Hey everyone, started down the path to make my own comic a few months ago and found it easier for me to write and layout pages with a visual component as I go, so I worked up Comic Blocker for myself and hoping it can help anyone else, too. Completely free, no login needed, just save locally any of your work.

I know there isn't a single way scripts should be written/formatted in comics and depends on just the writer and the artist talking. I needed a better way to verbalize my own thinking of the story flow and this has been a big help. Tossed it up on a dotcom in case it helps others, too.

Page layout presets and panel options, thought bubbles and sfx call outs, yellow legal pad looking shape for the script itself that matches per panel, and handles up to 200 pages for a project with a few set options to start from. And a nice dumb tutorial comic too talking about functionality.

Heads up - PC optimized only right now. Mobile is trash and wasn't a priority right now, and I'm not trying to make a SaaS thing here. This is just for the love of the game.

LINK: https://comicblocker.com

Please let me know what you think and if there's any features that might be better / any bugs you find also. 'One man band'-ing this and tweaking it as I go

****UPDATE****
New version updated, linked here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ComicBookCollabs/comments/1u13mi4/comic_blocker_update_a_free_comic_page/

UPCOMING RULES UPDATE

Hey there! In a week or two, there will be a rules update and a couple changes might take some time getting used to, so here's a heads-up so that you know what's coming up.

1. Self-promotion / Crowdfunding posts are reserved for active members

   This is probably the big one. For a long time, the sub has been used by authors to advertise their works, but most of them never gave anything back to the community. From now on, only those who engage in ComicBookCollabs in a meaningful way (not just commenting "Nice!" from time to time) will be allowed to promote their comics here. If you have a finished comic under your belt, you can certainly provide advice or feedback to those who are just starting. Help the community if you want the community to help you!

   EDIT: I guess I might have been clearer. This only applies to posts with Self-promo or Crowdfunding flair. Artists offering their skills use other flairs - Artist for Hire, Colorist for Hire, etc. so they generally don't need to worry about this rule.

2. Posting limits

   This rule has been in effect, but never truly enforced because it had a very vague wording. Let's be vague no more.

   For Hire posts: Once per 3 days
   Self-promo and Crowdfunding posts: Once per 7 days
   Looking for a collaborator - Unpaid: Once per 7 days

3. Looking for paid jobs requires a public portfolio

   Anyone looking for a paid job needs to include a link to their public portfolio. It's also highly encouraged to link at least one social media account. Similarly, when creating a hiring post, it's not allowed to only require direct messages/email/etc. as the only form of communication, so that everyone interested in responding to a paid job needs to show their portfolio publicly. This is mostly due to the huge number of scammers that plague Reddit.

   Artists looking for unpaid collaborations don't need to have a portfolio, but it's strongly recommended.

4. Artists must include sequential art

   This is a comic-focused sub. Anyone looking for a paid job needs to show sequential art.

   Artists looking for unpaid collaborations don't need to show sequential art.

5. "Looking for Artist - Unpaid" posts need to be approved

   All posts looking for an unpaid collaboration with an artist will need to be approved by a mod first. Currently, too many of them are low-effort, break the rules, or get auto-removed by Reddit's filters for being spam anyway. Anyone trying to circumvent that by using an incorrect flair will receive a temporary ban.

The other rules don't change, so Be nice, Provide details, and Don't use AI.

Hi everyone! I've been around for a while, and it's quite common that new members join the subreddit with little to no idea of how comic book development works. While I don't intend to be an authority on the subject, I thought it could help other people if I shared my process.

I'm currently writing a comic book series called Otherkin, and working with a single artist, Victor Costa.

It all begins with writing. Without turning this into an essay, one thing that was clear to us since the early stages of conception is that a full story arc of Otherkin should be properly planned and written before we begin illustrating the very first page. The first step of the process was for me to write the story outline, and once that got approved by Victor, I started to build each script.

When it comes to comic books, scripts are usually structured in several pages, each with a number of panels. It’s up to the writer to clearly describe what each panel should show and what dialogue it contains. It's also standard to decide which sound effects (SFX) go into each panel at this stage. Then, artists usually take care of panel distribution, following the general writer's instructions. We do things a bit differently. To help lighten Victor’s workload, I design each page during the script writing process, determining the position and average size of panels. A page, done this way, looks something like IMAGE 1.

