Wanted Hero eComics! KID TESTED…PARENT APPROVED!! Bookmark WANTED:HERO now!

I received an email today, which I wanted to address to help others who have emailed similar questions:

“Hello Jamie,

I have a bunch of GREAT comic ideas, but sadly, I can’t really draw. I was wondering though, how did you go through the process of creating the eComics potal and advertising and eventually getting to such a high readership?

Thanks (Any tips for starting would be great !)” –Ben Galindo

Ben, those are excellent questions–but not easily answered in a simple email. However, these are subjects which come up often and continue to do so through the years…so let’s shed a bit of light on the subject.

Understand that eComics are a whole new beast. For one, it’s a new age of technology–WANTED:HERO relies on it’s story and a natural appeal to capture attention online, compared to the devices and ‘gatgets’ now offered and designed to take comic viewing to a Star Trek level of sophistication. Look around you and you’ll find eComic readers, Amazon.com has a digital reader which can download any book out of it’s million+ library in under 60 seconds for you to enjoy. Marvel and DC have eComics viewers which are simply brilliant. So, It’s a new world out there—especially online, and to capture someone’s attention—ANYone’s attention, you have to be different and stand out.

To make matters even more challenging, the readers are a whole new generation. We had the Baby Boomers, then we had the Gen X generation, and now we have the WebGen generation—a group who have never known life without the internet. Technology is simply the way they live and breathe. The downside, is that they are also ‘media-spoiled’. If it doesn’t flash, bang, blip and beep–it’s of little interest.

So where does that leave us? In the place we have always been: in a position to capture the imagination of children. If you can create a story to involve kids, while incorporating technology as the delivering and interaction tools…you have an adventure worth trying.

Now, in the case of WANTED:HERO—we never advertised Ben.

Not once.

What we did several things, however, which even today are extremely effective:

• WANTED:HERO used real life people of significance as main characters.
• WANTED:HERO made the story interactive–allowing kids to learn more about the characters they enjoyed reading about–through message boards, character databases, and unique off products.
• WANTED:HERO talked about other people’s products which we loved and felt would be greatly enjoyed by children in turn.

However, one of the most powerful tools we had and use to this day is to give our eComics away for FREE.

Yes, I said FREE.

You need to give people the chance to see what you have to offer before they commit to purchasing something from you. It’s a lot like those little old ladies who work the Wal-Mart or Grocery Store circuit for product companies. You know the ones, who stand at the end of the isles offering you have a sausage, or a cup of fruit–to entice you to purchase their products. Why do they do it? Because you aren’t going to spend $1.38 to see if you like something. Yet, if the company invest $0.02 in giving you a taste, chances are you may spend more than that on a can of fruit—all from a taste, which you most likely took when you were hungry. Good investment, don’t you think?
Yet it’s so much easier for us, because thousands of readers out there are STARVING for good content!! This is something I’m still trying to help artists and creators understand: you are working in a digital element, so you must…and I repeat, MUST understand the long term advantages, so you don’t crush your own progress. Once you have created a product, made it digital and posted it online—how much work does it take to deliver? ZIP! How about cost? Well, if you follow my advice and purchase a server from a company like BlueHost, you have UNLIMITED BANDWIDTH–so you cost is again, ZIP!

What you have to do initially, is get past the ‘but I spent all that time creating a story—I need/want to make money from it now.’

Well, that’s fine–it’s your choice, but frankly, I paid $.97 on a few eComics, just to try them out, and when i was done reading them–they should have paid ME to read them. They were that bad. It has little if anything to do with the artwork. It was the storyline. Yuck. I’ll never do it again.

Do you see my line of thinking here, Ben?

If you don’t have a place to host, or simply can’t afford posting and using bandwidth, then I suggest you use Download.com as a resource (as a creator, you need to use ‘Upload.com‘). I used it for many of my new projects…which allow not only readers to download your comic…but Download.com is a major ‘hub’ in the FREE online universe. That means companies and other services come there, find good items in various categories, and then offer the very same product for FREE to their audience.

Hmmm, advertising for free, done by someone else? Yup. You don’t advertize…they will.

