A listener asks: “Should you judge a book by its cover?” Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar say… YES! Next, a cartoonist who is too embarrassed to promote his own work gets some encouragement and words of advice from the veteran comic creators.

TODAY’S SHOW

• Should you judge a book by its cover?
• Too embarrassed to promote

Takeaways

• A book’s cover plays a significant role in its marketability.
• It’s important to design a cover that reflects the content of the comic.
• Promoting comics can be challenging, especially in unexpected social situations.
• Introverts can find it difficult to promote their work in person.
• Having a decoy website can help ease the promotion process.
• It’s okay to feel uncomfortable discussing your work with strangers.
• Using humor can help deflect awkward conversations about your work.
• Online promotion can be more effective than in-person promotion.

A few days ago, I published some thoughts on rethinking comics collectives. Since then, I’ve received an outpouring of questions — mostly about building a strong collective. What are the ingredients? Who should be invited to join and why? How should the responsibilities be divided? Here are some thoughts.

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Starting a webcomic in 2026 isn’t about chasing algorithms or copying what’s popular — it’s about building something sustainable, creative, and yours. In this episode, Brad Guigar and Dave Kellett break down what new cartoonists actually need to focus on in their first years: writing first, consistency over hype, owning your work, and building an audience the right way.

You’ll learn why you don’t need Webtoon or Tapas, why monetizing too early can derail your career, how social media really fits into comics growth today, and why a website and mailing list are non-negotiable. This is a marathon mindset episode for creators who want to do comics for the long haul — and do them for love.

Getting off on the Right Foot

• Don’t try to “game” your readership. Write about what YOU like. Readers are drawn to a creator’s passion. It doesn’t work the other way around.
• Building readership takes time and consistency. Creating for love is essential in the early years.
• Focus on writing as the core of comic creation. They’re called comics readers, not comics lookers. It’s all about the writing.
• Focus on creating comics for the love of the craft. The first comics may only be seen by you; embrace the process.
• Mistakes in the early stages are recoverable. Stop fretting over them.
• Common copyright fears and how to approach them
• Own and control your work

Building an audience

• You do NOT need to be on Webtoon/Tapas. Look at the comics on the front pages of those sites? Does your comic look like those? Is your content similar? If not, you’re not going to fare well there. It’s pretty obvious.
• Social media presence is still important for comic creators. Today, we recommend Bluesky and Reddit. ComicLab has Collections that provide solid social-media strategies. They’re free to members and available at a one-time fee for others.
• Be active on social media to build your audience. Follow the Four Cs — Creation, Curation, Commercial, and Kindness
• How many updates? FCS — Frequent / Consistent / Significant — there are no magic numbers.
• Start building your mailing list NOW with a newsletter. This will be increasingly important when you turn to monetization in a few years. You should send every comic out in a newsletter post and you should also post a weekly newsletter of no longer than 500 words per update with BTS content (to the extent you’re comfortable sharing).
• You need a website. This is not old or outdated — it’s incredibly powerful, and you need to start planning for one now… even if it’s a very bare-bones site. This is a non-negotiable.
• Consider The 2-2-1 Rule: Two social media platforms, two newsletters (including a free-membership tier on Patreon), one website. Then, use these together to funnel traffic inward towards the website. Later, when you’ve launched monetization, the funnel will direct towards that.
• Don’t listen to your reader; listen to your readers
• Don’t mistake social media followers for income.

Monetization

• DON’T START MONETIZING IN YOUR FIRST YEAR. Maybe not even the second. Everything you need to know about crowdfunding is in the name. First comes the crowd, THEN comes the funding. In the first few years, you need to focus on building that crowd. The only thing worse than having no Patreon backers is having ONE Patreon backer. Hundreds of new comic creators have become derailed by focusing on monetization too soon.
• Comic Cons: We don’t recommend them. They don’t build audience. They don’t have great sales unless you have a lot of merch that *does well as in-person merch* (there’s a difference!). And it’s very hard to make profit unless you can religiously control costs. If you’re making merch to go to the show, you’re doing this all wrong. Psychologically, a lot of folks like to “play” professional cartoonist by exhitibiting.
• Accepted into show start making stuff to sell.
• Start planning now for print — hi-res (400+ dpi),  bigger than final size, cmyk, maintain layers, etc. Save in the native software.

Marathon thinking

• Persistence is key; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you need a schedule to post regularly, set a schedule and stick to it.
• Develop your aesthetic by studying good comics.
• Seek honest feedback to improve your work.
• Reach out to other comics creators who are doing stuff that’s similar to yours and build networks.

