspect that as I start seeing more of the "best of 2010" lists coming out I'll be finding new comics to check out. So feel free to let me know what you thought was the best of 2010, whether it's comics, TV, movies, or just important stuff that happened in your life.

And have a happy holiday whatever that holiday may (or may not) be for you and a great (and safe) New Year.

Cheers!

Branding

I know, I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging. I guess Twitter is winning out for me. But here's some rambling if you're looking for something to read.

I don't know if it's just me but I seem to be seeing a lot of blog posts, tweets, news articles, and whatever else focusing on market share, units sold comparisons, and other business type analysis. Of course these were always around but I normally felt they were the focus of guys in business suits who were financially invested in the companies or something like that. Now it seems like everyone's getting in on it. It makes me wonder why. And here's a few of the reasons I'm noticing.

Companies seem to be doing a really good job of getting people feeling like they're somehow connected to them and their success. Whether it's "I'm a Mac" or being a member of the Merry Marvel Marching Society (showing how comics have been doing this for a while, Stan Lee seemed to be one of the ambassadors in that area) they're connecting with their customers (somewhat) and making them feel like the companies success is somehow their success as well. And if someone says something bad about the company or their product, even if they may be right, they'll fight tooth and nail to prove them wrong.

I feel others seem to rely on these things to justify themselves and their spending. Almost like "I must have made the right choice buying that iPhone because the majority is doing it, right?" It's not even a question of which product may be right for you. So you want to point to these things and say to anyone who didn't buy the same as you that they are somehow in the wrong because they aren't part of the majority.

Some are looking to see trends so they can maybe predict the future, and not always for financial gain. Some just want to be able to throw stuff out there so in a few months they can look at the new stats and say "See, I was right! I'm so smart!" And some just want to appear smart by looking at this and just saying the exact same thing that every other blog and tweet says about the data.

And I think the media is playing its part as well. They are falling in line with companies spouting phrases like "game changer", "the future is here", "this will change everything", etc, etc (or if you go with comic solicits it's "universe changing", "nothing will ever be the same", "the new status quo", etc, etc). And they want to appear cutting edge so they bring out data in bar graphs, pie charts, and cute little cartoons.

Of course there are many reasons behind it all but here's where I'm at. I'm done with looking at that stuff. I don't care if a comic or a phone is the big seller, I want the one that's right for me. I'm not going to feel ashamed or "wrong" if it's not the one everyone else bought. So all this talk of market share and units sold doesn't mean much to me. And I'm sort of tired of people focusing on it and throwing it around like it's proof of something other than a company was successful in getting their product (whether it be good or bad) into the most hands (good for them).

So yeah, when Marvel puts out a crappy book I'll say that I thought it was crap. When Apple decides to do stupid censoring of apps and their content I'll say I don't want to support that. But yeah, feel free to tell me that I'm wrong because the Marvel book I think is bad outsells everyone else and Apple sells more iPhones than its competitors, I just won't care.

My Weird TPB Quirk

Here's a weird quirk I have that I felt like sharing. Whenever I meet comic creators (mostly from my two trips to Fan Expo Canada) I feel the need to apologize for reading the TPBs instead of going with the single issues. I guess it comes from the feeling that I'm not fully supporting them by buying continuously (after all, a series may get canceled based on these monthly sales before it ever reaches TPBs). Sometimes it just comes up like when I was talking with Jeff Lemire and I saw a Sweet Tooth picture I didn't recognize so I asked, turns out it was for a cover of an issue that is in the next TPB. So I felt the need to explain that I did read Sweet Tooth, I just hadn't read that particular issue yet because the TPB isn't out. And I felt the need to apologize for this. When talking to Andy Belanger about Kill Shakespeare I had to admit to having not ready any of it yet as I'm also waiting on the TPB there. And again, I felt the need to insert a "Sorry" there.

