Mailbag: Copy/Paste Cheating?

I'm grappling with whether or not it's "cheating" to continually borrow from my own archive to copy and paste a character's head, a scenario, etc.

With the exception of using repeated panels for comedic effect, is this cheating?

If I could overcome this feeling of cheating, I could probably publish twice a week instead of once, but I'm concerned how it will be perceived by readers of the archive.""hey, he's used this layout before, with a different gag"). 

-- Tim

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Convention Dish: Baltimore Comic Con

Baltimore Comic Con

• Aug. 28 & 29
• Baltimore Convention Center
• Baltimore, MD
• Host of the annual Harvey Awards
• Estimated attendance: 10,000

The Dish

If you've exhibited at this convention in the past, please post details below.

This post allows people who have exhibited at this show in the past to post a detailed account for others who may be considering exhibiting there. Log in to read the entire post.

Collaborations - Getting off on the right foot

Creating a comic requires a blend of two very different disciplines -- visual art and writing. Some people may be good artists, but they're not so good at writing. Others may be good writers, but their art is standing in the way of their storytelling. And still others simply haven't admitted to themselves that they fall into one of those two categories.

Which is why a collaboration is such an attractive proposition. A good writer teams with a skillful artist, and the two cooperate to make an amazing comic. When it works, Penny Arcade being a shining example, it works tremendously. But when it doesn't work, things get dark quick.

So how do you establish a successful collaboration?...

This post discusses three components needed to starting a successful collaboration. It also mentions a useful Webcomics.com site feature that can help find collaborators and points to two earlier discussions of the subject. Log in to read the entire post.

The Punchword

When it comes to humor writing, writing anything that approaches instruction is a dicey proposition. When a joke is analyzed, it tends to die. At the risk of killing some funny, however, I have a few thoughts on the subject that I'd like to share.

Humor -- whether it appears in a longform comic or in a four-panel strip -- often follows the principals of tension and release. In the set-up, tension is built -- a conflict is introduced, for example, and is allowed to strengthed. Think of it as a balloon being inflated. By the time we reach the punchline, there should be a satisfying release of that tension -- the popping of the balloon, if you will.

You may choose to build up tension quickly or slowly -- and, yes, tension can be built slowly in only a few panels. But much of the humor in the comic is dependent upon your ability to build a significant amount of tension on the way to the punchline.

Of course, there are as many ways to build tension as there are to write punchlines, but here's a concept that I think has helped to maximize my tension-building...

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Convention Dish: Comic Con International

Comic Con International

• July 22-25, 2010
• San Diego Convention Center
• San Diego, CA
• Estimated attendance: 140,000

The Dish

If you've exhibited at this convention in the past, please post details of your experience below.

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