The Internet has changed everything for the funny book business; we all know that for the most part. It can either make or break your comic book career that probably hasn’t even started yet. The internet has 24/7 access to creators and publishers. What kind of impact is that having on the industry as a whole?

As an audience member pointed out, it was a panel full of women. Panelists were made up of Alison Baker, Kelly Sue DeConick, Jen Vaughn, Shannon Watters, Emi Lenox.  They all brought very insightful and personal stories about how they work and conduct themselves online.

Watters mentioned that she scouts for talent largely based on what web comics she likes. She says to up and comers; “Web comics show how you can hack it and how the internet sees your work.” Baker elaborated on how MonkeyBrain uses the same web comic scouting model but tries to monetize it for the creator.

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Kelly Sue talked about how she met her hubby on a comic book forum, and threw a big “L” on her forehead. She also mentioned that the internet is a big distraction for her. She spends her time on dozens of websites, answers the same set of questions sent to her from various sites and spends time with her family. She doesn’t know if all the time she spends shamelessly promoting and fan interaction is translating to her less than stellar Captain Marvel numbers.

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Veughn and Watters find particular internet groups and websites to promote the Fanagraphics and KaBOOM books. MonkeyBrain tries unconventional websites and tries to avoid going to the same comic news outlets.

One of the highlights of this panel was Alison announcing that she launched a new comic today on MonkeyBrain that you can read for free, right now.

Frost: Rogue State #0

FREE – Ages 15+

Brandon Jerwa & Eric S. Trautmann, Writers

Giovanni Timpano, Artist

Andrea Celestini, Colors

Simon Bowland, Letters

Of course nothing replaces meeting and personally thanking them in person.

2 COMMENTS

  1. “She doesn’t know if all the time she spends shamelessly promoting and fan interaction is translating to her less than stellar Captain Marvel numbers.”

    Quoted for TRUTH. That is the million dollar question nowadays. The value of promotion on the Internet… pro or con. I’m sure it’s different for every creator, but it is one that can’t be ignored — unless you’re already an A-list mega star. But for all the up and coming talent where is the line?

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