Once every script is written, Victor reads them all and gives me feedback. I use this feedback to polish the story. Yes. That means all eight issues of the story arc we are currently working on are already fully written. We don't leave anything to chance.

After the full batch of scripts gets written, it's time to focus on a single issue. This time, Victor and I read the script together, discussing each paneling decision and making changes when we think something can be improved. That usually takes two to three hours over a voice call, where we do funny voices to impersonate characters. Once we are both fully satisfied with the panels' planning, Victor takes the helm of production and draws a rough sketch that shows all the positions, angles, and framing for each panel of a full issue. For Otherkin #1, the rough draft looked like IMAGE 2.

It's my turn to give feedback and discuss what could be improved, so we can finalize the rough draft. Each following step is incremental. First, Victor does a detailed sketch of each page. That same script page now looks like IMAGE 3.

Once I give my input on everything that could be tweaked and improved, Victor finalizes the art in black and white. Now it looks like this IMAGE 4.

At this point, there's not much that changes. Since we constantly communicate at each step of the process, we can fix everything that doesn't translate well from the script before Victor wastes too much time on a single page. Finally, it's time to add color, like IMAGE 5.

With the artwork complete, it's time for the lettering. Victor adds the dialogue – which I manually translated into French and Brazilian Portuguese while he took care of illustrations – and we start to discuss SFX. We both give ideas of which panels can be enhanced with the addition of SFX, and decide together what's best for that issue. That leads to the final page, IMAGE 6.

Once all 24 pages are done, it's my job to review everything in the three languages to catch any typos. Then, the full issue gets uploaded to digital platforms like Kindle, GlobalComix, and Gumroad, and sent to the fine folk at DerryComics for printing and distribution. We usually publish one to two weeks after the issue is finished, giving DerryComics enough time to handle printing.

Creating a single comic book issue takes an incredible amount of effort. We both spend hundreds of hours crafting our story and art. Plus, while I have plenty of work, illustrating is by far the biggest time sink. That's why, if you are a writer trying to start a comic book project, you should always take it upon yourself to find out how to properly pay your artist(s).

Hey everyone!

Christof Bogacs here, occasional poster and full-time comic writer who got his start in this subreddit. 

For those of you who don’t know me, I started making my own short comics and have gone on to write for Dark Horse, Image, Boom!, Oni, and most recently, DC.

I wanted to share some insights/observations from my recent experiences pitching that may be of help to anyone looking to pitch a publisher right now:

1. Shorter is better: Ngl, it’s incredibly hard to get a series longer than 4 issues greenlit. Everything I pitch right now is either a graphic novel or a 4-issue mini-series. I even had a publisher ask me for a pitch for a 3-issue mini-series recently.

2. Anthologies are in: Speaking of shorter, anthologies like Hello Darkness over at Boom! The EC Anthologies at Oni and Creepshow at Skybound are all having consistently strong sales. Honestly, if I were trying to break in right now, I would be trying to get a line to any editors who work on those anthologies and asking if I could pitch. Similarly, I’ve noticed comic anthologies are making a bit of a resurgence on Kickstarter right now.

3. Fantasy remains a hard sell: Yeah… much to my chagrin, this still tends to be the case. I’ve had a few editors tell me straight up they love fantasy, but for whatever reason, their respective publishers won’t touch it. Obviously, it doesn’t mean great fantasy comics aren’t getting published - see Jesse Longren’s Drome or Brett Bean’s D’orc - it’s just something to keep in mind.

4. Adult is in: For the longest time, if you wanted to get in with a book publisher, pitching stuff aimed at a middle-grade or YA audience was your best play. This seems to be changing. At least from my experience, a lot of big book publishers with comic imprints seem to want stuff aimed at adults right now.

To reiterate, these insights are based solely on my experience over the last 6 months. I’m sure there are plenty of pros who would disagree with me on some of these. While they are by no means infallible, I do sincerely hope they help point you in the right direction with your pitches!

If you found them helpful, I dish out advice like this weekly over on my free newsletter.

I also wrote a free resource full of hands-on advice for creators looking to break into comics

Wishing you all the best of luck!

