Independent Cartoonists Band Together for Success 194
Brad Guigar writes "Six cartoonists, previously hosted at Keenspot, are banding together in a new approach to self-publishing.
They have formed Blank Label Comics, a cooperative group of cartoonists who are helping one another succeed as independents. Each is using his proficiency in a particular aspect of the cartooning business to help the others -- who are doing the same in return.
Scott Kurtz, creator of the daily comic strip PVP, applauded the move. 'The forming of Blank Label Comics is a big story in the webcomics community,' he said in a statement on his Web site, insisting that the 'real story ... is that a bunch of really talented guys are taking a chance, putting their necks out and trying to do this on their own.'"
Independent Labels (Score:5, Interesting)
The only concern I have with independent labels is their ability to fight off incorporation or extinction. Some independent music and film outlets have consolidated leaving these media under the control of only a few companies. We have all seen the result of that outcome.
OP has SNAA approval (Score:3, Funny)
There is still hope in the world. Perhaps I should mark this day in my calendar (not calender) as "independence day".
Learn from history, dolts (Score:1, Troll)
If you aren't good enough to get syndicated, keep at it until you are. Alternatively you can find your niche audience, but that road is fraught with peril and many nights of eating nothing but instant ramen and tap water.
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:2)
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:2)
Spot on, Image is a terrible example. Image didn't fail becuase the ideas or the concept was bad, they failed because too many (not all of them, but enough to sink the ship) of their founding fathers were lazy, egotistical hypocrites.
Guys like Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane didn't hate the system, they just didn't like which side of the equation they sat on. People toiling away writing and drawing books for a big company and ending up with no ownership or rights to anything they created wasn't the problem,
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:2)
The results are likely to be incredible; and I for one, applaude this maneuver. It's one more step toward artistic control for the actual human beings that need to put food on their table (instead of the mega-corporations that force-feed their readers).
Quoth Herr Bergeron in 2005:
Whom among us is the shallow Dolt? Ye which post about something ye know nothing about; or perchance just ye
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:2)
Oh, and by the way, Schlock Mercenary is the best gem KeenSpot used to have -- and it's probably Howard who triggered the Black Label guys in the article.
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:2)
I actually got an autographed picture of Schlock with my keenspot subscription but after having the system go down and loose my settings every other week I didn't bother to renew.
Re:Learn from history, dolts (Score:5, Informative)
Image comics has nothing to do with this discussion. It was a group of well-known superhero artists who wanted to get away from Marvel and keep all the royalties to themselves. Of course, they stuff they turned out was more expensive and no better written or drawn than the typical Marvel book, and they tried to maintain a market saturation that couldn't last forever, so they failed and failed big.
Blank is comprised of cartoonists, not superhero comic book writers and artists. It's a pretty big difference that I won't go into, if you don't understand it then you probably don't care. But these guys are like an indie band who's in it because they love what they do and I don't think it could be considered a "failure" if they don't turn a profit... As long as they can generate a fan base that makes it worth doing. After all, what's the cost, the domain name and web space?
And, Image is hardly the only independant comic book publisher. There are quite a few who've been around for a while and do pretty well-- Fantagraphics for one (Eightball by Dan Clowes, or have you not seen Ghost World?), Slave Labor (haven to all the teens who shop at Hot Topic), Drawn and Quarterly... They may not be huge successes or household names, but they have quite a few loyal readers.
As for "getting syndicated"... That's one route, yes. But not a likely one. The funny pages are incredibly hard to break into and editors are notorious for censoring any joke that wouldn't play on "Leave it to Beaver." An occasional Bloom County or Calvin and Hobbes slips through the cracks but that's maybe once every five or six years. And frankly, no one reads them any more anyway. There are a handful of Village Voice/Your-City-Weekly alternative papers for more eclectic strips, but that's also a tough nut to crack. It's a limited and slowly dying market and I don't think many aspiring cartoonists (who do comic strips) are even trying to go these routes any more. It's certainly not the end-all, be-all that you seem to think it is.
Dime a dozen. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:5, Funny)
I think you mean "+1, cynical curmudgeon."
Not everybody considers it a bad thing, snowflake. Curmudgeons make me laugh. Wet blankets like you make me bored and sad. Curmudgeons win.
