This past Saturday, dynamic duo Fred van Lente (Action Philosophers, Incredible Hercules, Comic Book Comics) and Greg Pak (Incredible Hercules, Incredible Hulk, Vision Machine) kicked off the season’s Comics College with a two hour workshop on the secrets of self-publishing. The intimate workshop covered the relationships among creators, publishers, distributors, journalists, and retailers. Van Lente and Pak brought comics and books to hand out to attendees and shared their personal journeys to success.
The workshop was attended by aspiring writers, artists, and a few who were both. Questions asked covered topics from the cost of self-publishing a comic (“Potentially, zero dollars,” said Van Lente) to the best way for a writer to talk to an artist about deadlines. Pak used his experience with the creation, marketing, and distribution of his film Robot Stories to illustrate the ups and downs of an independent artist getting the word out. Van Lente, never sitting still for more than a few moments, mapped out the comics business on a whiteboard in a complex diagram that demonstrated the intricacies of navigating the industry.
Special thanks to Van Lente and Pak and everyone who came out to make this Comics College a success!
Up next: Promotion and Publicity in Comics with Sam Humphries and Andy Khouri at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, California, on September 27!
Coming soon: Logo Design with Jared Fletcher on October 8th!