Making Independent Comics Is Hard Work

If you have ever tried, you know I'm telling the truth.

Alpha Red #8 was supposed to be done in 2025, but here we are in the middle of February and I’m 6 pages away from being done with the 24 page, full color, comic book.

My proverbial nose will be fully press against the grindstone for the next two weeks to see if I can conjure a miracle. So what happened? I took on a writer to remove the excuse of writer’s block back in 2024. And Ray MacKay delivered the current story shortly before I finished drawing Alpha Red #7 at the end of June of last year.

Did it really take me nearly 8 months to complete the next issue? No. Life happened but the main reason is that I took three months off to complete two other, major projects. My independent comic war chest was running low and I decided to take on paid drawing work to ease my mind about being able to financially bring Alpha Red #8 to life. It was a departure from my typical, care free, “let go and let God” attitude toward paying for the production of Alpha Red after I put in the time to draw and script Ray’s stories. Was it worth it?

Honestly, it was very fulfilling to be a part of both projects. One was an Advent book that you can PURCHASE HERE. I don’t get any royalties but it is a great company and I am very proud of the artwork. It’s a bit of a departure from my superhero drawing style but they specialize in more realistic depictions for their bible lessons.

The other project was a bit different but still had me drawing bible characters. It was fun to imagine what the world looked like in biblical times. This project is due out soon but I don’t think they have a solid launch date. Truth be told, I don’t even know the name of this workbook that I contributed the art for. I assume they will tell me when the books are out. It is actually two workbooks with a total of 24 drawings. The Avent book was 12 drawings but they were full color.

The workbooks have color covers but the interiors are black and white.

Either way, I had a blast.

Only time will tell if my padded comic publishing budget was worth the detour. I find that independent comic book creators forget that there is a need for balance between creating the best work you can and publishing a comic on a regular basis. This is the thought that has plagued me these past three months. Now I’m feeling the pressure, aiming for Alpha Red #9 to be available before October so I don’t end up in the Alpha Red drought I feel like I’m leaving fans in.

By the time I started back to work on Alpha Red #8 it was the beginning of October 2025, the start of the busiest season for me personally. Birthdays. My wife organized a homeschool conference. Then holidays and holiday parties and more holiday parties and more birthdays. Milestone birthdays and parties and special celebrations for those milestones.

Today is Valentine’s Day. This is the day I’ve been waiting for. The end of the busiest stretch I typically have—and this one has been a doozy! All great things. No complaints. No regrets. Many speed bumps but the light at the end of the tunnel is upon me. I can’t WAIT to share the latest issue of Alpha Red with you!

As an independent comic creator, if you don’t do it, it doesn’t happen. After all, it was YOUR big idea. And NO ONE cares about it as much as YOU. But just because YOU care about it, doesn’t mean anyone else does. You have to SIMULTANEOUSLY create the work AND persuade others they can’t live without it. So here we are. Hi. You need Alpha Red #8 in your life. Trust me. :)

Alpha Red #8 is GOING to happen. I have the money to pay for its production and YOU get to be the first open the cover and smile at the pages of brightly colored sequential art. The first to chuckle at the witty dialogue and feverishly flip through its pages. BUT. I still need your help.

Print on demand is expensive. The cost is roughly $3.50 - $4.00 per 24 page comic. This is no way to raise funds for your next issue or pay anyone else who is helping you create the comic. My writer, Ray MacKay doesn’t write for free. Neither does my colorist or my letterer.

I am hoping that you will invest in the future of Alpha Red by paying a little extra for Alpha Red #8 so that I can order a larger print run, lowering the cost per book. Yes. you would be over paying for your limited variant edition of the comic so that the extra money can reduce the cost of the regular edition.

Starting Monday, February 16th at 830pm EST, I will have TWO fundraising campaigns where you can support. You can do it on KickStarter or FundMyComic.

For $10 you can get the Digital Deluxe edition of Alpha Red 8 that will contain the pencil, ink, and color versions of Alpha Red 8 so you can see the process. This will include Ray MacKay’s outline and my final script!

$15 plus $10 shipping will get you the exclusive edition of each variant cover, that will include 4 additional pages of behind-the-scenes art and interviews along with a copy of the Digital Deluxe edition! Each site will have the exclusive virgin cover (no logos) along with it’s own variant, one is the hero variant and the other is the villain variant.

If you support BOTH campaigns, you will get a FREE bonus 52 page exclusive edition that has the printed version of the pencils and inks.

There are catch up tiers if you’re new to Alpha Red along with some original art if you like to own something more unique, including covers and even the ENTIRE Alpha Red #8 comic book! That’s right, all 24 pages could be YOURS!

Thanks for making it this far! Thanks for supporting Alpha Red.

Grace and Peace.

James