I'm Going “Digital First” in 2025
One Critical Change - How to Restart a Comic Writing Career - Part 5 of 5
This is the final post in my How to Restart a Comic Writing Career series. I promised you one critical change, and this is a big one. Honestly, I suspect some of you reading this will be tempted to label me a comic industry heretic, but here goes. Based on my current circumstances, producing and selling physical comics has become so fraught with hurdles and nuisances that I plan to turn my comic production upside down in 2025. I’m going “digital first” for my full-page comics. I’m not totally abandoning physical comics, but my emphasis will shift to releasing work in the digital space first and I will only produce physical comics if I can do so without incurring debt.
Why?
A lot of this change in business strategy comes down to my particular circumstances. As an independent comic writer, I am responsible for the full cost of printing my physical comics—there’s no publisher to share the risk. For someone who deliberately writes comics with a niche audience, the risk is significant. And it’s not just the cost of printing. Physical comics require storage, and I’ll soon have to relocate all my inventory to a new home in the spring. Then there’s the infrastructure: I run my comic store on Shopify, and while the fees aren’t astronomical, they’re not zero either. Add to that the logistics of shipping, which recently became even more complicated thanks to a month-long postal strike here in Canada, and putting out a physical product is increasingly difficult to rationalize.
I’m also Canadian. When the incoming U.S. administration starts talking about 25% tariffs on everything coming in from Canada, that directly impacts my ability to sell physical products to my largest market. It’s not even the percentage of the tariff that worries me; it’s the potential paperwork. Would you back a Kickstarter if you knew you’d have to fill out forms at the post office and pay a fee to receive a comic from me? I wouldn’t.
By comparison, getting digital comics into fans' hands has never been easier—or more profitable. In 2024, my net revenue from being involved with digital collectibles far exceeded what I earned from physical comics. Moving forward, I’ll be using digital revenue to fund physical products—not the other way around.
GlobalComix
Historically, the “big two” (Marvel and DC) have dominated the digital space with their own company-specific platforms, making it impossible for independent creators to find an audience there. For a while, Comixology bridged the gap, but Amazon… well, you know. Thankfully, GlobalComix has stepped in to fill the void.
GlobalComix is, essentially, a giant comic library. For independent creators like me, being part of this expansive platform is invaluable for visibility. Yes, competition is fierce—you’re up against titles like The Walking Dead, Spawn, and Something Is Killing the Children—but the tools GlobalComix provides are a game-changer. I can see detailed statistics about who’s reading my comics and even connect with those readers directly. Features like announcing Kickstarter launches directly to people “subscribed” to my comic are incredibly helpful, and the exposure I received in the early days being included in their promotional efforts, especially on Reddit, was invaluable. That said, I view GlobalComix primarily as a promotional tool. The $30 CAD I pay monthly grants me access to countless comics and ensures I’m building a warm audience for The Lump Sum Saga and my other works. But realistically, it is not the piece of the puzzle that will help me get to breakeven profitability.
Enter dReader
If GlobalComix isn’t my digital revenue source, what is? The short answer: dReader.
The digital collectible comic space (yes, NFTs) has matured. All you need is a credit card to buy “same day as print” titles from Marvel and Dynamite. Candy.io offers new DC titles. And thankfully, independent creators now have a viable space thanks to dReader. While the platform is still developing, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. Selling my comics on dReader generated more net revenue in 2024 than the digital tiers of all three of my Kickstarter campaigns combined.
What did that look like? In US dollars, here is what I’ve earned:
$1042 - The Lump Sum Saga was released on the platform and so far 210 of 400 copies have reached collectors. US
$356.93 - Cubic Campaign - This was a community matching program. Think Kickstarter with matching funds from sponsors.
$3500 - Solana Scribes prize. If dReader was a local comic book shop, this money was a prize grant from the local business improvement organization.
An amount just short of $5,000 may not seem like a huge number, but it was career-affirming for a niche creator like me. By way of comparison, my two Kickstarter campaigns for The Lump Sum Saga generated $7,384 CAD ($5,077 + $2,307) — roughly $6,000 US — and from that number, I had to pay Kickstarter fees, printing, and shipping.