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:4, Insightful)
Most of them are trying really hard to be User Friendly, which itself isn't all that bad. I think a lot of people just have the idea that what they do is so unique and remarkable that THE MAN -- *SOME* MAN -- must be HOLDIN' THEM DOWN. After all, their work is brilliant, creative, unique, interesting, hilarious and priceless. Why, the only reason they're not millionaires off their work yet HAS to be because United Artist hates them, personally.
By the way - what do I give a shit about "starving artists"? It's hard to make a living as a lot of fun things. You know what? That's the sacrifice you make. If you're so concerned with popularity and money, go get a REAL job like everyone else. You think everyone LOVES their jobs? Hell no. But they make a living - or better - at it. If it was simply to make a good living playing with clay, crayons, pastels, watercolor or writing books, everyone would be doing it.
If you've made the choice that you want to draw stuff for a living, don't bitch to the rest of the world about how poor you are. Go out and get a job providing a service. Or make "better" art. Of course, you'll probably complain that "but art is subjective! You can't put a value on it!". Well, then stop putting a value on it by whining about how hard it is to make a living. The Starving Artist who complains about making a living is the one who is putting a price on his own work as it is.
Art is great. Variety is great. But don't bitch about how the rest of the world "just doesn't get it" or isn't making it financially feasible for you to continue your "dream job" of playing Jim Davis or Stan Lee.
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
What, you mean completely unfunny?
Am I the only /.er who has never laughed at a userfriendly comic.
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
The strangest thing is that if you ever see someone point it out then they retort that they are doing it for art's sake and it's not like you are paying for it. (although in a couple of cases the complainer was paying for it).
I tend not to complain and just delete my bookmark for
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2, Insightful)
Your exposur
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
Not true, Hollywood has always been in the rehash business. Just look at Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, His Girl Friday, Maltese Falcon, etc. The current spate of sequels and retreads is nothing new. Before the days of television/VHS/DVD Hollywood would simply remake films every few years and peddle them off as new. If anything they're less blatant about it now.
Funny and not userfriendly (Score:3, Informative)
Funny and NOT trying to be userfriendly:
Jendini.com [jendini.com]
I wish more cartoonists would do "realistic" storylines without the sci-fi/fantasy copout of not being required to make any sense. I also like that the animals don't talk. :-)
Disclaimer the author is a friend, and I am actively attempting to spread the word about this new comic
They're separate issues (Score:2)
There is stuff that did (briefly) touch tech support issues or work in a tech company, but is most of the time funny. E.g., Angst Technology. No, it doesn't whine either, it's not a bitter "management sucks" Dilbert clone, and it has quite a funny take on a lot of g
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
No, actually, I do love my job.
Re:Dime a dozen. (Score:2)
I sounds like you're jealous of the peopl
Wonderful news. (Score:2)
The comics industry (as I understand it) still harbors an envrionment where guys like this actually have a chance. I wish them good luck.
And so, in congratulations... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:And so, in congratulations... (Score:2)
Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:3, Insightful)
Unfunny web comics killed my inner child.
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
It's like going to the Louvre and being told by the guardman that the hours are between 9am and 9:45 on Wednesdays and Fridays, 9am and 6pm every other day except Tuesdays on which it is closed.
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
True enough, but very few things in life and art are consistently good. I like Penny Arcade, but they've had weeks full of unfunny comics.
Sometimes I think I like PvP, but then they'll do another "Brent gets mauled by the panda" strip, and I'm reminded that it's mostly dull, recycled crap too.
I love the quote in the summary: ... is that a bunch of really talented guys are taking a chance, putting their necks out and trying to do this on t
"real story
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2, Informative)
To be fair, that quote was from Scott Kurtz from PVP, who I don't believe is involved with the project at all...
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:1)
Believe me, I know what you mean. Penny Arcade? Terrible. PVP? Terrible. Sinfest? You get the idea. I don't like Pokey the Penguin or any of this bullshit. I can tolerate Scary-go-round [scarygoround.com].
Okay man, here you go. I have the one you'll like. I hope you haven't seen it yet and dismissed it. Achewood [achewood.com]. It re
Achewood (Score:1)
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
In case anyone is wondering what I *do* find funny; here is my favorites in order:
Bloom County
Calvin and Hobbes
Far Side
Dilbert
Willie and Ethel
Sadly enough, that is all I can remember. It must be incredible hard to put out consistantly funny strips 365 days a year.
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2, Interesting)
Unfunny print comics killed my inner child.