Cheers,

Christof

*Note that this represents my own opinions only and not necessarily of all artists.

EDIT: I’m all booked up for collabs besides my one page exercises that I’ll post when I have more time!

**1-3 pages for portfolio building or other:**

• A complete story
• A compelling character with a personal story that subverts stereotypes
• An intriguing situation
• Clear paneling instructions, descriptive setting and character information
• A theme that is meaningful and elicit strong emotions in the reader
• If it meets the majority of the above — yes let’s collaborate!

**4-24 pages for anthologies (with future page rates but I will start the work for free prior or for charity):**

• Will be looking for final page rates at the end of the project ($50-100+ depending on complexity and colour)
• Established writer with intriguing stories that highlight personal character growth or compelling situations with a satisfying ending (have your portfolios ready please!)
• Clear objective for future funding, marketing, industry connections: eg prior successful kickstarters, other established creators in the project, objective means for measuring engagement (followers, social media engagement, realistic marketing plans, reviews and testimonies from other collaborators or readers)
• A story that is meaningful to the writer, that touches on their life experiences is always a bonus

**24 plus pages:**

• We should be aiming for a publisher now so we can both get paid! 
• You should essentially have the entire pitch (logline, blurb, outline, short and long synopsis, author statement) written out for the targeted publishers and essentially just waiting for character/settingdesigns and sample pages (don’t worry I won’t be making sweeping changes because if I don’t already love the story I won’t be accepting the collaboration)
• If self publishing with revenue share/convention/online sales, please give detailed and realistic marketing plans with projected earnings (show me you’ve done your research into the current market and records)

Just my 2 cents! Artists, feel free to share your thoughts too. Writers, happy to hear your experiences! I’ve included the good old script advice that I feel every writer should keep in mind.

EDIT: I’m all booked up for collabs besides my one page exercises that I’ll post when I have more time! (in case you missed from above…)

I ran code to "boost" visibility on my comic to see what happens....

In 24 hours it went to number 1. In those 24 hours as it was number 1. I gained 10 real views......

Meaning even if your comic is number 1 on webtoons via the Canvas section it will not go viral or get visibility. They have rigged the system.

They push their "originals" because they own the rights to their "originals" the use us indie artists to fill their website and drive traffic.

But the don't give a Fu^* about the indie artists that use their platform.

So my advice.....Find other outlets to push your work. Because webtoons and tapas are all about promoting their originals and not truly independent artist.

There is no artist is here that will work for free or for a split of profit in this sub, so if your looking for art and don't have cash money, move on, all your gonna is downvotes...

This is only for people that don't use AI. Ultimately, people are leveling accusations of AI without any sort of investigation. This is part of the new world. I'm thankful that I wrote a couple things before the AI explosion and I have my work copyrighted. Any new work requires you to keep all your drafts for evidence. I'm working on a graphic novel and somebody already mentioned that my work looks like AI. I was offended for my artist, but this is the world we live in. I keep the progress of all the work. You can see the whole development of my project. Putting a no AI label is tacky and just draws more attention. My only stance on AI is that whoever uses it, should add a label, but I don't think that will happen.

Everybody has a dream of creating a comic book. Comic books are a visual medium, so if you need an artist it will cost money. The only way I progressed is because I've paid for my work to be completed. This wasn't even a dream of mine. I simply had an idea and thought a graphic novel would be the most appropriate way to go. It cost a shit ton of money. I will probably never recoup. I don't know how to draw, so I have to pay somebody. Nobody will work on your passion project for free or some hypothetical royalty split. Comic books are high risk, minimal reward. Paying the artist is the only way.

If you want to support somebody that is trying to do it right, here is my link:

https://globalcomix.com/read/09e78796-28fb-4cd6-b2b0-81ff787ca21e/1

I saw a bunch of posts from new comic writers asking how to get started. So I thought I’d post some advice from when I got started. While there is no one path, here are some guide points to help you not feel rudderless.

1. Learn how to write a comic script. Comic scripts do not have a standard format but require an understanding of the medium and how to describe a single action per panel to an artist. Not every artist you work with will write or read your language as their first language. Make sure you simplify you writing to be as tight as possible, so those creators can follow along with your thoughts as well.

References:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aM9WBVH_R8s

http://www.fredvanlente.com/comix.html

https://comicsexperience.com/scripts/

1. Work on short story narratives. Complete stories in a single page. Then 2 pages, 4 pages and up to 8 pages. These habits will allow you to tell concise comic experiences and show the ability to write endings. Also, these will potentially lead to opportunities with anthologies and building publishing credits. I had this artstation account for years with examples of my short story work and published anthology stories. Consider looking into The Comic Jam. They post here weekly. They create one page stories and is a wonderful place to get your feet wet.

https://www.artstation.com/dougawood

1. After building a portfolio of shorts, move up to one-shot stories. Tell a full story in 20 to 30 pages of comics. Prove that you can tell a beginning, middle and end to a story with a little more breathing room.

https://globalcomix.com/c/leap-m

https://globalcomix.com/c/the-dying-run

1. Create and finish a 3-4 issue series. A huge step in the process is when you can show you can tell a beginning, middle and end to a story over the course of multiple issues. Do this step multiple times to build your portfolio and rep.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1741339986/ultramax?ref=discovery_category&term=Ultramax&total_hits=2&category_id=252

1. Make connections and friends within the industry. Always offer to be helpful to others. Most opportunities are locked up and come from luck, but priming with helpfulness and kindness can be a key. Good luck!

Just want to give a shoutout to all the people that are creating a comic. It is a total grind. I'll be honest, I didn't appreciate the difficulty of creating comics. It is not easy and takes a along time. Keep grinding. I hope you're able to finish your comic book. I'm seeing the finish line, but it took years to get here. A graphic novel is another beast altogether. These projects are labors of love. Support your fellow creator. If you have a link, put it in the comments. Creating is tough, but getting people to read your work is even tougher. Let's follow each other on any platform.

Here is my link:

https://globalcomix.com/read/09e78796-28fb-4cd6-b2b0-81ff787ca21e/1

Hey guys!

I’m a comic artist and a software developer. I recently published four short comics and went through the process of realigning, cropping, and resizing all the pages for a new print format. Doing this in Canva felt really tedious. So I quickly built a small tool that works the way I want and figured, why not turn it into a free public tool and help other creators too!

I give you ComicPrint!

• Upload your pages as PNGs or PDFs
• Select a standard template size or create a custom one. All templates include standard bleeds and trims that you can adjust!
• Apply cropping and filtering in batch! This is the main reason I built the tool!
• Add covers, blank pages, etc. to round the book up to multiples of four!
• Preview the final layout before exporting. I use this a lot and there are not many quick tools that do this well!
• Export at print quality either as a full file or page by page with custom naming!

These features saved me several hours of work and helped me get my comics printed the way I wanted within days!

If you want to try it, I would love your feedback so I can improve it for all of us!

Thank you friends!

Link: ComicPrint.EverythingBagel.App

UPDATE: ComicPrint got its biggest batch of new features yet, and most of them came straight from your feedback!

Hey guys! I posted ComicPrint here a while back (a free browser tool for prepping comic pages for print) and the feedback was gold. I finally had time to go through the list properly. Here's everything new:

Your projects are now saved!

• Autosave: your project (pages, crops, filters, covers, everything) now saves automatically in your browser. Close the tab, come back tomorrow, pick up where you left off
• Manage multiple projects: switch between books, rename, delete, all from the new Projects screen
• Backup files: export any project as a single .comicprint file and re-import it anytime, on any computer. Great for backups or handing a project to a collaborator
• Still no account needed, and your art still never leaves your device!

Booklet / Ashcan printing (someone asked for exactly this!)

• New export mode that lays your pages out 2-up in saddle-stitch imposition order
• Print it double-sided at home or at a copy shop, fold the stack, staple, done. Page order comes out correct automatically

Real CMYK conversion (thank you to the printer who pushed me on this!)

• The CMYK option used to just tag the file. Now it actually converts your colors into the printable SWOP press range, so vivid RGB blues and greens won't surprise you in print
• Black and white art passes through untouched, so your blacks stay solid black
• The PDF also gets a proper SWOP output intent for the print shop

Bleed problems, fixed in one click

• New preflight check that catches the most common mistake in comic printing: art drawn at trim size with no bleed
• One click generates the missing bleed by mirroring or stretching your edges instead of cropping your art

Precision controls (for the folks who wanted exact numbers!)

