Just so you know, I feel a lot of guilt for the things I’ve done and am doing and will do to Mauricio. But like with Martina, there will be forms of redemption, and I just adore her journey and her strength, as I do with Mauricio.
Hey, I have a question for all of you. This new Iteration of Spacetrawler has been running long enough that I really feel it’s time to promote it. Something which is really difficult for me — my skill is in comics and story rather than promoting. But, who should I approach? Where are good places you can think of I should send a press release to? What’s good these days? I’m so out of touch, all I know of is io9. (and it goes without saying, feel free to help promote, or if you know any staff at publications, blogs, podcasts, I welcome you spreading the word).
Who wants to bet that Jabby is basically going to decide that all life everywhere is a crime that requires “justice?”
Or that all life could allow the possibility of this reoccurring?
He really should have seen that coming. But I suppose he was very tired after almost being disintegrated.
If you don’t get out of Jabby’s way, you’re technically guilty of obstruction of justice*.
* new and improved: with extra firepower
I really enjoy this comic, the story, people and art. I see links/adverts on other webcomic sites and check them out. Some of them draw me into the story or the visual art. You have a list here of interesting comics. Maybe some of those creators will list Spacetrawler.
A thumbnail visual, usually of a compelling face or interesting expression helps, also a short description of the story/personalities in an “About” section are the 2 items that tend to draw me in. Look at what some of the creators you read and admire are doing.
I love this story and will tell my friends about it.
I just noticed you have Patreon. That could be made a bit more noticeable 😉
Thank you, Denise. Made some website tweaks!
I see some creators getting a little cross-pollination by doing guest comics for each other. I assume these people have met each other at cons – where there are sometimes shared tables. Your previous SpaceTrawler was well known enough that there may be some other creators out there who remember it and would love to (a) know that you’re back up and (b) swap guest comic appearances with you. I don’t know how those connections are made. Twitter?? A lot of creators tweet.
Yes, it is an excellent way. Me filling in for Dave Kellett’s “Drive” was really helpful!
It’s how I first found you – through Drive. And now Drive is rather disappointing as tlnew strips only post every week or so since Dave is busy promoting and wiring on another book. If you do get into more promoting and appearances, PLEASE don’t let your strips lapse like that. I think you’d lose readers then.
How about attending small comic and scifi conventions if you’ll be near them in your travels? The big ones like Worldcon and Comic con may be too much. I just know that some webcomics artists have attended smaller ones that boosted recognition. I avoid almost all things that have big crowds as it freaks me out – and many fans get done up freakily anyways.
Not sure what awards are available for webcomics other than Hugo and Eisner awards but if you enter or are nominated for any, I’m sure your readers will vote for you – I certainly would! I’m sure you’ve got *many* more readers than those who comment.
Lastly, I’d make your archived more available/noticeable along with a ‘cast’ link that would enable new readers (and those with forgetful memories) to sort out various characters. Take a look at Ursula’s Digger comic site to get an idea.
Thanks, @Jude, and no worries. Comics are the thing I’m interested in, and they come first (part of why I’m no good at self-promotion, I’m making comics with every bit of time I have).
I have done a fair amount of conventions, but none for a bit. I haven’t had a new book in a while. But I’ve begun thinking about them more. I will at some point for sure.
The Hugos are no good, even if I managed to mobilize all of my readers, I can’t compete with the big names, and it’s fan voted. Eisner I’ve tried for, and will again, where at least nominees are presented via a panel, and winners voted on by professionals.
Will tweak the “archives” noticeability.
Hi, been reading you for a while. I mostly find new comics on TWC tho i find it rather hard to filter out what interests me. I’m a web developer as day job as well reading about 10-15 comics (sometimes binge-reading finished ones), so I often think about creating some sort of platform/reader web-app with better capabilities in finding similar comics (I found you looking for something to fill the void when Starslip ended). I just never saw it as a problem to solve other than for myself so never put the effort in it. Am I alone? (Sorry for the personal rant..)
I’ll see if I can get on the TWC page, thank you, Orion!
I am fairly satisfied with Comic Rocket as a solution to that problem. But their updates have dropped off and I’m afraid they might stop working.
I dunno, maybe TechCrunch? I’m so out of it myself that I don’t know that you have a Facebook page for Spacetrawler yet, or a Twitter presence. Basically you want to hit not just comics people, not just sf people, but people working with tech who appreciate the diversion. There’s also the gaming community, electronic and not. IGN, perhaps, need a press release. Perhaps the handful of paper gaming magazines left. PC Gamer, RetroGamer, GamePro, Game Informer, that sort of thing. Your audience could be among the millions of gamers.
Heh. Once upon a time, I would have included StarDrive in that list. But they folded after one issue. Pity. This would have been a great comic there, in paper format.
Pablo Picasso said, “When critics get together, they talk about line and form, color and content and shading and meaning. When artists get together, they talk about where to buy the best turpentine.”
Thanks, Peter. I’ll try Tech Crunch. And yes, both a Facebook and Twitter, which I just added in the links in the upper-right of this page.
Try Geek and Sundry. They do interviews on their podcasts, give their own recommendations too.
Minna Sundberg got some world award for her comic “A Redtail’s Dream”. Maybe look into that. (And her two comics! That one was finished for her college degree, I think. The current one is “Stand Still Stay Silent”. Her book Kickstarters bring in SO much money that she can afford to live well, albeit simply (a woman after your own heart). It pays for the very lovely,
NOT paperback books with the extras, but also her living space, food, clothing, trips to other Scandinavian countries to visit her family, and more. (She’s a very hard worker! 4 updates a week, plus Wednesdays are spent working on the video game she’s developing!!)
