So hey everybody, another month has come by. I certainly kept myself busy, getting a lot of material together will do that. So I’ve got no shortage of post ideas to get through. The only thing that’s going to slow it down is timing and trying to keep everything together.
By that I mean trying to monetize the Gutternaut blog. I have been off Google Ads for a little over a month now. After appeals and such it doesn’t look like I’m ever going to have that opportunity again. And with other services implementing Google Ads onto their services, I’m pretty much out of the ads business… or I get another gmail to do it from. While telling my dad not to just click on ads without buying anything.
Anyway, some viewers have noticed a number of links to several services. To stay on brand, I went to a number of comic book affiliates. As of this post I currently have four affiliates and potentially three more should I get accepted. Hopefully you all might want stuff that’s offered, I saw that comic fans are my biggest audience. But… with inflation I have a feeling that you’ll be looking for things worth your general while. I’d really like to get a travel affiliate going, if only to get the window floating on my admin portal away. But I don’t know how many posts I need in the Comic Locations category. I currently have four, but I’m concerned how many places I need at a minimum. Worse I haven’t found many comic book inspired locations to get posts. Except for maybe the address of Dr. Strange’s place but everybody else knows.
Then you gotta know what’s worth investing in. I mean, I’ve got services to help the website with traffic. But so far, the only thing that gets visitors my way while sticking to my brand is the Gepetto post. It got hundreds of visitors a week and/or day, it surpassed its neighbor DP 7. Hopefully for reasons that don’t mean anything dirty.
Frankly it makes me wonder if I would get more attention if I spotlight webtoons. But come on, I spent hundreds of good hard earned money on digital editions and subscriptions to comic services. The least I can do is tell people it’s worth buying them, hopefully for a cut.
Maybe I should consider spotlighting crowdfunding projects or other creatives I follow for a chance at cross pollination. Let’s start with:
Betty Wicked by Top Secret Press
Djinn Hunter by Blackbox Comics
Apocalypse Blvd by Comic Book School
DeMultiverse by Spellbound Comics
Jember by Etan Comics
Miss Medusa’s Monstrous Menagerie by Unlikely Heroes Studios
Plainer Jane Finale by Broken Smile
The 500 Campaign for Carribean Comics
Dwellings by Black Eye Books
El Gallito Cómics by Pura Pinche Fortaleza Cómics (To Help The Mexican Comic Industry just a little)
Phew quite a list of crowdfunding projects. Especially the ones on here by people from other countries. Hey, it’s always important to support other country’s comic industries. Especially when the indies have all but left Comixology now that Amazon took full control of it.
Personally I was thinking of adding some of Coffin Comics like with Hellwitch. But I didn’t want to make the impression that my audience is full of simps ready to throw money at bad girls. Maybe I’ll cover Coffin Comics’ franchise another day.
Speaking off here’s this month’s posts:
Dahlia in the Dark first issue review for Mad Cave Studios
Spotlighting the Worst of Ryan North’s Unbeatable Squirrel Girl run and while highlighting why the boredom factor plays a role
Alita: Battle Angel compared to the direct to video anime this takes inspiration from and why the manga’s creator likes it better
The Empty Man: Why the comic didn’t do so great and why the cult classic movie adaptation managed to do what it was going for
Art Ex Machina: Cover art and painted comics beware, new software is going to make writers jobs easier; cartoonist you’re fine… I think
Kazakh Comics: Russia’s non-allied neighbor grew an entire comic scene in less than 10 years; and is still emerging
Abstract Diseases: Comics’ weirdness comes with diseases; they just need to be done right
Tales From The Crypt: List’s (3) most liked episodes of the HBO show are compared to the comic material to show the improvements. A Gutternaut Halloween Special!
Going into November, I’ve got plenty of material ready for posts. Hopefully with more affiliates at the ready. For reference the ones I feel the strongest about include a return to the Life in Comics category with Top 10 (AKA Alan Moore’s less cynical capepunk). Knighted going over Gregg Hurwitz bibliography and how it helped create his AWA series. A Tokyo Ghost Fan Film to show how just a few minutes make the best tribute to the comic possible. A post to showcase one of my affiliates by advertising UMC Editions’ comics… mostly the series that doesn’t use pastiches of Superman, Batman, or Masters of the Universe: Chronology Xero. Might have to do a couple more related to Eigo Manga or Tidalwave Productions… but I’m leaning more towards Comic Republic. Because frankly, spotlighting might be good but assuring readers the quality is great should go with this. Finally a series on failed comic companies from recent years. I’ll probably start with MonkeyBrain because I plan to ask creatives from Space Goat and Action Lab their experiences at a later time. Those last two are going to be intertwined because they’re technically still running.
In any case, thanks for listening to me prattle on and have a Happy Halloween!