Yesterday, I shared thoughts on rethinking a concept from the early days of webcomics — the collective. Today, I have some advice on what you should consider if you’re thinking of forming one of your own.

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The National Cartoonists Society has released its call for entries. Here’s what you need to know:

Divisional Awards

DEADLINE: January 26

The National Cartoonists Society is issuing its annual call for entries for consideration for their NCS Divisional Awards, recognizing excellence in professional cartooning. As always, you DO NOT have to be a member of the NCS to have your work considered for a divisional award… all that is required is that the work be eligible, as detailed below.

• You do not have to be a member of the NCS to enter.
• There is no fee for submissions.
• All submissions must complete the online entry form and comply with division requirements.
• A sample of work may only be submitted to ONE division – no duplicates.
• The Divisional Reuben Awards recognize individuals for their artistic excellence in cartoon arts.
• Only work published between the dates of January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 can be considered. Submitted work must be accompanied by verification of the date of first publication or it will be disqualified.

Submission Guidelines

Submission process (general)

All submissions and entry forms will be submitted digitally this year.

• Review division-specific instructions below.
• Complete the online entry form. On the entry form, provide:
  • Your Name
  • Which division you are entering
  • Email and Contact Information
  • Short Bio (optional)
• Upload work samples using the entry form. Please follow division-specific guidelines provided below.
• Upload PROOF OF 2024 PUBLICATION using the entry form. Failure to provide proof of publication date may result in disqualification.
• Submit the form by Jan. 27, 2024 and receive an email confirmation of your entry.

Upload one image for each sample

• Upload each image as a separate JPEG or PNG file
• SIZE: 8.5 inches wide and 300 dpi recommended

 FILE NAME FORMAT

• Lastname_Firstname_1
• Lastname_Firstname_2
• etc.

How to submit a proof of publication

This is required for all divisions. Proof of 2024 publication date for each submitted sample of work MUST be included by uploading a separate proof file using the entry form. Failure to provide proof of publication date may result in disqualification.

Examples of proof:

• if the submitted work itself has the date clearly visible you will also submit the work in the proof section of the entry form
• a scan of magazine table of contents with feature circled
• dated product art or ad scanned from print, screenshot that shows publication date
• documentation or a letter of verification of print date from client, publisher, or syndicate
• a photo or scan of a printed page that shows date and name of publication
• a screenshot showing both URL and date of publication (for example at GoComics, Comics Kingdom, a webcomic site, or New Yorker etc.)
• direct web link that shows both the artwork and date of publication
• tearsheet or copyright page

Upload one proof image for each submitted image file.

• Upload each image as a separate JPEG or PNG file
• SIZE: 8.5 inches wide and 300 dpi recommended

 FILE NAME FORMAT

• PROOF_Lastname_Firstname_1
• PROOF_Lastname_Firstname_2
• etc.

Please name your files and/or label the proof documentation consistently so that it is clear which piece of submitted work it is for. For example, the sample Lastname_Firstname_1 should be accompanied by PROOF_Lastname_Firstname_1, and so forth.

Guidelines for all online comics submissions

• Submissions must be web-only publications (any work also syndicated in print should be submitted to the proper print division above)
• Submissions must have shown consistent timely publication over the course of the calendar year (weekly, bi-weekly, multiple times a week, daily, etc.)
• Compilations of work published in previous years are not eligible.
• Submissions may be submitted by the artists themselves, or by agents or other colleagues on the artist’s behalf.

Online Comics — Short Form

• Submissions can be strip, single panel, single or partial page format
• Submissions must be mainly self-contained gag, story, or narrative in each short comic, even if also part of an ongoing narrative

Online Comics — Long form

• Examples of Long Form Comics: An illustrated daily shouts piece in The New Yorker, a comic sketchbook page in the New York Times Review of Books, a piece published on The Nib, a Longform webcomic like this
• Submissions can be posted in single or multiple page format (but please keep in mind that multiple pages will count as multiple SAMPLE IMAGES)
• Submissions must be accompanied by documentation of date of first posting/release of each episode/page/segment
• Submissions must be ongoing narrative in serial form i.e. continuing comic book/graphic novel storyline

Categories

• Comic Book
• Book Illustration
• Online Comics: Long Form
• Gag Cartoon
• Newspaper Strip
• Online Comics: Short Form
• Newspaper Panel
• Advertising/ Product Illustration
• Graphic Novel
• Variety Entertainment
• Magazine/Newspaper Illustration
• Editorial Cartoon
• Art for Animated Media

*The Greeting Card category has been discontinued

Good luck!

All winners will be announced at the 80th Annual Reuben Awards Dinner in Columbus, Ohio.

Good luck to everyone who submits!