First of all, I'd like to welcome back Kurt to the Alliance for this discussion. Kurt was a co-founding member here in the very beginning, taking the reigns of the Pick of the Week/Month, with some great spotlights on some fantastic webcomics. He was a perfect fit for that, as ... Continue Reading

Once in a while it's good for us creators to stop and reflect on how much we have grown, improved or changed. While I can definitely see a difference between the old Zorphbert & Fred comics I drew back in 2007, I think a bigger change has been how I ... Continue Reading

Will "Freemium" Work for Webcomics? There's certainly lost of talk about the business of webcomics, and how to encourage the people who are used to getting our content for free, to PAY... even just a little... to help support us. Maybe the Wall Street Journal has something to suggest, if we ... Continue Reading

  They're out there. Passionate, dedicated, willing to support indie creators, and yet so very elusive: The Typical Webcomic Reader. As we have discussed on this site and on our podcasts, although we can easily find fellow creators quite easily on social media, finding the READERS... you know, the ones who keep ... Continue Reading

­­­ by Steve Ogden and Tom Dell’Aringa   In a previous article, Dawn already talked about the broken webcomic "business model" , but there might be something in all this that's even worse than a simple broken model. The web is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's a direct route to a potential ... Continue Reading

Here at the Alliance, a picture may be worth a thousand words, but a VIDEO.... well, that's just GOLD. So, while we have mastered the art of writing about drawing, how about we actually show you what we do. Once a month, we'll post a VIDEO of our process- drawing, ... Continue Reading

Take your seats, class. If you followed directions and did your homework from our last session, you should have gathered all the specifications from your printer as well as set up all your comic files to be easily placed into an InDesign document. You may have even started a new ... Continue Reading

To Reboot or not to Reboot? So, everyone was all flustered (and often just seething with hatred out of jealousy, angst, disgust, or whatever the reason) about Tim Buckley's decision to reboot his uber-popular comic CTRL+ALT+DELETE. He wanted a better way to tell the gaming stories and jokes, so he killed ... Continue Reading

Even if we refer to our comic as a "WEBcomic", one of our typical goals as a cartoonist/creator is to eventually collect our comics in book-form, to sell and actually earn some profit from our endless hard work and strict deadlines. While we may have mastered Adobe Photoshop, and possibly ... Continue Reading

  Zorphbert and Fred wasn't a webcomic when I started it in 2006. Actually, I had no idea webcomics were a "thing". I figured people may post them online if they, you know, wanted to give their stuff away for free. I had no clue anyone could effectively monetize their comic ... Continue Reading

Dawn: Keeping up with your favorite webcomics is no easy task. There are plenty of options out there, but if you read a LOT of webcomics, it’s hard to find a service or platform that works well and appeases all parties. Google Reader, of course, is a very popular option.... ... Continue Reading

Lets see, so far we have challenged you to WRITE your own comic page, and LAYOUT a background or setting. Now it's time to test your character design skills, Alliance community! If you have your own comic, you probably have characters you have labored over and have evolved over time... ... Continue Reading

Many of you may know that I am a graphic designer for a snack foods company, before I come home and do my “real” work. My company often exhibits at food-centric trade shows, much like we do at comic cons, promoting our brands and drawing interest in the corporate programs ... Continue Reading

A Roundtable Discussion of 3 Table-Mates 3 webcomic creators, squeezed into one table, at an indie book expo. Lets see what happens. That was pretty much our motto. Dawn, of Zorphbert & Fred -- Sci-Fi!Chris of Capes and Babes -- Supernatural!Krishna of PC Weenies -- Nerdy Technology!  What a combination.   DAWN: As I ... Continue Reading

  About a year ago, I collected a bunch of my favorite tech-y finds in THIS original post, including goodies like Square to take credit cards at comic cons, and the handy social media browser plug-in Yoono. I have pointed many people to that article, when making a suggestion for some ... Continue Reading

If you’re a business-minded creator, you know it’s best to keep up with the latest news in our ever-growing field. With print comics, webcomics, newspaper comics, all mingling together and fighting for attention, it's interesting to see which gets the lime light and why. It’s exciting to be ahead of ... Continue Reading

We often suggest to creators who are just starting out and curious about exhibiting at conventions, to look into smaller local conventions, as opposed to the Wizard Worlds or New York or San Diego. You know, baby steps. Well, for me, Allentown Comic Con is the perfect size for starting ... Continue Reading

So, you've have this comic for a couple years now, and have managed to put out a book or two or three. Maybe you've done a couple locals conventions, or maybe even a few big ones. Maybe you've taken the plunge (reverse-pun intended) and decided to even fly to a ... Continue Reading

  Dawn: It's time to get to know one of our newest members a little bit better. Chris,  I could easily ask you all the typical questions (how long have you been drawing? Did you read Calvin & Hobbes? What motivates you?) but lets make this more fun. We are, after ... Continue Reading

The Summary I've done the Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con  for the past 3 years now. It's a no-brainer for me to go as it's only a half hour away. I was worried before my first show here, as I had been hearing how the Wizard World shows are going downhill ... Continue Reading