I made my first mini-comic when I was 17: Angel-X. I’d been drawing little strips and stories in notebooks since 3rd grade, but Angel-X was the first one I copied, stapled, and sold. It was 6 pages, B/W, available at my local comic shop (Bizarro/Wuxtry in Athens, GA) or directly from my bookbag for $0.25.
Angel-X was basically a solo Robin-style teen hero. As you can tell by the cover, his missions were fairly dark, with a murdered sister, a terrorist seige of his dad’s bank, and a bomb at an abortion clinic in the first (and only) three issues. (I watched a lot of crime shows.)
Anyway, the reason I’m posting this today is to say this: If you want to make comics someday, start as early as possible. Start now. Right. Now. Anyone could write and draw a comic like this today. There are so many things about making comics you simply cannot learn without actually doing it.
Today is 24 Hour Comics Day, an annual challenge where creators all over the world attempt to create 24 page comics in 24 hours. It’s an awesome event I highly recommend trying today or any time you’ve got a free chance to do it. (Got 8 hours? Do an 8 hour comic.)
But whether you’re participating in that event today, or not, if you want to make a comic, just do it. There’s nothing stopping you from being in this business but you.
Comics is my favorite storytelling medium because it’s economical, both in storytelling mechanics and in actual materials. You don’t need financing to make comics. You don’t need anyone’s approval.
Make comics. Sell them to friends. Come to comics conventions. Make more friends. That’s the secret formula for breaking in. As soon as you have a book you can put in someone’s hand or a site you can link to, you’re in this business, same as me, same as your favorite creators.
You just have to get past the super harsh editor who’s not giving you a shot, YOU.
GET PAST THAT DUDE AND YOU’RE IN. (Welcome.)
I completely forgot today was 24 Hour Comics Day! But mark my word, I’ll be in for Hourly Comics Day in February…
