by Austin Allen Hamblin
One thing which is often forgotten about the comic book-making process is it’s a collaborative medium. Very rarely does one person do it all. Between writing, editing, colors, letters, pencils, inks, covers, etc. a lot of hands go into making one. As a writer, this can sometimes be frustrating. As the first person in the process, you will have to play the waiting game for a while.
Regardless of the situation, if you are hiring people or collaborating it’s going to take time.
This lead me to dip into writing prose because at the end of the day the progress of the project relied on myself and myself alone. Though I like exploring writing other mediums (like for example this article), comics are my first love. What could I do to get comics made?
I mean I can’t draw… or could I?
When I first started making comics when I was 12 I had no way to get them drawn. I tried to ask local people to draw them. Anyone with any artistic ability I would ask. I mean if I’m honest who would want to draw the terrible comics 12-year-old me had written? So I started to draw them. When I got older and had money to pay people and internet forms to meet artists I got away from this.
After a few years of getting comics made comic book pro Phil Hester read over a script and told me to try and draw it out. The scripts I was writing wouldn’t actually work the way I had the panels laid out. He was 100% right. I think every comic book writer should do this: It will really open your eyes and teach you.
If you are serious about getting better you should pursue all avenues to try and get better.
At 26 and 8 years into making comics, I got back to my roots. I began poorly drawing some autobiographical comics called Smile if you Farted. Of all the comics I’ve done I think this is what I’m most proud of. I’m learning a lot about making comics by doing this while also getting a finished product.
This won’t be a book that sells millions of copies or inspires change in the world. It will show I’m serious about making comics and teach me a lot. I am currently working on issue #5 and after I finish I will draw another project for myself.
At the end of the day, if you want to make comics just make comics! All you need is a pen and paper. You can download a free scanning app on your phone and then boom you’ve made comics. Don’t let yourself never make a comic because you can’t find an artist. In the words of Shia Labeouf “Just do it!”
Austin Allen Hamblin is an aspiring comic writer who has been creating for 10 years. His work first appeared in the “Voices Against Bullying” Anthology featured by Sword and Labrys Productions. It is available in Print or Digital at https://www.indyplanet.com/?s=Voices+Against+Bullying
Check out Saburo on Tapas. https://tapas.io/series/Saburo
“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.” — Austin Allen Hamblin
