For the last five years Neal Von Flue has taught comic illustration to kids. Maybe you can too!
In this feature, he writes about the importance of teaching comics to kids — how it's in our best interest to get young people aware and interested in comics as a medium while they have a passing interest in it as a genre.
In years past (2004, 2005) we undertook the monumental chore of picking out the biggest headlines of the year. This year, I took another swing at it. So without further adu, here’s the biggest webcomic headlines of 2007.
If I missed a story you think was key to this year, please post it in the comments to this article.
"A Road Less Traveled" is a series of articles by Tim Broderick detailing the path to publication of his graphic novel, "Cash & Carry" (based on his webcomic Odd Jobs, featured at Moderntales and Timbroderick.net). In this month’s article, he discusses crafting the synopis for a graphic novel.
In previous installments, Tim reviewed how he signed with a traditional publisher for his graphic novel and how he constructed his ultimately successful query letter.
Whereas writing a query letter is a creative challenge, writing a synopsis of your story is an exercise in patience.
In my first column, I took a look at the various previous attempts to define what exactly is a comic. The fact that so many people have struggled to define comics demonstrates that we have yet to do so successfully. Well, if everyone else is trying, why not me?
In order to answer the question “Is this a comic?†we need to apply four criteria: Intent of Creator; Audience Experience; Closure & Synthesis; and Use of Visual Language. Only if a work meets all four of these criteria can it be considered a comic.
In this month's Panels & Pictures, Derik A Badman discusses the idea of constraint in creative work and a number of comics examples in print and around the web.
Last month Tim Broderick, began a series of articles detailing the path to publication of his graphic novel, "Cash & Carry" (based on his webcomic Odd Jobs, featured at Moderntales and Timbroderick.net). In his first article at ComixTalk last month, Tim covered how he signed with a traditional prose publisher as opposed to a comics publisher. This month Tim dives into the specifics of how he constructed his ultimately successful query letter for "Cash & Carry".
One day a few months ago, at a dinner with several of her local Chicago authors, my new publisher talked about a presentation where she discusses the ins and outs of getting published – including the best query letter she’d ever gotten. She revealed then that it was mine.
Is this a comic?
Admittedly, that is probably the last question a reader consciously asks themselves when reading a comic. Yet, subconsciously, most readers have already asked and answered that very question each and every time they view a piece of work.
In part one of a series, Patric Lewandowski takes a look at some of the most well-known efforts to define "comics" and explains what’s wrong with them. Lewandowski then introduces a new approach to defining a comic. In part two of this series, Lewandowski will then explain this new approach in greater depth.
In this month's Panels & Pictures, Derik A. Badman shares some examples of color use in a variety of comics, with an emphasis on the use of shifting color palettes within the same work.
I thought things were changing. Apparently I was wrong.
When Zuda released its contracts last month, I think they showed that the major comics publishers are more interested in acquiring properties than publishing books. As Gary Tyrrell over at Fleen said about the contracts, "Webcomics can do better and so can you."
Believe that! Contracts like Zuda’s play off the insecurities of creators — you’re the harshest critic of your work. Put that aside. If the comics industry refuses to change the way they operate, go to the publishers who will give you a fair deal.
I have a book coming out in January with a small but respected publisher, and receive compensation comparable with others in the prose publishing industry.
I thought things were changing. Apparently I was wrong.
Cover art by DC Simpson
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