Items 1 & 2 above cost me nothing more than time. The TLSS comic NFTs used the exact same files used to create the print versions of the first issue of The Lump Sum Saga. And Lump Dog will go up on the system as soon as it is complete, again using the same files currently in production.
Item 3, the Solana Scribes prize money, allowed me to hire an artist for a conspiracy thriller I pitched to the prize committee. Even with the win, I still had to invest my own money into this project (I added more pages!), but between sales of this comic on dReader and a planned Kickstarter for the book, VXD may be the first comic I ever produce that manages to break even. I am super excited about this project and am thrilled every time a new page comes in from artist Stan Yak.
dReader’s impact goes beyond revenue. dReader has attracted comic creators from around the world—all working to grow the community and support fellow artists and writers. The respect and support I’ve received there and the founders’ deliberate efforts to find work for creators have played a significant role in my decision to fully embrace the digital collectible space.
Addressing the NFT Stigma
I know the visceral hatred NFTs once evoked in the comics community. Trust me, I’ve heard it all. I am even aware of at least one creator who regularly draws art for the “Big 2,” who received death threats for supporting Web 3 back in the day. Thankfully, opinions have mellowed.
In the backer survey for Lump Dog, I included the following question.
“I am exploring offering free, exclusive digital collectibles to honour and recognize backers of my crowdfunding campaigns. If I did, would this affect the likelihood you would support a future issue of The Lump Sum Saga (including Lump Dog)?”
The results were enlightening. 67% of my backers selected, “It wouldn't really affect my purchasing decision one way or the other,” and 16% left the field blank. The vast majority of my Kickstarter backers don’t really care; they just want a quality comic.
7% actually selected “Free digital collectibles? Yes, please. Bring 'em on!” I owe these humans a digital collectible!
On the other end of the spectrum, 10% of backers selected “Digital collectibles, aka NFTs?! Heck no! I'd be out.”
The fact that this category isn’t zero means that I still have a lot of education to do. But here's the reassuring part: When I compared the actual pledge amounts of these last two groups, those excited about getting free digital collectibles brought over 300% more revenue to my Kickstarter!
So yes, there is a risk of losing some fans pursuing a digital-first strategy, but it isn’t as scary as it once was. And pragmatically, if I ignore this revenue stream, I won’t be able to make as many comics anyway, so I’d be forfeiting fans regardless. I believe we’ve reached an inflection point where avoiding the technology poses a greater risk to a comic creator’s career than embracing it.
Looking Ahead to 2025
The current priority is getting Lump Dog finished and out to my Kickstarter backers. As I write this, most of the comic is drawn and coloured, although changes are being made to three pages. There is still lettering, book design, and printing to do, but finally, the finish line is in sight.1
Once that is behind us, what will this digital-first strategy look like?
I will save money to have new chapters of The Lump Sum Saga drawn. Each new chapter will likely appear first on GlobalComix. However, once enough pages are compiled, they’ll be released on dReader with variant cover options. If the revenue from these platforms is sufficient, I’ll launch a Kickstarter to fund physical editions. For fans who prefer print, rest assured: I’ll save up the entire time to produce a trade paperback, even if the single issues can’t work financially on Kickstarter.
And if I am really, really blessed, I’ll find artists willing to draw my various scripts in exchange for part of the project. The more collaborators I can attract, the more comics I’ll be able to feed into my digital-first pipeline. And if all goes well, I’ll be creating comics while staying financially solvent well into the future.
This wraps up my series on reinventing my comic writing career in 2025. Thank you for following along. I’ll be back in January with more updates, but until then, I wish you all holiday holidays, Merry Christmas, and a very happy, prosperous New Year.
If my digital strategy—especially the NFT component—confuses or angers you, I wrote Comic NFTs: An Ethical Approach with you in mind. It’s available in digital and audiobook formats, including a free version on YouTube. Click here for options.
Note to self: Never launch a Kickstarter campaign before the book is 100% complete. I don’t have the emotional fortitude for the delays.
A brave approach!
I'm in a similar boat, being a Canadian comic writer who has to hire out art, but I can't wrap my head around going digital-only. Your math has definitely proven out as the way to go for you though.
I wouldn't be able to sustain this digital-only, but I appreciate trailblazers like yourself for charting the course. I'll be watching closely (and supporting where I can!).
Have a Merry Christmas!