Jan 13, 1997
[For both] Still Gettin' the hang of my series seven windsor and newton #1.
What Inking tools do you like to use? I Love the work you guys do by
the way. -- Rod Fransham
Sarah: Thanks! I personally cannot get the hang of good pens for some reason. I used to use technical pens a lot, but now I ink everything almost exclusively with brushes. (Maybe using technical pens for touch-ups here and there.) I'm not too picky, I've used a lot of different brushes. I like a No. 2 round best, and especially like this one brand we picked up made in Israel called Taklon. I like these Leow-Cornell brushes we got lately too.
Evan: Thanks for the letter, and for liking our work -- I 'm a pen user by and large, in recent years just starting to get the hang of the brush as an additional tool. I use a Hunt 102 pen nib for the most part, but I'm starting to expand my choices by using a variety of nibs. I use a Hunt 101 for some thicker line work, a Hunt 107 for fine details and line work, and some lettering pens as well for bold lines and effects. I'm not too picky about brushes either, I've personally had better results from cheaper brushes than the "industry standard" Winsor Newton series 7 brushes. I generally use a #1-3 brush, to some decent effect here and there. My basic inking style is to use the #2 brush and pens to do figure work, with details done in pen and some in rapidograph -- although I use technical pens very sparingly these days, not like a few years ago when I fell back on them a lot. Tech pens tend to make stiff drawings, lifeless compared to the snap a good inker gets from pens or brushes. I'm a fair-to-middling inker, so my mileage varies, but I'm getting better. For corrections we use Pentel correction pans, an absolute must-have item you can find at art stores or stationary.business/office supply joints. I also use white ink in a #1 rapidograph for white on black lettering effects, as well as Pro-White with a pen for effects, lettering etc. and a brush for effects and some corrections. A toothbrush can be used to spray white ink for stars, or black ink for effects. I letter with rapidographs (poorly I might add) and sometimes cautiously with a pen. Keep this in mind -- try a lot of materials so you can make a conscious choice in what you draw with, but don't be intimidated by price or by what the "pros" use -- use what works for you, what you're confortable with, and what gets you the best results, based on experimentation and practice.
Jan 13, 1997
[For evan] Evan, I am a comix artist/writer guy who publishes in the ultra-small
press (ie, print runs of under 500... always. And NO reprints.) In the
ultra-ultra-small press universe, we have what are known as "trades." While
I've often sent samples of my work to established artists, I've never gotten
any kind of response from them. Not a bit. While I never expected a personal
reply or a trade in return, I figured that maybe they could at least have
pity on some poor untalented sap and give him SOME feedback. Well, anyway,
they all suck, and I hate them, because they ignore us. ANYWAY, I was just
wondering if you were the sort of guy who, if he received some small press
schmuck's digest comic in the mail, would you at least return a post-it note
or a postcard in reply or at least e-mail me to tell me that I suck. I realize
deep in my heart that needing such validation is probably not very healthy,
but if I was a healthy man, I would not be making comic books. By the way,
if the answer is "No, sorry, no time for love, Dr. Jones," don't worry. I
may hate the people who never so much as poo'ed upon my work, but I still
read their comix. They may suck, but their comix rule. Oh, yeah, and do you
know if The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are up to anything? I haven't heard from
them in about a century. -- Andy Baker, antilight@hotmail.com
Evan: I can understand your feelings when you get no feedback from sending out your work to professionals -- but I can also understand the situation from the other side as well. As a "pro", I know for a fact that answering the mail can take hours at a time and it plays hell with my work schedule, especially nowadays after my work has garnered some attention here and there and the mail has increased. I have a box of unanswered mail in my office, mostly mini comics from people who have asked for a critique of their work. Until about two years ago I was able to answer all my mail in a timely fashion, but nowadays, forget it. To actually read dozens of comics, critique them and write it up, then mail this all out, is akin to being a part-time teacher as well as a full-time tv writer and cartoonist. Doing that would literally cost me my career -- so I answer when I can find some "spare" time. I understand that the person who sent me their work cares deeply