The Carver's House

In the previous post , I proposed a way for indie comics creators to get an initial boost in self-promotion by creating short comics based on their favorite podcasts. It can be a mutually-beneficial arrangement. The podcaster benefits from the relatively unique content format, a departure from the usual blogpost, audiocast, or video. Though I'm not aware of how effective comics can be in the long run, there's no harm in trying it out. For the comics creator, making comics for podcasters can help in lead generation and even customer acquisition for the creator's own work. It can also help the creator stretch the creative muscles in a different way. But this can go further, a "leveling up," if you will. And this kind of leveling up has already been demonstrated in the past. Comics as "Infotainment" My former boss in the magazine company I used to work for gave me a book--a graphic novel, specifically manga ("comics" in Japanese). The titl...

How do you start building an audience? This question has been asked so many times by indie creators, and the answers are the usual: build a website, add content, promote on social media, build a mailing list. But this doesn't directly answer the question. How do you start building an audience? One of the basic principles to bear in mind is: people are attracted to what interests them. The reason why you subscribed to that blog, or followed that Twitter account, or liked that Facebook page, is most probably because these channels promised and delivered something you've been looking for, anywhere from specific information to images of cute cats. The same principle applies to you, the indie comics creator. But, with so many comics creators out there trying to capture an audience, how do you stand out? Here's one way. It's not the only way. But it's a place to start. 1) Choose a real-world subject you're genuinely interested in, apart from comics. It ...

I was content with my play "Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady" being accepted in last year's Virgin Labfest, with the big bonus of it being chosen as one of the three to be restaged, but that didn't stop me from trying out for this year's festival. I got in again. Wow. Thanks sooo much to the selection committee! Here's a brief description of what my new play, "The Missing Peace," is about: It is the year 2045, and the world is teetering towards explosive widespread conflict, the likes of which it hasn't seen in almost a century. But that won't stop the Miss Universal Empress beauty pageant from taking place in Barcelona, Spain. The pageant is of particular importance to the Philippines, as the South East Asian nation has so far won four of the world's top five beauty competitions. A grandslam seems inevitable, but then there's, well... the prophecy. I almost decided not to finish it. While I was in the middle of writ...

I'll admit: I've gotten slow in the past few years when it comes to drawing. It may be because I've been dividing my time between practicing writing and drawing. Or it may be because I've noticed my previous drawing mistakes and now consciously try to correct them with each new panel I do. Plus the new drawing tricks here and there I've been adding to my repertoire. So my reduced drawing pace should be for the better because I've been trying to improve my craft. Or maybe it's because I'm older, and my body is starting to cry "uncle" after a number of hours. Or maybe it's because, as an adult, there are more responsibilities on the plate due to "real life." Whatever the case, it's always a struggle to be efficient, especially as an indie creator who's not being paid a regular wage. This, I think, is a common conundrum indie comics creators have to face--the lack of time. We want to make our comics stories, bring to ...

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