Comic Lab

An online publisher has become the center of some genuinely alarming stories. Brad and Dave break down five hard lessons comic creators can learn when a publisher shows signs of instability, mismanagement, or collapse.
Today's Show
Five Lessons from a Publisher in Crisis
Submitting your work for awards
Summary
Cartoonists Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett explore the importance of owning and controlling one's career in the comic industry. They discuss the need for business acumen among cartoonists and the risks of signing contracts. The conversation emphasizes the value of learning from mistakes in self-publishing, the power of transparency among creators, and the benefits of submitting work for awards. Ultimately, they stress that the goal is not independence at all costs, but informed consent in business relationships.
Takeaways
There is a percentage of humans who can close their nostrils underwater.
Cartoonists must be prepared to be business people.
Your best defense is often not signing a contract.
Mistakes in self-publishing are manageable and teach valuable lessons.
Transparency among creators is crucial for success.
Experience changes the power dynamic in negotiations.
Submitting for awards can provide valuable insights into your work.
Reviewing your work helps improve your editorial and aesthetic eye.
Self-publishing allows for greater control over your career.
Imposter syndrome should not prevent you from submitting your work.
 

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

A listener asks: "Should you judge a book by its cover?" Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar say... YES! Next, a cartoonist who is too embarrassed to promote his own work gets some encouragement and words of advice from the veteran comic creators.
TODAY'S SHOW
Should you judge a book by its cover?
Too embarrassed to promote
Takeaways
A book's cover plays a significant role in its marketability.
It's important to design a cover that reflects the content of the comic.
Promoting comics can be challenging, especially in unexpected social situations.
Introverts can find it difficult to promote their work in person.
Having a decoy website can help ease the promotion process.
It's okay to feel uncomfortable discussing your work with strangers.
Using humor can help deflect awkward conversations about your work.
Online promotion can be more effective than in-person promotion.
 

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Starting a webcomic in 2026 isn’t about chasing algorithms or copying what’s popular — it’s about building something sustainable, creative, and yours. In this episode, Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett break down what new cartoonists actually need to focus on in their first years: writing first, consistency over hype, owning your work, and building an audience the right way.
You’ll learn why you don’t need Webtoon or Tapas, why monetizing too early can derail your career, how social media really fits into comics growth today, and why a website and mailing list are non-negotiable. This is a marathon mindset episode for creators who want to do comics for the long haul — and do them for love.
Getting off on the Right Foot
Don’t try to “game” your readership. Write about what YOU like. Readers are drawn to a creator’s passion. It doesn’t work the other way around.
Building readership takes time and consistency. Creating for love is essential in the early years.
Focus on writing as the core of comic creation. They’re called comics readers, not comics lookers. It’s all about the writing.
Focus on creating comics for the love of the craft. The first comics may only be seen by you; embrace the process.
Mistakes in the early stages are recoverable. Stop fretting over them.
Common copyright fears and how to approach them
Own and control your work
Building an audience
You do NOT need to be on Webtoon/Tapas. Look at the comics on the front pages of those sites? Does your comic look like those? Is your content similar? If not, you’re not going to fare well there. It’s pretty obvious.
Social media presence is still important for comic creators. Today, we recommend Bluesky and Reddit. ComicLab has Collections that provide solid social-media strategies. They’re free to members and available at a one-time fee for others.
Be active on social media to build your audience. Follow the Four Cs — Creation, Curation, Commercial, and Kindness
How many updates? FCS — Frequent / Consistent / Significant — there are no magic numbers.
Start building your mailing list NOW with a newsletter. This will be increasingly important when you turn to monetization in a few years. You should send every comic out in a newsletter post and you should also post a weekly newsletter of no longer than 500 words per update with BTS content (to the extent you’re comfortable sharing).
You need a website. This is not old or outdated — it’s incredibly powerful, and you need to start planning for one now… even if it’s a very bare-bones site. This is a non-negotiable.
Consider The 2-2-1 Rule: Two social media platforms, two newsletters (including a free-membership tier on Patreon), one website. Then, use these together to funnel traffic inward towards the website. Later, when you’ve launched monetization, the funnel will direct towards that.
Don't listen to your reader; listen to your readers
Don’t mistake social media followers for income.
Monetization
DON’T START MONETIZING IN YOUR FIRST YEAR. Maybe not even the second. Everything you need to know about crowdfunding is in the name. First comes the crowd, THEN comes the funding. In the first few years, you need to focus on building that crowd. The only thing worse than having no Patreon backers is having ONE Patreon backer. Hundreds of new comic creators have become derailed by focusing on monetization too soon.
Comic Cons: We don’t recommend them. They don’t build audience. They don’t have great sales unless you have a lot of merch that *does well as in-person merch* (there’s a difference!). And it’s very hard to make profit unless you can religiously control costs. If you’re making merch to go to the show, you’re doing this all wrong. Psychologically, a lot of folks like to “play” professional cartoonist by exhitibiting.
Accepted into show start making stuff to sell.
Start planning now for print — hi-res (400+ dpi),  bigger than final size, cmyk, maintain layers, etc. Save in the native software.
Marathon thinking
Persistence is key; it's a marathon, not a sprint. If you need a schedule to post regularly, set a schedule and stick to it.
Develop your aesthetic by studying good comics.
Seek honest feedback to improve your work.
Reach out to other comics creators who are doing stuff that’s similar to yours and build networks.

