Comic Lab

How do you build momentum as a cartoonist — and what happens when you lose it?
Brad and Dave examine momentum across every part of a creative career: generating ideas, maintaining a productive workflow, growing an audience, and building a sustainable business. They discuss why progress can feel imperceptibly slow at first, how consistent work eventually begins producing its own energy, and why returning after a break can feel like starting a stalled train.
Then, a listener asks how cartoonists should transition between scenes, chapters, and storylines in a collected book. Brad and Dave compare their very different approaches, debate whether a completely blank page is ever justified, and explain how multiple purpose-driven read-throughs can reveal problems with pacing, continuity, page turns, and transitions.
Also: Skunk Watch 2026 continues, Dave considers surrendering his backyard, and Professor Dr. Reginald Wigglesby reveals the completely reliable history behind Little Orphan Annie’s pupil-less eyes.
ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW...
What “momentum” means in a creative career
Why momentum takes longer to build than most cartoonists expect
Creative momentum and generating new ideas
Using an assembly-line workflow to work faster and better
Repurposing one comic for websites, social media, books, merchandise, and more
Building business momentum through Patreon, Kickstarter, and audience trust
Why old business models can survive on momentum—even after they stop making sense
Recovering after a creative pause
Transitioning between scenes, chapters, and storylines
Splash pages, title pages, narration boxes—and the dreaded blank page
Conducting separate read-throughs for dialogue, art, pacing, continuity, and page turns
Reviewing a book in print, on desktop, and on a small screen
Skunk Watch 2026
Prof. Wigglesby, The Histories of Sequential Art: Little Orphan Annie’s eyes

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
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$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

How much of a successful comics career depends on being temporarily delusional? Brad and Dave suspect it may be more than anyone wants to admit.
Then, a listener asks about creating a style guide for a comic. Brad and Dave discuss the small decisions that help lettering remain clear, consistent, and easy to read — from spelling out numerals and avoiding hyphenated line breaks to shaping word balloons, using all-caps lettering, and deciding whether “livestream” is one word or two.
Finally, they look back at the pivotal “sliding doors” moments that could have sent their careers in entirely different directions. Dave talks about leaving Mattel, choosing webcomics over syndication, and the friendships that helped him become a better cartoonist. Brad remembers the collapsed newspaper job offer that sent him back to comics, the syndicate pitch that deserved to fail, and the leap that finally made cartooning his full-time career.
ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW...
Why every creative career requires a little temporary delusion
What belongs in a comic-specific style guide
Why Brad spells out numbers in Evil Inc
Punctuation, abbreviations, and the Oxford comma
Why hyphenating words inside balloons hurts readability
How line breaks affect the shape and flow of a word balloon
All caps versus sentence-case lettering
Using colloquial spellings without making dialogue difficult to read
The pivotal decisions that changed Brad and Dave’s careers
Leaving a secure job to become a full-time cartoonist
Choosing webcomics over newspaper syndication
How a community of fellow cartoonists can accelerate your growth
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Share your thoughts on the ComicLab Confab Line: 1-609-379-3520. We may play your message on a future episode!

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Dave and Brad return from the 80th Annual National Cartoonists Society Conference and Reuben Awards with stories to tell!

They look back on ComicLab LIVE and a private tour of the newly redesigned Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum!

Then it's on to the Reuben Awards, where Mark Tatulli finally won the Reuben Award after years of nominations.

But some of the best moments happened between the scheduled events. Brad gets the chance to sit down with 95-year-old cartooning legend Mort Gerberg and hear stories about the golden age of magazine cartooning — including an incredible story about a newly arrived Sergio Aragonés taking Manhattan by storm. Jim Davis shares the story behind Garfield's famous suction-cup dolls, along with his surprisingly strict 25-word rule for writing the strip. And the farewell brunch turns into an exchange of sketches, original art, and some wonderful reminders of why cartoonists come back to this event year after year.

Finally, an old collection of America's “best college cartoonists” offers an unexpected lesson about making a career in comics: You don't have to start out at the front of the pack. You just have to keep going.

ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW...

• ComicLab LIVE at the NCS Conference

• The newly redesigned Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

• Which original would you save from a museum fire?

• The Reuben Awards

• Katie Cook and Mark Tatulli take home awards

• Lunch with Dave and Eileen Blazek

• Brad's conversation with Mort Gerberg

• Mort's stories about Sergio Aragonés

• Jim Davis on writing Garfield

• The accidental origin of the Garfield suction-cup doll

• Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

• Original art at the farewell brunch

• ComicLab listeners at the NCS

• The NCS Cartoonist Showcase

• Why persistence matters more than being the best

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Once again, Dave and Brad brought their podcast to the stage at the annual National Cartoonists Society Conference and Reuben Awards. They were joined by Dee Fish, Terri Libenson, and Jamar Nicholas — three cartoonists with very different creative paths and a wealth of hard-earned advice to share.

Dee Fish

Dee Fish is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer best known for Finding Dee, her semi-autobiographical webcomic about navigating life after coming out as a transgender woman. Dee was nominated for a Reuben Award in the Best Online Shortform category.

Terri Libenson

Terri Libenson is the cartoonist and author behind the New York Times bestselling Emmie & Friends graphic-novel series. Before moving into graphic novels, she created the syndicated comic strip The Pajama Diaries and worked as a writer and illustrator for greeting cards. Her tenth Emmie & Friends book, Seriously, Celia?, arrives in September 2026.

Jamar Nicholas

Jamar Nicholas is an award-winning cartoonist, graphic novelist, and educator whose work includes the Leon series from Scholastic Graphix, beginning with Leon the Extraordinary. He also adapted Geoffrey Canada’s memoir Fist Stick Knife Gun into a graphic novel and has spent much of his career teaching and encouraging young people to tell stories through comics. The third Leon graphic novel, Leon and the Big, Big Problem, is scheduled for January 2027.

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.

Today's show is brought to you by Hogan's Alley, the fantastic magazine devoted to comics history, cartoonists, and the art form we love. Visit HoganMag.com and use the discount code COMICLAB10 for 10% off.

Dave Kellett is back from San Diego Comic-Con 2026, and he brought receipts! After 27 years of exhibiting at the show, Dave just had his best Comic-Con ever — including an absolutely bonkers $6,000 Sunday.

But a big gross number doesn't necessarily mean a big payday. Brad and Dave dig into the actual economics of exhibiting at one of the world's biggest conventions: booth fees, sales tax, travel, merchandise, lost studio time, and the advantages Dave has because he lives within driving distance of San Diego. After roughly $19,600 in gross sales, Dave estimates his actual profit at about $11,000.

Then, they get into the stuff you can actually use at your next convention:

Track your sales throughout the day

When sales slow down, get active

Use drawing as theater

Pay attention to your product mix

Think about revenue per square inch

Let the market prune your merchandise

Your merchandise should say something about the buyer — not about you

SPONSORED BY HOGAN'S ALLEY

This week's episode is sponsored by Hogan's Alley, the fantastic magazine devoted to comics history, cartoonists, and the art form we love.

Visit HoganMag.com and use the discount code COMICLAB10 for 10% off.

MORE COMIC-CON ADVICE ON PRO TIPS

Dave had another 15–20 Comic-Con topics he wanted to cover, so we're continuing the conversation on ComicLab Pro Tips with a deeper dive into conventions, exhibiting, merchandising, and Dave's approach to making a convention financially worthwhile. To hear those episodes, join us at Patreon.com/ComicLab.

You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon
$2 — Early access to episodes
$5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards.
If you'd like a one-on-one consultation about your comic, book it now!
Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the author of The Webcomics Handbook. He is available for personal consultations. Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive. He is the co-director of the comics documentary, Stripped.