about their work, and usually wants my opinion because they value it, and that puts me on the spot to a degree. Because I certainly don't want to offend or disappoint any of my readers (in this regard at least!) and because most people really don't want an honest critique -- they want praise. And after a while it's hard to tell people who more often than not send sub-par work my opinion without it seeming like I'm trashing them from my "vaunted" professional position. This is especially tough when I am such a critic of my own work -- it's hard to critique someone's comics when I have such problems with my own. So if you think about it, why would your average cartoonist try to deal with his mail? Film and tv people aren't expected to, and yes, they're more famous, but oftentimes no more busy than a decently-known cartoonist, even in the small press. Anyway -- no one is obligated to write back to their readers unless they say they will. I don't say I will but I try to, it's a habit I haven't been able to break -- years ago I got so little mail I could handle it, I lived for the mail, it was pretty much the only return my work brought me. I still love getting mail, but it's impossible for me to attend to in the same manner. The average comics artist probably gets a ton of mail, and he or she also has their business to attend to, their "life", and their work to do -- more than enought to fill up the days. So please realize you're asking quite a bit when you solicit a response from a cartoonist you don't know -- you're asking for their time and effort, and you may not realize that so are other people -- and this all gets in the way of making comics and everything else in someone's life. It doesn't mean anyone sucks. And to be honest, you do get sent a lot really sucky comics, and it's hard to get enthusuastic about dealing with that. Sorry for the long answer -- I actually really should be inking a page right now! Oh -- and I dunno what the Bosstones are up to -- I'm way out of the loop regarding music, politics, life etc. Been busy.
Jan 23, 1997
[For both] Hey there, hope things are going great. Questions, questions,
what's a good question. Let's try one that's a little personal as well as
professional: I have a similar situation to you two, I am working on a comic
book with someone who is dear and near to me, my wife. And while sometimes
I feel like strangling her from time to time while we work through the project,
but I also feel we are developing quite a wonderful book. I was wondering
how you guys handled working together, and how you separate the personal
from the professional in regards to your work? I know it can be trying, but
I think some of the best teams are made from couples. Good Luck. -- Ron Phillips,
phlipcat@wvinter.net
Evan: I think we work well together -- we're certainly working more together now than ever before, with more projects coming up all the time that call for the both of us to collaborate on. But I must admit I'm often a headache for Sarah to deal with as a collaborator in many ways. It's been hard for me to adjust to working with someone else, I've worked alone for the most part during my life and career and I'm used to working in a virtual vacuum, for good or bad. I don't feel confident "pitching" ideas for use even to Sarah, so that's taken me some getting used to, that and getting an idea shot down. I also don't have Sarah's confidence or organized thought processes, so often during a project I will bring Sarah close to a homicidal rage due to my work habits and my general uncertainty about what we're doing at any given time. We also have the usual problems that any collaborators will have concerning who does what on a project and how things get into a script or are edited out -- matters of ego and whatnot can't always be avoided in a partnership. I'm a lot less nervous about the kind of work we're doing for tv and whatnot, so I think I'm learning to work more organized and be a better collaborator like my partner in crime is.
Sarah: Well, I think that covers it pretty well....there's a couple important things I always tell people who are working together and in a relationship though: 1) make sure you have separate working spaces. You really need to be able to be in different rooms sometimes, trust me on this one. Even if you normally work in the same room, make sure there's a place one of you can go when you need to. 2) make sure to clearly define what is who's responsibility -- it can prevent a lot of trouble, either of the "neither of you did it" type or the fighting over the decision type. And, you really have to consciously keep the work separate and make sure you aren't fighting over a panel at dinner, that sort of thing. Plenty of people have collaborated throughout history, so it can be done happily, though!! Good luck!
