Welcome to the World of Self-Publishing: An Interview with Bradley Potts, Owner of Gateway Comics and Writer and Creator of Stalker: Donning the Mask Graphic Novel

[SW3D]

We all read and collect comic books, but how many of us dare to live the dream? What dream you ask…?... Creating and publishing your very own comic book. Think of the thrill to see a comic book you've written or illustrated, in the hands of a child, teen or adult? Imagine the rush when you discover a fellow collector submitting your comic book on a CGC invoice? And what delirious heights of euphoria will you reach when your comic book is encapsulated and immortalized in a brand spanking new CGC protective holder? Do you dream of such a day, to behold your very own comic book creation, graded a 9.8, with your name credited in a Universal Blue or Yellow Label? I know I do! With vision, passion, and dedication, living the dream can become a reality.

 

In my quest to "live the dream", I have sought out the advice of an individual who's doing just that, Bradley Potts. Bradley Potts is the owner of Gateway Comics: a web based comic book publisher and the creative force behind Sunday Superheroes, which features several ongoing titles published weekly, as you guessed, every Sunday.

 

We're privileged today to get a sneak peek at Gateway Comics latest publication: Stalker: Donning the Mask; a graphic novel written by Potts with artwork by comic legend Trevor von Eeden. In addition, Potts shares his comic book wisdom and gives us keen insights on the in's and out's of publishing your very own comic book.

 

SW3D: I understand you have a background in RPG gaming. In the 80’s growing up as a adolescent, I never gravitated towards RPG’s that were all the rave like Dungeons and Dragons… however… in the mid to late 90’s, I discovered RPG games on PC platforms, but at least for me, it never translated to sparking my own story or character development. I would guess the roll-of-the-dice game board RPG’s emphasizes imagination and creativity... How have you parlayed that experience into comic book publishing?

 

Bradley Potts: It's safe to say that without RPG’s there would be no Stalker today. My early writing was born out of wanting to tell stories in my RPG worlds that were not being explored by the players' characters. I have two unpublished fantasy novels and a number of short stories from those worlds.

Stalker began life in late 1990 as an RPG character, in the HERO System game, Champions. Stalker, Eric Dorian, Revolver, Argent, Black Fury, Eclipse, Sidekick and September can trace their origins to that same RPG campaign. Oddly enough, Public Defender, perhaps the most important hero of my comic universe, has no analog in the old RPG game.

 

SW3D: Has any comic book professional… living or dead… given you any words of advice that still resonate with you today?

 

Bradley Potts: I've had the privileged to work with Jamal Igle and Trevor Von Eeden, but in both cases, they were contractors working for me. For the most part, I've had to find my own way, and it has been a matter of trial and error; fortunately usually forward. I have taken a certain amount of inspiration from various comic professionals. I began reading comics during the Chris Claremont X-Men days, which gave me a certain love for that style of storytelling. My own writing style, pacing of stories and fights, owes a lot to the Silver Age production of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. You can see that change in my writing style if you compare the Stalker: Donning the Mask pages to the older First Night story. The books have a very different pacing and storytelling style.

SW3D: Can you walk us through a typical day in the life a comic book writer?

 

Bradley Potts: I am not a professional writer. I have a day job in IT, so I don't really know what the life of a professional writer looks like. Maybe someday, Gateway Comics will reach the point where it can be my profession; that would be nice. My writing process, however, I can tell you about. My comics typically start as an idea about a scene or a villain the hero will face. Slowly, I let the ideas build around that idea until I have enough to write down a plot outline. The plot outline becomes the core of the story, and I let it sit for a while. Ideas come to me, and I add them to the notes of the story. Eventually, perhaps after a few days or weeks, the plot reaches a point in my head where it demands to be written. Then, and perhaps this is the oddest part, I set those notes aside and start writing. The -script for such a story often comes together quickly, four or five hours, usually with no reference to the notes. It’s at this point that I've become so heavily invested in the story and characters, that the notes are no longer needed. Some stories never reach this point; they don't inspire me… they are set aside. If I still need to complete that story, for a deadline or something, the writing is then very difficult.

