WHY DO I REALLY WANT TO MAKE COMICS?
Did I get into making comics just to produce “adult content”? No, I never actually planned to. I started selling art on eBay in 2002 and when I looked on the ‘Original Art’ section to see what was selling, it was a predictable gallery of sexy female characters.
Based on a brief examination of the market, it was clear what was in demand, so I attempted to follow the money. It worked in the loosest sense of the word. My first drawing sold for a whopping $1.80. Not $180; $1.80. Then the next one sold for $3 and then $7 and then $15 and then $30 and so on.
For 10 years forth, I did commissions of sexy female characters because that’s where the money was. Don’t get me wrong, I love drawing beautiful women, but I always had a ton of actual stories I wanted to tell.
When I was selling adult art on eBay, my goal was to eventually just draw the characters I wanted rather than take commissions. I slowly and eventually achieved that goal. Then the goal was to be able to draw characters in the poses I wanted rather than taking strict directions or using references photos I was provided by commissioning clients; eventually, I achieved that, too.
Through all of this, my underlying goal was to be able to create actual comics that I wanted to, but how would I be able to direct and mobilize significant numbers of potentially-interested parties to my comic book endeavors? Crowdfunding changed all of this.
In 2013, I crowdfunded my first comic book: Sinsationals. It was a dream project: a comic book about ORIGINAL CHARACTERS concocted entirely by me and in a linear story with no sexual content. It only raised $4000, but it was a successful proof of concept.
Unfortunately, after two more issues whose crowdfunding campaigns were of decreasing success, I threw a Hail Mary and for the next project, I offered an adult pinup book of well-known characters. Rule 34 Megazine Vol. 1. It did great! Better than I could’ve imagined by raising $25,000.
In one project that took me maybe two months to do, I raised almost as much money as I was making annually by doing commissions. Again, another successful proof-of-concept. A step back in regards to content selection in that I was back drawing uncensored fan art, but the money was comparatively great and it allowed me to build a platform to expand outward from.
Since then, I’ve done a variety of comics of diverse genres but always featuring explicitly adult content. While fun, this direction is limiting in several ways. It limits my creative expression because there’s only so many different conclusions to stories involving sex. It limits where—and with whom—I can get my comics published (very few print shops will actually print explicit material). It also limits where I can sell my comics.
I don’t like limits.
I never want to stop drawing beautiful women, but this article is to inform my customers about a subtle change in direction for my business in that I want to pursue comic/graphic novel projects that are meatier in regards to narrative content and will allow me greater artistic and business freedoms.
I LOVE STORY. I LOVE CHARACTERS. My favorite books and movies are about nuanced, multi-dimensional people who are forced to deal with extraordinary circumstances. Who doesn’t love a bit of cheeky smut from time to time? But what about STORY?
There are so many stories I want to tell through the graphic novel medium and I think I can achieve this. I can keep drawing and “writing” scenarios that end in naked humans pretlzed together and drizzled with glaze or I can do more.
I want to make comics that I want to read.
Believe it or not, I actually don’t read adult comics or subscribe to smut content online or follow other artists that exclusively do adult content.
I read graphic novels, Mangas, older Marvel/DC comics. I watch classic movies. What do these all have in common? An emphasis on story.
But what would I do if I truly pursued STORY as a business model and artistic pursuit? I’d make graphic novels that anyone(not everyone) would want to read.
I want to read a comic about a line cook who is forced to fight in a deadly game of Battle Royale in a dystopian hellscape that’s aired for the entire world to see.
I want to read a comic about a boy who is not of one world or even two worlds BUT NO WORLDS; a boy with no family, no tribe and no future who dares to face his fears, stare into the dark and then refuse to blink.
I want to read about a girl with mysterious powers who is raised by a cult and is fated to give birth to The Second Coming, but when the day arrives, she delivers a stillbirth.
I want to read a comic about a man who lives in a contained city where every citizen is a professional wrestler and life is about cutting promos, building your brand, joining stables and watching your back because the world is literally watching.
I want to read a comic about a man who lives in a world where combat is the only way to survive, but in a world where monsters are real, you don’t just fight for your life but your soul as well.
I want to share with you flawed characters with amazing stories of tumult, adversity, growth and—ultimately—triumph.
I grew up watching The Godfather, Star Wars, The Karate Kid, Die Hard, The Wizard of Oz, The Terminator, Aliens, Superman: The Movie and falling in love with these stories and the characters that existed within them.
I really hope that you’ll all follow me on this creative journey because that’s the direction that I plan to go on with the help of other artists, and possibly even other writers, colorist, .etc, that I’d employ to achieve these ends.
The final goal is to ENTERTAIN MY AUDIENCE. To make people happy, to hopefully inspire through story and not just titillate and arouse.
Thanks, guys.
Shade
shadedraws.com
Cool! Can't wait to read some of these stories. You're way too talented of an artist to just be drawing girly pics for the rest of your life.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a reevaluation and a rebranding.
I remember you sharing that wrestling world concept somewhere, maybe Patreon—I’m interested! I’m here even if your characters only OCCASIONALLY get their rocks off in the midst of their adventures. R-rated will do!
So many of the indie guys I see could benefit from sharing more of the creative burdens. I hope you can capitalize on that. Just make sure there’s a shared vision in the collabo projects.