Jan 28, 1997
[For both] i draw on anything and anyone i can get my hands on, and people
who look at my sketchbooks always tell me i should do a comic. i've also
been kicking zine ideas around for a while (and your comics, action girl
especially, have also been a big kick in that direction to go ahead and do
it)...but my big question is, where does the motivation come from to go ahead
and put pen to paper to create a story for the specific purpose of showing
it to other people? why can't i get off my buttocks and do it??? help --
jon stothfang, stothfj@ucunix.san.uc.edu
Sarah: Well, are you having trouble doing it because you're intimidated by the idea, or because inspiration isn't hitting? If you're intimidated, then just relax, do the work for yourself and don't plan to show it to anyone. But, if you just find yourself uninspired to do comics, maybe you shouldn't be doing them. Everyone I know who does comics is driven to do them. They might get the occasional block or burnout problem, but they have a need to make comics. Maybe your need is to draw, not in comics format, but as art or illustration. And maybe your writing desires aren't of a comic nature either -- I'm not sure if your zine ideas are for essays, reviews or what -- but those are all just as important and valid as writing for comics. (And far more lucrative in the long run...) The important thing is that you express yourself and develop your talents, answering your specific creative needs, whatever they are. Don't "try" to write a comic. Go on drawing as you already are -- or do that zine you've been planning to do -- and don't worry about doing a comic. If you are meant to do comics, believe me, they will just start coming out of you one day...and in the meantime, don't beat yourself up trying to do something that isn't coming easily.
Evan: I really can't answer this one easily -- I don't really know what motivates me to actually do my work -- at least, in regards to when I first started. These days, the fact that I have several recurring strips more easily leads to my doing new stories, I come up with a new M&C or HP or Eltingville idea, for instance, and I want it on paper so people can see it. It's almost by rote, and it always has been really, I just do the work because I have to, more or less, I'm compelled. The main thing is communication, the idea isn't "real" until it's out there, even if it's only shown to a few dozen or hundred or thousand people. I find comics a natural way to express myself, and it's "easy", a pen and paper, a pencil, some notes and you can make a comic, no technology or budget or company gets in the way, it's you and a blank piece of paper, and making marks on that piece of paper that "becomes" a story or gag or image is amazing if you think about it. I must admit I was more motivated as a younger person, in that I had no economic concerns, audience concerns, industry concerns, artistic concerns etc -- a deadline can blunt the freedom I felt when nothing mattered other than the work -- although I try to maintain that sense of freedom and play nowadays, even on our commercial jobs. I wasn't a good cartoonist at all as a teen, but I was happy to do the work and try to get better -- and that feeling is a good place to start, just do what you feel like doing, get it on paper, and go on to the next thing. realize that doing comics or zines always means you'll be improving in public, practising with each project, and don't worry about it. It's hard for me to look at my old week (anything over two weeks ago) but you have to screw up a lot to get somewhere. And don't worry about doing a comic or a zine, you can do both, or do comics in a zine, and choose to work with either depending on the project. There's zine elements in AGC and in HP, you can do whatever you want. And that's really the key, do whatever you want, just try to do it the best you can and have fun -- I've found people will respond to honest work even if it's not perfect, like a rough cartoonist with a good tale to tell or a choppy band full of heart and energy. If that makes any sense, I dunno, just listen to Sarah, she's the brains around here..
Feb 12, 1997
[For both] I'm an aspiring Comic Book writer (God knows I can't draw). Well
anyways I was wondering if you guys could help me come up with a name for
it. The main character is named Howie, he supposed to be a shapeshifter and
is a pervert. He's in love with a "skater chick", and is friends with an
ex-convict and Adolf Hitler's great great grandaughter. I can't come up with
anything so if you guys could help me I'd be so relieved. -- Howie ,
SkaFreak1@aol.com
Evan: I'd like to help, but to be honest here, you have to use your own head for your own work. It's generally the way writing works, save for lazy skates who use ghost writers and gag men. You should be able to come up with a name that befits your own creation -- after all, you created it and know what you want from it -- just don't strain yourself -- relax and wait for something that works to come to mind. In the meantime, work out your stories without a title, one should click for you eventually. If not, well, there's always suicide. What can I tell you?
