The Biggest Problems with Indie Comics

I have to talk about these TWO big problems in the Indie Comic World
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Making indie comics is hard, and yet when it comes to Mainstream comics like DC and Marvel, a lot of indie titles are better than what those two powerhouse companies are putting out. But why can't indies reach the same masses as these companies?
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THE GIRL WITH THE MEGA FISTS: my new ongoing series follows the journey of Eliana, a girl who has been chosen by the gods to wield the all-powerful mega fists and is tasked to protect earth alongside a partner presented by the gods. However, the gods have chosen two twin brothers, of which Eliana must choose who she will take down to Earth and serve with. Will she choose the brother who can wield the powers of the Almighty the best? Or will she choose the brother that has her heart? On top of that, will she be strong enough to battle the foes and wars that come her way?
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[@DrawandTalk]

what are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!

[@chriskatz2355]

Love to see theres another indie comic out there

[@holdthetruthhostage]

Do you Live Stream I think your missing something big that there are actually Two forms of Indie Comics, Indie Corporate Comics, Indie Non Corporate, & it would be great to talk to you about it

[@DrawandTalk]

I livestream every Monday night (for the most part). Sounds like a good topic

[@ettecnal]

Tyler! Thanks so much for featuring my comic in this video! I'll definitely be sharing this! You touched on so many subjects that have really been on my mind lately. As a creator who's taking on every responsibility (writing, thumbnails, pencils, inks, colors, letters, etc.), I can say, without hesitation, that this process takes absolutely forever. I don't want to shortchange myself... I get these books out, but nowhere near as frequently as I'd like. And you were 100% right. If I had more profits, I could quit my 9-5 job and focus solely on producing comics. But, of course, I have to spend all day at my 9-5 job to pay the bills, leaving little to no time for marketing and advertisement. This is one hell of a catch 22. They say, "Slow and steady wins the race." I'll continue down this path as long as my sanity allows. I'll also try to stay positive and hope that all this hard work will pay off. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your praise for my comic in this video. Thanks again, and as always, keep up the great work!

[@DrawandTalk]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@thewadz5878]

Do you have an Instagram that I could follow?

[@ettecnal]

@@thewadz5878 Absolutely! It's @mikelancette Thanks a ton! I hope you like what you see... even though I haven't posted recently. Hahaha!!!

[@thewadz5878]

@@ettecnal where are you most active?

[@ettecnal]

@@thewadz5878 To be honest, I'm nowhere near as active as I used to be. This isn't an excuse, but those algorithms were impossible to beat, so social media eventually broke my habit of posting consistently. I'll try to be more active soon though! Facebook and Instagram were tough for me. Any suggestions on where else I should post my stuff for more interaction?

[@OneOldGhost]

Hit the nail on the head with a lot of this. It's all about time, every aspect is time consuming! Can be hard to manage when having to work full time, balance family life, and relationships! Gotta keep plugging away. I try to keep in mind that while I don’t have all the time in the world to market myself - when someone comes across my work they will see all the time I’ve put in. Keep grinding friends!

[@VicAusTaxiTruckie]

Digital art is a MUST, otherwise production cost would be insane! I did write, sketch, line and color all by myself. Doing the work all my waking hours everyday, it took 8 months to do a 125 page book. Trying to pitch marketing ideasto my publisher...

[@laotorrr1253]

One of the biggest obstacles we face is the inability to see a world outside American indie comics as our potential consumer. We fall into the trap of believing the 30 or so recognizable names in indie comics and their customer bases is where it begins and ends. Not trying to be harsh here, but relying on the same couple hundred or so 30-50 year old fat guys based in North America. Sometimes a project doesn't connect with that audience, or it is lost in an ocean of new indie comics, or you as a creator aren't part of ''the indie scene''. When you nixed the CHEFS KS, I was surprised as you could have joined that group and made a regular 5-6K off of any forthcoming KS because you had your foot in the door knowing those people. Instead, you pivoted to a different style and marketing format to reach a different and possibly much larger audience of varying ages who don't require that personal connection to want to buy your books. I think I get why you did it and I hope it's been working and you are finding folks who support you for your work and not only because you supported their KS's! Anyways, that's my ramble. In summary: We need to continue doing what we love and think outside the box to find people who love your work, rather than think there is only a small indie social club that will accept you and make you money!

