What do you think?
Rate this book
Unnatural Talent: Creating, Printing and Selling Your Comic in the Digital Age
The journey from being a “no name” artist to finding your voice in the world of comics has always been a mystery—especially in the Internet age. While the publishing industry struggles to adapt to the rapidly changing digital world, independent artists now have the ability to build a successful and lucrative brand completely on their own with a little hard work and some Internet savvy. Now there’s nothing stopping you from getting your book in front of thousands or even millions of people. Suddenly you can’t blame anyone for not giving you a chance. You can only blame yourself for not trying. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencils and fire up your Internet because we are about to make and sell comics! Jason Brubaker’s graphic novel reMIND raised over $125,000 in pre-order sales on Kickstarter, won the Xeric Award and made ALA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens List. This book is a collection of his thoughts, strategies and practical lessons developed during his experience writing, drawing and self-publishing reMIND.
276 pages, Paperback
First published November 22, 2013
28 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Jason Brubaker
39 books37 followersJason Brubaker works at Dreamworks Animation in Visual Development. At night, he puts on his cape and doubles as an independent graphic novelist and self-publisher.
--from the author's blog
--from the author's blog
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 7, 2014
I think this had some great advice about self-publishing and crowd sourcing, but some of the information about agents and other information read as completely wrong or outdated based on everything I've seen in the market so that knocked it down a few marks for me. I wish the focus had stayed on the areas that he has more experience with and had just left out areas that he isn't as familiar with.
January 18, 2025
This book is wonderful. I believe this book is heartfelt and realistic. Jason Brubaker tells you like it is with no flowery language to hide what it's like when it comes to being an indie artist.
This book is not your typical how to book, it doesn't tell you how to write a script or how to draw. You'll have to look for a more specialized book for that. Instead it gives tips on motivating yourself to start and finish a project as well as what to do with it afterwards like building a website and how to print. It shares fantastic advice on how to build a fan base as well as what to focus on that's important and why. If you're one of those people looking for those answers then I highly recommend picking up this book. I know it's going to stay on my shelf.
While I know this book is targeted towards those who want to make graphic novels I do feel that the information can be roughly applied to indie novelists or indie creators in general. There just may be certain parts that may not apply directly to your craft but it's still an interesting read and there might be hidden tips that might apply to you and your projects.
The ideal audience for this book is for those who are completely new to creating graphic novels. Those who have been wanting to create, like me, but have yet made the plunge may find this book is perfect for motivating yourself. I feel that this book shares more than Jason's graphic novel learning experiences but I believe he pulls from his entire artistic career (probably also a bit of his soul ^_~). I personally think it's great that he shares his experiences, the ups and downs. I think we need more transparency like this in the creator community and am glad someone is finally doing it.
4.8 out of 5 rating for me!
For my full review go to: http://originiquequanimity.blogspot.c...
This book is not your typical how to book, it doesn't tell you how to write a script or how to draw. You'll have to look for a more specialized book for that. Instead it gives tips on motivating yourself to start and finish a project as well as what to do with it afterwards like building a website and how to print. It shares fantastic advice on how to build a fan base as well as what to focus on that's important and why. If you're one of those people looking for those answers then I highly recommend picking up this book. I know it's going to stay on my shelf.
While I know this book is targeted towards those who want to make graphic novels I do feel that the information can be roughly applied to indie novelists or indie creators in general. There just may be certain parts that may not apply directly to your craft but it's still an interesting read and there might be hidden tips that might apply to you and your projects.
The ideal audience for this book is for those who are completely new to creating graphic novels. Those who have been wanting to create, like me, but have yet made the plunge may find this book is perfect for motivating yourself. I feel that this book shares more than Jason's graphic novel learning experiences but I believe he pulls from his entire artistic career (probably also a bit of his soul ^_~). I personally think it's great that he shares his experiences, the ups and downs. I think we need more transparency like this in the creator community and am glad someone is finally doing it.
4.8 out of 5 rating for me!
For my full review go to: http://originiquequanimity.blogspot.c...
February 16, 2023
First, the good: the information is really helpful and well organized. It's clear and straightforward.
That's about it.
That title! WTF! It has absolutely nothing to do with the book or its themes. The book never discusses talent or anything "unnatural" about the process of creating comics. I have no idea how this decision was made. Why not simply "MAKING COMICS"?
The writing is shoddy as heck. This is clearly due to the arrogant DIY-everything ethic of the author, who forwent an editor for some mysterious reason. The result is errors galore, heaps of text that could have been cup, repetition, formatting problems (large and small), and so forth. It's very amateurish and hard to stomach. An editor could have cleaned this up in a matter of hours and honed the book by 10 or 20 pages. A designer could have leapt in to tighten things up further. As a result, the book would have been more focused, crisper, and cheaper.
