I started posting my new comic to Instagram this week. Browsing my feed, it consisted of memes. I couldn’t find my friends or other accounts I follow. It was nothing but meme accounts. And I wasn’t sure why I was being shown most of this until I noticed that friends...
Advice
Draw Comics Everyday (Or You Won’t Draw Them At All)
It's been awhile. How's your summer going? I've been heads down working, trying a new schedule. I started reading Jessica Abel's new book Growing Gills. I've subscribe to her email list a long time ago and have been absorbing her advice. In one of her recent emails, I...
Fear of Dying…Content
I’ve been thinking about reboots. Sequels. Relaunches. We are living in a culture of constant recycling, remixing, never dying content. Zombie content. And I find myself wishing for new, original voices and stories. Of course, there is the argument that nothing is...
In Defense of Resting
When I get on Facebook, I see posts from other cartoonists exclaiming how busy they are, and how tired they are. And if you also work in tech or in a startup, you know that being tired is a badge of honor. It was for me too. I’ve been working in web for 20 years now....
I Don’t Hate Mainstream Comics
Something that sticks in my craw is the idea that I hate mainstream comics. Let me back up. I have an indy comic pedigree. I have an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies. I won the Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini Comics. Fantagraphics has released my work. I...
Making A Living To Support Your Comics
Working full time as a cartoonist is a wonderful dream. Some people get a chance to do it. But it’s a hard life. As a successful cartoonist told me once, “sometimes I make $100,000 a year, and sometimes I make $10,000. You just never know.” And that’s a successful...
Keep Working on Comics
I love starting my morning catching up with Tom Spurgeon's excellent site, The Comics Reporter. He just published a great interview with Sammy Harkham, and one part in particular really hit home for me: I am genuinely in awe of anybody in the comics industry who makes...