Cerebus' Guide to Self-Publishing
1 rating since posting on Saturday, July 22, 2006
Overall Rating  based on 1 rating |
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I see a lot of suggestions for books on how to draw characters, how to draw comics, and so on -- and while these suggestions are helpful, I rarely ever see anything posted about the business side of cartooning, and that's really to every hopeful sequential artist's detriment. While how-to books are invaluable for helping you learn how to *draw*, far too many people have ridiculously high expectations of themselves and their place in the industry -- fantastic ideas of becoming the next Todd McFarlane or Jack Kirby, usually overnight -- and this book helps temper some of those expectations, bringing the hopeful back down to earth by explaining more about the industry, the business, and the probabilities of success. Having met Sim several times, and having spoken with him at some length (oh, he'll talk to you -- believe me!), I can safely say the guy's gotten a pretty bad rep, especially online (see the Google link above to find some of the more vicious, and humorous, ones). But regardless of his personal beliefs or personality in general, the guy is definitely a brilliant sequential artist and in the top ten of all business professionals in the industry (yes, right up there with Stan Lee). He and his business partner and creative assistant, Gerhard, put together Cerebus, the little aardvark what could, and by establishing Aardvark Press, single-handedly launched the "Indy Comics Revolution" in the 1980s. This movement surged shortly thereafter, then crashed and burned, but has remained a constant within the industry to this day. (An aside -- we could go on and on, arguing about ashcans and zines, Gene Day, R. Crumb, and all that, but Cerebus truly kicked-off the b&w Indy craze in the 1980s.) And this magazine tells you, point by point, not only how to do it, but also gives you an invaluable look inside the actual workings of the self-published, Indy comics industry. He discourses on the materials (pens, brushes, inks, paper weight) used in the craft; how distribution works; the importance of marketing and how to go about it; and much, much more -- including several essays espousing Sim's feelings toward women, on politics, the comics industry, and more (which you can skip, but makes for great reading). Though in comic-book format, this book contains no artwork and very little "how-to draw" information (though, as noted above, a really thorough discussion on the materials and their usage). Sim is an avowed luddite and the book was published in 1997, so there is no information on using computers in the process and no sister website, but anyone not familiar with this pamphlet probably already knows plenty enough about that leg on their own. Highly recommended, even if you have no plans to self-publish. - Christopher , posted 07/22/06 |
Cerebus' Guide to Self-Publishing was recommended for:
- Tribe: Amateur Cartoonists
- Tribe: Comic Book Workshop
- Tribe: Comic Creators Invited
- Tribe: Comics thought, theory, and practice