Today's guest blog is by web comics artist Joshua Smeaton. He has two books available for downloading at his website. It's a new model of do-it-yourselfing. We'll be hearing more from this group of artists in the weeks ahead. I also want to thank Joshua for highlighting Sergio's pivotal role in creator owned comics; the appearance of Groo was a watershed moment in comics…

Joshua Smeaton:

Growing up my idol was Sergio Aragones. I was a huge Groo fan. Groo & Sergio are what got me into comics. Part of the appeal (though I don't think I registered it at the time) was that Groo was different than everything else. And I don't just mean that it wasn't a super hero book. Groo was creator owned. You can't think of Groo with out thinking of Sergio Aragones. They're inseparable.

You hear the words "creator owned" and it's not a big deal today.
Everyone has some creator owned project going. But back when Sergio came up with Groo it was a big deal. Sergio Aragones, though not a self-publisher is a true independent.

To me independence is what self-publishing is all about. Free from the influence, guidance, or control of others. I doubt most people get into self-publishing because they think it would be fun to put out a book on their own.

There are a lot of reasons to self-publish but I think most of them can come down to not wanting to be just another cog in the machine. Self expression. The thought that "These are my ideas, this represents me and no one else and I want to share that."

It's also fairly masochistic. Slaving away for ages on something that you pray you'll receive validation for. And when you don't you continue at it anyway. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've yet to cover the cost of a show I've exhibited at. But each show I do a little better and I always enjoy being there and making connections.

I do a web comic called "Haunted." It's about a group of kids that get trapped in a mansion haunted by a magical ghost and his pet baboon. I bring print copies to sell at conventions. But I put it online for free because I want to share it with as many people as possible.

I work ridiculous hours on it. I spend a lot more time working on that than I do my "real" job. And I'm certainly not making money off of it. Not yet anyway. So why bother? I guess because I believe in it. And that's a round about way of believing in myself. Kind of hippy-dippy I guess but at least I
like my publisher.