If you’re thinking about creating your own web comic, I’ve found these three books useful reading.
How to Make Web Comics
by Scott Kurtz and Peter Straub
For years young, creative men and women have dreamed about making a living from their comic strips. But until recently their only avenue of success was through a syndicate or publisher. Now more and more cartoonists are doing it on their own and self-publishing their comic strips on the web. With the right amount of work, knowledge, and luck, so, too, can you. Scott Kurtz and Kristopher Straub offer their advice on how to create compelling characters, develop a solid comic strip, build a website, forge a community, and start earning money from your Webcomic without having to sell your soul.
Written by the Eisner award winning cartoonist behind “PVP”, Scott Kurtz, “PvP” received 1.3 Million unique page views in Q1 2007 and averages 150k-200k hits per day.
Webcomics: Tools and Techniques for Digital Cartooning
by Steven Withrow and John Barber
“Webcomics” is an introduction to one of today’s fastest growing and most exciting areas of publishing – online comics, created digitally and distributed on the Internet. Combining profiles of well-known webcomics creators with detailed workthroughs that reveal the nuts and bolts of every aspect of comic creation and presentation, this book is a “must-have” for anyone interested in where comics are headed in the 21st century.
Comics 2.0: An Insider’s Guide to Writing, Drawing and Promoting Your Own Webcomics
by Steve Horton
Teaches readers how to develop a concept for a webcomic, draw it, and publish it on the Internet. The book also shows them how to promote their finished webcomic and earn money from it. Webcomics 2.0 explores the two methods of webcomic creation: traditional paper-and-pencil art that is scanned and manipulated on a computer, and digital art that is created entirely on the computer.
It covers three popular types of webcomics-adventure, humor and manga, and reveals the tools, software and resources that will help both authors and writers get started in webcomics creation.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Creating Comics