“Then, his fingers grew, not his hands, his fingers.”
-The Storyteller
Stickhand Man
When I was a kid, I loved illustrating stories that I imagined. I dreamed of making my own book someday.
At a late night campfire, The Storyteller (they have asked to remain anonymous) told an interesting tale about a creepy monster that resided in the woods. They named him, “Stickhand Man”. Intrigued by the story, I later asked them more about the campfire story. I was told about how Stickhand Man was first discovered by four teenagers at midnight.
I could imagine the entire story as a comic book, following the characters on their scary adventure. I decided to surprise The Storyteller with their story as a comic book for their birthday. This surprise turned into my first self-published book.
The Writing
Since the original campfire story was short, I had trouble connecting major plot points to form a book. I requested the help of another writer, Thomas Brzozowski. Thomas is most well-known for his poetry with complex rhyme schemes and captivating topics. I knew he could write a compelling story. Together, we spent hours discussing different connections and additional plot points to create a cohesive storyline. He came up with a wonderful story that highlighted the original characters, but breathed new life into the tale. With his help, I was able to create the dialogue for the comic. After the writing was finished, I moved on to sketching.
The Drawing Process
After doing rough preliminary sketches for the comic, I realized the task was too large for one person. I requested the help of another artist, Kathryn Brzozowski. Kathryn, also known as “Griff” online, is a young, talented artist, who mainly draws cartoon characters. She designed the characters for the comic and drew the panel art, based on my rough sketch ideas. Then, I finalized the drawings by creating their outlines and adding color. Together, we drew each panel with no copy and pasting or repeat imagery. Because of this, it took a year to make.
Drawing Timelapse
One of our favorite panels was a scene featuring Carter and Kim about to kiss. Here, you can see Kathy drawing the panel art. Then, you see me finalize the drawing to create the final piece.
Bringing It to Life
When finished, I sent it out to print for The Storyteller’s birthday. What I didn’t expect was that other people would love it too. We decided to share our story with the world.
After researching about indie comic books, I learned Kickstarter was the best way to bring “Stickhand Man” to life. I spent weeks developing the branding, advertising, commercial, and other promotional materials.
On August 12, 2022, we launched our Kickstarter, not knowing what to expect.
Fully Funded!
We used the reward system on Kickstarter as a way for people to directly contribute to the production of our book and get a copy. We also created other rewards, such as a Secret Language Decoder and custom drawings of the backer. Our goal was to raise $900.
Over the course of 30 days, we worked tirelessly to spread the word about our comic. On September 11, 2022, our Kickstarter ended, and we were fully funded! We raised $960, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled. People believed in our book. Because of our backers, “Stickhand Man” became a real comic book.
Art & Wine Walk
When advertising the comic book, I met with Kelly Klein, the owner of Reads by the River bookstore. She enjoyed our book and asked us to be a part of the River’s Edge Art & Wine Walk. She also wanted to buy copies of our book to sell in her store. We enthusiastically said “yes”!
The Art & Wine Walk was a huge success! People loved watching Kathryn draw the characters live, while I talked about the comic book. We sold many copies and signed them in-person. We met tons of wonderful people, who loved hearing our story.
Our comic continues to be sold at the bookstore.
Follow Our Journey
“Stickhand Man” started out as a fun birthday present for The Storyteller. Now, it has turned into our passion project. Due to all the love and support we have recieved, we will be continuing the series! Follow us on Instagram to see how we continue to grow. Stay tuned for the next issue!