There are other facets you’ll want to consider, but there are too many to go into within this post. Know that I have been collecting questions, and I will be compiling an eBook for anyone interested, which can assist you in building traffic and readers for your projects. Just keep in mind that though you might be doing this from love or as a simple hobby—this is real work, with no shortcuts. You have to work at it, build it…and it takes time and considerable effort.

If someone, ANYone tells you there is a shortcut…they’re lying.

You can quote me on that.

Hope that helps Ben! =)

This article was written in 2005.

Is there money in eComics? The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer also happens to be yes.

I know there are going to be people out there that want to debate this issue with me–especially since I have stopped charging for my own eComics (at least for the time being) due my success with The Jubilee Project…so I’m going to make it very simply for everyone to understand this:

Shut your mouths, shut your assumptions off, and let me take you on a walk through the concept of eComics.

You have a comic. It’s good. You know it’s good…people tell you it’s good.

Yet, no one in their right mind will give you the time of day, when it comes to publication.

Why not? It’s GOOD!?!!…..right?????

There are many reasons for the rejection…but with eComics, that simply doesn’t matter. Why is that? Because you have a way to be seen by the literal world…without leaving your home. No calls to make, no face to face rejection. Sounds good, right?

Well, it gets better.

This same creation of yours can be set up with an automatic delivery system, as well as an automatic charge system and notification system, so that when an issue sells, all you get is a notice that you have money. One more click, and in 3 days—it’s in your bank account.

Sound good? Wait, there’s more.

Let’s say you create a comic, like WANTED:HERO, and you decide it has fantastic value. With this method, you don’t have to pay a printer, you don’t have to pay any employees, you don’t have to pay for shipping, warehousing or even packaging!

You PASS THAT SAVINGS ON TO THE READERS AND OFFER THE ISSUES FOR UNDER A DOLLAR! I mean, who in their right mind, is going to argue with a single dollar? That’s less than a 16oz. soda from a vending machine!

Now here’s the beauty of eComics: Once the work is done, it’s done. It has unlimited shelf life, for the people 5 years from now, who heard about your comic over breakfast, lunch, dinner, bowling or the old woman’s Church Bingo night.

How many readers can you develop? Lets say it takes you a few years to build up readers…but you get it up to 5000 readers monthly? At one dollar per reader, per month, that’s not too bad. Especially if your numbers continue to grow over time…5K, 7K, even 10-50K…on the internet, that’s not even a drop in a bucket! Now, at the end of the year, you take the work that’s already done, and create a printed version for those not converted to eComics, but they still want your story…

That still doesn’t include the Caps, Mugs, T-Shirts, Posters and much more that you can offer your readers, should they desire it, with a cost of mere pennies to you!!

Oh, says one—But people will steal the eComic, and send it to friends and not pay for it!

Let me tell you something…it’s not called stealing…it’s called ‘advertising’!

The more they get hooked on the comic, the more they will come back and the more they will talk about it….

That’s what you want!

As this monster you have started, grows, issue by issue—-so will your readers…even if it’s only one at a time. …and when that snow ball finally starts rolling down the hill (the tipping point), there will be such a huge database of products for your readers to partake of, you’ll be laughing to the bank.

Well, to the other room, where you’ll send it to the bank via online transfer, anyway!

Ok, tomorrow (the 27th of May) is actually my birthday, but my wife and children celebrated it today—since it was Memorial Day anyway.

It was a nice day. BBQ in the rain–watch movies and fall asleep in the lazy-boy chair–and then I went to Barnes and Noble to purchase a sketchbook. My first one in over a year.

The fact is, my hunger for drawing and creating is so visual, I’ve been starving for so long I had to make an attempt.

The bad news is—what I can see in my mind, I just could not make my hands craft on paper.

Ok, maybe i need far more practice…but it looks like the way I draw…my actual method/style, is no more. I just could not get my hands to comply…and it made my heart hurt.

The good news, is that my littlest children thought what I was drawing was amazing…

God Bless little children, cause they saved the day.