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

What does it really mean when someone looks at your career and says, “You should be doing more”?
In this episode of ComicLab, Brad and Dave respond to a pointed listener question that cuts straight to the bone: If they have the skills, the experience, and the ideas — why haven’t they launched even more projects? The answer isn’t defensive or dismissive. Instead, it becomes a clear-eyed breakdown of creative bandwidth, sustainability, work-life balance, and the invisible labor that propels up a long-term comics career. From Patreon and newsletters to storefronts, commissions, podcasts, and family responsibilities, they unpack why “doing enough” is often misunderstood from the outside — and why restraint can be a strategic choice, not a lack of ambition.
The conversation then pivots to one of the trickiest problems any humor writer faces: How to judge your own work when readers don’t get the joke. How many confused comments are just statistical noise—and when do they signal a real problem in execution? Brad and Dave dig into the uncomfortable middle ground between ego and humility, exploring how to listen to feedback without letting it derail your voice, and how to improve clarity without sanding off what makes your work distinctive. It’s a nuanced, experience-earned discussion about ramps, chasms, audience expectations, and why “it happens to everyone” is not an excuse — but also not a death sentence.
If you’ve ever felt pressure to produce more, or struggled to decide whether reader confusion is a warning sign or just the cost of taking creative risks, this episode offers hard-earned perspective from two cartoonists who’ve been navigating those exact questions for decades.
Takeaways
Creative projects often take a backseat due to time constraints.
Cartoonists manage a heavy workload that includes multiple projects.
Balancing creativity with administrative tasks is crucial for success.
Feedback from readers can help improve comic writing.
Self-editing is a continuous process for comic creators.
Reader confusion can indicate a need for better communication in comics.
Communication is key in the artistic process.
 
 
 
 

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar make their predictions for 2026 and share their goals for the new year. Also — they offer their annual reminder to shop the Comicraft New Year's Day sale on January 1st.
Brad's Predictions
Syndicated comics reach the tipping point
Creator identity becomes prominent
Substack pulls through
Webtoon bubble bursts
Patreon expands “community” and “discovery” tools.
AI gains acceptance
Dave's predictions
If you want a stable career in comics, produce Dog Man.
NCS will continue to grow its membership to numbers it hasn’t seen in decades.
If Funko Pop indeed goes bankrupt — and that’s still a big if — there might be SDCC space available for the first time in years.
I’m predicting a good-sized market correction in the second part of the year.
Brad's Goals
Shifting from survive to thrive.
This will be a two-Kickstarter year. 
Spice Rack was a moderate success. Uncensored Artists is the next step
Repackaging, re-releasing, and rebranding my archives for a new and evolving audience.
20% email list growth on the Evil Inc Substack and the free-membership tier on Patreon.
Start doing monthly assessments so I can improve my annual assessments. 
Dave's Goals
Kickstart one new book, “Double Dog Dare”
Exhibit at WorldCon in LA for the first time in a decade.
Successfully navigate the first of the last four years of DRIVE. 
Get more “Tales of the Drive” in the works. 

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.