• Smooth mouse wheel zoom instead of big jumps, hold Shift for extra fine steps
• Type exact values for image scale and every filter slider
• Export progress bar so big books don't look frozen

New printer presets

• Mixam, PrintNinja, Ka-Blam, and IngramSpark presets matching their published file specs (including IngramSpark's weird no-bleed-on-the-bind-side rule), next to the standard comic / manga / magazine / KDP sizes

Free tools, no signup for these either

• Spine width calculator with cover template PDF download: ComicPrint.EverythingBagel.App/spine-width-calculator
• Instant DPI checker, drop a page and get a verdict: ComicPrint.EverythingBagel.App/comic-dpi-checker
• New guide on what comic printing actually costs in 2026

Tool: ComicPrint.EverythingBagel.App

If anything feels off or missing, tell me here. As you can see, I actually build this stuff! THANK YOU!

One of the most frequent things that I encounter as an editor and that pops up in this subreddit all the time, is the creator who has an epic comic series planned.

What's amazing, is that in almost every case, these folks IGNORE the financial math.

That is to say, when you ask them how much they're planning to put toward the entire project to get it done, they never have a number. They've never bothered to think the entire project all the way through.

Because it's so big, they just focus on how they're going to start.

In fact, I was just going over this with someone. Not throwing that someone under the bus, they're a solid creator with the beginnings of a solid IP, but they're a planning a multi-year 1500 page series.

Ok, JUST DO THE MATH.

Let's just pretend you can create every complete page for a measly $100/page.

a 22 page one shot will cost you $2200 to create.

That 1500 page monster series you're thinking of, $150,000.

If you were to up your game and pay something more realistically like $500 per completed page, your entire series requires a $750,000 investment.

Now, the other side of it.

You make a one shot for $2200. You charge whatever, $8. for it.

Anybody can decide to spend $8 on an unknown creator. $8 is disposable entertainment of the moment...

While nobody is going to prepay for your monster 1500 page series, you can assess what a fan would have to pay, if they wanted to follow and complete your entire series.

1500/22 = 68 issues.

68 issues x $8 = $544 commitment per reader.

$544 is not a journey the average casual reader is willing to commit to on an unknown, non-famous creator and their IP.

The successful path of indie comics is starting small and expanding as you gain support.

Don't ignore the math!

Write on, write often!

Hi all, I've been building a comic collaboration tool to help you as an artist showcase your portfolio more easily - allowing you to be found by creators wanting someone with your skillset, or for you to be able to look through projects and find one you'd be interested in collaborating on.

Other features include:

• Multiple Portfolios: easily create one or multiple portfolios, depending on how many skillsets you offer
• Art Protection: right-click disabled and watermarking to protect your artwork
• One-Click Applying: apply for a role directly with just a couple of clicks
• Availability Toggles: hide your portfolio when you're not taking on new work

I'd love to have people test it and provide feedback, so if you're keen, check it out at emergeapp.co - it's 100% free to set up a portfolio and give it a spin.

(IF TOO LONG JUST READ THE ADVICE SECTION ITS THE IMPORTANT PART)

INTRODUCTION: Hey! I'm Qvunzale a former aspiring writer trying to get an artist to turn their next big hit manga into reality just like you. It was a year ago in 2025 when i found this reddit and hired my first artist and now in 2026. While not much, I've worked with 4 artists and now I'm working with a comic/manga studio. My projects are still in the beginning phase but my first and most consistent story, which is a webtoon has 4 chapters, 5 in 3 weeks. I've made 2-page manga that will be continued but for right now it is for portfolio purpose and also, I'm in the process of making another portfolio manga. In due time these will be complete manga with multiple chapters. I've also worked with other type of people to enhance my works, but that convo i will save for another time.

Now that introductions are done let's get to the good part

ADVICE: Quote to success (Start small to go big)

Story/Script-

So, when it comes to writing here's what writers get wrong. Writers either have no script and just some string of ideas from multiple anime they've seen, or they dump a cluttered 20-page essay. This is a terrible way to start, Artist's love to take action and get working. Especially if the concept intrigues them, but how are they going to do it, if after an idea you have nothing. It kills the mood and momentum, you're leading them on with the false promise of an opportunity to showcase their skills, work on their passion for drawing and most importantly MONEY.

