#side quested

[kbspangler]

I cannot tell you how proud I am of this scene, which I wrote back in February...

Even if AGAHF misses out on the Hugo, I'll know it's fair as my best work exists in this singular moment.

[alepresser]

Hey hello?

Do you know Side Quested, the webcomic created by me and @kbspangler ?

It's a crazy-bananas Fantasy RomCom with magic, dragons, a pink-goth super strong princess that didn't need rescue, an unfortunate librarian in training, and much more nonsense!

Read for free at https://sidequested.com !

[bat-in-the-machine]

Rereading @alepresser & @kbspangler's Side Quested and I forgot that the first thing Charlie said when she met Babs was "Peony, I found an eyeball for you."

 

[kbspangler]

This is the public statement from @alepresser and myself which went up at Webtoons tonight.

Now for some ranting. Just from me, not from Ale—she's innocent of the art crimes I've committed in the past, and boy howdy have I committed art crimes.

This is the first page of my first webcomic, A Girl and Her Fed. I started this thing back in 2006. (I don't actually need a head count of those reading this who weren't yet born in 2006. I'm sure you're delightful and I wish you well in college.)

And this is the last page I drew in early 2020 before I turned art duties over to Dr. Beer. It's better, right?

Well, these days, A Girl and Her Fed has pages like this:

I drew this comic for fourteen fucking years because it's a story I wanted to tell, and I thought webcomics were the perfect format for it. I didn't know how to draw. I got better through sheer obstinate perseverance and sticking to deadlines as best I could for, again, fourteen fucking years. I sought out a replacement artist when I ran into time constraints and couldn't do art plus writing anymore; I'm a much better writer than an artist, so I had no problems whatsoever kicking art to the curb.

The first time Ale sent me art that would go up on the website—art I hadn't needed to draw myself—I literally cried in relief because I had been grinding myself down for, yet again, fourteen fucking years.

So when I read comments from people who say they want to make a webcomic but can't draw themselves and therefore need to resort to AI, that little line between my eyes gets dangerously deep.

This isn't like I'm some old dude who's bitching over student loans getting cancelled after making regular payments. This is me, someone who threw raw art onto the internet like a monkey hurling fresh poo, because I wanted to make a webcomic and the art is part of the process of storytelling via webcomics! I could've (arguably should've) hired an artist right out of the gate, and that would've been part of the process of making comics, too: a partnership between an artist and a writer is also something which grows and develops over time.

For example, after Dr. Beer and I spent two years working on AGAHF, we decided we enjoyed our partnership so much that we set out to make another webcomic! It's great! It's got wonderful art and consistent storytelling! You should read it!

Side Quested

A Fantasy romcom webcomic, updates every Monday and Thursday.

But turning art duties over to unaltered images generated by AI because you want to make a webcomic but "just can't draw" is, frankly, a bullshit excuse. I'm not talking about persons who are physically unable to draw due to disability—I'm talking about people who say they want to make webcomics but simply don't wanna do the art part.

Friends, if you don't want to show your entire ass in front of God and country, you don't actually want to make a webcomic.

Do the thing yourself.

If you're scared, don't be. Take the plunge. Set a goal of twenty strips and do the thing yourself. If you can already draw but can't write? Great! Write twenty strips, write forty panels, etc. You might surprise yourself. If you can write but can't draw? Great! Draw twenty panels and see what happens.

Whatever comes out of it, it's a thing you've done yourself. It's something new you've given to the world, no matter how big or small. Be proud of that. And if you need to partner with someone else to make your comic dreams work? You can do that, too! It's still a thing you've done yourself, and many projects are stronger when done together.

...but maaaaaaaaaybe hire that partner before you've busted your own ass for fourteen fucking years. That one's on me.

[kbspangler]

We have a book coming out in 15 days. Here's its story:

April 2023: We get a cold call from an agent who likes SIDEQUESTED, but is more interested in our other projects

Sep 2023: We finalize putting together a formal graphic novel pitch from the book and take it to another agent he recommended. She loves it and signs it! YAY!

Sep-Dec 2023: Stuff goes out, stuff comes back, stuff goes to lawyers, stuff goes out, stuff comes back, rinse-repeat forever. This stuff phase is mostly legal. If you take nothing else away from this post it's that agents earn their commissions.

Dec 2023: I'm at a 9-year-old's birthday party when we receive an offer from a publisher. YAY!!!

Jan 2024-June 2024: Stuff go in/out again. This stuff phase is mostly technical data, such as deadlines and delivery items, with minor prepress work.

June 2024: We can finally announce that Sidequested is going to print!

Dec 2024: I'm at a 10-year-old's birthday party when @alepresser delivers the last art for the first book. YAY!!!

Jan 2025-Oct 2025: Stuff go in/out again. This stuff phase is almost entirely prepress.

Oct 2025-Now: ADVERTISING. The publishers' side. Our side. Everything is book book book. No one will buy it if they don't know it exists! BOOK! BOOK!!!!

Dec 2025: I'm at an eleven-year-old's birthday party when I learn that Molly the Baby Dragon is going to be available as a bonus item.

Feb 2026: Our publishers put together a free giant downloadable movie poster as another bonus item.

Now: All is screaming about this book on social media. There is no room left in my brain for anything but the Persistent Everyday Horrors and this book.

And now it's almost go time. And I got to this point in the timeline and took a breath, a pause, a moment of peace, and then remembered at minimum it's a two-book deal.

Please read our free webcomic! It's about books.

[kbspangler]

SIDEQUESTED has updated and...well.

Me when I started writing this scene: Just killed off the fucky agent and turned him into a god of joy, might as well have some fun with that in the other comic.

Me, now: The fucky god comic is a Hugo finalist and I have no idea how to explain any of this to anyone.

[kbspangler]

Good morning! At SIDEQUESTED, it's time for Princess Robin to STOMP! out our problems.

And if you haven't preordered the first SIDEQUESTED book yet, I must warn you that if we meet certain goals then @neolithicsheep is going to release goats into my garden.

Not a metaphor. Actual goats. In my garden. And we will film it. A thing I agreed to when it seemed impossible as I didn't want to delicately smooch any livestock on its adorable but poop-covered nose. Look, IYKYK, and I'm caught between please preorder!!! and oh god oh god oh god my precious garden!!!

Image courtesy of @davidhsiegel.bsky.social