Feb 13, 1997
[For both] Okay: A few years ago, a friend of mine came up with a comic book
idea, and when when he started to discuss it with me, I gave him enough input
that he asked me to collaborate with him, with him doing all the art, and
me doing a lot of writing and page layout ideas. We have story ideas out
the wazoo, but we haven't been able to finish even the first ish on paper.
I was wondering two things: what's your advice to get us motivated to make
this thing work, and what kind of information could you give me to help us
publish should we be able to write it for real? Like, how many issues should
we have before we try to publish, and that sort of thing. -- Matt Towers
Sarah: See our earlier answer on Jan 28th before you read Evan's additional answer...
Evan: Jeez...what can I tell you? Honestly -- you're either motivated to tell your stories or you're not. That's not to sound harsh, it's just an honest opinion. What motivates me is that this is what I have always wanted to do -- tell stories, in comic form, in scripts, I've always wanted to write and draw and tell jokes and stories and so that's basically what I did until enough people noticed and now it's what I do for a living. I can't motivate you beyond telling you that work creates work -- not necessarily paying work -- but work should get you to the next thing, and that to the next. You need to create to grow and sharpen your skills, talking about it won't do it. You have to do the work, pure and simple. Everything begins and ends with doing the work, nothing happens if you don't get it down on paper. Everyone tells you they have an idea for a comic, comic creators are the ones who put it down on paper. No magic, just do the work, then see what happens. Without the comic pages it's just talk, the story could be good, it could be crap, right now it's just talk. If you want it to be more than talk, you have to write and draw it. I think there's another question on the topic of motivation here somewhere, you might check our answers there as well for contradictions from me and enlightenment from the great and powerful Sarah.
As for publishing -- I'm not the person to ask. I'm very anti-publishing as far as new untried creators are concerned -- one published comic can (and almost always will) wipe you out, the debt will assure you never publish again, and this is a tough market for even established small press books. Mini-comics are practical, portable, cheap and a way of telling your stories without losing your shirt, you print to demand, you can spread 'em around for free to reviewers, publishers and editors -- and if you get a buzz, the art is still there and you can reprint it if it comes to that. Comics, like any medium, ain't easy to break into. Be realistic, don't jump the gun before you're ready, but most of all worry about doing comics before you worry about publishing. Doing comics is not as easy as it looks, but keep in mind it's not as hard as it might appear either. It's just ink and paper, you make the call how you arrange that ink on that paper. Good luck, god bless.
Mar 6, 1997
[For both] There was a question a while back about preference of writing
utensils. This got me wondering about other aspects of comic book
creation...where the ink is concerned, it can often come down to personal
preference (if it's black it'll do), but what about paper? What sort of paper
is "industry standard"? Is there a special size you use? I know newspaper
comic strips are often drawn much larger than they are printed...is this
true with books? (images of a huge table-sized Milk and Cheese being sent
off to the printer seem a bit ludicrous, but still my curiosity gets the
better of me). Thanks boodles. -- Ben Jones, spam@deathweasel.com
Sarah: Well, art for reproduction is almost always drawn somewhat larger than the printed image is going to be, although that's not always true. The standard image area (not counting bleeds) for a comic is 6" x 9" printed. As long as the original is in the same proportion, it doesn't really matter how big it is. The vast majority of comics artist use 11" x 17" paper, and draw in a 10" x 15" rectangle. Evan almost always works that size, I usually but sometimes I work 8" x 12" instead. There are people who work at exactly the printed size, and there are people who work really huge. As long as the proportion is correct, size doesn't matter. (No jokes, please!) As for types of paper, you can use anything, and people have. The standard is bristol board, although the surface varies according to the individual tastes of the artist. You could do your pages on wood or typing paper though (and typing paper's actually been done!), as long as it comes out black on white. You can use any kind of paper you're comfortable using. To someone who asks me "what to use" I would always recommend starting out working standard -- work on 11" x 17" bristol board, ruling a 10" x 15" rectangle in the center and making that your image area. I think you should work that way, then alter your working habits as you experiment, rather than just use whatever's at hand. (There is a reason that's the standard, after all.)