Running an International Organization and then rebuilding a comic book company is no easy task…but I have to say I love it. Once upon a time, I made a full-time living, supporting my wife and 9 children doing nothing but my comics. That’s powerful, considering everyone…and I do say EVERYone…said it could not be done. It was high stress bliss. Yeah, that sounds wierd, I know…but for all the pain and strain, it was a solid adrenalin rush each and every day, to get that next eComic out to readers in countries around the world.

Then we have the collapse of my hands for the second time, and this time it looks to be permanent. The muscles in my hands just don’t work like they used to. Now, my readers know this mean little to nothing when it comes to the forward steps of this eComic. One way or another, I WILL complete this whole storyline, one way or another, even if I have to find a pay an artist to do the future eComics artwork for me.

No, don’t send me your work—that is a last result, trust me.

I am, however, looking into creating more of my ‘dream’ site, since I am no longer limited financially to create eComics for a living. I make plenty of money now, so this is going to flourish out of passion! That always feels so good to say out loud…

One of the key things I wanted to have back in 2005, was a “wiki”—an actual online, digital WANTED:HERO encyclopedia if you will, so readers could look up any person, place or thing in the storyline and learn more about it. Something that would continue to progress as the storyline was developed. There was a great deal of interest in this thought, and we made a meager attempt before, bu the software was not available (at least not that we could actually find), so the results were, to say the least–sad.

NO MORE!! We have an actual wiki site being developed, which has the very same power and similar look as the world popular Wikipedia.

Now…here’s the clincher: It’s a sloooooooooow process, because I don’t have the amount of time needed to push it forward at a faster pace.

I would like to ask if anyone would be interested in helping me develop the wiki, especially if you have experience in making wiki entries. Your name and credits will, as always, be displayed and linked to in gratitude.

All the eComics are there for free to download, so the material I readily available–just create the entries. We have kept the basic instructions on how to do so on the wiki itself…so anyone with drive and a little time could assist us, if interested.

Please contact me at jaime@thejubileeproject.org and I will give you the details, as well as the address of the wiki.

This is one of my favorite past times in all the world. To have a piece of paper in front of me and a pencil, to create whatever comes to mind. What joy, what bliss–what sheer mental power and freedom!

Now, for me—penciling and inking are two subjects I do not feel I have a right to teach. Art is a continual process, and I learn each and every day. I know what it’s like to start from the beginning…twice—having surgery on my hands and losing the fine motor skills for many years…it’s been very hard to get back up to par with my own expectations.

Each artist has their own style. I have my own idols, such as Dave Sim and Katuhiro Otomo (man, I hope I said his name right…if not—sorry bub.). I have youth and adults send me artwork, asking me what I think. That’s a very dangerous question and the results are not always pleasant…I know from first hand experience on that one.

So, I will not be giving an art lesson…but rather, will explain what I do and why.

I do not learn my drawing from comic books. I love comics, I have a huge collection, but I don’t learn to draw from them. I have learned to story-tell from them, but drawing, I learn from real life. Sketchbooks, reading and imagination, free expression…and I never use an eraser. It’s the death of me. The more critical I get with myself…it’s like a landslide of mistakes. I simply won’t use one. Not even when I’m doing WANTED:HERO.

I take a sketch book with me—or something I can scribble in, everywhere I go. To dinner, the movies, church—you name it. If I go—it goes.

Now, the key to drawing…is to do it.

A lot.

That’s it.

Personally I don’t think a degree from some school is going to make you any better if you don’t practice. Just do it. Get art books from the local library and just do it. Get some fine art books and try to decipher how the artist did what they did. Practice using various holds on your pencil and using different grades of paper.

I have a very tight schedule when it comes to creating the monthly comic. I want to do my best—but still have a life. I’m a husband and father of nine kids, regardless of my work load, and I want as much time as I can get. So the schedule is simple…I get 4 days to draw the whole comic for the month.

That’s 5 pages a day, plain and simple. I don’t use layout pages…I just get my page plot, read it over and over, until I can imagine the page in my mind, and then I stare at the white page until it forms for me.

I use a 2h pencil almost exclusively. I don’t use an eraser, unless I mess up in a major way, or I start over on a page. I use the ruler to draw the panels, and then I …draw. I only stop unless I’m done for the day, reaching my goal, or my hands have swollen so badly I can’t grip the pencil anymore, and I need a break.

