Book recommendation time!

How To Make Webcomics

So, Peter loaned me this last week and I totally forgot about it in my bag, but last night and today I skimmed through it (skipping mostly the technical parts about image formatting and things which I figured I would dink with later). Full disclosure, Peter: Tiger rubbed her face all over it while I was reading. I'm pretty sure that means it's hers now but I think I can sneak it back out of the house and distract her with Scott McCloud's Reinventing Comics.

It's a really good book for everyone who wants to think of their webcomic in terms of potential business and promotion. The four creators involved are the webcomics giants behind PvP, Starslip Crisis, Sheldon, and Evil, Inc. If anyone knows how to monetize and draw readership, it's these fellows, and they make a lot of really good points about the work, the sales, the cons, and even just how to be an approachable creator. I'd definitely say it's aimed more at people who produce the gag-a-day type strip rather than someone whose webcomic is aimed at telling long-form stories (such as Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell or our own Lars Brown's North World), but most if not all of the principles still apply.

I'd definitely recommend either finding a copy at your local library or buying one online or from your local comics distributor (it is published by Image comics).

Happy reading, and if you find a book you think is worthy of the group's attention, why not bring it to the blog?

M@