There's More to Making Comics Than Just Making the Comic
A Firsthand Look At Being A Comic Self-Publisher, AKA All The Other Stuff I've Been Doing With Steamroller Man Lately
Hello again, and Happy Easter to those who celebrate it!
If you’ve been following me for a time, you probably know that my childhood dream was to make my own comic. Last year, I finally achieved that goal, and it was AWESOME… but in the process I came to know that being a comic publisher is a lot more involved than being a comic maker. To wit, I haven’t gotten a lot of drawing or writing done in the last couple of weeks, because I’ve been hard at work on other Steamroller Man-related things! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s been going on at SRMHQ!1
Kickstarter Preparation
I’ve now received the artwork for three of the variant covers that will be offered during my upcoming campaign to print issue #2! I have two of these covers colored and set up with logos and lettering! They’re ready for the printer and so I’m sharing them with you today!
I love seeing other artists’ interpretations of my characters! I’m a big fan of the work of both Flops! Comics and Edison Neo, so I was absolutely delighted that they were enthusiastic about contributing covers to this campaign! I colored the Edison Neo cover myself, which was a really fun project, and I’m really happy with how it turned out!
I am honored to have the original art for this cover hanging on the wall over my workspace, alongside pieces by some of my other favorite artists!
As was the case with my first campaign, there will only ever be ONE print run of each of these covers, in only enough numbers to fulfill the campaign pledge rewards, and to provide the artists with complimentary copies. I usually round up the total number of copies I order to the nearest multiple of 10, to mitigate any damages incurred while shipping. This means that I also have a VERY LIMITED number of leftover copies of the variant covers from the issue #1 campaign, which I will be offering as add-on items in the campaign for issue #2!
I think I have fewer than ten copies of each of these, so when they’re gone, they’re gone!
If you’re interested in getting your hands on any of the above items, don’t miss out! Sign up for the Issue Two campaign Pre-Launch Page, so you’ll be notified the minute the campaign goes live!
I’ve also created the artwork for a new sticker and a new trading card, both of which will be given away as Stretch Goal rewards, if we hit certain funding milestones, but… I’ll save those reveals for the campaign.
I’m also putting together the behind-the-scenes art process PDF for issue #2, which will be offered as a digital reward along with the digital PDF of the story. This one looks to be just as big, if not bigger, than the 70-page process PDF I made for issue #1, so if you’re an art process fan like me, you won’t be disappointed!
COMING SOON: The STEAMROLLERMAN.COM online store!
That’s right! On top of everything else I’ve been doing, I’m also currently working to add a storefront page to my website. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, but just haven’t found the time. Ultimately, the only thing to do when one is in that situation is make time. So I’ve devoted a few hours every day this week to getting it set up. It’s definitely still a work in progress. I’m not a coder in any way, shape or form. In fact, I hate doing this stuff! But like many other things involved in publishing my own comic, I’m muddling my way through this new and oftentimes frustrating process with the help of online tutorials and tech support, knowing that I’ll go outside my comfort zone to get it done, and learn something new in the process. It’ll all work out in the end!
I already have a Spreadshop store which sells a range of my designs on t-shirts, caps and other merchandise (thank you if you’ve ever made a purchase there!) but my goal is to make it possible to buy all that stuff, as well as printed copies of the comic, on my own site. Literally a one-stop shop for all things Steamroller Man!
Thanks for reading, and until next time, Keep Rolling!
Matt
Oooh! “SRMHQ” - that sounds cool! I’m going to use that more often!