It's completely weird isn't it? I guess some of it goes back to the early days of TPBs. Some creators expressed disapproval of people waiting for TPBs of their books because they were worried the monthly sales wouldn't be good enough to keep the series going. And maybe I keep thinking back to that. But on the other hand, should I really feel bad about doing the TPBs? I am buying their books after all (and not pirating), I'm just doing it in a format that works better for me. And in the case of a lot of books, I don't really know if I want to buy the series until I hear enough good things about it and then I want at least a few issues to get an idea of how good it is. Should I go digging up the single issues on ebay (doing nothing to help the creator) or just pick up the TPB?

Or in the end, I should probably just not worry so much. I want to support creators/books I like and if I do so by picking up TPBs then I think that should be enough shouldn't it? And from there, it's up to the comic companies to figure things out.

I'm not helping am I?

I recently installed some ad blocking software. I was just tired of the annoyances ads were causing me from the slow load times to annoying popups/redirects to trying to install malicious software on my machine. And so far it seems to be working quite well for me. But here's the issue, I'm a webcomics reader and quite a few webcomic creators and sites hope to make money off their advertising. So by blocking their ads I know I'm accessing their content while closing a source of revenue for them. Same goes for other news/comic sites I visit. I browse their free content and they get some page views but no ad revenue. I could start letting ads through from these pages but as much as I trust them I don't trust the people running the advertising.

Now in some cases I can provide support in other ways. In the case of webcomic creators I could donate money or buying print versions or commissions but in most cases I don't. I don't buy the print versions, merchandise, or commissions because I really don't usually need them lying around my already cluttered condo (though I have bought commissions at conventions). Or sometimes it's other things (like paying $20 plus $40 shipping/handling to Canada for an 80 page book that I don't really need/want in print). Donation seems like the way I should go yet I always seem to find an excuse not to do that as well. I either say it's because I don't want to pay the overhead (or have the creator lose money paying for the overhead) because of the fees the banks and other companies put on the transaction.

And let's face it, I still feel a little weird just giving people money. I know I'm supporting their ability to make a comic but I've already read it so I still feel like I'm just giving away money and not getting anything in return. I know I've already got the enjoyment and if I give them money and they're able to continue (though there's no guarantee that they will) then I'll continue to enjoy it but it just doesn't feel substantial enough return for my money (I know people will want to argue that it is substantial and I would agree but for some reason it just doesn't feel it, I guess it's still just too new for me or something).

So yeah, I'm not really helping.

[NOTE: I can say there have been a few webcomic creators I have helped, but it's a small portion of the webcomics I read.]

I'm a glutton for punishment (ie. Why I do a webcomic)

There is a thread in the DrunkDuck forum asking why webcomic creators do the webcomic thing. But I figured I'd ramble about the topic here since I don't post nearly enough on this blog. I'm not even sure if I've already posted this but what the heck, might as well ramble.

History 101
Okay, here's the backstory. I'm one of those typical comic geeks who enjoyed doodling Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman, etc in class or whenever else I got the chance. I even had dreams (when I was young) of drawing comics professionally. And some friends would compliment my doodles and I started to get it into my head that I was pretty good. As I got older though those ideas disappeared pretty quickly. Some of it had to do with some people (teachers, school councilors, other elders of some authority) bringing me down to Earth, that my art wasn't really that good and that I was better off going in to something that I could actually make a decent living at. Not that it all had to do with others, I never really put the work into my artistic endeavors. Not that I put much into my other endeavors either. So I eventually went the computer science route.

