Comic Drama Births New Creative Outlet That I've Been Searching For!
Here's the behind-the-scenes look into the drama, and comic creation process
These last two weeks have had some high highs and some low lows. From finishing off a Kickstarter, project problems, creator drama, and mental health. Let’s do this y’all!
Oh! And I have my FINAL book launching this October. I’m shooting for an October 11th launch. By then I’ll have plenty of pages to show. Here’s the link if you want to sign up: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mrsmilecomics/the-cthulhu-murders-her-dark-heart-1-a-nsfw-noir-mystery
Synopsis: Cthulhu, The Great Old One, is in a cosmic war that has left him unable to oversee the universe. Because of this, his family members that have taken on human form, are being murdered, and he must take over the consciousness of the detective in charge of solving the case. Filled with Lovecraftian lore, this is also an INTERACTIVE book where each panel has clues to the mystery, and to progress through the book, YOU the reader must input answer online in order to make sure you’re right on track with solving the case! Make sure to sign up! :)
PROJECT PROBLEMS WITH CTHULHU
Not the best way to advertise the book, but there were production problems of MY doing at the get go. Let me explain.
At the beginning of this year, I came up with the title THE CTHULHU MURDERS, however I had no story and couldn’t come up with anything that made leap for joy. So I shelved it. Then, two things happened that made this comic come to life.
I met an artist friend named Almer who was looking for some work. After doing some character designs and pages for me on another series, I asked him if he could draw Cthulhu for me in a suit. Well. This is what he came up with:
Needless to say, I was thrilled. Piece #1: find the right artist for the book. Piece #2 however was to find a story worth telling, and one that made me leap for joy. You see, a problem that I have is that I CANNOT create a comic or spend time on one unless I genuinely am passionate about the story and enjoy what I’m creating. It’s why I’ve stopped so many books after 5-10 pages. Sometimes I just go “nah I’m bored” and I’ve just learned to move on.
One night I was playing a murder mystery game with my family. It was a very hands on investigation type game where you the player had to meticulously go through all the clues and evidence. BINGO! That’s it! I’ll tell a story that has a ton of interactive moments, and make it into a murder mystery! I spent a couple weeks crafting the story, and BOOM I was ready.
And then I hit a fork in the road. You see, doing art full-time it makes you prioritize how you spend your money. Almer is a fantastic artist, but there was a part of me that was like “If I am the one who draws the book, I get to keep that money that I would spend hiring Almer.”
So that’s the road I took. I started drawing the book, and told Almer that I wasn’t going to work with him. He said “no problem.”
It looked freaking terrible. I literally looked at the pages and went “There is NO WAY that I am going to be able to sell this book and feel good about myself.” I was trying to draw in a style that just wasn’t working for this book. Here’s the thing, I wrote this book FOR ALMER! Everything was scripted and sketches out for ALMER’S art style, not mine.
I immediately messaged Almer and asked him if he still had availability to draw the book. He replied in an hour and said absolutely, and within 2 hours I had sent him the script, layouts, and payment.
Here’s page 1 that he sent me yesterday:
The story starts with the main character feeling dizzy, going to the bathroom, their partner worried about them, and them realizing that they are possessed by Cthulhu. No one in the story BUT THE READER knows that Cthulhu is controlling the agent.’
This page BLOWS MY PAGE to a thousand pieces. I’m so excited to show off more.
All in all, when you write a song for a cello, you can’t expect a tuba to do the song justice. I was the tuba, and Almer is the cello. I can’t wait to launch this campaign! Make sure to sign up! This is a one-and-done story, with potential for a series IF the reception for it is good.
THE END OF THE KOFFEE COMICS SAGA
I’m no stranger to creator drama. I’ve been a player of it and a victim of it. One thing I’ve learned from it all, is that I hate it, and I’m doing my best to make sure that I stay out of it. It’s just not productive. However, over the last two weeks, creator drama came to my doorstep with a South African creator, who goes by Koffee Comics on Youtuber, made Youtube videos about me.
Here’s the thing. I can take criticism. If you think I can’t draw or write, that’s fine. I’m doing my best every day to get better and I hope that one day I get to the standard that you and I want. Trust me. If I could be doing god-tier level art, I would. One day. If you don’t like my series, comics, or manga, that’s okay too.
What I don’t like is when people represent me in poor ways, with no context or research. Not just that, I don’t like it when people do it in a bullying type of way. That’s what Koffee Comics did. Spewing names, calling me a man child with a child’s body that grew a beard, and attacking my business was really uncalled for, especially from someone with no credibility, published works, or industry knowledge. At one point in his video, he said that because I live in America, I have the ability to walk into Image Comics building, and get published through them.
I don’t want to get into all the details of this. What I want to focus on is what I LEARNED in this saga of drama these last two weeks.
Motivation and growth can be found in comics and manga. This is what I mean.
The things that this guy was saying got to me and made me unproductive for a few days. What got me out of this slump were two things: Listening to Denzel Washington Motivational speeches, and the manga Bakuman.
Then it hit me: I can make videos talking about my life as a creator WHILE also talking about what I’m reading (comics and manga) and how it’s inspiring and motivating me to become a better person.
You see, for the last 5 years, I’ve had this battle with my relationship on Youtube. I want to do VLOG style videos, while also making content about comics and manga. I thought it had to be one or the other.
Because of Koffee and the bullying he did, and the slump he through me into, I realized a way to mesh the Vlog style content WITH the comics and manga content. It might sound weird to say but…I’m kinda grateful that he made all those hit pieces of me on the internet! He helped me solve a problem that I’ve been having for the last 3 years, and he did it with 2 bullying videos! Incredible!
PROJECT PROGRESS
My Sexy Witch Academia #1: Digital rewards have been sent out. Physical rewards should be at my place soon and shipped out.
Super Plumber Sisters #1: 50% completed with the artwork. Still on track for a November fulfillment.
The Cthulhu Murders: pages are being drawn, covers being worked on, campaign launching on October 11th
The Girl with the Mega Fists Vol. 4: Campaign ended at $17k (thank you very much) and the book is currently 50% completed and on track for our January fulfillment date
Okay! That’s the end for this newsletter! I can’t wait to see what awaits this next week!
Peace!
Tyler :)
I think that’s an awesome idea! I’d suggest checking out “Lessons from Anime” on YouTube (though it’s very possible you already know of them lol) Honestly a very encouraging and helpful channel.
If it’s not too personal, I know I’d love to see a newsletter where you go into greater detail about how you find, hire, and work with other artists!
As always, looking forward to the next update and hoping you have a blessed day Tyler.