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Coming Soon: How to Make Your First Comic, by Matt Garvey

By John Freeman on March 27, 2025

If you’ve ever dreamed of creating your own comic but didn’t know where to start, independent comic creator Matt Garvey has the answers in his latest project, How to Make Your First Comic – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide.

Coming soon to Kickstarter, whether you’re overflowing with ideas or staring at a blank page wondering what to do next, How to Make Your First Comic will, Matt says, guide you every step of the way.

*Yeah, Matt’s definitely an action and adventure kind of guy! But his guides to creating comics, tips and tricks, span all genres…*

Since then, he’s managed to release over 30 individual issues, a couple of trades, and sell thousands of comics through local comic shops, comic cons, and conventions.

Award-winning British Matt Garvey should need little introduction to regular downthetubes readers. He’s been writing comics for years, and started printing and selling them back in 2016. His work includes I Took a Hammer to Hell, Gangsters versus Nazis, Devil in Disguise, and one-and-done story Red Rocket Comet, which won Best Original One-Shot at the Yancy Street Comic Awards and Best Indie Comic of 2018 by Pipedream Comics.

“I love helping others realise their dream of making comics too,” he says, happy to chat creating comics with aspiring writers and artists at events. You can also check out his handy a dive guides on YouTube.

In the works is nearly 200 pages of no-fluff, real-world advice that takes you through every single step of the comic-making process; from your very first idea, to writing your script, to finding artists, collaborating, printing, selling, and everything in between.

“This book is a no-nonsense, practical guide that takes you from your very first idea to holding your finished comic in your hands,” he says. “Whether you’re a total beginner or a writer looking to sharpen your skills, this book is packed with clear advice, proven techniques, and real-world insights from someone who’s been there, done that, and made plenty of mistakes along the way – so you don’t have to.

“This book is the guide I wish I had when I wrote my first script. It’s packed with lessons, tools, templates, tips, and a few hard truths – everything I’ve learned over 15+ years of making indie comics from scratch.

“If you’ve ever wanted to make a comic – and didn’t know where to begin – this is for you. Even if you’ve already made a few and just want to level up your process.”

Matt’s Kickstarter is coming soon, and the pre-launch page is live now. Just hit “Notify me on launch” and you’ll be first in line when it goes live.

‘Whether you’ve got a spark of an idea or just want to finally finish that script gathering digital dust, this book is made for you,” Matt insists.

“Let’s make your first comic – together.”

• Check out the How to Make Your First Comic – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide here on Kickstarter

• Matt Garvey is online at garveycomics.com | Buy his comics – print and digital | Instagram | YouTube | X

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.