The Seed is Planted
So after spending 5 years doing an undergraduate degree (the co-op placements added a year to the 4 year degree) I started getting the drawing itch again. Ideas for comics had been floating around in my head for a while but I never really put them down on paper. But I suddenly had the urge to start thinking about doing a comic myself. So I started doodling new characters, different scenes, and jotting down story ideas from time to time. But I still didn't really think about putting anything together. So it got put away again as I finished my Master's and entered the "real world" (ie. getting a job, a place to live, etc). It wasn't until a couple years later that two friends who worked at the comic shop I go to told me about their comics that they had on DrunkDuck. I have to admit, I had flashbacks of friends in highschool complimenting my doodles and I thought "Hey, if they liked it I must be good. I can put something together, no problem." I even had the audacity to think it would be easy to put out something that people would be blown away by (I can imagine how any creator reading this is cringing and/or wanting to kick me in the nards right now). And posting them on the web for all to see? That seemed somewhat scary but also pretty simple enough. So I started working on Divine Leap, but I didn't tell anyone just yet. It was a few months later that I told one of my comic shop friends and he encouraged me just enough that I started posting some pages.

It Begins... With a Whimper and a Shot of Reality
So there I was, with my own webcomic started. I actually figured I'd read enough comics to know how to put something good out. And I had a few compliments come my way, mostly from the two or so friends that I had informed of my adventure in webcomics (including the friend that had encouraged me). But it wasn't long until I fully realized what an ignorant ass I was. First off, I had severely underestimated the time that would be involved, even in getting something so simple out there. I also quickly discovered that not even friends would keep coming back to a comic that was so amateurish, something with no backgrounds, lazy art, horrible lettering, poor inking, etc, etc, which meant investing more time to improve on some of it. And it wasn't like readers were clamoring to read any crap that was out there. You had to put something good out and then shout/advertise/network/sell yourself like hell for people to notice your work. I decided to skip that last part though and concentrate on at least making my comic good enough that I wouldn't be ashamed of it.

Improving (though I guess that's debatable)
So I began looking to improve. Mostly through books though a few people on DrunkDuck were kind enough to critique my work as well. So I went with Scott McCloud's books, Will Eisner's graphic storytelling books, books on writing for comics by Alan Moore and Peter David, a book on perspective for comic artists, the Art of Inking, lettering tutorials, the Wizard How To books, and a bunch of other stuff thrown in. There were plenty of times where I felt like giving up on it, after Chapter 1 I took a hiatus because I still wasn't happy with the quality of the comic and if I wasn't happy, and nobody was reading it, then why was I doing it. I eventually decided though that 1) I really wanted to finish the story I had set out to do and 2) I did enjoy making comics and the only way I was going to improve is if I saw this through. If I gave up on Divine Leap I figured I'd just give up on making any comics and that didn't seem acceptable to me. I love comics. I love reading them and I love making them, even though I don't have the talent to do it professionally. And I do believe I have enough talent and knowledge to put out something that isn't so painful to read. Something that at least a few people may enjoy.

In Conclusion
So why did I start making comics? Because I love comics and enjoy reading them, always have and always will, and I had the crazy notion that I could put out something that someone else would enjoy. Why do I continue? Because I still have the crazy notion that I can put out something that someone else would enjoy. Maybe not now but one day. I have no plan to try to make a living (or any money) out of it and I have the utmost respect for anyone who does because I now have a much better idea of what that entails. I still haven't got around to the advertising/shouting/selling myself thing, not sure if I'll ever have that conquered but if I can at least get a few readers and make a few friends along the way I'll be happy.

And that's why I do the webcomic thing. Now I have to go and prepare tomorrow's page, my 400th by the way.

Fan Expo Canada 2010 is done!

So it's back to work after the whirlwind that was Fan Expo Canada 2010. Talk about a crazy weekend. I tweeted throughout but here's a bit more details about my weekend (and my brother's as well for some of the stuff). Both of us went with premier passes and the Stan Lee package.