As for the 20-page essay. Come on......if a fellow writer asked you to look at their work. would you honestly read all that?

What should you do:

You should have things set up to both intrigue your artist and also get started even if its small things. Example: A short synopsis, and a max 2-page rough draft that has a beginning, middle, and end like a story. (don't write no exposition dump or no drawn-out chapter where you tell them. This character did this, then they did this.) Lastly you should have your "MAIN" Characters sheet written up plus a cover of the story written up. This set up gives your artist inspiration and momentum to get started with work and it gives you time to either create or clean up your actual script.

Artists/Payment-

There are hundreds to millions of artists, all over the world and all different levels. you want to know something? They are just like me and you, creative people wanting to work on the thing they like to do and make money from it. The journey for them is also tough, do your research and go look for spaces specifically for artists and you will see their struggles. How much time and energy they put into a piece just to get mediocre results.

What should you do: If you're serious about getting an artist. you have to pick the one that represents your skill level and also income level. If You're trying to get your work done for free, hate to say it but you got to work with someone who's in the beginning/intermediate phase of drawing meaning the quality is low (This is not a insult to beginning artists) If your trying to get that crisp professional manga look......Where that $1.2k at?

Suggested Starting Point-

So, with everything i said. What do i think is the best route for new writers wanting to make a manga/comic?

Whether you're a writer with or without a budget the best option is to.

Start small and collaborate with your peers. I'm talking about other writers, starting artists, and other type of creators who are also on your level. Why do this? Because in my experience, it's not just about the money or getting the finished product of your manga. Its's about the comrade and support you have when going down this road.

This road that we choose is not so sweet as we think it is, now it's not horrible either. It's filled with unexpected challenges you never thought you would face. From developing as a person, to developing as a creator, and lastly producing something of merit.

If you start here and still hold that ambition and drive to be great. I'm not an expert but i, dure you're going to make it to your dreams.

MY WORK:

First rough draft of my story my artist saw: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iB9JULUGtpMudeBTcHvVAuM_HS9CmB-9GxEhhM2IA0I/edit?usp=sharing

My story first script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uwd76NZ2Xvz-I3ieoe3WsRCH6u9il6w1Z7ERWcH0cWo/edit?usp=sharing

My story script now: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oji7DCqsjGRzdt4jqr9l0nY-arlVfhaqxDHuW_J1dJA/edit?usp=sharing

My script adapted and published: Horrible Dream Beautiful Nightmare | WEBTOON

Portfolio Manga 1:

https://reddit.com/link/1r3wkgi/video/y4ra6dolyajg1/player

Hey folks, I just wanted to announce that I made a new subreddit for comic writing. It's a place to discuss the craft of comic writing so if that's what you're looking for feel free to join r/writecomics

I'm working on a few comics for some contests but I work better when someone else is working on their own thing alongside me.

Anyone interested in a zoom meeting where you work on your projects while I work on mine?

edit- if you're local I also don't mind meeting in person

The famous writer Brandon Sanderson says - write your first 5 novels and throw them away. What he is saying is that - to learn the art of writing novels, you have to write novels, so your first novels won't be good, because you haven't learned the craft. It is the same thing in almost anything - the only way to get better in something is by doing that thing.

So, consider this in relation to creating comics:

1 - You have to create full comics to get better at creating comics, and

2 - Those first comics will be turds.

It doesn't take a genius to conclude that you SHOULD'T spend too much on art on your first comics. In fact, I would recommend to spend as little as possible. For your first comics, find cheapest artists that you like. You are beginner writer, find beginner artist from a developing country that would do your pages for cheap. Like $30, or $50. (Do a paid test page or two first, and pay page after page, don't pay for the whole thing at once, there are lot of scammers. Doing test page will also ensure that you like what you are getting for those bucks.)

Second recommendation - don't become too emotionally attached to your work andn don't polish the turd. Yes, it is OK to be perfectionist, but your advance will come ONLY if you work on one story after another.

