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So you want to make comics. A lot of people do, but only a few are ever lucky enough to see their stories get into print. There are few storytelling mediums as visceral and exciting as comics, and nothing as satisfying as seeing your own stories come together and entertain an audience, so if you are thinking about creating comics, here are some points to remember along the way.
How do you get started creating comics? The best thing to do is simply make comics. All you really need is a piece of paper and something to draw with, whether it's a pencil, or a pen, or a brush, or some combination of all of those or any other art supplies you can muster to create a story in words and pictures. 
There are numerous books that will tell you a lot about how to make comics, but usually those books are skewed to creating the sort of comics that the creator of the book is known for. If you're looking to be the very best comics creator you can be, the best way to achieve that is just to assemble your tools and start creating stories. Do your best to improve your craft, whether it's writing, drawing, or both. Tell stories that have the most personal meaning and importance to you as a human being, whether they are autobiographical or fictional.
It's a truism in comics creation that everyone has to create 1,000 bad pages before they start creating good ones. The more comics you create, the better a feel you'll have for what types of stories and storytelling modes work best for you. When you feel you're ready for some input and criticism, show the comics you've created to trusted friends, and let them know you want their honest assessment of what you've created. Listen to both the positive and negative feedback, and understand that every comment you receive on your work will help you better understand your own creative process and how to improve it.
Compare your work to professionally published comics in similar genres; if you feel your work has honestly reached a level where it might be ready for public consumption (and this evolution could take months or years), then you may be ready to assemble a portfolio of your best pages (editors and publishers want to see examples of your storytelling, not pin-ups and poster shots) and bring them with you to comics conventions in your area. If there are no conventions in your area, check the websites of publishers you are interested in working with, learn their submission guidelines, and follow them to the letter. Be warned that some publishers are not interested in receiving unsolicited submissions, while some are eager to find new talent.
It is crucial that you educate yourself about the pitfalls of working in comics. Since the very beginnings of the industry, creators have suffered low pay, loss of creative rights, few or no benefits, and other unfair practices. Be sure you always watch out for your own best interests. If a publisher offers you a contract, go over it with your own attorney to be sure your interests, and the interests of your family, are protected in the longterm. Corporations will always protect and promote themselves over the interests of any individual creator. This doesn't mean "don't work for corporate comic book publishers," it just means "know what you're doing before you do." An informed comics creator is far better prepared for a long career in the industry with fewer heartbreaks along the way.
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Have a question for Alan about comic books? Send him email at alandaviddoane AT gmail.com and he will answer it in a future post.
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I'm Alan David Doane, husband and father of two. I've been a radio broadcaster since 1985 and a writer about comics and graphic novels since the mid-1990s. I created and maintain the website Comic Book Galaxy, which first debuted 1 September 2000, and I have written The ADD Blog for Comic Book Galaxy since 2002. I am also a contributing writer for The Comics Journal, and the former reviews editor for Silver Bullet Comic Books (now Comics Bulletin).
I've also contributed editorial material for Alan Moore's Yuggoth Cultures collection from Avatar Press and consulted with other creators and publishers on a number of projects.
See more of my iTaggit blog posts. |
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