The single most important advice for new creators…
There is a sea of advice out there for getting started in indie comics. We are surrounded by people on social media that are doing what we wish we could be doing. Some of them being as helpful as they can sharing tips and hard won advice, some puffing themselves up to appear bigger and more successful than they are, and those that want to take advantage of hopeful young creatives ready to sell you their “proven method for increasing your kickstarter total with their secret list of super backers”.
Some advice is universal, while some is situational.
Just get started making comics, ‘finished’ beats an unfinished ‘perfect’ everyday.
Put your phone away at a con and interact with the crowd.
Start building an Email list of people interested in your work.
Start small. Make short stories not your 100 chapter masterpiece.
Sometimes it is great advice that can apply to anyone… While sometimes it only applies to certain people in certain situations. For instance, the biggest advance in my career was making friends with the letterer on the first indie book I worked on as the inker. We became fast friends, and when he started showing off pinups I did for him, people started hiring me for their books. That advice only really worked for ME in that particular situation. You can’t just message him and ask to be his friend and expect him to start handing you jobs. (Trust me, people have tried! You notice I no longer mention his name in that story.) BUT, “be the kind of guy people WANT to work with” is universal advice that can benefit anyone.
My best advice for new creators is to start investing in the indie comics community. Get involved in discussions, start watching and commenting on podcasts, start making friends, and most of all, START INVESTING IN KICKSTARTER BOOKS!
You don’t have to be rich, setting an affordable budget of just $10-$20 a month will lead to many benefits.
Read and learn: you will read so many interesting indie comics. Learn what works, what doesn’t, and find inspiring new creators to follow.
Connection: reach out to the creators that move you. Everyone loves to hear people enjoy their work.
Be specific: “I love the way your use of color intensified the emotional impact of that scene” will have a bigger impact, and make your interaction more memorable.
A nice compliment can make a creator’s day… an interesting, thoughtful comment just might make a new friend.
Kickstarter master class: you will see what works with successful campaigns and what doesn't. Study the layout of the campaigns, the videos, the sales pitch. Learn what resonates with backers and use it to improve your own pitch and campaigns.
Community investment: Regularly investing in other creators shows you are a committed member of the indie comics world, interested in seeing everyone succeed. Nothing says “I’m only out for myself” like seeing “3 created projects 0 backed projects” under a profile name.
First impressions: Most people that stumble across our campaigns will have no idea who we are, those little numbers under our profile name are the first thing they will see, we want it to show we are an active, vital member of the indie comics world.
Start now: looking to start a new professional profile in your business name? Start backing other creators immediately, so the new profile has some credibility in the community when you are ready to launch that first book.
School of Fish art stream returns!
Join us LIVE at 3:30 EST 2:30 CST Wednesday afternoon as we welcome Esteban Carrero of Ultra Comics as the new cohost for School of FIsh Art stream as we walk through a step by step tutorial on building advanced reusable assets for creating breathtaking background buildings in Clip Studio Paint EX. https://youtube.com/live/2W5aD1SsZN4?feature=share
Fans are loving issue 2 of Alice: Lost In Wonderland, and the messages are rolling in!
And just as quickly as issue 2 shipped out, issue 3 launches August 4th! Sign up to follow the prelaunch page today, and help us unlock prelaunch rewards. We are half way to unlocking the first reward at 50 followers that will send a FREE 3’ sticker of the White Rabbit to all first day physical backers!
Sign up to be notified on launch today and help us unlock more FREE swag when issue 3 launches August 4th at www.gomrfish.com
I gotta say, using a local printer like Arkansas Graphics in Little Rock has been a game changer! I sent them the files yesterday, and stopped by this afternoon to check out the proof copy and double check everything.
Everything looks AMAZING, and even the secret codes hidden in the background that may or may not lead to a secret message from one of the characters worked perfectly! The colors are all bright and gorgeous.
The printer assured me they will be printing the books in the next day or two, so I could have them in my hands this weekend! We need to get the last of the surveys filled out so I can order the right sized shirt blanks. we have almost 90% filled out, so THANK YOU all so much, and for the 10% left, fill them out as soon as you can, so I can start shipping rewards ASAP.
The hottest new issue of The Sentinels is down to the last 24HRs to go, and is only $180 away from goal! I am SO proud of the work we did in this issue, and I really think you will enjoy it. If you haven't backed yet, go check it out now HERE. And if you've already backed, please give it a share on social media and help get the word out! Thanks so much for all of your support, you guys rock out loud!
Will we be able to unlock this awesome add-on T-shirt in time featuring the Rabbit wanted poster that just might have several hidden secrets in it?! Times running out.
we are only 10 backers away from unlocking the next backer milestone reward and getting ANOTHER freebie for all Physical backers! Can you help us break through that wall by sharing the campaign one last time?
Only 4 days left to get your copy of Alice: Lost In Wonderland issue 1 & 2 which was recently described as "If Blade Runner and Mad Max had a baby with The Wizard of OZ!" and I gotta say... they NAILED it for this 32 page, full color, 6 issue sci-fi action adventure series intended for 17+ audience!
Alice was swept away as a child by the time traveler known as "Rabbit" in an attempt to save her life from time cultists... when the danger had passed, he couldn't find her home dimension. He did his best to raise her and now she is the deadliest bounty hunter in the inter-dimensional rift called Wonderland!
Here is a sneak peek at a page I JUST finished today showing a glimpse of the Crucible, the home-world of the time worshiping cultists The Nexus Order!
physical and digital books, the entire Mr Fish Comics back catalogue are all available as add-ons along with the 17" x 11" glossy poster of Rabbits map of Wonderland! You can back and share the campaign by clicking HERE.
The most action packed issue of The Sentinels yet is LIVE now! This exciting all ages friendly super hero comic brings all the action and emotion of the bronze age comics you love with some of the best public domain heroes of all time. This is one of the best books I have ever worked on, and you can see why in these amazing preview pages.
Here’s a first look at Rabbit's complete map of Wonderland, the inter-dimensional rift fromAlice: Lost In Wonderland, showcasing its diverse territories and locations!
Follow Alice's journey to find the White Rabbit with this map, available as either an 11" x 17" glossy poster or a desktop wallpaper on the kickstarter LIVE now through May 30th.
I personally just backed HellHole Quarterly - PAY WHAT YOU WANT! and I wanted to let you all know about this wild looking book and their outside the box "pay what you want" plan! The unusual stylized artwork really captured my imagination and made me need to know more... and the pay what you want plan has me intrigued! Do you think this is something that will catch on? Sure, some folks will just pay a dollar... but I also know a lot of folks would pay more than our normal asking price just to be supportive. I can't wait to see how this pans out in the end. it's a GREAT idea to get the book into more hands.
Hellboy meets Sin City in a twisted noir tale set in the flaming abyss of Hell. PAY WHAT YOU WANT! The base price for this comic is $1 (plus shipping). When you make your pledge you can add bonus support if you wish. It's a 48 page, perfect bound, black and white, manga-size book. You get to decide what this comic is worth.
This is an experiment. The goal is try and get this comic into as many hands as possible. The PAY WHAT YOU WANT model is a way to include everyone, and to give each person the freedom to contribute according to their means and preferences.
If you just want to pay the minimum to see what this comic is, that's fine. We're happy to welcome all contributions on all levels. That you for supporting this book however you can.
A 48 page serial pulp noir comic. A stylish, edgy, crime mystery set in the fires of Hell. You decide the price! Check out the campaign HERE.