(Completely not joking. I have yet to see a single print comic that isn't completly unfunny. Calvin and Hobbes comes close, but cute!=funny.)
Webcomics that are funny: (Score:2)
I would include megatokyo [megatokyo.com], but it has on average been more serious and less funny lately (though I still enjoy it, and you can browse the archives for older, funnier content).
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
I'm not in it for the funny - if I want funny, I have Transmetropolitan and Bloom County trade paperbacks. I'm looking for non-strip long-format comics that aren't full of themselves, and that actually key into things I'm interested in readin
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
That said, I've gotten regular chuckles from:
Only Sinfest is a daily strip. The Sexy Losers is updated... apparently whenever the guy has time. Order of the Stick a M-W-F strip.
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
PvP, Something Positive, User friendly, GU Comics (if your part of the mmo scene), clan of the cats, life of riley (entertaining, not so much funny), sinfest, sexylosers, ghastly's ghastly comic, etc...
There's 100 bad to 1 good, but look around and you can find comic's you'll enjoy.
Re:Yeah, but are they FUNNY? (Score:2)
Yes. Melonpool at least is hilarious. probably the most consistent chuckle I get when the author updates regularly (which he's been doing for a while now). ShortPacked is not very old, but it's turning out nicely. I'm not really familiar with the others, although Checkerboard Nightmare seems promising...
Re:Inner Child Necromancer (Score:2)
Similarities (Score:2)
Re:Similarities (Score:1)
Re:Similarities (Score:2)
Re:Similarities (Score:2)
Can I just give you the short answer?
"No, not at all."
I wonder how... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I wonder how... (Score:2)
"taking a chance, putting their necks out" (Score:3, Insightful)
Umm... does this really take guts, forming a co-op?
Re:"taking a chance, putting their necks out" (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:"taking a chance, putting their necks out" (Score:2)
Re:"taking a chance, putting their necks out" (Score:2)
Re:"taking a chance, putting their necks out" (Score:2)
Umm... does this really take guts, forming a co-op?
Of course it does. They taking the plunge, carpeing the diem, putting all of their eggs in one basket, putting the pedal to the metal, putting their money where their mouth is, walking the walk, where the rubber meet
POST TERMINATED: CLICHE LIMIT REACHED
In Other News (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like they also created a new team of superheroes... I give you the Blank Comic 6! Cartoonist during the day and upholder of the first amendment on the Internet by night.
Re:Freeelance computer contractors ARE super-heroe (Score:2)
It's ironic that you're posting as Anonymous Coward. We got a Peter Parker/Spiderman thing going here?
Congratulations! (Score:5, Funny)
I'm still waiting (Score:2, Funny)
/ suck it, RIAA
zerg (Score:4, Informative)
Modern Tales [moderntales.com] has American Born Chinese, Ice, Narbonic, No Stereotypes, Odd Jobs, Paradigm Shift and Wahoo Moris. 7 out of 63.
Graphic Smash [graphicsmash.com] has Aces High, Ascent, Digger, Fans, Gun Street Girl, Johnny Saturn, Life's a Croc, Little White Knight, Magellan, Rip & Teri, The Jaded, The Replacements and Vigil. 13 out of 31.
Girlamatic [girlamatic.com] has Jupiter, L'il Mell, Sevenplains and The Stiff. 4 out of 23.
YMMV.
Re:zerg (Score:2)
Signal to noise aside, the biggest issue facing webcomics isn't the quality of the work but the quality of the presentation. Horrible site aesthetics, whiny or distracting ad placement
Waspi Square too! (Score:2)
Re:Waspi Square too! (Score:2)
At least 50% of them are blatantly so. The rest just take a little creative interperetation.
Also, while I enjoy the comic, Paul Taylor is either mostly woman or whipped beyond belief.
Re:Waspi Square too! (Score:2)
I disagree. One of the reasons I like Wapsi Square is that the characters are complex. The have strong, self-confident moments, and some obvious self-doubts. We get to see both sides. That easily resonates with every person like me who is extroverted but still feels shy and self-conscious.
I read a number of comics regularly. Very few of them have characters that make me laugh without wanting to laugh at them.
Re:Waspi Square too! (Score:2)
Ever read his blog? That dude is a chick.
Is that count fair? (Score:2)
Counting "Fans" really isn't quite fair, as it's reached the end of its long and excellent run. Similarly, I wouldn't count "Calvin and Hobbes" to the credit of the UComics syndicate, because while excellent, it's reruns.