The drawings are not what I would expect for a successful indie comic artist. They look like they were done in haste on a napkin with a Sharpie. They add some visual texture, and one chart was helpful, but most are just clutter. Some charts only muddy the point, rather than bolster it. A serious letdown in that regard—just like the book.
I could go on, but what's the point? I won't read it again, but I might flip through a few pages for reference.
That's about it.
That title! WTF! It has absolutely nothing to do with the book or its themes. The book never discusses talent or anything "unnatural" about the process of creating comics. I have no idea how this decision was made. Why not simply "MAKING COMICS"?
The writing is shoddy as heck. This is clearly due to the arrogant DIY-everything ethic of the author, who forwent an editor for some mysterious reason. The result is errors galore, heaps of text that could have been cup, repetition, formatting problems (large and small), and so forth. It's very amateurish and hard to stomach. An editor could have cleaned this up in a matter of hours and honed the book by 10 or 20 pages. A designer could have leapt in to tighten things up further. As a result, the book would have been more focused, crisper, and cheaper.
The drawings are not what I would expect for a successful indie comic artist. They look like they were done in haste on a napkin with a Sharpie. They add some visual texture, and one chart was helpful, but most are just clutter. Some charts only muddy the point, rather than bolster it. A serious letdown in that regard—just like the book.
I could go on, but what's the point? I won't read it again, but I might flip through a few pages for reference.
June 3, 2018
A very good book that is made of three sections - How to make a comic book, how to popularize it online and how to print it and get it into the hands of customers. The book is equal parts practical and inspiring as well as a good chronicle of the author's (Jason Brubaker) learning journey.
The book does a good job of how to make the comic art with models sheets, character turnarounds and expression sheets. Also Jason has some good ideas on how to build story arcs with some nifty references such as the "Journey of a hero" (nicely drawn).
The web section was pretty good for someone who is an artist but does not know about the inner working of distributing online including the setting up and blog and the affiliate system. The resources that Jason links to are quite good and much of the advice is hard-fought and useful (by someone who has done it and done it well). I especially liked the section on Kickstarter and how the author used Kickstarer and the reward system to gamify his campaign for raising money.
The last section focuses on the comic distribution business and self-publishing on Amazon and elsewhere. It was interesting to learn about the business of comic books (Indie publishers, comic book stores, agents, conventions etc.) and book distribution business.
The book does a good job of how to make the comic art with models sheets, character turnarounds and expression sheets. Also Jason has some good ideas on how to build story arcs with some nifty references such as the "Journey of a hero" (nicely drawn).
The web section was pretty good for someone who is an artist but does not know about the inner working of distributing online including the setting up and blog and the affiliate system. The resources that Jason links to are quite good and much of the advice is hard-fought and useful (by someone who has done it and done it well). I especially liked the section on Kickstarter and how the author used Kickstarer and the reward system to gamify his campaign for raising money.
The last section focuses on the comic distribution business and self-publishing on Amazon and elsewhere. It was interesting to learn about the business of comic books (Indie publishers, comic book stores, agents, conventions etc.) and book distribution business.
April 2, 2019
I got this book last year and to this day, it's still one of my favourite purchases.
This book would be helful to you if you're in a very specifil position - if you are a aspiring/independent comic artist, who has no experience in publishing, planning or marketing your work.
The book is split into several parts, some more helpful than other, depending on what stage of your creative journey you are. There are tips on planning and creating your comic, marketing efficiently (some tip are slightly outdated as they were written originally for the author's blog) and then publishing and self-publishing.
Brubaker is in the perfect position to write this as he is one of the very succesful artists to choose the self-publishing route and he knows exactly how much work it takes.
I consider this book an essential guide if you are a: artist, comic artist, webcomic artist etc which is to say, a lover of the visial storytelling medium :)
This book would be helful to you if you're in a very specifil position - if you are a aspiring/independent comic artist, who has no experience in publishing, planning or marketing your work.
The book is split into several parts, some more helpful than other, depending on what stage of your creative journey you are. There are tips on planning and creating your comic, marketing efficiently (some tip are slightly outdated as they were written originally for the author's blog) and then publishing and self-publishing.
Brubaker is in the perfect position to write this as he is one of the very succesful artists to choose the self-publishing route and he knows exactly how much work it takes.
I consider this book an essential guide if you are a: artist, comic artist, webcomic artist etc which is to say, a lover of the visial storytelling medium :)
October 29, 2019
I picked this up through Kindle Unlimited after I read the ReMIND comic as I found it enjoyable and wanted to know more about the process.
