Comic Lab

Today's episode is sponsored by DreamHost — your first step in owning and controlling your own work! Artificial Intelligence continues to loom large in the comics world. New projects purportedly written and drawn entirely with bots are garnering mass attention. Is the breathless exaltation justified — or does it come down to novelty?ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...AI noveltyDoes a certain level of success bring a sense of complacency?UPDATE: Commission scam to look out forUPDATE: Dave's Writer's BlockUPDATE: Brad's comic makes Reddit's front pageLeveraging Myers-Briggs personality type for creativityYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave K

Writer's Block often boils down to a crisis of confidence. How do you conquer that? Also, a listener asks for advice on a hybrid comic — half sequential art and half prose. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Writer's BlockUPDATE: Joy-con mapping for your digital tabletHybrid comicsYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

This week, we're joined by Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz ("War and Peas") to talk about their unique collaboration. Also, will a wordy title hurt your comic's chances of success?ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Wordy titlesPublic-facing Patreon numbersUPDATE: Silicon Valley Bank crashUPDATE: A DIY digital-drawing tablet controllerInterview with Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz ("War and Peas")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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

A listener asks about doing a practice project — and Kickstarting it later. Also — more than one hundred years of comics history tell everything we need to know about how comics companies treat creators. (And it ain't good.)ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Practicing to be proComic History - corporate comicsUPDATE: Brad won the argument on ECCCUPDATE: when 250k viral moment tells you that this is a marathon not a sprintMarking an anniversary with a bookYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

We're talking comics with our special guest Karl Kerschl, who talks about working in both corporate and independent comics, and prepping the Kickstarter campaign for "Death Transit Tanager."ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Working in both corporate and  independent comicsPrepping a KickstarterShipping from CanadaLaunching a Kickstarter on Patreon vs Kickstarter pre-launch notificationsSocial-media strategy for KickstarterJuggling multiple projectsPitching a comic to Images ComicsCollaborating with another artist on a projectYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple Podca

This week, we're talking comics with Special guest Lar deSouza, the artist of  "Least I Could Do" and "Looking for Group". Also: is it time to hire a marketing manager for your social media accounts?ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Hiring a marketing manager for social mediaLar deSouza ("Least I Could Do" and "Looking for Group")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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

This week, we're talking comics with Caitlin McGurk! She's the curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, and she's got some terrific stories about her work there.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...The Marvel Method of Comics was bonkers!UPDATE: "The Mysteries" - Bill Watterson and John KaschtUPDATE: 50 minutes of book-printing advice in ProTips #270UPDATE: Twitter's 2Fa isn't as bad as you're being toldUPDATE: Reddit's IPOUPDATE: New YouTube CEO is pro NFTCaitlin McGurk, The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum.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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Liste

Thumbnailing is one of the most often-repeated pieces of comics advice — and yet almost everyone skips this step. We're gonna talk about it anyway. Also — is there a hidden problem with a "fake it 'til you make it" attitude?ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Comments on Scott AdamsThumbnailingDrawing hands and feetUPDATE: TaxesFake it 'til you make it?Continuity errorsYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

Should an independent comics artist publish "floppies" — those 20-30 page stapled comics similar to those that Marvel and DC publish monthly? Also — will the occasional "wholesome" comic ruin your image?ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Should I be embarrassed about my floppy?Wholesome comicsUPDATE: Eisner AwardsUPDATE: SDCC Panel DiscussionsWhere to place house adsInverted word balloon tailsYou will 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

Our special guest Scott Kurtz (PvP, Table Titans, Mort) joins us to answer questions from the ComicLab community!ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Studio layoutHow to create different personalities for charactersWhat to do if your art doesn't match your writingYou 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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

Cory Doctorow's theory of enshittification describes how platforms die: "First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die." We'll talk about that in detail and answer a ComicLab listener who wonders what webcartoonists can do to participate in Free Comic Book Day.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Cory Doctow's theory of EnshittificationUpdate: Dave's KickstarterWhat can webcartoonists do for Free Comic Book Day?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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator o