Some days I just can’t wrap my head around a page. So instead of burning brain cells, I leave it for the next day and do something completely different.

The last tip I can give you is an important one: when you FEEL like drawing DRAW!

Take it one step at a time, one bite at a time. Just remember that the comic will never get done, if you don’t do it. Your idea is only an idea…if it’s not in pencil. Then it’s a WORK IN PROGRESS…and that is very motivating. It’s as simple as that.

One of the last commercials we did with Doctor Amos, PhD of the 3rd Light District in ClockWorks City.

Dr. Amos didn’t want to o the commercial at first, being a traditional physician. So, we donated dozens of copies of WANTED:HERO to his practice, which he proceeded to prescribe in rare humor-dysfunction cases. The results were so dramatic, he was the first qualified physician to sign on as an advocate for this eComic and promotes it to this day.

Have a listen. Created back in 2006.

~MotherBoard

 

 Standard Podcast [1:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of the first commercials we did, which got the attention of children everywhere and made them laugh.

In fact, this was the first true promotion we did using Gnomes, and it has never been the same since. I mean, we Gnomes are such lovable people, who wouldn’t want to hear more from us, right?

Click on the podcast and hear one of the most popular commercials for this fantastic eComic (made in 2006).

~MotherBoard

 

 Beware of Pookie: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

(Article written March 2006)
You may think these lessons (and podcasts) are out of order. Well, you’d be right. I’m trying to create them for you in the midst of getting the next issue out of WANTED:HERO, and sometimes I’m in the middle of a phase of the project…and it’s just natural to write down what you’re already doing.

So, with that in mind, I’m preparing the script for Issue #13…so the Lesson today is on Outline, Page Plot and Script.

First off, there are a few books that I would like to recommend, because they give a great hands on look at what a script can be…but you need to understand that each writer has their own style and format that works best for them. One is not necessarily better than the other…it’s just what works to get the job done.

Luckily, I work alone. I think my method of writing would drive another artist insane. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. My side notes and changes nearly drive my dear wife insane…and she’s my editor.

The books I would recommend, are: PANEL TWO: MORE COMIC BOOK SCRIPTS BY TOP WRITERS…by Nat Gertler, …and ALAN MOORE’S WRITING FOR COMICS. Those two books will give you a great taste of what you need to know and do to form your ideas into workable stories for an artist.

As for my own method of writing, it simply works like this:

I spend a great deal of time looking at the ceiling, isolating myself, or talking out loud to my wife or a close friend that reads my comic book. It starts by discussing general ideas, which I usually have scribbled down on some piece of paper, or I get from the master timeline created for the whole WANTED:HERO story. I talk about what I want the characters to do, and my wife or friend, sometimes my older children, will throw out problems, or challenge the idea with what is already going on in the story.

This forces my mind to find solutions to the dilemma, or simply move on to another idea. As a general rule, I try to have at least 2 main story lines, which are part of the big whole, going at the same time….(though I think 3-5 are more fun). A good example is having Wendell on Akk-Arnon, dealing with a world of Gnomes, while there is a huge conflict at the Keep of Til-Thorin on the human home world.

Once I have the basic ideas of what I want to happen in a story, the outline becomes a matter of planning. Each digital issue is 20 pages, excluding ads. I know the intro is 1-3 pages, depending on the punch, there is a lead to the main dilemma and a climax that works from page 4-14, I have to resolve the dilemma by page 18, and then create a new dilemma for the next issue on 19 and 20. If there is an Epilogue, then I might increase the comic to 21 pages. You always have the freedom to add more pages if you need or want to. That’s just how I personally work.

Once I have the breakdown, I will create a page plot, where I describe what is happening on each page to trigger my penciling mind. This allows me to visualize everything that’s supposed to happen, and sparks my artist side. I do this for each page of the comic book.

The last step is a two stepper. I create the dialog. This is where you have to get to know your characters. They actually tell me what they would say and when they would get involved. Once I have written all the dialog, then I read it out loud. If it sounds like a real conversation, something that makes sense, should I overhear it, I’ll go straight to the artwork. If not—I will go back to an outside opinion, and work on the dialog.