[@laotorrr1253]

Also, I'm also a 30-50 year old fat North American so spare me the 'punching down' crap!

[@4thwallpros]

100% agree with every bit of this. Especially how great Master of the Edge is

[@DrawandTalk]

It’s such a great series

[@JoJoOnYouTube]

Indie comics need cartoons like manga needs anime.

[@mr_indie_fan]

YESSSSSSS!

[@mr_indie_fan]

Only problem is that most of them cant afford to make a cartoon.

[@chrisjelston]

Very inspirational video and thanks for introducing me to this awesome series! I totally agree with everything you say as we are an indie publisher ourselves. I’ll definitely be following you as well and I’d love to send you a copy of our book to read and review!

[@Reanimator999]

I went to a local used bookstore here in SF today and saw tons of indie comics. However, I don't know what to choose from and many of them aren't all that interesting to me since I was looking for comedy. A lot of them seems to be either historical or biographical types which i find boring. Unless you have a family member or close friend who believes in you and willing to handle marketing, I think indie creators need to find an all-in-one freelance editor/agent who'll handle marketing and logistics. So that you could focus on drawing comics. Or find a platform or a magazine who can feature your comics.

[@user-xt3iv7mb4s]

Good video Bro. *talking spanish*: Yo pienso que los comics independientes merecen la libertad creativa y buena comunidad de la gente que consume. También es importante que los indie comics dependan de saber producir, demostrar que los comics merecen tener buen contenido y que su relacion economica sea estable y segura. Incluso pienso que los indie comics tienen mas libertad creativa y el webcomic solo que aveces son limitados por reglas de trabajo o plataforma y tambien la indie animation junto con los indie games. Im from to Mexico 🌎 y Good Luck.

[@derrickjohnson4952]

That title alone makes me wanna buy it clearly you got the marketing down, I shall absorb your knowledge!!!

[@DrawandTalk]

Go get it! Masters of the Edge is a great series! Link in my description!

[@SaiTurtlesninjaNX]

For me, one of th biggest problems I’ve been facing in my book to come out is waiting on other people. I want to get an outline made I like to show it to people I know if I can get their feedback. I also do the same when I get to the scripting phase. But this can take weeks or months on the individual. Right now I’m getting my series copyedited so I can fix all my grammar mistakes. Even though this time around 19 some want to do this for me it is taking quite a long time to do. It would take at bedtime on me since when I’m as I’m going through credit in the mistakes that our plan out because I’m working with fully finished and rendered dangerous to take on time for the files to say. So I’m centrally am doing like half of the book a day. Heck, I just recently found out that it may be a smart idea to hire someone to do things like the as aforementioned proofread and copyedited plus I’m looking at hiring someone to write my writter a bio and series summary. If possible a new local design.

[@DrawandTalk]

It’s possible that you’re doing too much in the pre-production phase and that’s why the production of the comic isn’t happening. Something to think about.

[@SaiTurtlesninjaNX]

