[RobinKarlsson]

Hello!
I plan to print a 24-page comicbook with two of my short stories that take place in a post-apocalyptic world.
And I want the comic to look as if it was made in that same world with limited technology.
So I've been doing some research on how comics used to be colored and also looked at many comics on this site for reference.

Here's the cover:


And one of the pages:


I've uploaded the first comic on 11 pages here if anyone wants to read: https://globalcomix.com/c/wasteland-aneccdotes/chapters/en/1/1

And since I'm doing self-promotion I might as well link to the coming kickstarter as well. Sign up if you're interested to see how it goes
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robinkarlsson/wasteland-anecdotes

I plan to work more on the pages and include variations on the paper texture and also shift the CMY layers so they're not perfectly aligned, as it should be. If anyone has any additional tips to make it seem more "old-school" I'd love to hear them.

Anyway, thanks for an awesome website!

[paw broon]

Thanks for the links.  If you want an imperfect looking, older fashioned look, go to the Charlton section.

[SuperScrounge]

So I've been doing some research on how comics used to be colored and also looked at many comics on this site for reference.

One the people who posts here occasionally, The Ghost Man, has a website, The Vintage Inkwell Academy https://vintageinkwell.com that you might want to check out, if you haven't found it already.

I plan to work more on the pages and include variations on the paper texture and also shift the CMY layers so they're not perfectly aligned, as it should be.

Twitch twitch

I can understand this when someone is making a prop for a movie or TV show, but intentionally creating a printing mistake is... odd.

Years ago the gal who made the webcomic I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Space Pirates made the artistic choice to make her webcomic look like an old printed comic with off-register color plates. Ummm... yeah... It baffled me that she chose to make her art look worse.

More recently Ya Boi Zac of the YouTube channel Comics Matter was talking about printing of his comic Iron Sights, which he wanted to look like an old Mexican comic you might find in the bathroom and yet the printers made it look really good and he had to try and get them to make it look worse.

I imagine the printers were probably rather confused because from their POV they want the products they print look as good as possible and asking them to make it look terrible would just be strange.

Make sure the printers know what you're going for or you might find yourself with a stack of good-looking, pristine comic books. 

Best of luck!

[RobinKarlsson]

Thanks for the links.  If you want an imperfect looking, older fashioned look, go to the Charlton section.

Thanks for the tip! I recognize some titles like Blue Beetle and Atomic Mouse.

One the people who posts here occasionally, The Ghost Man, has a website, The Vintage Inkwell Academy https://vintageinkwell.com that you might want to check out, if you haven't found it already.

I did not know about that site, thanks.

I can understand this when someone is making a prop for a movie or TV show, but intentionally creating a printing mistake is... odd.

Haha, yea will have to make sure the printer know it's supposed to look like that! I guess for me it is just part of the aesthetic that it shouldn't be too perfect, and I think it makes it look better with the plates being offset a bit. In my case I will design the whole book to be made in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and it wouldn't make sense if it looks too clean. I want to make the comicbook itself part of the story instead of just being a means to an end. 

[Comeekz]

The cover you posted looks really good. The video game Fallout 4 makes big use of retro-looking comic book covers!

[The Australian Panther]

One way to 'go retro' is to use classic fonts.
You've made a good start with your cover.
The 'scroll balloons' tho, [Letter to the lighthouse; City Life] were used my Marvel in the 70's and 80's - this to me - yeah I'm ancient - is not retro.
Plenty of Golden Age fonts here on CB+ 
For a look at books that are much older, check out my post in the 'Reading Group tomorrow'

Cheers!

   

[The Australian Panther]

If you want to go back even further,
this site is a goldmine.
STRIPPERS GUIDE
The Stripper's Guide blog discusses the history of the American newspaper comic strip.
https://strippersguide.blogspot.com

[profh0011]

intentionally creating a printing mistake is... odd.

Yeah, when I clean up old comics for my blog, I often CORRECT decades-old printing mistakes!   

Also, when I do my own coloring, for many years now, I've always had it in my mind that I want to keep things "simple", so they look like comics coloring in the 60s... only with MUCH-greated control and accuracy than was possible back then.

But, that's me.   

[Tyler Blake Art]

Cool concept!  I don't know if you've made paper choices yet,but printing  on newsprint would be a big step towards retro.  Alterna comics does this, Peter Simmetti has an Alterna youtube channel where he talks about it quite  a bit, it's also far cheaper to print.  If you're interested,  look for a web press printer. 

[RobinKarlsson]

One way to 'go retro' is to use classic fonts.
You've made a good start with your cover.
The 'scroll balloons' tho, [Letter to the lighthouse; City Life] were used my Marvel in the 70's and 80's - this to me - yeah I'm ancient - is not retro.
Plenty of Golden Age fonts here on CB+ 
For a look at books that are much older, check out my post in the 'Reading Group tomorrow'

Cheers!   

Thanks for the feedback and links! I didn't know there were old fonts available here, will check them out! For this comic though I wasn't going for a particular style since it is supposed to be from the future, rather just taking inspiration from how comics used to look.

Cool concept!  I don't know if you've made paper choices yet,but printing  on newsprint would be a big step towards retro.  Alterna comics does this, Peter Simmetti has an Alterna youtube channel where he talks about it quite  a bit, it's also far cheaper to print.  If you're interested,  look for a web press printer. 

I was actually inspired by Alterna and did want to print it on newsprint. But since I only made a couple hundred copies that wasn't an option. I think 1500 copies were the limit most printers had. Instead I went with a 80g paper with a little bit of texture. Also printed a little bit of a color shift to the paper so it would look older and it turned out very nice!

[The Australian Panther]

I didn't know there were old fonts available here

What I meant was, there are fonts to see here  on the books, you could copy them.

[gregjh]

Somehow I only just found this. I like the comic and you certainly have captured a retro look! I would have backed the Kicksarter, I'm glad to see it succeeded.

[Robb_K]

Nice work, Robin, and very Scandinavian in style.  I wish you good luck with your series.  I like the characters you are building.

[RobinKarlsson]

What I meant was, there are fonts to see here  on the books, you could copy them.

Got it! Although I guess there's probably fonts on other sites that matches what is in these old comics.

Nice work, Robin, and very Scandinavian in style.  I wish you good luck with your series.  I like the characters you are building.

Thanks! Though I don't have any more wasteland anecdotes in my head right now I might do more in the future.

Somehow I only just found this. I like the comic and you certainly have captured a retro look! I would have backed the Kickstarter, I'm glad to see it succeeded.

Thank you! There's still a chance to get the comic in my shop if you're interested, Here's a link https://ko-fi.com/s/56d079afbf