Comic Lab
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Welcome to ComicLab: The podcast about making comics, and making a living from comics! If you loved Webcomics Weekly, you're gonna love this show: It's half shop-talk, half how-to, and half friendship. WE SQUEEZED IN THREE HALVES. It's tips and tricks and all the joys of cartooning as a pro. So pull up your drawing chair, put on some headphones, and join us while you draw!
Comic Lab
1w ago
We all have creative peaks and valleys. How can we maximize the good times and minimize the bad?
ON TODAY'S SHOW
Can you really maximize creativity?
UPDATE: Dave's TikTok prediction may still come true
UPDATE: 3-part series on Kickstarter coming to Pro Tips
Favorite comics from outside the US
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. Dav ..read more
Comic Lab
2w ago
How important is rebranding after a series of unsuccessful ventures? Also, how does one get their comic translated into another language — and why?
ON TODAY'S SHOW
Rebranding
Translating a comic
UPDATE: The importance of monthly Profit/Loss statements
UPDATE: Authors Equity
Planning for page turns
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 ..read more
Comic Lab
3w ago
It's our most useful, actionable, practical show yet! Stufffed with handy tips and constructive advice for cartoonists and comic creators!
ON TODAY'S SHOW
Pen names
UPDATE: Dave's Kickstarter at picklesbook.com
UPDATE: Patreon Welcome surveys
Honorifics, acronyms, and abbreviations in word balloons.
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 Webc ..read more
Comic Lab
1M ago
Dave has some thoughts on AI. And Brad hates to stretch. That's it. That's the show.
ON TODAY'S SHOW
Artificial Intelligence is going to force us to be more creative
How important is it to rest?
NOTE: The Kickstarter for Brad's new Evil Inc books ends this week! Time is running out!
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 ..read more
Comic Lab
1M ago
Kickstarter delivers on Discovery in a big way. So would it be wise to use it to replace our failing social media platforms?
ON TODAY'S SHOW
Using Kickstarter as social media?
UPDATE: NCS Reuben Awards 2024
UPDATE: Dave has "Still Got it!"
Posting a parody on Webtoon to gain notoriety
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 Kellet ..read more
Comic Lab
1M ago
TikTok and Instagram reels are moving to the forefront of social media. Is it time to learn video/animation so you can promote your webcomic?
ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...
Using animation to promote
UPDATE: Short Story Challenge
UPDATE: Eisner deadline
UPDATE: AI Art
A digital-exclusive eComic
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 Kell ..read more
Comic Lab
2M ago
A listener asks if they should write one big, successful comic or several mediocre ones. We have a bigger question: What makes you think you have a choice?! Also, it turns out the whole "Substack nazi" thing was yet another case of Platform Panic.
SPONSORED BY...
ComicLab is brought to you this week by the book "How Comics Were Made, a Visual History from the Drawing Board to the Printed Page." Comics historian and ComicLab fan Glenn Fleishman has spent years researching the history of newspaper comic strip production and reproduction and is bringing his expertise to this printed work fu ..read more
Comic Lab
2M ago
BE ADVISED: We'll be discussing issues like death and dying in this episode. Dave turns fifty years old, and it has us talking about cartooning in the second half of one's life. And we're not the only ones asking existential questions. Our first question asker is worried that they're not going to have time to work on all of their ideas in one lifetime! Finally, we break down Wacom's troubling use of AI art in a promotional image!
ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...
Dave turns 50 years old
Too many ideas for one lifetime
ComicLab 500
UPDATE: Wacom uses AI art in a promo
You get great rewards when you join ..read more
Comic Lab
2M ago
We often advise that beginners write a few short stories to sharpen their comics-making skills before they tackle that 200-page epic that they're burning to produce! But how do you write a short story? Today's show offers an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide! Use this blueprint to participate in the ComicLab Short Story Challenge! PLUS... if it's a benefit to list your comic on as many eStores as possible, why is it a bad idea to do the same with crowdfunding platforms?
ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...
How to Write a Short Story
The ComicLab Short Story Challenge
Using pre-readers
The More the Merrier ..read more
Comic Lab
3M ago
As last year came to a close, it was becoming very clear that social media has been failing to deliver what we traditionally relied on it for — reaching our current readers and finding new ones. So this year Brad is trying out a new platform — Subsack. But that comes with a whole new learning curve — and more than a few ethical issues to wrestle with!
SHOW NOTES: Two points of clarification. First, the question is raised whether a user can export an email list from Substack. This is, indeed a feature. Secondly, Dave asked Brad which of his social media platforms has the biggest user base. Brad ..read more