Evan: Lucky kids, you get short reply from blabbermouth Dorkin. Basically, what Sarah said. I still have stashes of paper from when I was working at Marvel so I'm not choosy, I like having all my stupid comics on Marvel paper as a joke. Find a size you're comfortable with that reproduces well, and do your pages. Experiment with smooth or rougher finishes to see how you like pencilling and inking on them. Steal money from the folks to buy paper to try out. More than this I cannot tell you.
Mar 31, 1997
[For both] Love your work and love your website! Where did you get all those
super-ginchy fonts? Particularly the gorgeous sparkly one for the Kikizine
logo! -- Summer Daze, summer@interlabs.bradley.edu
Sarah: Thanks! Most of the fonts we use in our stuff (zines, comics, etc. -- and here) as display fonts (i.e. titles and so on) we hand-draw, based on stuff out of my collection of old type books! Occasionally, I'll simply photo-copy or even scan in the letters I need from the original type sample and piece the type together. We like to do this for a couple reasons: One, I love typography and I could never afford every type I wanted; and two, it ups the chances that the type you use won't be on everything that comes out that month! You can't always prevent it -- I redrew an old font called "Pixie" for the Action Girl Comics logo, and within a year someone had digitized a version of the font and it started appearing everywhere! Oh well...The font I used for Kikizine, by the way, is usually called "Jiminy Christmas" -- it's an old advertising font.
Evan: What's a font? Is that like, a technical term or something?
May 16, 1997
[For evan] Alright, you seem to be pretty hard on yourself when it comes
to your work. When do you draw the line (no pun intended) between "this so
crappy it can't be published and "it's not perfect but I have a deadline"?
-- Ryan Brown, Spudooboy@aol.com
Sarah: Um, actually, that line gets drawn right about when I take the pages away from him and say "it has to go now"...
Evan: Ha ha. Actually, I'm feeling these days that I really don't do anything so wretched it shouldn't see print -- unlike material I've done in the past (Phigments, Wild Knights, most of my Predator pencils, Mad Dog, a two-page pile of dung done for a horror anthology, all my earlier PC$! inking, etc) my basic level of 'craft" is such that at least the pages read and look fairly okay, they don't look horribly amateurish. They aren't Will Elder-beautiful or Harvey Kurtzman-brilliant maybe, but they are honest pieces of work labored long and hard over. And everything can be bettered if not for deadlines, a panel replaced here, a different angle on a scene, stupid noodling details whited out there, dialogue tightened...but the book has to get printed, and the deadline's always blown anyway, so there comes a point where the work must go out, imperfect as it is. You just have to try again next time, each page is practice for the next, really.
May 22, 1997
[For sarah] Sarah, I just read your article on zine creation/publication,
and what I wanna know is: Are there any distribution "companies" you know
of that carry comics exclusively (and are friendly to first-time publishers)?
Also, is Factsheet Five as valuable a resource as it was, now that it's published
so infrequently, or are there any higher-profile mags/catalogs that you can
reccomend for us small-time publishing hopefuls? -- Plush Snail,
plushsnail@aol.com
Sarah: I don't know of any, although several zine distributors carry comics and mini-comics. And I can't vouch for anyone's friendliness personally -- I'd have to say when dealing with any distributor, until you've developed a good working relationship, never let them have too much on consignment, just in case....I think Factsheet Five is still a good resource, but it seems to me that the best exposure is in publications similar to yours (whatever you're doing). A small zine about comics that reviews a handful of mini-comics is actually going to generate more response for those comics than listings in much bigger magazines would -- partly because the audience is self-selected already, and partly because the reviews seem more personal -- in my opinion, anyway. Send a copy to FF, but also send copies to other mini-comics and comics zines.
