Comic Book Community – Creators

After spending last Saturday in a comic book store for Free Comic Book Day, I started thinking about the Comic Book Community. What it means to be a member of the Comic Book Community whether it’s as a fan, creator, publisher or retailer. I thought it would make an interesting topic to talk about my ideas of each of these components of the Comic Book Community and get your ideas as well. This week I begin this four week series with the creators.

Comic books have had a public relations nightmare for comic book creators. The original comic book creators fought the stereotype that a comic book artist or writer was not a “real job”. When Stan Lee first started out in the industry, he didn’t use his real name because he wanted to be able to use it if he ever wrote the “Great American Novel”. The 60s Batman increased the popularity of comic books in pop culture, but it further solidified the idea in people’s heads that comics were a more juvenile form of entertainment. At the same time comics were making a decidedly different statement with the Underground Comix movement of Robert Crumb and others tackling the very adult subjects of politics, sex and drugs. Comics continued to diversify. However, the stigma that comics are for kids was maintained despite DC Comics advertising campaign “Comics Aren’t Just of Kids Anymore!” In a lot of ways, it’s hard for comic creators to be taken seriously despite the level of professionalism that has come into the industry and the technical expertise in which the art is executed. That’s why the creators role in the comic book community is so vital and why I’ve chosen to talk about it first.

The influence of creators on the Comic Book Community can be both internal and external. It wasn’t long ago that Robert Kirkman announced that he was leaving Marvel Comics to become part of Image Comics. He issued a challenge to comic creators to stop creating for others and to put all their effort into producing their own work. While it sounds good on paper, it isn’t necessarily realistic for every creator, especially those starting out. Writers like Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Waid have shown that they can alternate between mainstream projects and independent creator-owned projects with equal success. Hollywood actors and actresses do it all the time. They follow a big budget Hollywood blockbuster with an independent film that touches on a subject close to their heart. It should be no different for a comic book creator. Expanding the subject matter and experimenting with ways to tell the stories can only open up the possibility of engaging new readers into the comic book medium. Comic creators can do more than just challenge themselves though. In an environment that thrives on competition and being the person chosen to write, draw, color or letter a comic, sometimes creators need to put aside that competitive spirit to help their fellow creators. I know that there are other groups out there, but I can only speak of the local group that I have been fortunate to be a part of. Daniel Davis started Tiny Army a little over two years ago to gather Arizona artists to talk about the way they create, market and sell their art. Tiny Army has grown to become a community of its own. The artists don’t just focus on comic book art or even create comic books. They help to promote each other’s events. They let each other know about opportunities to display and promote their art. They are working to get a gallery exhibit of member’s artwork. They give advice on how to prepare for conventions, what vendors to use for printing services, and other “trade secrets” that aren’t common in competitive environments. Their motto “Together we are stronger” is demonstrated in every meeting in knowledge exchange that happens between artists of different backgrounds and experience. While not every city or town could support an organization like this, there are online communities that can serve this same purpose and function on a less regional level. Challenging yourself and forming seeking out knowledge sharing and networking opportunities are all part of being an internal influence on the Comic Book Community.

A creator’s responsibility to the external Comic Book Community is a little more difficult and requires much more thoughtful consideration. While convention appearances and store signings should be a part of any creator’s marketing, outreach to the community beyond your normal comic book audience is what is going to ultimately create new customer’s and expand the overall market for your product. What this means is looking for opportunities to interact and educate with the general public in their own environment. I know a few people who go to schools, churches, libraries and non-profits to provide talks on their art or provide simple how to draw classes. Bryan Kilgore provides such a class where he teaches kids his “Copy Cat” technique where “lines make shapes, shapes make objects and objects make pictures”. In addition to getting his name out there and potentially selling some of his books and art, he also makes money for the appearances. He’s also creating a new generation of artists, which is something that Brian Miller is doing as well. He also has taught classes. His college course on digital coloring not only developed new illustrators, but also potentially people to help his company, Hi-Fi Design, color all those comic book pages that he is asked to do on a daily basis. A college course needs a textbook and Brian and Kristy Miller have that covered too. They wrote their first book, Hi-Fi Color for Comics and the follow-up book, Master Digital Color, so that even if you can’t attend a class with Brian, you can learn how to digitally color comic art. Not every creator can create can give talks to large groups of people or can convince a community college to allow them to teach a course. There are lots of ways of interacting with and introducing yourself to the general public. As a creator, looking for and participating in these opportunities are ways to be an external influence on the Comic Book Community.

What are ways that you influence the Comic Book Community? How have you seen creators influence the Comic Book Community? I want to hear your ideas and opinions in the comment area below. Next week we talk about the publishers influence on the Comic Book Community.

Shawn DeMumbrum
SpazDog Comics
www.spazdogcomics.com
SpazDog Press
www.spazdogpress.com

Email: shawn@spazdogcomics.com
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