 

SW3D: As an unknown writer looking to get published, it’s reassuring and encouraging to know that you have a day job and yet manage to balance and keep a steady schedule writing and publishing comics. Your writing process also speaks to me on so many levels, and I’m sure it also echoes with novice and veteran writers alike.

 

So who is Stalker? What are her powers and what's her motivation?

 

Bradley Potts: Powers? What are those? Carrie Stane was a young athlete, training for the Olympics, when her parents were murdered. In the aftermath, she discovered that her mother had a secret. She had been the masked crime fighter: Stalker. Carrie doesn't want to see her mother die, and decides to preserve her legacy by becoming the new Stalker and bring justice to her parents' killers. Stalker seeks out her mother's former partner, Public Defender, and he agrees to train and equip her to be the new Stalker; so as for powers, she has none… she's a masked crime fighter, more on the lines of Batman. Some heroes punish the bad guys, and at the outset, that was Carrie's goal: find the people who killed her parents and see they pay for it. But in the years since, Carrie’s outlook has mellowed; she’s changed, become less angry… her focus has really shifted to protecting the innocent.

 

SW3D: Can you offer a glimpse into the current Stalker storyline?

 

Bradley Potts: What we're seeing in "Donning the Mask" is a Stalker who's been betrayed by her friend and mentor, Public Defender. Carrie’s angry and tired of his, "I know best" attitude. Stalker’s looking back at events in her life that have brought her to this point… so it's an origin story… each chapter is a stand alone story that looks at one of those key moments in her life that led her to this day.

 

SW3D: What real life sources do you utilize to draw inspiration for Stalker's trials and tribulations?

 

Bradley Potts: Chapter 3 digs into a very real problem in the world and in America: sex trafficking. Slavery is alive and well in this country with young girls forced against their will to work as prostitutes. Through drugs, coercion and violence, these girls are unlawfully held captive for years, forced to have sex several times a day. They’re prisoners, moved secretly from brothel to brothel; tortured victims who suffer under horrible conditions. In Issue 3, Stalker goes undercover to save a girl abducted by sex traffickers.

 

SW3D: I’ve had the opportunity to preview Chapter 3 of the graphic novel… originally published in Stalker #3… which is a gritty and shocking depiction of the seedy underbelly of sex trafficking, and Stalker’s caught right in the middle of it. You explored mature themes rarely seen in comics. It’s bold and impressive. What's around the corner for Stalker?

 

Bradley Potts: Stalker’s alone now; she’s no longer part of Public Defender's organization. Carrie has to find her way, all on her own… How is she going to operate? What is she going to do? She'll face new dangers and villains and find new friends and allies.

 

SW3D: Legendary comic book artist Trevor Von Eeden is the main illustrator on Stalker. What dynamic does Trevor bring to Stalker?

 

Bradley Potts: Trevor brings with him the art styling of an earlier age: the 70s, 80s and 90s. This goes well with my Silver Age pacing and dense panel counts. The modern DC Comic has about three panels per page on average, or sixty panels per comic. This stretches stories out interminably, but it’s great if you want to make trade paperbacks later. My books speak of an earlier age, with higher panel counts and more story, frankly, per comic. My six panel count pages mean my twenty page comics contain the content of two modern DC or Marvel books. My four issue “Donning the Mask”, would be an eight issue epic. Trevor's skill is in bringing dense panel counts come to life. Indeed, my books have low panel counts compared to some of Trevor's past works, like DC Comics' Thriller. His past work on Batman and Black Canary also lend a very familiar, Bat-family style to Stalker's adventures.

 

SW3D: Are there any other exciting projects at Gateway Comics you would like to share?

 

Bradley Potts: This is a pretty exciting time for Gateway Comics as we come to the close of the Donning the Mask story. Of course, we have the Donning the Mask Kickstarter to print the graphic novel. That will be running from August 12th till about September 11th and will print copies for convention sales, starting with Gateway Geekfest in December. The graphic novel sales though, are just a means to an end, not an ends themselves, for the story goes on.

