Indy Comics

This started out as a post I intended to add to a thread at the Pulse about independent comics, but I decided to put it here, instead, where hardly anyone will see it. (I guess I'll post it over there, too.)

I read a fair bit (and a wide variety) of independent comics – Berlin, Age of Bronze, Optic Nerve, Colonia, Girl Genius, among others – but there are plenty of books that I don’t read. And so, while this question isn’t really aimed at me, I thought I’d take a moment to think about what keeps me from reading Indy books I might otherwise like.

1) Don’t even bother with superheroes. I might pick an indy superhero book up on a lark, but look at who you’re competing with. DC 7 Marvel have huge marketing power, and they’ve already got my interest in their respective universes. If I’ve got extra superhero money to spend, 19 out of 20 times it’ll go to a big-two comic I’ve heard good things about. But if I want a Western, space opera, slice of life drama, historical fiction, romantic comedy, where do I turn? Independents, that’s where. And don’t bother putting a cape on it. Give it to me straight.

2) As a corollary to that, I’m sure there are exceptions that prove the rule, but superheroes ain’t superheroes in black and white. I’m willing to read just about anything else in b/w, but if I’m reading superheroes, I want to know what color the costumes are.

3) Poor lettering. There’s plenty of computer lettering fonts available now, so there’s really no excuse for bad lettering in a book. (No need to get to fancy, though—make it EASY to read, rather than pretty to read.) But balloon placement is also part of lettering, and there’s no program that’ll help you with that. If you don’t have a good idea of how the eye flows across a page, I won’t trust you to tell me a compelling story. Because NO story is compelling when you’re trying to figure out what word goes where.

4) If I see a typo on the page or two I pick up to read in the store, I’ll think you don’t care enough about your product. So why should I?

5) Subject matter. I’m sick of elves and vampires and shadowy government conspiracies. Plenty of people aren’t, and I’m not saying you won’t make money – you just won’t get MY money.

So what are ways that an indy comic can get my dough?

6) Trade paperbacks. If I don’t know your work, a trade paperback will make me take it more seriously. It’ll make me think you have staying power. Hopefully, you do.

7) If you’ve got an introduction by an author I like in your trade paperback, I’m more likely to give it a look. Depending on the writer, it’s almost as good as a recommendation from a friend.

8) Make your first issue satisfying. If it’s all setup for part two, it’s wasted time, because I’m never going to read part two unless you knocked my socks off. And you can’t count on that – I wear tight socks. It doesn’t have to be a complete story, but it does have to be a satisfying chunk.

9) Give me suspense. That’s the best way to keep me from waiting for a trade – make me curse the wait.

I’ll probably think of more, but that’s what I’ve got now.

Rob