Anyone can scribble on a piece of paper, take it to Kinko’s and copy, fold and staple their way into comic-dom, right? So why haven’t you?

Here are some ways to get yourself over the hump from concept to comic and get started with your very first Mini-Comic. Sure, it may not be the 50,000 print run, full-sized, full-color, glossy stock ongoing series from Marvel that you truly deserve… but everyone has to start somewhere.

Pare Down Your Idea

Chances are, the reason you’re reading this is because you have an idea that you’ve been sitting on that you can’t wait to turn into a comic. The more you sit on it, the more awesome it gets. You have long reaching story arcs, dramatic character interaction and a rotating cast of thousands that just beg to be released on paper, but sitting down to draw panel one, page one of your on-going series seems a little daunting. That’s because it’s gotten too big for itself and is collapsing under its own weight.

The solution? Trim it back… not just a little, but A LOT! Pick two or three of your favorite characters and write them into a short, stand-alone scene or incident. Don’t worry if it’s “not part of your continuity” or that you haven’t told the origin story yet. Just plunk them into a situation with a definitive BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END. Leave out cliffhangers and references to the bigger picture and just concentrate on this singular story.

This shorter comic will give you a chance to interact with the characters and make sure things work before you dive into your 60 issue continuum. It also gives you a chance to FINISH something, which is a point that a lot of aspiring comic book artists never get to.

Don’t Get Hung Up on Equipment

Who cares which pen your favorite comic artist uses or what coffee your favorite writer drinks before penning Ultramazing Spider-Man #824? Rapidograph or Crayola, Loose leaf or Bristol Board. You have pens. You have paper. Get to work!

If you have access to a computer and scanner and some snazzy software you can work bigger and shrink it down onto your pages later, but there is nothing wrong with a little cutting and pasting (you know.. with an X-acto blade and a gluestick!)

It’s rarely the equipment’s fault if you are getting frustrated with how your pages are turning out. Take a step back and promise yourself to do better in the next panel. Try to keep moving forward as much as possible and resist going back and reworking nitpicking panels until you can’t stand the sight of your comic any longer. The goal is to finish. If you hate your finished product, put it in a drawer for a week and then take a fresh look at your masterpiece. Chances are, you’ll be satisfied with it.

Team Up! (Or Don’t!)

Are you a writer without any artistic talent? Can you draw but not write? Do you have good ideas but no talent in either of the above categories? Don’t let that stop you. The most sincere and enjoyable comics are the ones by people who love the medium and don’t let any perceived limitations keep them from telling their stories.

However, there are lots of opportunities for teaming up with others to make your ideas a reality. Teaming up with an artist or writer can give you a fresh perspective on your story and can keep you motivated since now it’s no longer a solo project. The downside is that the only person you can ever truly rely on is yourself and it’s easy to get frustrated with the project if you find yourself getting delayed by someone else dragging their feet.

So where do you find these people? Ask around at your local comic book shop for already existing groups of artists and writers. Many groups get together once a week or once a month to sit and draw and talk about comics. If your town doesn’t have one, start one! Or try the Internet. Message boards are a great way to find other people with similar interests.

Putting It All Together

So, you’ve written an 8 page vignette starring your characters and teamed up with an artist friend who brought your creations to life. Now what do you do?

It’s time to get it laid out into a suitable form for printing or copying. All “saddle-stiched” (folded and stapled) comics must have a page count in a multiple of four. There’s just no other way. It’s easy to figure out which pages go back to back in an 8 page book (just fold two pieces of paper in half and number them, then unfold and voila!) but what if you have a bigger document? Draw the following diagram with the half of the number of squares of your TOTAL PAGE COUNT. (An 8 page book would have 4 squares… a 20 page book would have 10 squares.) Now, draw a line down their center and in the TOP RIGHT BOX label “PAGE 1.” Drop to the second row and in the left box label “PAGE 2.” Continue in this way until you reach the bottom and then work your way back up filling in the blank pages consecutively. The “center-spread” of your book will be the bottom-most square. (This will be pages 4-5 in an 8 page book and pages 10-11 in a 20 page book.) The cover and back cover of your book will be the top-most squares.

Check your work by adding up any two numbers that are side by side. They should always equal your page count + 1. (For instance, in an 8 page book all the rows should add up to “9” and in a 20 page book they will add up to “21”). It may sound confusing but this is the way it’s done, whether at the cutting counter at Kinko’s or in a design program like Quark or InDesign.

So now what? If you want to work digitally, lay out (copy and paste) page 1 and page 8 side by side on one 8.5 x 11 page. Be sure to leave at least .25″ margins (borders) around all sides of your page, and at least .5″ in between the two pages. Repeat for each page. Every other page should have the higher number on the left and the lower number on the right. (Check your folded pieces of paper again if that seems confusing.)

Now your book is ready to be printed. Take it on disc to kinkos, and they will do the rest. If you plan to work from hardcopies, work the same way, except actually paste down your originals onto pieces of 8.5″ x 11″ paper. Then take it to Kinkos and copy away! You can either give it to them to copy, or ask them to help you do it on the self-service machines.

Mass Production

Of course I don’t condone stealing copies from your place of employment or figuring out ways to rip off Kinko’s but that’s one way to do it. Otherwise, it’s time to open up your wallet — or go a little deeper in debt on your credit card– and make some copies. You’re looking at about $0.08 a copy at Kinko’s, so your 8 page book is now going to cost you $0.32 a piece. Even though this is your FIRST mini comic, it’s never too early to start thinking about cost. There are printing houses who look out for the little guy with the small print run (Dimestore press for instance) but let’s just resign ourselves to Kinko’s this one time. For 100 copies of your 8 page book, you’re looking at $32.00 plus tax. If you want a snazzy pastel or bright colored paper for the cover, it’s a little more. Color covers can make a book sell, but expect to pay at least $1.00 more — per book. Printing them at home is still pretty expensive when you consider how much a printer cartridge costs.

Next, fold and staple your comic. You’ll want to do this yourself, since Kinkos will again charge you — per book — for this service. You can fold more than one comic at a time and use the bottom of a clean dry beer bottle to get a nice clean folded edge. (You’ve got a few of those sitting around, right?) Separate the individual books and staple them at the spine. Regular desktop staplers don’t really do the job (unless you’re making micro-comics) so you’ll have to dig up a long-arm or booklet stapler. Kinko’s sometimes has one handy (but they might look at you funny if you ask) or you can buy one from Staples or OfficeMax for under $30. If that’ll break the bank, consider asking a friend to go in on it with you, or borrow one from someone. DO NOT skip this step! If your comic is not stapled, it can fall apart, which means that your contact information might get separated from your work. Alternately, it just seems unprofessional.

Distribution

Now that you’ve made your first mini comic, it’s time to give it away. “What?” You say, “I just spent $32.00 at Kinko’s plus $30.00 on a friggin’ long arm stapler!” I don’t care. Give it away. Pass it out to your friends and ask them for feedback. (You DID remember to put your contact information on the inside of it didn’t you?) If there is a comic convention nearby that you can attend, do so and pass it out to any and every comic artists that you manage to track down. Some (though not all) creators may trade you for a copy of their book so you might end up with a sizable pile of loot by the end of the day. Even if they aren’t willing to trade, give them a copy anyway and don’t be afraid to ask their opinion/advice. (Just be sure not to hog up all their time or interfere with their paying customers.) The important thing is to make sure that SOMEONE is seeing it, because you’ve just spent all this time making it, and all of that time is wasted if your masterpiece is just sitting at your house!

If your first mini turns out great, do a few more, and then register for a table at your local comic convention. A word to the wise — as soon as you’re on the other side of the table, STOP giving your comics away! Even if you intend to give them away, put a price on your comic. $1.00 is good for most comics starting out. If your comic is longer, or you’ve paid for color covers, go ahead and charge $2.00. Don’t feel guilty about charging for your work. The people who are looking at your stuff haven’t read this tutorial yet, and they DON’T have their own mini-comic.

Why a mini comic?

Publishing mini comics is an excellent way to cheaply and effectively get your work into the hands of other people. Sure you could save up all your money… slave away on your Mutant-Space-Cowboy-Vampire comic and blow your whole load on 5,000 copies (for probably cheaper PER ISSUE than copying it on your own). But what if nobody is into Mutant-Space-Cowboy-Vampires? You are out a lot of money and your apartment is furnished with 4,900 dusty copies of your book.

Minis are also a good way to see if you have the chops to keep up with the demands of making comics. And they are excellent to hand to potential employers in the comics field, if your goal is to work for another company instead of continuing on your own. A completed mini comic shows that you can complete and convey a story through sequential art, and that is no small task. Even if it is a “mini” showing a completed project like this tells potential employers more than a portfolio full of pin-ups and out of sequence pages.

When all is said and done, whether you want to make it big or not, making mini comics is a great way of making comics for the sake of making comics! Fame and glory aside, mini comics are an affordable way to make comics with a smaller initial investment of time or money.

Why NOT a mini comic?

Personally, I like the look, size and feel of mini-comics. Unfortunately, there is a stigma throughout the comic book industry about these “ashcans,” the smaller, bastard cousins of “real” comics. Many shops will not stock them, Diamond won’t distribute them, collectors won’t covet them, but people WILL READ THEM. You will not get rich nor make a living nor rarely even BREAK EVEN making mini comics, but you can test what works and what doesn’t. The cost per book is sometimes HIGHER than printing a larger print run of full sized books, but the initial capital investment is less, thus you can experiment with your comics to see what your readers respond to BEFORE blowing your entire bank account or maxing out your credit card on a single issue flop.

The only thing that’s holding you back is you. Just do it. Don’t sweat it. If it doesn’t come out as well as you hoped, make your next issue better. Keep drawing. Keep writing. If making comics is what you love and it’s what you want to do, there’s no one stopping you. And when you have your first comic finished… send me a copy. If you’ve remembered to include your contact information I’ll try (but can’t promise) to tell you what I think.

Keep fighting the good fight!