Defying Convention

When you're making your own comics, you can't be afraid to try something new

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: Last Week’s (Other) Convention; Trying Another New Thing; Homeward Bound; Reader Poll - Digital, Physical, or Vertical?; Do I Suck At This?

LAST WEEK’S (OTHER) CONVENTION

Be honest - you all had some SERIOUS FOMO last week, right? You know why, it was that big convention you didn’t quite make it to…

No, not the one in California, the one that was literally everywhere and nowhere - LUMICON! My good friends at LumiBug launched a virtual con on Discord that absolutely blew away my expectations. There were fantastic panels, lots of creators to meet, games, contests, and everything else you expect from a con, all without leaving home (unless you have good cell phone service, then you could absolutely leave home).

I am not exactly good with, or comfortable with, Discord. It seems like a thousand different group chats, and group chats in general trigger my social anxiety. But sometimes you have to go beyond your comfort zone if you want to grow, as a person and as a publisher. I met some great people and potential collaborators, and learned that I can do something like this even if I still have a lot to learn about the format. Which is all to say - follow LumiCon on IG and make sure you come out for the next one!

TRYING ANOTHER NEW THING

This leads nicely into another project I’m working on while we’re getting ready for the next issues of Heroes & Zeros and The Olympian, respectively. My goal is to continue building the audience for both titles while we’re working on the next issues, so I’ve decided to try moving them onto WebToon. For those of you who aren’t familiar, WebToon is a platform for vertical-scroll comic stories - specifically for people who prefer to read on their phones. I’m going to post the first “episode” of Heroes & Zeros as I currently have it at the end of this newsletter, but it’s still a work in progress - I’d love any (constructive) feedback you’d care to offer so I can make it as good as can be before launch. And hey - that title graphic is pretty cool, right?

HOMEWARD BOUND

I currently have two more convention appearances scheduled this year, and for the first time, I have to fly to get there! I’ll be attending Granite State Comic Con in Manchester, NH on 9/19-9/20, and then I’ll be at IC3 in Providence, RI on 9/26. And in between, I’m psyched to have a signing set up at Comics Boom! in Keene, NH - my old home town, the place where I graduated high school, and the town that inspired Vasilis’s hometown of Niftee, NH in The Olympian.

I’m hoping that the New Hampshire connection resonates with folks at this con (and in Keene), so I asked Dee to design a “postcard” that I’ll be offering as a limited-edition 8.5x11 print as well as an actual 4x6 postcard! What do you all think?

POLL RESULTS AND NEW QUESTION

Last month we ran a poll asking which comic we should make first: the next issue of Heroes & Zeros (last issue of the first arc, but will take longer) or the next issue of The Olympian (mid-arc, but would be done sooner). The winner was Heroes & Zeros - and while there are a lot of other factors that I have to consider in making that decision, that is going to be our plan for now.

I’m interested in something else now, since I’m about to dip my proverbial toe into the WebToon pool. Given a choice between a physical comic, digital comic (traditional page format), or a vertical-scroll comic, which do you prefer?

DO I SUCK AT THIS?

No, seriously. I’m not sure if I’m doing this vertical scroll thing right, so please let me know what you think. Here’s what I currently have for Episode 1 of Heroes & Zeros (from the pages of Issue 1):

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