Hey Everyone!
I hope you’re all having a great Thursday. Just like last week, I’ve included a video update, but if you’d prefer to read what I’m up to, just keep scrolling, the info is basically the same.
My main comics-related endeavor this week has been learning a lot of the technical details of indie comics publishing. This has included reading and watching tutorials about the templates that you send to an artist so they can make sure their artwork will have the proper dimensions when printed, and finding out how to export a final file to send to the printer. On Monday, I *may* have posted one or two slightly panicked messages in an indie comics Facebook group I’m in when I realized the breadth of all these technicalities.
But I feel like I’ve got a good handle on it now. I found a great pre-made template from Blambot, and I learned how to create my own templates in Illustrator if necessary. I also feel like I understand the file types, settings, etc. that come into play when creating a file to send to the printer.
And what’s great about all of this is that it’s genuinely empowering. As is the case for most of us, the creative aspect of making comics is what I love about it. Mastering the technicalities isn’t what comes naturally. But realizing that it’s all figure-out-able — that this is all stuff I can learn an do on my own — is pretty exciting. As someone who has sometimes struggled to believe in my own agency, realizing that I can, in fact, make comics myself feels pretty great.
And in other news, I’ve been reading *a lot* of Batman lately. I’d say too much but I don’t think that’s possible. Most recently, I’ve been reading Knightquest. SPOILERS — It’s the run where Azrael takes over as Batman because Bruce is recovering from a severe beating at the hands of Bane. His differences from Bruce and his different approach to being the Dark Knight really serve to highlight the quintessential Bruce Wayne characteristics that make him such a compelling character. By giving us such a different Batman, the creators (and there are many because the event covered different books) actually shine a light on the most important aspects of Bruce’s personality and philosophy and remind us why we loved him in the first place. Highly recommend!
As always, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram, @sarahcookewriter and @nospellcomic.