Here's a wake up call for the cynics. While it's true that many of us will never earn a huge income in this business, there are some creators who do very well indeed. For example, take a look at Lorenzo Etherington's latest Kickstarter for his books. At the time of writing this post it's pulled in nearly half a million pounds in funding!
That's an astonishing figure, but well deserved, all down to Lorenzo's talent as a hard working, highly skilled artist with a good head for business. Together with his sibling Robin, the Etherington Brothers have gained quite a following in just a few years from their strips in The DFC, The Phoenix, and their subsequent graphic novels.
This latest Kickstarter project, How to Think when you Draw collects together Lorenzo's drawing tutorials into hardback books that appeal to cartoonists starting out as well as seasoned professionals. Volume one is already the most successful Kickstarter book ever! That's incredible news for a comics-related project!
The books are exclusive to the Kickstarter project, so if you're interested, don't miss out as it ends in a few hours and they won't be available anywhere else!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1378058646/how-to-think-when-you-draw-book-2-plus-book-1-and
Congratulations to Robin for this amazing achievement and for producing such worthwhile books. Long live comics!
The Art of Stranski is a new 100 page full colour hardback book by Lorenzo Etherngton, one of the best illustrators of modern day UK comics. It's scheduled to be published this August, and a copy can be yours by backing it now on Kickstarter. And you know how Kickstarter works; the more you pledge, the more bonus items you get!
It looks fantastic! To find out the full details, and to see a video about the project, visit this link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1378058646/the-art-of-stranski
Children's weekly comic The Phoenix has recently started a four-week series of "Epic Lorenzo Collector Covers" featuring the work of top artist Lorenzo Etherington. These are the regular covers as seen in the shops. They're not rare variants you'd have to pay premium for or anything like that.
As you can see from the two already published, these are fantastic pieces of dynamic comic art. Better still, each issue features its cover as a pull-out A3 poster too!
The Phoenix is a real success story of modern British comics. Independently published, it's now on its 277th issue, features quality work by contemporary creators and no paid ads.
Contributors to current issues include Jamie Smart, Neill Cameron, Faz Choudhury, The Etherington Brothers, and more. It has proven to engage young readers who eagerly look forward to every weekly issue.
To find out more about it, check out The Phoenix website here:
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk
