What is needed in Irish comics???

dmcloughney

Hey, I have been a long time fan of comics and I have recently tried my hand at my own comic strip. It's set in a post apocalyptic world where gangs and war lords control the globe. Plenty of gore and violence and I'd like to think some pretty cool characters. Its called "Anarchy" and I hope to have the first issue out in the coming weeks and I'll try get it stocked in all good comic shops in the Dublin area. What I have seen of the Irish comic industry this kinda comic dos'nt seem to exist ( I may be wrong) and I think all action, blood and guts Irish comic is needed. Anyway I was wondering what all you avid readers out there would want to see in an Irish comic of this nature, and if you could give me any advice on promoting it. Thanks

Patrick Brown

What Irish comics need is a market. We're a small country with only a handful of comic shops, who have a fairly small client base. Printing comics and self-distributing them via that route is pretty much guaranteed to lose you money, and not get you that many readers. If you ever meet PJ Holden, ask him about The Simply Incredible Hunk.

If you're not expecting to make any money, at least in the short term, there is an alternative - the web. Sign yourself up for a free blog with Wordpress or Blogger or one of the others and serialise your comics there. Pimp your blog everywhere anyone who might be interested hangs out (like here), and on webcomic listing sites like Piperka and the New Belfry. Blogs have an rss feed, so anyone who likes your work can subscribe via a feed aggregator like Google Reader or Bloglines and be notified whenever you update.

Then, when you have enough material, you can print collected editions using print on demand services like Lulu or Ka-blam. You can distribute some of these to local shops, but you'll probably sell more online, and you'll make more per copy that way, because there's no shop taking a cut.

That's my advice, anyway. It's a model I'm attempting to follow myself. I've been serialising my Ulster Cycle comics, adapting stories from Irish mythology, at paddybrown.co.uk for about a year and a half. My first print edition, Ness, is in preparation. My new comic, The Cattle Raid of Cooley, starts tomorrow. I haven't made any money yet, but I haven't lost any either, and I have a modest and growing readership.

The other thing you want to do, whether you're working on the web or in print, is make sure you're on the Irish Comics Wiki.

dmcloughney

Thanks Patrick, some good advice there. I hav'nt checked out any web comics because 1) I did'nt know of any and 2)because I feel that comics should be something you can hold and flick through, but if its gonna get my work noticed its something I should look at. Checked out your website, looks good and I like the celtic themes keep it up. when i have a website or blog sorted i'll let you know, thanks again

ztoical

I think worrying about the market when your creating a comic is a little premature - you'll end up not being able to see the forest for the trees. Focus on making the work then worry about selling it. Its a common mistake not just within Irish small press but pretty much everywhere that someone will say "I'm going to make a comic and it will be ready tomorrow". People seem to think that because they pick up a comic once a month that thats how long it takes to produce a comic but that just isn't the case. Or you get alot of people saying "I'm going to create my version of Batman/X-men/spiderman etc etc and it will come out every month just like those book" but they've never put a comic together before in their lives yet are planning to jump right in at the deep end. Webcomics can suffer from the same things with people posting their first page and then saying they are going to post a new page every day and that normally lasts about 2 days. You also of course get the flip side of people who spend forever making one comic [this happens alot in animation, the world is full of the greatest animated shorts/films that will never be finished] The webcomics I enjoy reading the most aren't always the best made ones but they update when they say they are going to update and they keep the writing and artwork consistent.

It good to see a niche that you think needs to be filled but it should also be a story that you want to tell. Because small press is so creator driven you need to be passionate about a project to see it through. Don't go making a comic cus you think its going to sell millions – make it cus you want to make it.

Start off by setting a realistic goal - most writers will write a short story before starting on their first novel so aim to produce either a mini comic [anywhere from 4 to 12 pages] or a short comic [anywhere from 15 to 20 pages] that has a beginning, middle, and end or with a web-comic say your going to update every two weeks for X number of months and gradually move up from there.

Moving onto the actually production of the comic - I have a massive pet peeve with the lack of basic understanding of printing within Irish small press. The amount of times I've walked into FP in Dublin and seen a new Irish comic sitting out only to open it and find its been horribly laid out, pixelated due to being scanned at the wrong dpi, and the margins are different on every page, I just want to cry. You've spent god knows how long on creating this piece why the hell would you rush the print job? And I'm not taking about small photocopied zines here, these are comics that people have spent a decent chunk of money getting printed.

Learn the basics - AT LEAST 300 dpi is needed for print. Everything on the web is 72dpi, its no good for print. Learn what the difference is between trim, margin and bleed - I don't think you need to learn how to use programs like in-design or quark [thou if you can use them it saves so much time] but you should know at least how to scan work, correct colours, and save in the correct format for the printer [do not save as a psd for printers, pdf, tiff, really high quality jpg if your stuck, are good choices] and ask for a proof copy from the printers so you can double check things. And if you don't know how to do something ask – the internet is a god send for the small presser.

When you do come to sell your comic and are limiting yourself to just Ireland – don't just focus on comic shops. General comics have a small readership in this country but I find most small press comics have a built in readership outside of comic shops – if your doing something thats horror based there are horror clubs around the country that you can target, same with sci-fi and fantasy, if your doing something based on history there are loads of history clubs, bookstores, etc etc Just because you don't see a comic for sale in a bookstore doesn't mean they don't sell them, they've prob never had anyone ask them. Even big bookstores like Easons like to promote local publications and all the store mangers have the authority to buy stock to create a local interest shelf in their stores so go in and ask, the worest they can do is say no and your no better or worse off then you were. You're very limited relying on irish comic conventions cus there aren't many of them but there are hundreds of arts festivals and craft fairs. I sold loads of mini comics at the kilkenny arts festival last year to people who'd never read comics. My friend did a comic about james joyce that sold really well at Bloomsday in dublin a few years back. I picked the recent irish small press comic fugger up in Tower Records and you'd find copies of the shiznit in coffee shops round temple bar. A crowd in london called london underground comics just set up a stall at a local market in camden and have been selling well there for over a year now. So first make your comic, then when you see what your end product is, think outside the box with regards to places to sell it.

dmcloughney

Thanks ztoical, yeah I think ill focus on getting my comic finished and keep enjoying working on it b4 I start wrecking my head about trying to get it noticed. I must say my head has been taken outta the clouds big time, I thought I would be signed up by marvel in no time haha. Thanks for the great advice and when I have this first issue ready Ill let you all know and then start going about the channels you suggested.

Nathanual

Hi all...

Just my 2 cents....

Enjoying doing this is the main thing at this stage. Having your head in the clouds is great but keep the feet on the floor. I've worked with a few people now trying to create comics, most of the time it doesn't work out and you find yourself back at the start.

Have fun with this. It can be very fun, and you can meet the most interesting people.

The webcomics route is something I'm new to also, and I have to say it is great. It's the fastest way to see your work shared, it is free, and you get some great feedback. Don't be afraid to ask for comments from people.

Anyway, just enjoy your project and let it have a life. Boards.ie is a good place to get advice and encouragement from people in the same boat. Let us know how things are going.

All the best
Stephen