May 22, 1997
[For sarah] Another question about getting into comics...Honestly, though,
I'm having no trouble with the motivation or production parts of it. What
I'd like to know is, what would you consider the best way to pitch a series
or even individual work if you're wanting to get published? Thanks. -- Sarah
Caldwell, falchan@hotmail.com
Sarah: Well, I still would recommend going the self-pubishing/mini-comics route first, before trying to get something pulished by someone else. You need that experience, and the contacts you get. To pitch to a publisher -- it definitely helps to make personal contact. Go to conventions and meet people at the companies you're thinking are appropriate for your work. Now, I don't mean suck up and try to make friends so you can get your work published! But it certainly is easier if you can say "Hi, remember me from the con last month, here's the proposal I was telling you about." Writing publishers for their guidelines always helps. Also, it's really important that you approach a publisher with a complete package -- artist and writer, proposal that includes how long you think the series should run, where it's going to go, anything else you can tell them about it -- show them that you mean business and that you'll still have something for them a few issues down the road, and they're a lot more likely to be interested. Now, if you're looking to get work at a major publisher (say you've got a great idea -- but it's for an existing character), all I can suggest is doing every portfolio review and meet-and-greet you can get to.
Jul 11, 1997
[For evan] Hey, Just so you know first off that I really dug the artwork
you did on the Bill & Ted Comic thing, It influenced me probably more
than anything to pursue a career in comic illustration. It also pleases me
to know that you write all the funny episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Just found out about DORK so I'm gonna have to order some back issues. I
was wondering what size paper you use, where you can get it and the types
of pens you use on it? I can't seem to find a paper to pen match up that
leads to even semi clean lines all the time. -- Brenden Smith,
kangarooboy@geocities.com
Evan: First off, thanks for the comments on the work, glad you like the Space Ghost scripts Sarah and I have done. I'm also deeply sorry if I've led you down the path of choosing cartooning as a career, please do not sue me when you become a depressed, alcoholic wreck of a person. You made the choice, baby, not me.
Anyway, regarding materials, I think I've gone over this before but here goes again: I primarily use a Hunt 102 pen nib and a #2 and #3 brush for inking, rapidographs for ruling panel borders and most lettering, Pentel correction pens and pro-white ink for corrections, white ink lettering and effects like stars or what have you. I also use a variety of other pen nibs for inking, a Hunt 101 gives you thin, steady lines for details for instance, some calligraphy nibs and broader tipped nibs give a thicker line than a 102, etc. I generally work on marvel paper sized 10" by 15", it's all stuff "stolen" years ago, we also have some modern DC paper and sometimes I'll just cut my own. Some jobs like Kid Blastoff were done smaller on store-bought Bristol paper because I wanted to work smaller and cleaner.
Anyway, when choosing art supplies, I feel you should experiment with a wide variety to find what works for you, I'd never preach that what i use is what anyone should use. I use #2 pencils a lot, I like them, they work for me. Cheaper brushes have proven more useful for me than the "industry standard" Windsor Newton series 7 #3 (or whatever it is), I'm just not comfortable yet with the "better" brushes. Whatever works, works, don't fight it. Just know your options before you decide, you can get "stuck" on a tool not knowing another might work better -- many younger artists get hung up on technical pens, which produce stiffer work. I know I did.
Remember the tool is important, but so are you -- no pen or paper will guarantee results. An expensive brush doesn't guarantee a great line, you might be more commfortable with a cheaper brush. Experiment with as many tools as you can, practice a lot, and have fun with your work. And don't quit the day job, especially since the comics field is in such bad shape these days.