Or are you a Chicago Democrat? =)
[OT] Re:Is that count fair? (Score:2)
Re:[OT] Re:Is that count fair? (Score:2)
That's great for them... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:That's great for them... (Score:5, Informative)
This has a good history of working (Score:2, Interesting)
Right now the founder is doing this: http://platinumstudios.com/ [platinumstudios.com], and that seems to be going quite well. While they don't make m
Commentary (Score:4, Informative)
Forseen by Bill Watterson? (Score:4, Informative)
Here is the link: http://hobbes.ncsa.uiuc.edu/comics.html [uiuc.edu]
Marvel - Image split on a (much) smaller scale. (Score:3, Informative)
Just in terms of webcomics, fleen [fleen.com] was one of the earlier "networks"... and there's also dayfree press [dayfreepress.com]. The bit of Major News, as it were, is that it's a bunch of comics that were previously keenspace "titles" peeling off- ugly hill [uglyhill.com] is the only newcomer to the batch. Keen isn't the Mount Awesome some people have made it out to be - if anything, it is to webcomics what livejournal is to drama... and these guys have all apparently realized it's time to move on.
Personally, it's nice to see shortpacked [shortpacked.com] free of keenspace advertising feces- bullshit reduction is something I can always get behind. Joining a network looks like it's a good thing for all parties concerned, if it's something you're comfortable doing.
My own comic [amongthechosen.com] is going into its third year without being a member of a network, without having run a single ad. I might get shit for traffic but I know exactly what I'm displaying on my site- display and control of presentation is a huge concern of mine, at least for the time being. I'm sure one of these days I'll get sick of obscurity and spend more effort on increasing project awareness than I currently am on project production. Maybe eventually, like these guys, I'll find some like-minded media creators who want to conjoin into some sort of co-prosperity sphere.
You mean Keenspot (Score:2)
Logical move (Score:3, Insightful)
My big gripe is that a few of the comics that moved off are the ones I read. Now they're not in one area anymore, I probably won't read them regularly. That is of course selfish -- but I imagine other readers don't like the move for the same reason. I'd expect an initial loss of readership for these authors, except for very dedicated fans.
On the other hand, it's a logical move for the cartoonists. Keenspace and Keenspot are great ways to jumpstart a budding talent or hobby and watch it grow. From what I can tell, the Blank Label starters quite liked Keenspot and regretted leaving it -- but now that their work has matured, they'd like to take it in a direction they can't do under Keenspot. So good for them
Well.. (Score:2)
Not the first time (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:2, Insightful)
Ideally in the "dead and buried" category. Comics should either look good or be funny. Megatokyo [megatokyo.com] looks good. Dilbert [dilbert.com] is funny (or, well, it has its moments, but is funny most of the time). Penny Arcade [penny-arcade.com] is both. User Friendly has neither art nor humor going for it, and thus is a waste of time.
Re:So... (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:2)
Like the jocks picking on the nerds in Porkys films.
Re:So... (Score:1)
Re:So... (Score:2)
In the spirit of fairness I would like to point out that neither is even a little bit funny.
Ever.
They both simply put flippant comments about easy targets in word balloons, draw some pictures under them, and call it a comic strip. The only thing that makes them different from the shitty "Kathy" strips in the newspaper is that they are targeted at geeks instead of fat middle-aged spinsters.
The only thing I hate more tha
Re:So... (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:2, Insightful)
First, you should link to PA's comic directly [penny-arcade.com], or your commentary on the strip won't make sense in a couple days. Second, black and white is not necessarily bad (Megatokyo is mostly in black and white). The problem with Userfriendly's art is not so much that it's not in color as that it's drawn with all of the skill of a three year old child. If the story was good or the humor funny, it could make up for the bad artwork. Sadly, neither of those are the case.
For the record, I just pulled a couple comics
Re:So... (Score:3, Insightful)
Come on, why don't people realize that not everyones taste is the same. Frankly, I don't _want_ everyone liking just the things I like. It'd be boring...
Re:So... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:So... (Score:2)
I could not possibly disagree more.
Reading UF is like spending your coffee break listening to the rookie members of your office network support team bitch about the same fucking things the guys they replaced bitched about (and the guys before them) while thinking it's the first time anybody has ever pointed this shit out before.