We weren't 100% sure what was going on for the opening on Friday so we got there around 10:30 thinking they'd process tickets at 12 and line us up again to enter the building. Long story short, the next few hours were spent waiting and confused but we did get in a little after 2. Our first stop was Stan Lee's booth where the Stan Lee package tickets came in handy (jumping us to the start of the line). To further take advantage of the early entrance I decided to snag a couple autographs like Dean Stockwell's (I'm a Quantum Leap fan, I had to ask him if he got to keep any of his wardrobe from that show) and Felicia Day (thanked her for linking to this blog back when I did the Codex sketch, she was really nice about it) and Amy Okuda. I also snagged artwork from Darwyn Cooke (who wasn't doing commissions but fortunately for me had a Hulk piece in his portfolio) and signed up for commissions from Jeff Lemire (of Sweet Tooth fame) and Craig Yeung (getting Hulk drawings from each of course). Then it was time for the Jim Valentino versus Wilce Portacio sketching duel. They were great, the moderator wasn't. Then off to the Stan Lee photo where again, the Stan Lee package helped us out a lot! Somewhere in there I also found time to say a how-do-you-do to Andy Belanger and Caanan both of whom I met at last year's Fan Expo. At some point I signed up for another Andy Belanger Hulk pic and bought Caanan's Max Overacts book. The night was finished with the Stan Lee meet and greet. It was a crazy time and I know it was very disappointing to some who didn't get the quality time they wanted with him but my brother was fortunate enough to get a few pictures with him and I shot some video as he walked by me so it was great for us.

Saturday was a slightly different day. I attended the "Future of Comics" panel in the morning, the Stan Lee panel at 1pm (again, Stan Lee package came in handy and Stan had the crowd in the palm of his hand), then somehow managed to make the Olivier Coipel versus Gary Frank sketching duel (great duel with a much better moderator than the other one I attended) despite the unbelievable crowding on that floor, and Darwyn Cooke's "how to" panel. Other than that it was browsing the Artist Alley (picking up some of the art I'd ordered) and merchandise sections. It was a crazy day at the Expo crowd-wise and I'm glad we brought food so we didn't have to leave the building. I'm also glad I didn't go for any celebrities that day.

For Sunday we decided we wanted to focus on Shatner. We had talked about it on Saturday and my feeling was that if we could get in early enough we could go straight for an autograph if he was signing right away. I thought about the photo but I figured it would be too crazy and I'd be way too exhausted by that point (5pm). Unfortunately he wasn't signing right away but after buying our autograph tickets I decided to spend the next 3 hours waiting for him. Brent wandered for a bit but I didn't really feel like it all that much. While waiting (and after getting to know those around us) we got to watch the celebrities be taken from one location to the next (we were lined up in a back area of the con). I have to admit that I sort of like celebrity sighting so it was cool to sit there and say "Hey there goes Adam West/Summer Glau/James Marsters/Felicia Day/etc". After the Shatner autograph (which was a whole lot of confusion and madness) I was pretty much done. I snagged a couple more things in Artist Alley (a Steve McNiven headshot of Nemesis and sketchbooks from Dale Keown and Jill Thompson) and a couple toys for my nephews and that was it for me.

And with that, it was dinner and a 9pm flight to get me home at 11pm. My brother and I both had a great time (I know others didn't and I do feel for them) and now it's back to the somewhat less exciting normal life of work and other stuff.

Comic Reviews for August 20th, 2010

I know it's been way too long since I posted here. And it's going to get worse, I'm finally making the move to stop monthlies altogether and just pick up the TPBs. But here are a few quick reviews of books I read recently.

Incredible Hulk #611 -- Great writing, amazing art, really good story. And the nice thing for me, you didn't have to be reading the World War Hulks stuff (that I didn't like) to enjoy this issue. One of the best Hulk issues I've read in a good long while.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley one shot -- I haven't been enjoying the Buffy series as of late and I'm not a big Riley fan so I was reluctant to pick this one up. I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. I thought it was better executed than some of the issues of the ongoing. Not sure I feel it's worth it though, it's really just a long discussion between Riley and his wife. Good characterization but doesn't really feel necessary as a full one shot.

The Man with the Getaway Face by Darwyn Cooke -- I really enjoy Darwyn's work and I thought the first Parker book he did was really well done. It wasn't really a genre that I'm particularly keen on but it was an enjoyable book to read. And I'd say the same about this book, very well done, enjoyable to read, makes me wonder what the next book (coming out this fall I believe) will be (as I know nothing about the original stories).

