On Darby Pops Off we’ve discussed the value of a good comic book cover, but what about something more mundane? Something that might as well be invisible to most of us. The quality of the cover: the material your single issues are made out of. Personally I hate the glossy smooth covers that grace some… Read more
Cover Artists are the real heroes of the publishing world. Without a captivating front cover, how many books and graphic novels would go undiscovered? They’re a reader’s first impression of a work, drawing us in for a closer look, encouraging us to give the well-crafted story inside the binding a chance. If a good cover… Read more
After two years as the online voice of Darby Pop, and the last few months writing intros for Darby Pops Off, it feels like I’ve shared a lot of information about myself, but there’s one fact I don’t think has come up yet. I’m transgender. Being trans gives me a slightly different perspective on the… Read more
In the world of publishing, you’re always on the move. It makes learning the ropes a real struggle when you’re the ‘new guy’ on the team. On top of all of your job related responsibilities, you’re learning terminology, figuring out where a particular title is at in its life cycle, even remembering the names of… Read more
Writing content for children can be intimidating. Extra expectations may be forced upon the writer. Does your script have a clear moral for your audience to learn? Will an eight year old “get” the joke you wrote about pineapples? Is the exposition too dry or uses words you can’t expect a 3rd grader to know?… Read more
Art exists in a gray area. Anyone who has ever been to a convention has run across a booth that sold unlicensed fan art: art prints, posters, or on the spot sketches of our favorite characters from pop culture. The question is, when money exchanges hands, is the artist being paid for the work they… Read more
I doubt any writer in the history of the craft has claimed to have too much time to devote to their writing. The couple of hours dedicated to working on your latest script can easily be overtaken by chores, friends, and dozens of other distractions. How then do you make time to write? Jeff Marsick,… Read more
All my life I’ve wanted to write a comic book. It’s a common feeling flipping through the pages of Spider-Man, The Wicked + The Divine, Lumberjanes, or any of the other great comics out there. However, the journey from comic book fan to comic book creator is longer and filled with more trials than victories…. Read more
“If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?” It’s a powerful question, one that sparks the imagination. Would you become a beloved hero you’ve read about in comics: a master detective like Batman or have an incredible suite of powers like Superman? Would you be a hero with a costume, an identity,… Read more
Pick a handful of your favorite TV shows or movies. Now ask yourself, “How many of those stories started life as a book or graphic novel?” Or have ancillary publishing “product?” It’s becoming harder and harder to find a successful novel that hasn’t hopped at least one of the delivery forms. Why is that? … Read more
Today we have a book recommendation from Darby Pop founder, Jeff Kline, for Craig Lambert’s “Shadow Work – The Unpaid, Unseen Jobs That Fill Your Day.” As a 28-year old, none of the points Jeff is about to highlight initially resonated with me; I’ve spent my entire adult life with a cell phone in my… Read more
Everyone knows there’s a difference between truth and fiction. In real life, crises are rarely averted at the last possible second, conversations aren’t typically filled with rapid-fire repartee, and not every father is flummoxed by how to care for his own children. It’s this last stereotypical representation that our guest blogger for today, Stu Krieger — feature… Read more