Finding your 'making comics' crew
Each journey is unique, but one thing remains the same
Hey Comics People,
Today’s post is about community and collaboration. To kick things off, I’m gonna introduce a comics creator whose call-out ought to be accompanied by fireworks and a big ol’ marching band, because any mere words stamped across this virtual page are selling the dude short. He’ll hate this intro hyping him up so much, but I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, he’s earned the praise. We’re talking about a guy whose own making-comics journey opened the doors for my own and so many others.
I’m talking ‘bout Jon Westhoff, writer of Drumsticks of Doom (and much, much more!)
I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Jon via the message boards for the 11 O’clock Comics (aka ‘EOC’) podcast nearly fifteen years ago…
I enjoyed writing back then, and was taking a few writing classes after work. Another hobby was, always was, reading comics. But one day (a day unlike any other…) worlds collided when I saw that Jon and some of his cohorts were putting together an anthology in celebration of the EOC community!
Swept up in the fun concept, I asked my buddy, Brian Holland, if he’d want to collaborate on a five page short for the collection. Brian and I go way back, in middle school we biked the our local comic shop together (Hot Comics & Collectables!) and had our moms drop us off at comic conventions to spend what little money we could scrape together (mostly via mowing grass, raking yards or shoveling snow… lean times when yard’s weren’t overburdened by something or other!). Brian has always been a rad artist. When I pitched comic ideas to him, he’d always been nice enough to pretend they were okay, we even collaborated on bringing a few concepts together way back when. This is all to say that he was down for the EOC Anthology project before I even asked.
So then I asked Jon if he’d allow us into the party. Fortunately, Jon behind Jon, he said “of course.” And just like that, the concept of making comics was erased and the fun of properly making and sharing ‘em was born!
As for the anthology concept itself? It was not so much high concept, this was indie as indie gets, appropriately titled ‘Low Concept: An Eleven O’clock Comics Community Anthology’.
Here’s the origin story for Low Concept, according to Mr. Westhoff himself:
“Low Concept was started back in the long, long ago. There were these things called ‘message boards’ on the internet where people of common interest gathered. I was lucky to find one for the 11 o’clock Comics group and a lot of great creators were in that group. They had mentioned in a post that they tried to do an anthology and it never got off the ground, and I was just dumb enough to try my hand at it. Keep in mind I have zero experience at the time so I didn’t have any idea all the work that went into it. lol.”
Jon did the damn thing. In fact, this proved to be the first of several anthologies Jon organized and edited… More than just that, Jon began creating numerous comics projects both short and long form, opening the door for a boat load of creators to explore their craft. By his own estimation, Jon has since collaborated with as many as 40 different creators for his own projects, and perhaps well over 200 when including creators featured in his anthologies!!
For myself and many others, Jon’s passion for comics have allowed folks to have the courage and get out there and make the thing. Taking a step back, Jon serves as an example for how incredible and passionate folks like him create the networks that make comics actually happen. It’s the people who just decide to jump in and create, or to organize a gathering for creators (like the incredible team at Aw Yeah Comics every Monday night!), or the organizers of small indie comics conventions (which Mr. Westhoff has ALSO done!), these are the individuals who open the doors for the rest of us.
In Jon’s case, the networks he’s created and enabled have led to near countless comics getting made. There could be a blog dedicated solely to all these works. But for today, today I want to put a spotlight on some of Jon’s own work.
Captain Westhoff is a prolific creator who’s been at it for a while. But one consistent thing about him is his ability to write-for and lean-into the strengths of each individual artist on a given project. Case in point, here’s a (north-pole-high concept) featuring artist Harry Moyer:
Trust me when I say that in terms of Captain Westhoff’s creative output, this one page is just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). Do yourself a solid and take a look at some of the books Jon has created with various co-creators over at Part Time Comix (link).
Everything the dude works on is awesome, including (my personal favorite) Drumsticks of Doom with artist Dan Dougherty…a book which has seen some HUGE news of late. What the news, you ask??
They’ve landing a publishing / distribution partner for the book!!!!!
DRUMSTICKS OF DOOM will soon be available at your LCS
CALL UP YOUR LOCAL SHOP to make sure they’ll have it in stock!
Working with a publishing / distribution partner is amazing news for Jon and Dan Daugherty, but it’s even better news for the new readers who come aboard the ride. I can’t wait for more folks to finally get to experience DoD.
Here are the deets, from Mr. Westhoff himself: “Drumsticks of Doom is headed to Massive Indies, a division of Massive Publishing. They will help us get in front of comic shop owners via Lunar distributing. We retain 100% creative control. Issue 1 is out December 2025 and subsequent issues in early 2026!”
Like I said at the top, Jon’s done incredible work and bringing comics fans and creators together, I mean it when I say that the words stamped across this digital space fall short. The simple fact is that he’s an inspiration, and a model for how comics can and DO get made. I hope you can all have the opportunity to get out there and make some comics for a love of the craft and for the friends / collaborators you can make along the way-- with appreciation for the ‘Jon Westhoffs’ out there who opened those doors.
Here’s a fact to remember…
Every journey into making comics is unique. But one aspect is ALWAYS a piece of the puzzle:
Finding and joining a community.
Jon is emblematic of this crucial piece. But I also recognize that it’s not always so easy to find such a bridge-builder, especially nowadays, when discussions have been broken down into ever more bite-sized pieces. Social media has provided a countless number of unique (but sometimes-disorienting) pathways into sharing our love for comics. That’s cool. But in some cases this might also make it that much more difficult to find a good avenue where longer-form discussions can blossom.