@@DrawandTalk Right now I’m on post-production and the comic. The first 12 issues are already finished. Now there is going to be so much time with the pre-production phase of the comic was largely due to the fact that I am autistic and reading and writing is not my strong suit. I was essentially learning how to write and draw at the same time the people who I have read in myself were my co-workers. I am currently hired and copyedited and trust me doing so was a smart idea. Right from the get-go, there was a time of grammar mistakes I have made. It is very clear to me that when I have time I need to take a course on grammar. Edit: I probably have mentioned this a couple times and your videos. I have decided to make a comic back in 2014, I spent the next two years learning how to draw I started writing the first three issues back in 2016, summer of 2017 I want on the first issue, 2018 I worked on the next two issues and outline the rest of volume one. From that point onward I was at work on the book constantly we but occasionally taking place so I do a online drawing course. Another fact that I had to consider what it was a couple times where I commissioned 3D models for a spaceship to be made. In our course it took time was one case where I couldn’t get the whole of the modeller at all and that took a major chunk of the time that I should’ve been working on the book. This is an also including the times where I need to stop to do character designs into the character sheets. Another factor that was also factoring into my delay was I did try to contact publishers and to give them some time so I can hear back I have that and I’m discovering a lot of the pre-release issues that none of the comic book craters are talking about. The fact that I needed to hire a copy editor to point out my grammar mistakes was one other. Not to mention the fact that I do like to use various assets like 3D models in my work but that costs money. But I am trying to also do this on a budget. So to something that needs to get done for the book and I exceeded my self-imposed allowance for the paycheck then a have to wait until the next paycheck.

[@czSebi]

I have a real issue with marketing. It takes time or money and I have neither :(

[@DrawandTalk]

it's true. It's so time intensive. Managing youtube. Tik tok, instagram, and twitter, while also making the time to draw...it's tiring

[@will_sketch]

Thank you for sharing, you made me a fan of both Master of the Edge and Mega Fists.

[@Saavamusic]

This video hits home with me, For my Sins Of Prey series Im the writer and i pay my artist per page to create my book. Im working on my 2nd book now and hopefully have issue 2 on Amazon by the end of February

[@thewadz5878]

Do you have an Instagram to follow? I'd love to follow you and your work.

[@DrawandTalk]

@drawandtalk I’m not super active but I’ve been trying to post more regularly.

[@Icanonlycountto4]

Hey Tyler, I know you have videos on this but becoming a writer/artist combo, is it a good idea to make a book regardless of skill level? I’m on my first semester of school for Graphic Design and I’m wondering should I wait for my skill to improve

[@DrawandTalk]

I honestly think the fastest way to improve is to just start now and continue to learn as you go. If you “wait” then you’ve already lost time you could have spent developing. That’s my opinion

[@Reanimator999]

@@DrawandTalk Right. Artwork doesn't have to be pretty. Many successful Japanese artists didn't have fanciest artwork to begin with.

[@zak9364]

How would you find solution to these problems though

[@DrawandTalk]

With every creator it’s going to be different. I think it all comes down to WORKING smart with your time. Make time for marketing. Make time for drawing. I couldn’t produce a color book fast enough so I now do black and white books. Damn. I think this video needed one last 2 minute Act for the solution

[@Icanonlycountto4]

@@DrawandTalk You mentioned doing the initial stuff traditionally then coloring digitally, is this done by scanning the traditional pages?

[@DrawandTalk]

Yep.

[@Icanonlycountto4]

@@DrawandTalk Ok cool, my overall plan was to start out printing at home anyway so this is good news. I follow you on Instagram, after I get some rest I’m gonna send you a piece I did, let me know what you think when you have time

[@DrawandTalk]

Sounds good my dude!

[@veggsbacon1891]

One of my biggest gripes of indie comics is the abundance of slice-of-life and relationships/romance stories. They're advertised to no end, and to be BRUTALLY honest, very boring and somewhat lazy. Sure, there are some stories under those categories that are amazing, can't deny that. But come on, so many bl stories?! Geez...

[@goldstandard8107]

I think indie comics cover the gaps that Superhero comics leave behind so genres that are not covered by mainstream comics are picked up by indie comics.

[@DrawandTalk]

100% agree

[@AndreasEdwardRoySelzer]

The problem with me is that Indiegogo only allows for a few countries to have their projects funded and South Africa is not one of them.

[@orkoskang7967]

So can I make my own DC or Marvel like comics now? The Mainstream Comics were already infected by the woke culture.

[@DrawandTalk]

Do it

[@malphite8797]

I feel so lost now

[@DrawandTalk]

How come?

[@malphite8797]

@@DrawandTalk The world of marketing scares me

[@DrawandTalk]

Trust me it scares me too. In fact, unfortunately my next video is about me being depressed about my marketing lol indie comics is a tough road