Next week is Fan Expo Canada and I'm really looking forward to it. I really enjoyed myself last year. I'm looking forward to seeing a few of the people I met last year like Caanan Grall and Andy Belanger. I also bought the Stan Lee package so that should be fun.

Sorry

Wow! Have I ever been neglecting this blog. I guess I just haven't had much to say that couldn't be said in 140 characters on Twitter. But now for a few ramblings that won't fit in there.

I've seen the "Are Webcomics Dead?" debate is building steam yet again with the iPad out, Zuda closing up (more or less), and the whole webcomic thing seeming to hit a lull. I think a lot of good things have been said in the discussion, even if there are no real answers. Here are a few of the highlights in my opinion:

Webcomics aren't really taking full advantage of the platform where as apps for the iPad do. But here's the thing for me, the more you take advantage of the platform the more expertise you require, the more time it takes to put out a comic (and a slowly updating webcomic is usually dead before it starts), the more costly it can be, and the more restricted your audience can become (when a comic is created specifically to work with the iphone, and I mean gearing everything like panel structure, layouts, and your narrative to that device, the reading on other platforms can suffer just as writing for a print comic will have issues when taken to the iPhone or even the iPad). I don't think there is an easy answer here.

The iPhone and iPad currently don't appear to be equal playing fields (from what I'm hearing, the validity of this may be debatable). On the one hand, you have the large companies who can afford to create their own apps jumping in while independents are a little slower or require help. ComiXology seems to be the winner here but there are reports that there are independent publishers waiting for their comics to get processed and posted while the big name companies get priority. Also, some independent books have been blocked for issues Apple had with their content while the big companies don't seem to be hitting this issue. So for a small publisher it seems going the iPhone/iPad route has some hurdles that may not be worth it in the long run when they can more easily get their products into a larger audience by going web based.

Now I don't have the numbers but I'd guess the number of webcomics aren't necessarily going down. But is the quality going up or down? The great thing about webcomics is pretty much anyone can get one started (so long as they aren't going the iPad/iPhone route at least). The obvious downside is that anyone can get one started. How do you find good ones? Most of the attempts include evaluation based on voting or by traffic but there's usually so many ways to cheat the system. So anyone looking through webcomics gets hit with a lot of crap. Yeah, I'll say a lot of them are crap but I don't want you to take that as me thinking those people should stop, you have to try in order to get better. Though the ones who aren't even trying to get better should probably stop.

Money. Everyone brings this one up, "how do I make money off my webcomic?" The answer doesn't seem to have changed in a long time. It's mostly merchandise (t-shirts, print versions, commissions, etc), some advertising (if you have a lot of traffic), etc. But what if your book doesn't really lend itself to merchandise? Then it's a bit tougher. And if you aren't willing to put the effort into these other things and just want to make your comic then you're most likely screwed money-wise. So what happens with a lot of the successful webcomic makers? They stop to make money. Either they get in with a publisher and start getting paid for print comics or more often they realize the webcomic is taking up so much time and going nowhere that they have to stop to focus on their paying job and family. There's often the promise of getting back to the webcomic eventually but let's not fool ourselves. Now I think a lot of people were hoping for things like the iPad or Longbox Digital to change that, I don't see that happening any time soon.

I don't know any answers to any of the questions that the discussion is bringing up. I don't even know if my observations are valid in any way. But I do enjoy the discussion. In my opinion, are webcomics dead? No. The web will always the be the most accessible way for creators to get their ideas out there and I don't see that changing. Are webcomics the future? With iPad opening the door even further web or digital comics will be a big part of it. But will we see much innovation or ideas blowing us out of the water? Well probably just like print comics we'll probably see the standard quo being most successful while the odd example of something really incredible will come out and Marvel and DC will mimic the hell out of it until we never want to see anything like it again.