Seven Pointers on Comic Production

 Comics, Do-It-Yourself  11 Responses »
Nov 302005
 

by Emily Pohl-Weary

Aaaar! Ye'll want the DPI to be at least 600!Everyone has a graphic novel inside them. A picture paints a thousand words, right? It’s easy to be seduced by the old truism. But it’s not as easy to produce a 24-page comic, especially not if you’re the kind of person who wants your work to actually look good.

I publish Kiss Machine magazine, so I thought it would be simple to turn my hand to publishing my indie comic, Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate, with illustrator Willow Dawson. I didn’t realize how steep the learning curve would be.
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My Evil Comic Book

 An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil, Comics, post-Rapture, Publishing, The Bold Explorers, Therefore Repent!  7 Responses »
Nov 232005
 

Mummy and Raven and Dog, tooSo what would you do if the Rapture, the biblical end of the world as foretold in Revelation, came to pass? Raven and Mummy go on a roadtrip! To read the 24 page comic for free go here.

The backstory: a year ago, when An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil came out, I posted one entry a day to the faux blog. On it was an online poll that asked readers if they thought the character Lilith was really a demoness or just delusional: I said that I’d write a spin-off story depending on how the vote went. Of the 500 people who weighed in, 55% of you thought she was unholy rather than unhinged.

Supernatural, then.
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Efficient Media Outreach

 Do-It-Yourself  8 Responses »
Nov 182005
 

Shave seconds off your trip!So my pal Sean is the creator of the TTC Subway Rider Efficiency Guide: a small booklet that helps you plan which car on the subway to get on so that when you get off, you’ll be at the exit stairwell. He got a lot of media attention for this fascinating and obsessive project and he’s very generously offered to share all the things he learned during the process of media outreach which (true to his nature) he extensively catalogued as he went along.

While media outreach is only one part of promoting a project, it’s one that a lot of people find intimidating. He’s broken down a lot of the key things in a very approachable way. Check it out and feel free to add your own tips or questions in the comments.

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Mario’s Pain

 Movies, Pleasure Circuit Overload  Comments Off
Nov 102005
 

Mario at the doctors.Novel Amusements #5, my DVDzine, is available online now. [UPDATE: Sold out.] This issue’s theme is “Games and Shames,” and it’s the biggest issue yet: 85 minutes of short vids, two digital toys to play with, and comes with a 16 page booklet with interviews with the creators. Click for a close-up of the front and back covers, featuring art by Shannon Gerard.

I’ve got two vids on it, Yoga Deathmatch and the brand new Mario’s Pain. To watch the played-out plumber talk about his back problems, click on through.
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Enter Early, Enter Often: Do-It-Yourself Grant Writing

 Do-It-Yourself  3 Responses »
Nov 022005
 

diygrants-thumb.jpgI’ve received five grants in the past eight years. Amounting to about $50,000, they’ve allowed me to take some time to work in different mediums and build community resources instead of focussing solely on making money through publishing books. The grant system isn’t perfect, but overall I am a big believer in it — I wrote an article a few months back on free money.

A lot of people have asked me about this over the years, and while I don’t think there’s any trick to grant writing, I do think there’re certain strategies that have helped me.
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