Carol Lay and Aaron Renier pro cartoonists can offer sound advice to spring cartoonists.
Tangent:
When I was a college lad I edited the comics section of our weekly newspaper, the UWM Post. It was inexplicably named Kronk! with an exclaimation point. It was one of my moments of glory. I wanted to edit Kronk!, I walked into the office of the editor-in-chief, said so, and was handed the duties. I then proceeded to expand the three comic collection to, at its most glorious moment, a proper six page comics section.
Kronk! was the best thing in turn of the century American newspaper comics publishng. Beginning with Carol Lay's clean line style 15 panel Story Minute, Life in Hell, and a thing called Everyday Kid, I added (amongst others) Kaz's Underworld, Bud Grace's Piranha Club, Krazy Kat dailies, Ben Katchor's Julius Kniple, and scooped the entire New World, reprinting Peter Blegvaad's, Leviathan.
Also, I was the first publication to print the Aaron Renier work that became Spiral Bound: Top Secret Summer. He called his strip Blue Water.
Here's his first book where a bunch of kids build a ceramic submarine:
adventure on the high seas became plucky youths coming of age, discovering art, facing their fears. A good read. Pro to Mr. Renier can teach us: Let the idea evolve.
Kronk! was glorious and completely ignored. Except by the local rag, The Milwaukee Journal, who after Kronk!'s cancellation immediately followed my lead picking up The Piranha Club, and Mutts.
I loved publishing comics. I had the privilege of picking up the phone and calling my favourite cartoonists. I had a great talk with Carol Lay one afternoon.
Tangent:
I crossed paths with Lay much later as we both enjoyed our first visit to Black Rock City of the Burning Man catch-all festival. When I say "crossed paths" I mean we were both there but never met. I learned of her visit by her retelling in Story Minute.
Story Minute by Carol Lay, originally published, 10SEP07. Or... maybe this actually isn't Story Minute, forgive me, Mz. Lay.
I read the final panel, above, and felt a strange bond. I also had seen that meteor. And I had been working a barista shift when they burned the man early. Time anchors.
How often do you happen to look up at the right time, under the right conditions to see meteor? Of this small number, how many times do you see it cross the face of the full moon lunar eclipse? Of this even smaller number, how many times is the moment shared by one of your favourite cartoonists whom you published 8 years earlier; both of you looking up at the moon at the exact same time?
Anti-tangent:
Pro Tip!
At this time of my college excursion I published my own attempt at cartooning along side these greats that I had assembled (soiling them). Here's a link to my own haphazard attempt calledGoobers in glorious 90's Tripod
Carol Lay is a professional. I wrote her a letter asking her for professional help. Specifically, how did she letter her comic? She wrote a two page response and drew this detailed diagram.
Lettering, it's about clarity. Get an Ames Guide and a straight edge and a nib of appropriate thickness. Or be a soulless monster and let a computer do it.
Remember, no matter how inconspicuous your letter-drawing penmanship, it is still your own. The font-form spat from a computer is not.
And neither are those horribly mathematic word balloons!