I’ve never cracked social media myself, preferring to speak to one person at a time… rather than playing games with an algorithm who works the door. Not everyone gets the opportunity to make comics with their buddy who lived down the block in middle school. It’s a safe bet that most folks meet their first comics friends and collaborators in digital spaces. And I can only imagine how tricky it would be to try to find real people to talk comics with at a deeper, more meaningful level. But I also know that as much continues to change, much stays the same…
I think community, networks and the odd task of finding collaborators (which can be as awkward as dating) are subjects that warrant more serious consideration than we often give ‘em. Because in any making-comics journey, a comics creator needs to get to know other swimmers who dive into that same creative ocean. Ultimately, they’ll be the ones who inspire you to keep swimming, and they’re depending on YOU just as much.
For what it’s worth, here’s my #1 piece of advice for building a comics-appreciating and / or comics-making community:
If at all possible, attend some conventions!
More than just attending, make an effort to participate. Comic conventions are the best opportunities to get to know comic creators and other fans, to get face to face and make it all... real. Maybe this is obvious. But hey, sometimes the obvious truths are the ones that ought get repeated the most and the loudest… So listen up: if at all possible, get out the door and attend a few cons!
What to do while AT a con, you ask?
Teaching someone how to network is a trick… But here are a few tips:
Talk to other fans! Someone out there wearing a t-shirt featuring a character from a series you dig? Let ‘em know. Curious about a book? Ask someone what it’s about! Spark up a conversation!
Talk to the creators and featured guests too. Case in point: I’m working with an artist on a comic series RIGHT NOW, who I met when he was tabling a convention here in Chicago, which I attended as a guest. I certainly wasn’t planning to pitch a series when we first starting chatting. But I loved his work and was curious to learn more. It was weeks later, after we had kicked off a correspondence that we started discussing a story I had been brewing. Here’s a few specific tips for chatting with creators working their table:
First of all, keep in mind that the creators sitting at their tables are actively peddling their wares. So if there is a book from a given creator you’re planning to buy, or an artist you’d love to commission an original piece from, make a point to buy that book directly from the creator or, if you’re getting some custom art commissioned, reach out to that artist AHEAD of the show for a commissioned piece, this way you’ll already have a line of communication opened up. Don’t pretend to be a fan. Don’t pretend to be anything. If you dig their work, share that genuine sentiment. Likewise, if you’re genuinely curious about their work, ask those questions that spark your curiosity!
But even if you aren’t a paying customer, let creators know you appreciate their work, and definitely ask ‘em a question or two if you got some burning ones. Trust me when I say that they’re usually plenty happy to chat for a few minutes. If you’re attentive and ask them meaningful and genuine questions, you’ll find yourself with front-row seats to witness the passion they bring into their work, and even learn about their rationale for specific artistic decisions. For a comics fan, this is the greatest show on earth. Don’t go to a con and walk right by such opportunities. Dive in. Say hello. Chat.
BUT. If there’s someone else waiting to see the creator behind you, don’t chat for more than a minute or two. Likewise, if you see the creators’ eyes darting around to other guests streaming by the table, keep in mind that some would-be customers won’t stop to chat with a vendor / creator while you are talking with them, so the creator might be missing out on sales if you chat with them for 5 minutes or more. This can be a hard thing to feel out, and I wouldn’t want to scare anyone away from chatting with creators. Just a factor to keep in mind!
There are usually panels at these convention, seated scheduled events where creators discuss their process, etc. Panels can be another great opportunity to sit and absorb some insights straight from the source, and they often end with a Q and A session. You’d be surprised how accessible many of your favorite creators can be, ‘comic book famous’ is a relatively small circle of fame. As long as your questions are real and relevant, even the most ‘famous’ comics creators are usually happy to talk shop with ya, and you’ll see for yourself that real-life human beings, no different than you in all the ways that matter, are the folks making comics. There’s nothing more encouraging than experiencing the real humanity beneath the craft. Panels can be a great opportunity to get some great insights into the creatives who drive the medium.
Also, they’re a great place to sit down and rest your legs after hoofing around a con floor for several hours!
Another awesome thing about attending cons as a guest (or even if you have your own table) is to expand your perception in terms of how many genres and form factors ‘comics’ can be. Like, check out these rad zines I picked up recently by Lee Onysko via Strange Deer, who offer the most incredible variety of zines, all of which are beautiful works:
While at a comic con, you’ll also get to experience any number of other non-comic forms of artistic experession. Heck, even the attendees who wear their home-made cosplay have become a major featured event for most cons. This is a world of artistic expression that I’ve never spent much time in, but the craft some of these folks throw into their cosplay is unreal cool:
It’s all the more interesting when you also get to see and engage with the creators themselves. To experience such a gathering of talents on display can be as humbling as it is inspiring. But it’s an enlightenment worth undergoing, because it helps us to better understand just how many phenomenally creative folks there are out there, and to properly appreciate the breadth of talent in the creative ocean we share.
For my part, I recently tabled at Warrior Con in Des Plaines, IL; I left that awesome con full of gratitude for the folks whose work and passion I was fortunate to witness up close. More importantly, my kiddos got to see those efforts as well!
Con season is all-year round these days. Every city and region has their own cadence and conventions of various sizes and specific areas of focus. Take a gander into which cons might be heading your way in the near future. Go. Walk through that door. Once inside, allow your genuine passions to lead you into some face-to-face discussions, thank the creators who make art you enjoy, and share a physical space with some like-minded friends or would-be collaborators.
Oh, and don’t forget to give a tip of the hat to the ‘Jon Westhoffs’ who hold the doors open!
This has been comics person, John Dudley. ‘Till next time, keep on…
💜💜💜