She’s even gone on vacation to
Iceland, took photos of lovely desolate landscapes for her SSSS world. She also has a forum. I think ~~that has certainly gotten her a fandom. (Minna is rather shy, an introvert. Yet still friendly, outgoing enough that we all hear from her often enough. She also believes in the personal touch.)
And yes, I’d be sure to vote for YOUR comic every day if you got it on TWC. That does bring in cash, I hear. You may have to add adverts though.
We’d all love to see you eventually in your own place! I know these traveling rôles are fun, but eventually, everyone likes to settle a bit. IMHO
Wow. Jabby is a) really fast (it must have completely protected Mauricio in the instant of the explosion and 2) really, really disturbing (it’s learned how to manipulate Mauricio to get him to OK the kills)(and also lie to him about them).
Ole Jabby was too well built for an A.I. He can both kill with impunity and lull his host to allow it in a very smooth and practiced manner. Chillingly so.
“Ole Jabby was too well built for an A.I. He can both kill with impunity and lull his host to allow it in a very smooth and practiced manner. Chillingly so.”
I wonder if he will run into a Copy of an Issac Asimov Robot novel on the Pilot’s ship? If so I am expecting a very strict interpretation of “human” to be exactly human, no cross breads, Def. no aliens, etc.
Meanwhile lets steer him away from any books re: The sith, HAL, The Terminator….etc.
Speaking as another ignoramus about self-promotion, I’d say you want to drive more people to your Patreon page. I noticed Dave Kellet (Drive, which I love) and Brad Guigar (Evil Inc – I don’t read it) started a new blog thing called “Comic Lab” where they discuss the business of webcomics and how it’s changed and what’s drawing people to them – https://www.patreon.com/posts/ep-1-resolutions-16190557
There’s just one podcast so far, but it seemed to really be addressing your question. They seem to think that social media is now how they draw people to Patreon and such to support their work. Not necessarily great news for guys like me who are a little, uh, leary of too much social media, but worth a listen.
I see now that the official site for Comic Lab is https://www.patreon.com/comiclab
Thanks, Eric. by chance I just found out about ComicLab and listened to Lucy Bellwood’s interview. But I’ll check out the one you linked to. 🙂
It appears that what’s left of Mauricio are his head and shoulders. And Jabby is making him the head and shoulders of the GOB.
Try submitting Spacetrawler to GoComics. You already have the inventory and established history to be accepted as a professional creator, and get royalties. They will handle the promotional stuff also. They publish a lot of syndicated comics, so you’d be in good company.
I was with them briefly with Little Dee. Right now the four-week lead time is not possible. But yeah, it’s a great site.
You don’t have to start with current comics. They will run the original Spacetrawler from the beginning, which is well ahead of the lead time. Aaron Neathery did this with Endtown when he migrated it from another comics site.
Which was how I first found your work. I haven’t been there in years, but I’ve been on baldwinpage/spacetrawler/littledee every week for years now…
I really like this strip, but for honest feedback, I’d say that the transition from panel 10 and earlier (Jabby’s recognizable gun protruding at a ‘natural’ angle from the body-box) to panel 12 and beyond (Jabby’s gun on a pole protruding from a smooth surface on the body-box) needs a little visual continuity. Perhaps some opened hatch doors or a Jabby-shaped hole in the body-box.
I know my previous fix requests were a lot easier and more universal, but… honest feedback.
Maybe a Jabby-shaped aperature-like door? Your strip is usually great for making mechanical design sense.
Well, maybe not an aperature-like door. Not with the ‘hole’ including curved surfaces.
Not easy to fix, but possible.
Capturing the gun in mid-morph?
@Docard, totally. I agree. Not sure why I did it the way I did. I’ll try to fix it this week.
🙂
Maybe instead of a clean transition, a messy one… like Jabby’s doing things in more of a hurry than his motivation to make it look clean. It adds a visual concept of time to Jaby where the transitions he does in haste look sloppier or more raw.
http://piperka.net is how I track my webcomics; might put up an ad there once in a while.
I forgot about piperka!
Oooh, I should mention it on Mastodon.
You were lost on http://piperka.net/info.html?cid=3441for the longest time. You could check them once a week or so in case they goof again.
Other aggregators of note are https://new.belfrycomics.net/ent/17179 and the very new and mobile-friendly https://www.archivebinge.com. Both allow for creators to claim, edit and monitor their entries.
God! I’d just written a ~~damned helpful book! Long, detailed etc… then my iPad ran out of battery time. It’s all gone. I guess I’ll try to recreate it tomorrow.
Gah. Devices. I hates them!
Wow. It did post. It was incomplete though. I’ll go finish it up.
Let’s see… I’ve gotten 95% of my webcomic recommendations from other webcomics. Usually, the artist trades them with other artists. So that’s one major place.
I’ve occasionally gotten them from ads. Top webcomic (TWC) pays out too, I believe, better for top 100 comics (which yours would qualify for, except they’re by popular votes). You’d put any and all of what you have online there. They don’t have to be “currently working on” status.
Opening up commissions would do well too. I wish I could do patreon, but I’ve no income. But I can ask for gifts. I’ve lost beloved dogs which would be done well in your realistic pen and ink style that you do “real artwork” in… (like what you put in galleries.)
I don’t mean to tell you things you may already know. This is just the little bits I know of, other than the expensive time suck of conventions.
I do love your comics! And want you to keep doing it, all your life. It’s good that ~some of us get to follow their dreams ??