fuck yeah indie comics!

smoo:

Smoo #5 is available now for pre-order. This comic is about the year I spent living in Falmouth. I’ve been trying to write these stories for a long time now, and this is what finally came out. I’m very proud of it. I hope you like it too. Previews below.

Benefits of pre-ordering: As well as getting a slightly lower cover price, pre-ordering will (problems notwithstanding) enable you to get your copy before it officially debuts at TCAF at the start of May*. All being well, the comics will be sent out at the end of April.

Details: A5, 40 pages of pencil drawn comics.

UK: £3.00

Everywhere else*: £4.00

Click here to place your pre-order.

*TCAF attendees note: if you would like to pre-order the comic and collect it from me in person in Toronto, choose the ‘UK’ option when pre-ordering. It’ll save you P&P that way!

drawnout:

We don’t need completed pages, just your information, a summary of what your coming out story is, and a sample of your artwork. Spread the word and get those submissions in!

What we’re looking for: true-life LGBT coming out stories in comic book form for an anthology. We want the full queer spectrum represented! You can team up with another artist or writer, but the story must be true. Send submissions to drawnoutanthology@gmail.com.

signal boost! if you’re thinking of submitting something for Drawn Out, make sure to get it sent in soon!

mutantmagic:

 I made my first mini-comic, City of Champions, in 2005. I learned how to do it using an online tutorial by Jessica Abel. That tutorial is here, but is unfortunately broken at the moment. Jessica tells me that you can find the tutorial in her book Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, which is a great resource for beginning cartoonists on many levels.

Another great book for all things minicomics is Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? by Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd.

As far as tangible advice you can use right now, I have a only a few tips:

- custom sizes are a pain in the butt (requires cutting of paper and is hence more expensive).

- double page spreads are a pain in the butt (unless it’s in the middle of the book).

-keep in mind there’s a margin around the border where the printer can’t print (if you want the image to bleed off the page, you need to have it cut, pain in the butt, etc).

[-Sometimes pain-in-the-butt things are worth doing, of course.]

-MAKE A LITTLE MOCK-UP BOOK. This is so you can see what pages go where so when you fold it, they will appear in the correct sequence. For example, the first page and last page of the story will actually be on the same piece of paper. This is tricky to figure out, but making a little mock-up will be of immense help.

-Channel your inner punk kid and try to find a place to sneakily make your copies for free. It’s a time-honored zine tradition.

Just dive in. You’ll get the hang of it.

here’s some great tips from Jillian Tamaki about making minicomics! i know that i’ve posted the picture at the top before, and this advice is some great stuff to remember when printing your comics!

Marla is an on-going webcomic that updates in a full page, graphic novel style twice a week.  I enjoy it because it has a very different feel from your average webcomic, plus the art style(s) are very unique.

tonycliff:

So, Moebius passed away recently. Naturally, we’re seeing a lot of love pouring out for the man and his work. Very appropriate, very well-deserved. And it’s a shame that he’ll never hear all these great things people are saying.

Of course, this is Moebius we’re talking about, and he received no shortage of praise in his lifetime, but the praise is never so heartfelt and thick-on-the-ground as it is at a time like this.

I know I’m not the only “artist” who sometimes feels less-than-confident in his own work. It seems safe to estimate that the majority of artists are a bundle of insecure, anxious nerves. Okay, maybe not to that extreme, but self-confidence is not generally thought to be one of the key strengths of the artist. There are exceptions, of course, but neuroses run deep in this crowd.

What I’m suggesting is this: imagine your favourite artist were to die RIGHT NOW. Don’t worry - thinking about it won’t make it happen. Statistically speaking, it is unlikely that you have the power to kill people with your mind. Anyway, what would you say about that artist after learning that he/she had passed? Take that sentiment and share it with them RIGHT NOW. Or share it with the world at large. The worst thing that could happen is that you might make someone feel a little bit more awesome (because again, it is unlikely that you can kill with your thoughts).

[It’s possible you may interpret this as me fishing for compliments. You’ll have to take my word for it, but that’s not the case. Since wrapping up Delilah Dirk online, I have received a glut of very nice, very supportive emails. My ego-box is full for the year.]

i’m terribly sorry for my lack of posts over the last while. i’ll hopefully be remedying that in the near future, so be expecting more updates from here!

and as always, feel free to submit comics that you make or even that you’re just a fan of that we haven’t covered on this blog! i’d love to see your suggestions, and you can send them to http://fuckyeahindiecomics.tumblr.com/submit

and here’s a cover from that comic Purg, which you can read at purgcomic.com