Personally, I don’t think I’m a very good writer. I know, I know—most comic guys think they can write. In fact, most I have met personally believe they are God’s gift to the written word. Well, I’m not one of them. I’m still studying myself each day, on how to improve one step at a time, and I learn as I go.

I just know I don’t completely stink–so, I keep going.

Now, the nightmare is when I’m all done with the artwork. I have created something to fit the writing—but once I sit down and add the lettering, 9 times out of ten, I will change a script on the spot…and for some reason, it always turns out better that what was originally jotted down. I don’t have a reason why I do that—I just do. Something about looking at the expressions on the faces of my characters who are talking and they simply tell me something else.

So I change it.

So there you have my process of insanity. Outline, page plot, then the dialog.

It may not be the best way, but it sure works for me.

God Bless,

Jaime D. Buckley
Creator of WANTED:HERO

(This article was written the first part of 2006)

If you are going to make eComics, you have two basic options when it comes to getting your work online: start digital, or scan. Since my own experience is limited to the traditional production of comics, we will cover the aspect of scanning.

Now, keep in mind that I use one specific program above all others, and that happens to be PhotoImpact. I can’t recommend it enough—so look up Ulead.com and check it out when you get a chance. I have calibrated the program to work with my own scanner, which happens to be an HP Officejet 7130xi. It only scans up to 8 ½” X 14”—and using 11X17” Bristol, means I have to piece together each page. A pain, yes—but very simple when it comes to using PhotoImpact.

I scan in my pages in greyscale, not black and white. This allows me the ability to make the artwork crisp, without having jagged edges, and also to splice the pages easier…because it will pick up the non-photo blue lines on the page. I scan one side, then the other, both at 300dpi (dots per inch). By scanning it in at 300dpi, you have a master copy that allows you to create a printed book, as well as the digital copy. You can always scale down, which we do…but blowing up an image makes it fuzzy…so 300dpi is the perfect setting.

Once we have the two pieces on our screen, we then create a new white document at 10.5” wide and 15.75” tall, also at 300dpi.

Now here’s the beauty of PhotoImpact: I then take the selection tool and drag it over the “trim” line of the page. This is the same line the printer would cut off, to gt a full bleed, and prepare it for shooting. We drag the selection tool from one corner to the other, and bring it as close to the faded edge (the end the overlaps one another), and then cut. Drag the piece over to the new document. Do the same with the second scan. Place top on top and bottom on bottom. Simple enough…

Now change your tool to the selection icon, and simply select each scanned part in turn and hit the align tool. Chose for the pages to be centered in the middle, which will bring both pages close enough to eye the lines the rest of the way. If you need a better view, simply enlarge the page with the magnifying glass, and inch the pages together. Once in place, so the look like a single page, select both pages and choose “merge as a single object”. This fuses both scanned parts together into one picture. Then hit the align to center button, and your comic is now perfectly centered on your new page. Then simply choose ‘merge all’, and save your page.

Now, we still have all those non-photo blue lines as well as the shadow areas sticking out like a sore thumb. PhotoImpact to the rescue! Simply choose ‘format’ and then ‘Brightness and Contrast’. This allows you, with a few clicks of a button, to make the page as white as snow and crisp clear lines as dark as midnight.

Save you work, and you’re ready for the greyscale! That wasn’t so hard, now was it?

Jaime Buckley
Creator of WANTED:HERO

Each artist has their own ways of creating their stories. We have favorite tools, we have a favorite style, whether emulated or unique in our own right.

However, if you are making a comic book in a traditional form, and you have to perform inking…we all have a specific need in common, and that’s the right ink.

There are as many brands of inks that you can use, as there are pens and brushes. However, getting the right consistency is something we all strive for. Why?

Well, if you have ink that’s too thin, you’ll get splotch marks throughout your work—and when scanning, you’ll be doing a great deal of cover-up work. I had that problem myself during he first year of WANTED:HERO, and let me tell you—the last thing you want to do, is spend double the amount of time, inking—because you have to go over everything twice!

If you have ink too thick, you’ll find your pen nibs or brushes gumming up, which can not only be a pain—but it can ruin some brushes if left too long to dry.

