Pals! Every week my cartooning pal Brad Guigar and I fire up the mics to talk about comics. It’s half shop talk, half how-to, and half friendship. That’s right: WE SQUEEZED IN THREE HALVES. It’s tips and tricks and all the joys of cartooning as a pro!
And here’s a summary of this week’s show, which just went live!
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TITLE: Your Content is not your Community
When comic creators try to market their comics, they often confuse what their comic is about with who it’s for. Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar offer some guidance on making compelling promotions that work. In the show’s second half, the boys have a devil of a time talking about angel investing.
In this episode, Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett explore how comic creators can broaden their audience beyond niche markets, emphasizing the significance of themes and relationships in storytelling. The conversation highlights the need for creators to identify their comic’s appeal and engage with a broader audience.
In this conversation, the hosts explore the concept of angel investing, particularly in the context of cartoonists and creative industries. They discuss the nature of angel investing, the challenges cartoonists face in securing funding, and the potential roles that angel investors could play in their careers. The conversation also delves into alternative funding models like Kickstarter and Patreon and the importance of marketing versus production in growing a creative business. Ultimately, the hosts reflect on their experiences and the realities of managing growth in the comic industry. In this episode, the hosts delve into the complexities of comic creation, discussing the balance between marketing and content production, the impact of hiring assistants, and the challenges of delegating creative tasks. They explore the dynamics of collaboration in writing and the potential growth opportunities for their podcast, ComicLab, while acknowledging the realities of success and the risks involved in expanding their creative endeavors.
![Panel 1:
[SHELDON, a young boy, and ARTHUR, a duck, are lying on their backs in the grass, looking up at a bright star in the night sky. Trees can be seen in the background.]
SHELDON: See the light from that star? It’s special.
Panel 2:
[SHELDON and ARTHUR continue to gaze up at the star.]
SHELDON: 10,000 years ago, that light left its star. And it’s been traveling all those years just for this moment, just to be seen by you.
ARTHUR: Whoa.
Panel 3:
[SHELDON sits up slightly, looking at ARTHUR.]
SHELDON: Now, imagine if it had traveled all that way, and you weren’t here to see it.
SHELDON: It’d be thousands of years of travel… wasted.
Panel 4:
[ARTHUR has an unimpressed look.]
ARTHUR: Dang. Stars is needy.
SHELDON: All a star asks of us is that we never ever go to sleep.
Want 5,000 more comics like this? Join us at Patreon.com/sheldoncomics for the FULL Sheldon archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! Sheldon Comics copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller.](https://www.sheldoncomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/starlight_0000_panel1.jpg)
![Title: "Dogs Play Monopoly"
[Panel 1: Three dogs – a beagle, a pug with big eyes, and a gray, scruffy dog, and a yellow dog – sit around a Monopoly board, staring at it silently.]
[Panel 2: The dogs continue to sit in silence, looking at the board. The beagle considers his cards.]
[Panel 3: Still no movement; the dogs are quiet and focused on the board.]
[Panel 4: Silence continues; the dogs look slightly more tired or bored. The beagle continues to think.]
[Panel 5: The beagle is still thinking.]
[Panel 6: Finally, the beagle speaks.]
BEAGLE: “Yeah, ok. I’ll buy Baltic.”
[The yellow dog, who has been silent, suddenly looks angry and shouts.]
YELLOW DOG: “THIS GAME IS THE WORST.”
End of comic.
Want 5,000 more comics like this? Join us at Patreon.com/sheldoncomics for the FULL Sheldon archives, art giveaways, fun community, and more! Sheldon Comics copyright Dave Kellett. Colors by Beth Reidmiller](https://www.sheldoncomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/171115_0000_001.jpg)