Well, it's not entirely like that... It's sort of like that
Re:So... (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:2)
Re:So... (Score:2)
UF amuses me. I have it bookmarked and look at it every morning, together with a cup of coffee. I use it to start the day, and sometimes quot
Re:So... (Score:2)
It's a niche comic, but then again "shortpacked" is mostly funny to people who are/were into 80's toys and collecting, and melonpool is for sci fi fans.
These were all keenspot cartoonists though, and Illiad isn't. The FAQ says they're not taking on more members for a while, and Illiad's been around long enough as an independant that he more than likely has the promotion channels set up they way he likes it. These guys have
Re:Something to rival the old greats (Score:2)
Today's version would feature a tech whiz kid in his family's basement, his arch rival would be a fast talking techno-idiot, the dumb jock would always be jealous that his girlfriend can instant message and he can't, and the two girls would be anime babes with lesbian tendencies for each other. Nah... no one wants to read about that.
Re:Congrats guys! (Score:5, Informative)
There are a lot of webcomics out there. And I mean a lot. One of the beautiful things about the Internet is that anybody who can find a place to host their files can make a webcomic. There are no other real barriers (though I might argue that not having any discernable talent should be a barrier).
So how do you find a good webcomic? Well, Keenspot is an option. It's a portal that links to a variety of strips. It has certain standards of quality. It's been around for a long time, and it's well known. So if you're looking for something to read, you can always head for Keenspot.
On the flip side, if you're an aspiring webcartoonist and want to get known, getting accepted by Keenspot is a good bet for exactly the same reasons.
From a business perspective, Keenspot is okay. They sell advertising, and some of the money goes to the webcartoonists. Keenspot has done some work to get into newspapers, too, though I admit I don't know many of the details.
And Keenspot also handles the technical side. They provide the servers and all the website code necessary for a webcomic to function (if I recall correctly, that is). In exchange, you, as a webcartoonist, agree to brand your website with a little bit of advertising.
But Keenspot isn't the be-all and end-all of webcomics. Even though there are so many webcomics out there, the webcomic "community" is pretty small. Many of the artists/writers talk to each other. They see each other at conventions. They hang out. And they link to other comics in their rants. If you're looking for a good webcomic, it's almost as if it's a game of follow the links. All you have to do is find one good strip and read it for a while, and if you pay attention, you'll find out what some other good comics are. Word of mouth seems to be the best way to get known in the webcomic community.
And, as I understand it, Keenspot webcartoonists don't get paid as well as they could. Keenspot is a for-profit venture. It's the same as with any label you might sign with
I've got work tomorrow, so I'm going to wrap it up with a couple of webcomics that have my highest recommendation (not that you'd care, given that you don't know anything about my comic preferences). Both webcartoonists are independent.
Something Positive [somethingpositive.net]: It's pretty damn mean spirited a lot of the time, and sometimes gets a bit wordy, but it's consistently funny, and the characters come across as being very human. They have hopes and fears. They grow as time goes on. I think they're pretty believable.
Schlock Mercenary [schlockmercenary.com]: This is a fine piece of science fiction (certainly much more deserving of the label than is Star Wars), and very funny to boot. It also has very good characterization, and wonderfully twisty, entertaining plotlines. This is probably the first comic I check every night, and I read some 30+ webcomics. I think many Slashdotters will appreciate it too. Incidentally, this strip, like the ones mentioned in TFA, recently split from Keenspot.
Re:Congrats guys!-Love Currency (Score:2)
The comic books that I've seen (I have a few) are usually just reprinted comics you can see on the 'net though, and don't really fit the format. There's a few that are new material and made for comic books.
The premium service for the first year sucked balls (I didn't renew after that, so I don't know what it's like anymore). I don't know if they ever got the comic viewing code working right, and they still seem to have little prem
Re:Congrats guys!-Love Currency (Score:2)
Re:Congrats guys!-Love Currency (Score:2)
Word of mouth seems best though - I remember the number of comics I read jumped significantly after I found damonk's (of framed! fame) links page. Too bad he doesn't do it anymore.
Re:Congrats guys! (Score:2, Informative)
They:
-Have to share any profits they make off of the success of their strip with Keenspot
-Don't really get to decide who advertises on their site, Keenspot does (I think that's right)
-Have to format their page in a certain way to meet Keenspot's requirements (which includes a large adbox that points to other Keenspot comics)
For some webcartoonists, this loss of co
Re:yawn (Score:2)