So, the question is….how do we get an ink that is black as midnight, pliable, and consistent? Many message boards on the web pose that very dilemma.

Well, I have an answer for you—so grab a pen and paper.

If you have never heard of Dick Blick art supplies…these guys are huge and they have the thickest ink I have ever seen, in 20 years of cartooning. Go to dickblick.com, and look up “inks”. There you will find the gold in a jar, called “Black Cat”…and they Do mean BLACK. Not only is this stuff as dark as you can get, it’s also very inexpensive. Only $14.99 for a full QUART! However, they run sales most of the time, and I buy the same amount for only $10.98. This ink has been around since 1911.

Now, you can experiment with this ink, by thinning it with water…or you can add one more step, which is what I do. I use “Higgins” water proof India Ink, and simply mix ¼ Higgins, to ¾ Black Cat. When I open the container, before working with the ink—I simply take the back end of a brush, and stir the ink for about 30 seconds, wipe off the handle of the brush, and stat working. The consistency stays the same for over an hour, at which time I simply stir the ink solution again.

…and there you have it—a good, consistent black ink you can rely on, day after day.

I bet you’re thinking you know what program we’re going to talk about….

Adobe Illustrator? Nope.

Adobe Photoshop? Not on yer life.
Adobe InDesign? Hehe…not even close.

In fact, it’s not even an Adobe product at all.

This is a program that’s considered the workhorse in Jaime Buckley’s arsenal when it comes to eComic production.

It assists in the creation of the eComic, the development of promotional material, web content, optimizes all artwork, and can perform all the needed functions many artist rely on Photoshop for.

What is it?

PhotoImpact…a product of Ulead.

This single program is a lifesaver when it comes to the creation of WANTED:HERO. It performs effect art, such as beveled edges, visual effect, word manipulation, panting effects….not with layers (though it has that as well), but with a click of a button. No more working with Photoshop for 2 hours on an effect, when you can click a button to get the same results and move on.

Take a moment and check out this remarkable program. Not only is it amazing, it’s very affordable. It is the #1 art program, recommended by WANTED HERO STUDIOS, and Jaime Buckley himself.

So now you know.

Dear friends,

It has been a great pleasure to bring you the adventures of Wendell, Dax and Chuck for the past few years, and there is more to come. As of the writing of this post, 53 pages have been written of the first WANTED:HERO Novel, which we plan to release before Christmas this year.

Yet, while working on this next project, I have had the great privilege of meeting and getting to know many precious and noble families, struggling just to stay alive.

Families who are losing their homes due to market changes and lack of income–those who simply cannot support their family in the current economy, and in some instances, unable to feed them. Families being devastated by the evils of Cancer or untimely death of a parent (both of which the Buckley Family understands from personal experience). I never knew entertaining children would open so many important doors, and grant so many unexpected opportunities.

It’s when you get to know these kind, loving people, meeting them through children who love this story, that you want to do so much more.

SO,…

Today I come top you, asking for your help as I make a commitment of my own. I am by no means rich, but I make enough for my needs through other businesses to sustain myself–where WANTED:HERO is simply for profit and fun. It is my intention to work through Jubilee World Wide and The Jubilee Hope Foundation, to assist these various families who cannot help themselves, by donating any and all profits from the sale of WANTED:HERO materials to the relief of others.

I am bringing this to your attention, because I am asking for your help in spreading the news about this eComic and encouraging you to promote it, that together, we can change the lives of others for the better.

I hope you will take up this challenge with me and fill the life of a child with laughter, while filling a families heart with hope.

Just click on the “PRINTED WORKS” page to the left and make your purchase.

God Bless,
Jaime D. Buckley
Creator of WANTED:HERO

If you think for one moment you can get away with anything but the ‘pure’ paper…you’re wrong. Getting the wrong kind of paper can destroy your efforts–such as acid in the paper, or a yellow texture, which can corrode the scans.

In fact, there are many Gnomes who feel strongly about the type of paper you should use for an eComic. It’s almost a religous experience for some.

Here’s a podcast to give you a hint at what we are getting at:

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download