Small Press Comics

Personalizing Characters To Appeal To The Reader

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Characters, such as a protagonist and a villain are important elements to make a successful story. Protagonists are the main characters, and they will face conflicts and complications before they find the solution or be successful. The obstacles they face come from the antagonists, opposite characters who obstruct the main characters from reaching their goals. Both are necessary to move the plot and to create scenes for your story.

Protagonists or heroes, as well as villains, need to be personalized in order to engage the readers.Is this new to you? Catch up http://jimkane.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/thursday-thoughts-the-importance-of-our-back-story/. You can also stay fairly general by determining what region of the world your character is from or how old they are.

One exercise to help you flesh out a character’s story is to take fifteen minutes and free write about the character. Some prompts to help get you started are “She/He always used to love…” or “If my best friend was in trouble, my first thought would be…”

Paying attention to detail without getting too bogged down by any one is essential. Overall, your characters will jump to life more vibrantly with every tidbit you offer the reader.

Creativity And The Art Of Humor

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The ability to find the humor in the mundane or even not so funny situations in life makes life comical. It takes a creative mind to view life in this way. It’s more than the silver lining. For example, comedian Jerry Seinfeld can find the humor in a conveyor belt, an airline flight and even varying ways of being laid to rest. This creativity is also essential in the retelling of the humor in such a way that others understand it and can laugh with the storyteller. This retelling cannot be successful without a sense of timing. This view of life and the power to make others laugh is impossible without creativity.

The writers and directors of sitcoms must show the actors how to deliver the humor in a normally regular situation. Sometimes, these behind the scenes people create an entire back-story in order to show the humor in an episode. The difference between a good sitcom and a bad sitcom is the caliber of the humor. If a writer is creative enough to find new and intelligent humor, rather than recycling and borrowing old material, the show survives. Without this new humor, brought about by creativity, the show ultimately fails.

What small press comic creators can learn from punk

www.smallpresscomics.com — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Small press comics are directly related to zinesgenerally self-published works with small circulation and a goal of exposure over profit. Most small press comics creators are aware that their properties are unlikely to end up on the front page of www.directstartv.com, but that’s part of the charm of these DIY publications. Many groups have produced zines successfully through the years, from Benjamin Franklin’s self-published literary magazine (distributed at a Pennsylvania hospital) to science fiction authors. One of the best-documented zine communities, though, can be found among punk fans and musicians. These creators set an example of how works can be cheaply distributed in the modern day.For example, PUNK Magazine was started in 1975 by John Holmstrom, Ged Dunn, and Legs McNeil. Besides attaching the term “punk” to the new wave of bands like the Sex Pistols and Iggy Pop, the magazine supported clubs like CBGB and Max’s Kansas City. The magazine also published comics, drawn by Holmstrom and future alternative comics celebrity Peter Bagge. The main purpose of these zines was to allow fans to comment and critique events and creators in the punk community. The technology of photocopying was instrumental in getting these zines out to audiences.Punk and other zines were often obtained through mailorder distribution outlets, some of which were founded in the 1970s and still exist today. Some zines have made it into bookstores, like Giant Robot and Maximum RocknRoll. Still others can be found in specialty zinestores or zine libraries devoted to special genres. Small comics publishers are sure to find an audience in these locations, or at one of the many zine conventions held around the country, including:

Alternative Press Expo
Boston Zine Fair
Richmond Zine Fest
Portland Zine Symposium
Twin Cities Zine Fest

“Emitown” re-energizes an indie comics trope

www.smallpresscomics.com — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:21:21 +0000