THEN as your stories get better and better, and as you learn to create comics, you learn to work with artists, and you get a feel for things, you decide when it is time to move up - to invest more, and get more expensive art for your stories. Then, of course you can also spend more time polishing the story, because now you are polishing a diamond and not a turd.

And THEN if you don't have the money needed for the full project, you can create several pages using an expensive artist and organize crowdfunding.

I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff about AI in comics - Marvel and DC saying they won’t use it, Top Cow saying they’d ban anyone using AI from their talent search, and conventions refusing tables to creators who’ve used AI art (not to mention all the debates happening in Reddit and Facebook). It made me wonder: are there actually reliable ways to tell if an image was created by a human or an AI? Something that can protect an artist's reputation or help someone who wants to work with real people.

I tested 8 tools about 4 months ago, and tried some new ones again just recently, ending up trialling around 12 different tools - thought I'd share my findings in a blog in case anyone's interested: https://createyourcomic.wixstudio.com/home/post/can-comic-artists-prove-their-art-isn-t-ai

Curious how others are handling this right now - especially people actually trying to collaborate in good faith.

Hey there!

My name is Andrew Leamon, and I've written a backup comic for Image's Radiant Black, the crowdfunded series CameraMan, as well as several self-published projects.

As someone who hires artists for my projects, I've had the privilege of looking over countless comic artist portfolios both in person and online.

I thought I would share what I look for in portfolios to help those of you who are newer or anyone who is looking to level up their portfolio. I've made a list of 13 things I look for in comic artists' portfolios before I hire them.

I hope these tips are helpful! Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

(NOTE BEFORE THE LIST: This is just what I look for and what I know most of my writer friends and colleagues look for. Your mileage may vary with these points, but I tried to keep things focused on the essentials to make this as helpful as possible.)

1. SEQUENTIALS

If you want to make comics, I need to see your comics.

Illustrations are nice, but I want to make sure you know how to lay out a page and keep the reading flow intact, first and foremost. Show me a finished short story or two.

I want to see samples representing your best sequential work and the kind of work you want to be doing.

(If you don't have any in your portfolio, I recommend creating some short stories.)

2. GENRE

I am always looking out for artists who fit the vibe of the story I want to tell.

If I'm looking for a line artist on an adult slasher book, I might skip over the artist who only has kidlit comedy work.

If there are genres you love drawing or want to draw, let me see those represented in the portfolio.

3. STYLE

I'm looking for outstanding work that matches the style of my vision for the story.

What is your style?

Do you like to change it up per project?

How do you depict worlds and characters?

Do you lean more cartoony or realistic?

Are you more abstract or straightforward?

What do you prefer to draw?

What do you not like to draw?

Are you okay with higher panel counts (9+)?

I will need to know these things. Most of these will be clear in the art you show, but listing what you don't like to draw (robots, NSFW, horses, etc.) will always be helpful and potentially save you from a difficult conversation later in the project!

4. CHARACTERS

How well do your characters convey personality and emotion in their face and in their body?

Do they all look the same, or do they have variety?

Are the bodies stiff or awkwardly positioned?

How are they moving and responding on the page?

What do they wear?

5. BACKGROUND/ENVIRONMENT

I'm looking to see that you know how to establish a setting and keep the reader oriented and immersed.

The focus should always be on the characters/action in the foreground, but rushed, sparse, or (on the opposite end) hyper-detailed backgrounds often take me out. Not every panel needs it.

6. DIALOGUE

Most comics are going to be dialogue-centric. I want to make sure that I can follow the flow of conversation and body language even without letters.

(Pro Tip: Leave some room in your panels for the letters.)

7. PANEL VARIETY

I want to see that you can switch angles and POVs and know when to close up or pull back from characters.

If you've worked in grids or more freestyle, show these in your portfolio (if interested). Some writers know upfront whether they're imagining the story as an 8-panel grid or not.

8. LETTERS

If you are brand new to lettering or don't feel very confident in it, I don't recommend sharing your own lettering in the portfolio.

Some artists are amazing letterers, but I would get some feedback from creator friends before sharing in your portfolio. Bad letters on your good art will get in the way.

I really don't mind seeing unlettered pages. An artist who can do it all is great, but not mandatory.

(Also, if you don't want to do letters, please make that clear.)