 

Next up is Gateway Legends #1, which will feature three short stories about the heroes of the Gateway Universe. While Stalker will have a guest appearance, the focus is on the Guardians: Vigilance Committee, Nightwind and Gargoyle, who we met in chapter 4 of Donning the Mask. Artists featured include: Wilfredo Torres, Sara Richard, Blake Wilkie, Bernard Shepherd and Jamal Igle.

 

Also coming up is Stalker #5, to be illustrated by the dynamic Shelby Robertson. Shelby got his big break ghost penciling for Rob Leiffeld at Image during the heyday of the comic book boom years. He's since founded his own small publishing house, American Discord.

 

We're in an important transitional period for Gateway Comics. The success or failure of the Donning the Mask Kickstarter, will in a very real way, determine the course I'll be able to take in the months to follow.

 

 

SW3D: Well… based upon what I’ve read… I’ve got a good feeling the Stalker: Donning the Mask Kickstarter campaign will be a success. I myself will be in line to purchase the graphic novel.

 

As you already know, the members of the CGC Collectors Society are comic book collectors, so this is going to be a question most of us would naturally ask… What's your most treasured comic book and why?

 

Bradley Potts: I have a number of special books: The Dark Knight Returns, The Watchmen, Uncanny X-Men #1, but I'd be lying if I said any of them had the same place of honor as one other. In February 2011, a truck arrived with several boxes from SIPs printing. Those boxes contained my own first comic, Stalker #1. No matter what you may have in your collection, there is nothing like seeing your own creation in print.

 

SW3D: Amen to that! One day I hope to see my very own comic book in print. So how does one self-publish a comic book? And after publication, how does one compete and survive in today’s marketplace?

 

Bradley Potts: This is something we could talk about for a long, long time. It takes a hard work, dedication, money and perseverance. The art is a big investment, and people will not just flock to your comic; it takes constant promotion and networking to build and hold your audience. That said, while there have certainly been difficult times, I've found the experience rewarding, and after three years, it's starting to be profitable. Remember that it took me three years to get a profitable year, and I haven't even started to make back the losses from the first three tax years. Don't ever think it's easy or that you're going to get rich. Do this because you're passionate about it and have the determination to get your story out.

 

There are three ways to publish comics: Print, Digital, and Webcomics.

 

Print: Stay away! It’s very expensive with high barriers to entry. You’ll need to deal with a monopolistic distribution network which rejects 90% of all comic submissions. I spent and lost a lot of money trying to be a print publisher. It’s one of the things I'd change if I went back to the beginning; never would have even looked at print (except small runs for comic shows, Kickstarters, etc.).

 

Digital: It is easier to get into than print, and it avoids the high costs associated. There are several distribution channels to choose from: Amazon, ComiXology, Comicfix, CosmicRayGun, just to name a few. The problem is building an audience… a paying audience… for in the internet age there is an aversion to paying for digital content. Everyone feels everything online should be free. There’s also the challenge of getting buyers to know about your book, and to get them excited enough, without a face-to-face interaction in order to make the sale. I've only done digital as sort of an aside to my main focus, but I lost money on it… however, I did sell a handful of the Kindle version of Stalker #1.

 

Webcomics: This is my bailiwick, so I'm hardly impartial. ZERO barriers to entry. If you have the art, you can get your book online for free. A number of aggregators provide good platforms to publish for free. These aggregators make their money by posting ads on your page. You can, of course, host your own site, however, that incurs the cost of having the site hosted. Yet hosting your own site enables you to seek your own advertisers, which generates revenue and can offset hosting fees (currently a minimal expense). But generating potential revenue from advertisers is dependent on traffic to your website. So how do you build and increase traffic? Promotion! Promotion! Promotion! Promotion is absolutely critical. You’ll need to market your comic on the internet through various ways: social media, advertising on sites like Project Wonderful (an online advertising broker), and getting listed on crowdsource indexes like Comic-Rocket, Topwebcomics, Tapastic, and Comic Belfry. The biggest moneymaker for a lot of webcomics is crowdfunding. Crowdfunding enables you to raise funds for your creative projects, but it requires a lot of preliminary work, building a fan base, social networking, etc. Once you are ready, Kickstarter is a great site for crowdfunding.