The autobiographical comic is nothing new in the world of independent comics. Most recently, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis captured critical acclaim and was turned into a film. Before that, Justin Green pioneered the form in the 1970s, and Harvey Pekar began his acclaimed series American Splendor (also turned into a film). Almost forty years later, how does one set their series apart? Emi Lenox’s Emitown is a good example of how to do just that.Emitown is an almost-daily webcomic found at emitown.blogspot.com. A typical post is one drawn page with an irregular layout. Lenox’s decision to publish online was obviously not based off of a desire to overuse digital art. Her penciled and inked pages pop with a real sense of style.However, the subject matter is what truly draws readers to her work (and has led to her inking a deal with Image Comics, which is publishing her first 400-page collection in November). Lenox calls the series a sketch diary, but instead of simply recording, Lenox’s pages interpret everyday events in imaginative and exciting new ways. For example, a few lines of song lyrics inspire a dizzying landscape of a boat sailing away on a river in “Send It Out to Sea,” while the news of her comics deal leads to a vision of her as Batgirl in “OMIGOSH.”Autobiographical comics often succeed or fail on how personal they get, and Lenox is not afraid to delve into uncomfortable emotions. She says that she simply expresses these in “more abstract ways,” such as the song lyric pages or metaphors. If you’re interested, be sure to pick up the collection when it hits on October 27.

Two new titles from Ho Che Anderson

admin — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 21:03:22 +0000

London-born comic artist Ho Che Anderson has made a name for himself with his stark black-and-white drawing style, which takes inspiration from film noir and classic horror. He has also defined a subject matter focusing on African-American culture and liberation, including illustrating the cover to Black Panther Huey P. Newton‘s autobiography, “Revolutionary Suicide”. Anderson’s art is on full display in the recent collection of his defining miniseries, “King”.”King” is subtitled “A Comics Biography”, but those expecting a children’s perspective of the great civil rights advocate will be greatly surprised. Anderson’s work has been acclaimed for returning an air of humanity to a man often considered a legend. The three 80-page volumes included in the new “Special Edition” were originally published between 1993 and 2002, and here they are joined by an author’s essay on making the book, sketches and scripts, deleted scenes, and a new story on race relations in modern times, titled “Black Dogs”. Anderson’s emphasis on the tragedies of King’s life doesn’t overshadow the man’s triumphs, but it is a potent reminder of how far there is left to go.“Sand & Fury: A Scream Queen Adventure” sounds like it could be the title of a ’60s comic book or monster movie, but Anderson’s influences here actually include psychological horror auteurs like David Lynch, Dario Argento, and Roman Polanski. The simple version of the plot involves a supernatural stranger and a series of killings, but as in “King”, Anderson makes his story a commentary on larger themes of isolation and ignorance. You can download previews of both books at their respective Fantagraphics sites. If you like what you read, you can also learn more about Anderson’s other work online, including an as-yet-uncollected “traditional superhero” story, “Wise Son: The White Wolf”.

Small-press comics by the numbers

pmirek — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:43:58 +0000

For someone new to the world of smaller comics, it can be difficult to know where to start. Diamond Comic Distributors has compiled a list of the top 25 by sales for May 2010. Here, I take a closer look at just a few, but hopefully you’ll be inspired to go and check them out for yourself!

Fathom: Blue Descent snagged the 1 spot. This is an introductory issue to a new series starring a female superhero named Aspen Matthews, who controls water. The series was originally created by the late Michael Turner, but the new series will be written by Ale Garza. Fathom has always had beautiful visuals, and this new series looks to continue the trend.
Simpsons Comics 166 was at 5 for the month. Not all fans of the show may know that there is in fact a comic, which provides new stories featuring these favorite characters. In issue 166, Homer decides to enter a bicycle race, despite having no clue how to win. Bart steps in to help, and chaos, of course, ensues.
Wolfskin: Hundredth Dream 2 came in at 11. This is the sequel to a series originally published in 2006-2007 and written by renowned creator Warren Ellis. It should appeal to fans of both history and fantasy with its depiction of a violent but thoughtful savage warrior.
Atomic Robo: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension 3 was in the 15^th spot. One of the lightest reads on the list, the main character is a robot created by Nikola Tesla who fights enemies ranging from Nazi scientists to vampires, as the name implies. The author, Brian Clevinger, also has a popular video-game webcomic, 8-Bit Theater.

And for something completely different:

The Sarah Palin: Rogue Warrior comic at 24 presents the politician in a variety of action hero poses. You won’t see Palin like this anywhere else. All hail comics!

How small is a small press?: Fantagraphics continues to grow

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:34:40 +0000

Fantagraphics is one of the most notable success stories in the world of alternative comics. Founded in 1976 by publishers Gary Groth and Mike Catron, legendary editor Kim Thompson joined in 1977 and was responsible for pulling the company out of bankruptcy by donating his inheritance to the company.Despite its early troubles, the company has survived to this day as a beacon of insight in the comics world. Its foremost publication is The Comics Journal, started in 1976. The monthly magazine treats comics as a fine art form and has garnered its share of controversy over the years, whether by knocking popular superhero titles or creating a definitive list of the top 100 comics.Since 1982, Fantagraphics has also been publishing its own comics. Many of these have become critically acclaimed, and one (Daniel Clowes’s Ghost World) has been turned into a movie. Others have showed their popularity by their long-running nature. 15 issues of Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library were published between 1993 and 2001, after which the series has been self-published. Love and Rockets by the Hernandez Brothers ran for 50 issues between 1982 and 1996, and ushered in a new generation of comic book fans who saw them as a new form of literature.In 2003, Fantagraphics was almost forced into bankruptcy when one of its distributors, Seven Hills Distribution, went out of business. However, fans helped bring the company back from the brink by an increased number of orders, especially of the new line of hardcover collections of classic strips like Peanuts and Popeye. In 2006, Fantagraphics opened an official store in Seattle, making it even easier for fans to find their distinctive products. Despite whatever obstacles it faces in the future, you can be sure Fantagraphics will be able to weather the storm.

How to get your own comic published

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:25:16 +0000

So you’ve done the hard part. You’ve come up with a superhero, or a detective, or a punk rocker, and you’ve written and drawn their adventures. Now is the time to relax, right? Wrong. You’ve still got one important task ahead of you: getting your book out in the world.First, you will have to come up with a way of printing it. You can use commercial stores like Fed Ex Office or, if you’re lucky enough to have access to a college or university, you can use their printing departments. Before you get to this step, you’ll also have to figure out what to charge for the book. This depends on a variety of things, like how long it is, how many you have available, and how much the printing cost. One thing to keep in mind is that people usually like paying with single coins, so make it a round 25 cents rather than trying to go lower.The next step is advertising and promotion. This is how you’ll convince buyers to pay for your comic instead of a book from a larger company. It’s important to make sure you’re reaching the right audience, so decide if you want to advertise in magazines with larger circulation, like Wizard and Previews, or a smaller, more independent newsletter. Of course, you can also always just tell your friends, and tell them to tell their friends, and tell them to tellIn today’s modern world, the internet can be your best friend as well. If you use a print-on-demand company like Lightning Source, you can even get your books onto the Holy Grail of sites, Amazon. Even larger independent presses like iUniverse and Xlibris make use of this model. These are just a few of the things you’ll have to consider before you get your book in the hands of the fans.

Starting small across the pond: British small press artists

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:20:58 +0000

While an image can be universal, comics that depend on the written word don’t always translate across cultures. When it comes to British indie books (or “stripzines” as they were originally called), though, it doesn’t take much to pick one up and understand. The only hard part is finding them!Usually the easiest way is by mail or websites, or at festivals like Oxford’s “Caption” event and London’s “Mini Comix Thing.” Writers who start small don’t always stay that way, though. Many have gained at least a moderate audience, both in their home and in America. A few are listed below.Eddie Campbell started writing autobiographical comics in the 1970s, with series like In the Days of the Ace Rock and Roll Club and Alec. He also created a comics character named Bacchus based off of the Roman god of wine. In 1989 he illustrated the graphic novel From Hell, a Jack the Ripper tale which gained acclaim with the release of the 2001 American film.Another artist who has seen his work transferred to film is Jamie Hewlett. That work was Tank Girl, Hewlett’s story of a punk girl who drives a tank and is in love with a mutant kangaroo. For some reason, the 1995 film didn’t catch on with a wide audience, but a later project didHewlett is also the co-creator of the animated band Gorillaz.Paul Grist is a creator who has worked with now-mainstream writers Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. However, Grist’s most popular work is still the stuff he wrote and drew himselfa crime series called Kane and the unique superhero series Jack Staff, which is now published by the American Image Comics. The series follows a very oldor immortalhero who has been fighting crime since the Victorian era.