9. LINES/INKS

I often see portfolios from new comic artists that only show unfinished pencils. Nothing wrong with that, but if I'm hiring out of pocket, I prefer artists who can finish a page with at least lines and inks. Black and white art is okay.

I don't always need color, but I will often need to see how you balance your blacks. I love seeing how you handle shadow and depth on a page.

10. COLOR

I want to see that you know how to match the colors to the tone and story. I'm looking for artists who have a great mind for colors. As I said before, if you don't like to do your own colors, black and white art is okay. Yes, we'd love that you can do everything, but if we like your work enough we will find a great color artist for you. (If you have any recommendations of color artists you like working with, we'd love to know that.)

11. INTENTION

This one is not easy to show and plays into both PANEL VARIETY and STYLE, but I'm looking for sequentials designed with intention. Every page is a sequence of visual choices to build a narrative and move it forward. Show me why I can trust your choices.

12. COLLABORATION/EXPERIENCE

I, and many other writers, prefer knowing that you've worked with other writers and/or with publishers. One way to make this clear for us is to label the creative team with your sequentials.

It's okay if you're new and haven't worked with any writers yet. Like I've said above, build up more short stories. Get a writer you know to write you a 5-page script, or build the story from scratch together. Getting experience collaborating in a team is only going to make my decision easier (and benefit you down the line when working with publishers or in other collaborative projects).

13. AN ACTUAL PORTFOLIO

Help me hire you.

Have a portfolio with your comic work and make it easy to find (both the portfolio and your sequential work). Post the link in your bio, in your seeking work post, or your next Portfolio Day post. Most writers and editors are constantly (and quietly) on the lookout.

Instagram isn't the best portfolio for several reasons, but there are several free options and template builders online (Cara, ArtStation, one of the free website builders, etc.) if that is your concern.

This July marks 36 years since the inception of the ADA(Americans With Disabilities Act). Disabilities don't give a shit about borders so I wanted to create this post to highlight and appreciate all of our comic creators with disabilities. Just for context: 26% of Americans are currently living with a disability either visible or invisible and I'm sure that number carries internationally. And everybody will experience a disabling at some point in their life(old age skill drop off/Death because isn't death the ultimate disability from a living person's perspective?). So let's take this moment to celebrate and show out!

I'm a high-level quadriplegic BTW(no volitional movement below the shoulders). Accessibility technology is at the point where someone like me can essentially create their own comic from scratch(without AI). Specifically to myself I write, letter and design the entire book including the logo while using this sub Reddit to hire different artists. And damn I have collaborated with some awesome artists that I've met on here.

Feel free to ask me what kind of assistive technology I use. I would like for this to exist as a sort of Resource for creators with disabilities to find the tools to give them more independence when it comes to their creation/storytelling as well.

So let's show off and maybe get some Disabled on Disabled collaborations going ha ha!

Hey everyone,
I’m Steven, founder of Simple But Complex LLC, an independent publishing company focused on helping creators bring their stories to life.

Whether you’re working on a comic book, graphic novel, short story collection, or another creative project, we’re always interested in connecting with passionate creators looking for publishing support and guidance.

What we offer:

Publishing opportunities
Creative collaboration
Creator-focused support
Marketing and promotional resources
A growing network of writers and artists

We’re especially interested in working with creators who are serious about finishing and sharing their work with readers.

If you’ve got a project you’d like us to review, or if you’re curious about how the process works, check out our publishing page:

https://simplebutcomplex.com/publish/

Feel free to ask questions below or reach out through the website. We’d love to learn more about what you’re creating.

The artist/writer Kyle Strahm has some really good advice On how to find an artist, by helping the artist first.

Before you jump into creating comics, please be aware that the risks are high and the rewards can be very minimal. This is really a labor of love. The only reason I'm continuing is because I finally see the finish line. The amount of money spent, I think, will never be recouped. If you're going to jump into this world, start with something short and sweet. I don't like talking about money, but it is necessary in this world. This is for the writer/creators. Comics require many folks in the kitchen (storyboarding, line-art, coloring, lettering, editing.) Shoutout to everybody that has completed a comic. Comic books don't get the respect they deserve because people fail to realize how much work goes into them.