 

You can also sell books at conventions, but tables are expensive. In order to sell at cons, you’ll need to be outgoing and draw people to your table. You’ll also need enough products to have something to sell. One skinny little book will not sell enough copies to cover your costs. Having multiple books also makes your table more attractive.

 

So that’s the market in a nutshell.

 

Now for the comic itself:

 

First, you need a good -script. Don't trust yourself! Everybody thinks their writing is great. Show it around to people who will give you honest feedback, not mom and dad who will tell you it's great. Story is in many ways more important than art. Art will attract a reader but story will keep them. A good story will overcome weak art; great art will not do much for a bad story.

 

Second, you need an artist. Three things you need from an artist: skill, communication and time management. A lack of any of these three can kill your comic. If you're going with a webcomic, you need to find someone who can keep your schedule. You'll need a few weeks in reserve in case your artist gets sick, has an emergency, whatever. If you can have the whole book done before you start to publish, that's ideal. Of course, you’ll need to consider the cost of hiring the artist. What's your per page budget? Figure it takes a good 20-24 hours to create a comic page. Obviously, get the best artist you can for your budget. Expect to pay for the art; don't screw over the artists. Word WILL get around if you stiff people. This is their living, expect to pay for it.

 

And there you go… my wisdom for the day. You'll find that for the most part, the webcomic community is very supportive. We are friends, not competitors. Reach out to that community for advice and support. We cross-promote, we read each others work, we support each others Kickstarters, and we give free advice.

 

SW3D: Truly incredible and inspiring words of wisdom on comic book self-publishing. Thank you Bradley Potts!

 

Hey fellow comic book collectors, if you really dug what you just read, help Bradley Potts launch a successful Kickstarter campaign for the graphic novel: Stalker: Donning the Mask.

 

Starting today, August 12th, Gateway Comics begins a Kickstarter campaign that runs until September 11th, to fundraise for the print run of the Stalker: Donning the Mask Graphic Novel. Here's your chance to get a signed copy of the limited edition, 116 page graphic novel, which also features the previously unpublished 22 page story, First Night.

 

But if that’s not enough, the Stalker: Donning the Mask Graphic Novel Kickstarter campaign also features a ton of treasures: digital copies, art prints galore, signed copies of the Stalker #1 comic book, bound and signed copies of the scripts for Stalkers #1 – 4, a custom made leather Stalker mask, All Weekend Admission with Full Exhibitor Access to Wizard World St. Louis to meet Bradley Potts, and, for all you Original Art lovers, there’s original art by comic book legend Trevor Von Eeden! So check it out and become part of a dream!

 

Stalker: Donning the Mask Graphic Novel Kickstarter campaign starts here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1086568316/stalker-donning-the-mask-graphic-novel

 

If you’re interested in reading and collecting current and back issues of Stalker, you can purchase them on Indyplanet as a digital download or print-on-demand. Check out issue #3: www.indyplanet.com/front/?product=103267

 

If you want to meet the man himself, Bradley Potts will be making appearances at Wizard World Chicago (2014: 21, 22, 23, & 24; www.wizardworld.com/bradleypotts.html) and Wizard World St. Louis (2015: May 22, 23, & 24) or go to www.sunday-superheroes.com/ for the complete list of convention appearances.

 

Don’t forget to check out the weekly adventures of Stalker at Sunday Superheroes: www.sunday-superheroes.com/

 

About Stalker: Carrie Stane is a young woman with a promising future until her world is rocked by the deaths of her parents. After their brutal murder, Carrie discovers that her mother was once the masked crime fighter, Stalker. Carrie decides to take on her mother's legacy, but is forced to reevaluate her life when her mentor betrays her.

 

Stalker is written and created by Bradley Potts, illustrated by Trevor Von Eeden (Batman, Green Arrow, Black Lightning, Black Canary), colored by Blake Wilkie and George Freeman (Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame,Captain Canuck). The graphic novel also includes the first comic cover by IDW My LittlePony Cover artist Sara Richard. Bonus story is penciled by the late Danny Fahs (Antarctic Press Ninja High School).

 

Thanks for reading and as always… Happy Collecting!

 

SW3D