Since I have two complete issues of Keeley: CHE done I have been spending a lot of time working on publicity so people will actually read the darn thing. Recently, a cool site called ComicSpace popped up which is kind of a Myspace for people who read or make comics. The person who made the site also made OnlineComics.net, which I’ve found to be where most of my readers came from so I signed up for ComicSpace almost as soon as it opened. It’s become popular, with over 8,000 people signed up. The atmosphere is very friendly and it has put me in touch with a lot of interesting people, from other comic creators in Columbia to makers of comics I like a lot, such as 12 Reasons Why I Love Her by Jamie S. Rich and X-Men: First Class by Jeff Parker.
ComicSpace uses the ad service Project Wonderful. Advertisers bid for blocks of ad space located on various websites. If their bid is the highest, their ad gets shown in the block and the advertiser if charged. If the bid is losing, no money is exchanged. I stuck my own ad for this site up on some ad blocks at ComicSpace. According to Google Analytics, that accounts for around 10% of my visitors. Not too shabby for a few dollars a day when my ad is running.
The coolest thing that has happened is that I got fan mail from someone who saw my site via my Project Wonderful ad. And this time it’s not from my mom: it’s Dean Trippe, a cartoonist with his own webcomic, and a blog. His comic, Butterfly, is about a sidekick that works for a Robin-esque character who of course is himself a sidekick to a Batman-ish character. It’s very funny and the art style is very retro and simple, like Darwyn Cookes‘. He thought my comic was so cool that he mentioned it on his blog! My pageviews shot up that week up to 900 one day. That’s crazy!
My advertising efforts are dying down as I prepare for Issue 3. The first fourteen pages are absolutely set and I like it a lot. The last six pages are still in flux, but I think I at least nailed down the general plot and what happens each page. Maybe the alternate versions of the script will turn up on DeviantART. When the comic starts I think I’ll still go page-by-page, but I’ll skip all of the rough stuff and post full color pages. Readers seem to like that the best for some odd reason….