From Self-Publishing to the Big Two and Back Again with Mike Hawthorne

Artist, illustrator and educator Mike Hawthorne joins Tyler for a discussion about working as a professional artist in comics today. They’ll discuss Mike’s journey from indie self-publishing to working on Batman, Deadpool & Spider-Man, while maintaining a presence on Kickstarter with sketchbook launches, “Cheat Codes” art manuals, and creator owned work like Hysteria: One Man Gang.

Highlights of This Session Include:

Thoughts on the many changes and challenges in the comic book industry over Mike’s 20+ year career.
How Mike broke in to the comics industry, and lessons learned from banging on that door for a long time before it opened wide.
The value of traditional art skills for comic book artists.
Plus: Navigating creative control in the industry and why Kickstarter is his focus now.

Today’s Episode is Sponsored by…

…the ComixLaunch Masterclass, learn my 4 Step Framework for a Profitable Comic Book Kickstarter Launch when you sign up for this new FREE training at ComixLaunch.com/class

Today’s Featured Guest:

Mike Hawthorne is an artist, illustrator, cartoonist and educator, who has worked for clients include Marvel Entertainment, DC Comics, Epic games, Fox and Illumination Films, among others. Though he’s perhaps known for work on Batman, Deadpool, Daredevil & Spider-Man, Mike has maintained a strong presence on Kickstarter over the years, using it to fund his sketchbooks, Artist Reference Guides, and creator owned work like Hysteria: One Man Gang, the second issue for which is live now on Kickstarter.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Show:

Hysteria: One Man Gang 2
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikehawthorne/hysteria-one-man-gang-2/description

More About Our Sponsor:

I sold the first comic I created when I was 14 years old out of my backpack in high school to a classmate for a crisp one dollar bill…

…It was the greatest feeling in the world!

And here I am, several decades later, still chasing that feeling.

Now that ComixTribe has printed hundreds of thousands of books and distributed them all over the globe, it would be easy for me to make “selling a comic” not a big deal at all.

But the fact that I get to work with creators on their launches every single month inside of ComixLaunch Pro, many of whom are selling their very first book (to a whole lot more people, for way more money than I did) means I never get too far away from the excitement of that first book launch.

Knowing what it means to not only hold a book you created in your own hands but to see hundreds of fans from around the globe hold it in theirs after a successful launch is why I’m just as passionate about teaching Kickstarter strategies today as I was when I first opened the doors to ComixLaunch Pro a few years back.

And speaking of TODAY…

I’m delivering a ~60 minute masterclass all about launching profitable Kickstarter campaigns to fund your comic projects.

Instead of peppering you with random tricks and tactics or the stuff you can easily Google, in this all-new masterclass, I’ll be outlining my entire proven framework for Kickstarter success.

This is the same framework I’ve used to raise over half a million dollars on Kickstarter to fund ComixTribe publishing projects.

And it’s the same framework that has helped ComixLaunch Pro creators raise over a million dollars (and counting…) in funding for their projects.

Now, some of you know that the next step for you to level up as a creator and crowdfunded is to join my program and community,

The ONLY WAY to get in is to first attend this free masterclass.

So go to ComixLaunch.com/class to select the time that works best for you and register today.

See you there!