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee.Special guest Kevin McShane talks about his return to comics, his "boring" approach to creativity, dancing on TikTok, and A.I. comics.One quick show note: Our recording software failed to capture a clean recording of Kevin's microphone for the first 15 minutes of the show. Our audio engineer Matt made a tremendous effort toward improving it, but you may still hear a small difference in the opening moments of the episode.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Interview with Kevin McShaneYou 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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSp

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee.Is it "cheating" to use copy-and-paste in your comic? The answer may surprise you! Then we're joined by Special guest David Betancourt, the comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Copy... Paste... Perfect!UPDATE: D&D using Creative CommonsUPDATE: Getty Images is suing Stable DiffusionInterview with David Betancourt, the comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post.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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee.Everyone seems to be wondering where to post/publish their comics. So we'll talk about what it really means to "own and control your own work." Then we're joined by Ellen Woodbury of "Pizza Cake Comics."ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Where should I post my comic?UPDATE: D&D OGL 1.1UPDATE: class action lawsuit vs AI artAfter a pause — retool?Interview with Ellen Woodbury from Pizza Cake ComicsYou 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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost. Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee.It's often hard to get creativity started, but how do you turn OFF creativity when it's distracting you from your main project??ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Turning OFF creativityStories from quitting your day jobUPDATE: I have *tried* to incorporate a.i. into my sketch ideation phase. It. Is. Useless. For. Me.My partner is more successful than meYou 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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

Today's show is sponsored by the Lucy Cavendish College, the fastest growing constituent college of the University of Cambridge. We'll be talking to  Dr. Joe Sutliff Sanders, an American scholar of the genre, launching the first world-class collection of graphic novels at Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College.Make a donation to the graphic-novel library.Get in touch with Dr. Joe Sutliff SandersALSO ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Finding a good writing classWorking for a company that asserts copyrightUPDATE: Comicraft's "Hagrid Rule"UPDATE: Dave's new apronMaking style changesYou 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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

To celebrate what would have been the legendary cartoonist's 100th birthday, the Charles M. Schulz Museum invited Dave and Brad to come to Santa Rosa, California, to talk about the influence Sparky still holds over today's comics artists.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...The influence of Charles SchulzQ&A from the audienceYou 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 is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.Listen to ComicLab on...Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsPandoraStitcher

It's the first show of our SIXTH YEAR of podcasts! As we head into 2023, we're going to make some bold predictions of what the next 365 days have in store.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Patreon will use new features to slowly entice people away from the Founder's levelTikTok will be banned in the USClip Studio will unveil such amazing features that no one will complain about the paltry subscription priceWebtoons  will become a major player in print publishingTwitter will complete its fade from its position of prominenceDC comics will implodeNo one will be using MastodonGPT 3.5 will be used for brainstorming and co-writing scripts using AI writingWe'll see the first AI writing-art webcomic... and it will be goodCopyright law will catch up to AI artBlockchain is going to be reintroduces with new branding/marketingOriginal art will become more valuable.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

At the beginning of the year, Dave and Brad made some bold predictions — involving Kickstarter, Substack, NFTs, blockchain, and more! As they bid a fond farewell to 2022, they take a moment to see how many they nailed... and how many they failed.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...NAILED IT: Kickstarter will back off blockchainFAILED IT: Patreon will launch a Kickstarter competitorNAILED IT: Cryptocurrency and NFTs will recede... for different reasons!NAILED IT: Substack creators who took the signing deal in 2021 will grapple with their "Day 366"FAILED IT: Comic conventions will attempt a comeback... and have disappointing resultsNAILED IT: Paper shortages and shipping delays will continue to vex creators' ability to create physical goodsFAILED IT: Because of the preceding prediction, Patreon's base of creators will take another big jumpYou 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.

Today's show is being brought to you by Comicraft. Mark your calendars — their New Year's Day Sale is right around the corner. Each font will be priced to ring in the new year — $20.23!We often talk about achieving success, but this week, we tackle another question — What if it actually happens?? Success rarely shows up looking like we thought it would.ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...Comicraft New Year's Day SaleWhat if I succeed?Different fonts for different voicesHow to simplify one’s artReading the Webtoons TOSWhich is more important — frequent or consistent?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.$10 — Gain access to the ComicLab livestreamed recording sessions (including an archive of past livestreams), plus $5-tier rewardsBrad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Dr