The book had some strong points. I wanted to read it for the the actual process of making the graphic novel. These parts I found to be worth the read as solid advice for taking the dream into a reality. They're practical and accessible. There was some nice advice for lettering as well as drawing the comic.
The marketing and selling aspect of the book was less useful. This isn't entirely the fault of the author, it's been a good many years since this was and the internet moves fast. Much of the websites and information he had about them was simply outdated. For publishing information I suggest A People's Guide To Self Publishing by Joe Biel.
Like most books of this nature, there was also a bit of bias towards the path that he took when he spoke of self publishing vs trad but that's to be expected. Worth reading but not a definitive guide.
The book had some strong points. I wanted to read it for the the actual process of making the graphic novel. These parts I found to be worth the read as solid advice for taking the dream into a reality. They're practical and accessible. There was some nice advice for lettering as well as drawing the comic.
The marketing and selling aspect of the book was less useful. This isn't entirely the fault of the author, it's been a good many years since this was and the internet moves fast. Much of the websites and information he had about them was simply outdated. For publishing information I suggest A People's Guide To Self Publishing by Joe Biel.
Like most books of this nature, there was also a bit of bias towards the path that he took when he spoke of self publishing vs trad but that's to be expected. Worth reading but not a definitive guide.
December 28, 2018
The quintessential bible for the self-employed comic artist.
If you are a comic creator and business inclined, this book has everything you need to know about making, promoting, presenting, running campaigns, printing, distributing your comics, written by someone how's done it all and more.
Amazing resource.
If you are a comic creator and business inclined, this book has everything you need to know about making, promoting, presenting, running campaigns, printing, distributing your comics, written by someone how's done it all and more.
Amazing resource.
April 27, 2018
Jason outlines how to be successful in the world of comics and world building. I have read his Re:Mind series and currently reading Sithra. A wonderful and informative read, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what it takes to be in the creative industry!
June 14, 2019
A useful resource that is a bit out of date. Still has good general information: I think the sections in printing and design are still quite useful - it's only the "making money with a website" bits that seem not to have aged well.
April 16, 2018
A decent read
It was interesting and there was a lot of advice of what to do about working on your own art projects. I hope to apply some of his advice to my art projects.
It was interesting and there was a lot of advice of what to do about working on your own art projects. I hope to apply some of his advice to my art projects.
January 24, 2021
This book was SUPER helpful while I write my first comic. Recommend it fully.
February 11, 2014
This book had some wonderful advice and ideas I hadn't even thought of. There was information I was already familiar with, tons of new ideas, plans or insights into things I've been thinking of doing and breakdowns of how he got to where he is. Again, some of the info might be redundant to people who have been making their own comics but there are a lot of nuggets buried in there and you can always learn something new. Highly recommended for anybody making their own comics whether you've been at it a while or are just thinking about starting.
May 23, 2016
There are so many "how to" art books out there, but when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of actually BEING a working artist, information is frustratingly scarce - Even moreso for those interested in graphic novels. This author seems very down to earth and is eager to share what he learned along the way while publishing his own graphic novel. I really enjoyed this book. It's a fun read, and is optimistic without being naive. If you're willing to put in the hard work and sacrifice for your dreams, this book will most likely help you on your way.
September 5, 2015
I'm always skeptical of books written by authors without extensive experience and success in the area of their topic. It's clear that Brubaker's success was no fluke, though. The man has done his research and put in a ton of work creating and publishing his graphic novel, all of which he details in this book. It's hard to tell if his advice will work for everyone, but I'm certainly looking forward to applying some of it to my future comic projects.
April 1, 2015
Insights from one person's experiences as an indie comics maker and micro-press owner. I found the budgeting and kickstarter fundraising sections most interesting. Many networking tips and resources for comic-creator owned presses through out the book. This book is aimed at individual writer-artists who are trying to figure out business models that might support their work (or at least a portion of their work) in a notoriously low margin industry.
June 8, 2016
An amazing resource for aspiring comic artists! Using his own experiences, Jason Brubaker talks about the best way to go about starting and finishing your graphic novels, the business side of posting the pages online for free, and how to stay inspired and keep going. He also makes it clear that things change, people are different, and we must learn to adapt and do our own research. Very inspiring and fun to read!
December 28, 2014
A really great practical book on publishing comics with loads of advice and resources.
February 5, 2015
Useful for self-publishing manga and DIY graphic novels. Not useful for creating a comic book studio. Self-Published by author.
September 4, 2015
Informative! The audiobook is better with it's extra bits and author's performance! :D
December 12, 2015
had a hard time paying attention to some of it but overall good
March 3, 2016
Quite possibly the best book on the business of comics I've read. My personal take away from this book exceeds way beyond my expectations.
April 15, 2023
Third read through. The greatest book for modern self-publishing comics.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews