I'll go with Answer C., and say I have no opinion either way. :)

Reviews of story arcs or mini-series do make a lot more sense. But for a small Inidie book like ours we need all the press and word-of-mouth marketing that we can get. So the more frequent issue-by-issue reviews are better.

I don't normally RT Formspring questions, but this is one I get a lot.

"Is there any chance to get Robo an ongoing magazine, not 4 or 5 issues Volumes?"

Not a chance. For starters, I can't draw that fast. Or I could, but the art will stink.

Second, the monthly format is a disaster for quality storytelling as eventually you will be forced to make a filler issue -a comic with no purpose beyond setting up the next "big thing" that's going to happen. There are long stretches in every single on-going title where nothing much happens, as the groundwork is laid for some Machiavellian plot, or while a publisher gets all their ducks in a row for some massive cross-title "Event".

To me, that's a giant waste of pages.

Also, the way we hop around in Robo's life would never work if we were a monthly comic.The mini-series format allows us to tell stories from any point in his life without worrying about how it flows between issues from different story arcs. We can have a nice beginning, middle, and end. It is our hope that you can read a volume of Robo, and if you never read another volume again, you will feel like you got a complete story and/or your money's worth.

Finally, the mini-series format, and the way we use it, allows new readers to start reading Robo from any point. Starting on Vol.5 is just as easy as starting from Vol.1

So no. You will never see a monthly Atomic Robo book.

Best EVAR.

Because I couldn't think of anything else.

There's no one thing that is hardest to draw. It all depends on the on the context of the image, the angle, etc.

I guess the hardest thing I have to draw regularly is Dr. Dinosaur. He's got a lot of weird-shaped parts to keep in proportion to one another.

I'm gonna go with unicorns on this one.

Probably getting cancer again. It keeps me up at nights.

I don't understand the question. he's been . . .at home?

The reason few people ask me about KoD is probably because it was only three issues long, and it didn't really go anywhere. =)

It was a fun book to work on and critical in my transition to working as a full-time artist. At this point Atomic Robo is chugging along at such a pace that as much as I'd like to do KoD2 I don't think I will ever be able to.

=)

You'd have to actually pay me to read a Twilight bog.

I've got a good understanding of the concepts involved in modern science, but Brian definitely goes a step beyond me in that he also gets the math -or some of it anyway. That's the part of it which I've always struggled with.

Plus I doggedly refuse to accept certain widely accepted scientific beliefs for entirely emotional reasons.

Just because a character is meant to be sexy shouldn't mean an artist has free reign to get as many butt shots in as possible, or that the should frame every panel from the perspective of the character's crotch.

Look at any number of well known comic book artists who have been busted time and again for referencing (tracing) porn when drawing female superheroes. It's fucking pathetic.

Or crap like this: http://shehulk.sliverofice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/msmarvelthong.png

Yet, at the same time, if a character's sexuality is central to their role in the story -Jessica Rabbit springs to mind- of course you want to highlight it.

You do that through tone, character actions, and dialog. Boobies may be all it takes for your average 12yr old, or 40yr old Fanboy, and I'm as mesmerized by a nice ass as the next monkey in this big crazy tree. But that's an instant, and fleeting sort of arousal.

Good writing, a suggestive look, body language -these things can create a character that is electrifying every time they enter a scene. And they don't need to be some silicone enhanced bimbo. The most average looking actor, if she's a good actor, can convince you that she's the hottest things since Aphrodite.

I don't know if I'm doing a good job of explaining how I see the difference between being exploitive and successfully portraying a sexy character.

But I hope that sort of answers your question.

Horrible.

Which is not to say acknowledging your fans is horrible. That's a good thing.

But to me, "fan service" is putting things in your -insert creative endeavor here- not because its worth putting in, or because it makes your thing better, but simply to make an easy buck.

But hey, Hollywood, television, comics, and the music industry do this all the time and they are all doing much better than me, financially speaking. So clearly, i'm the idiot in this scenario.

I think you are really going out of your way to split hairs here. What difference does it matter what you call the thing? Do you work for the semantics patrol? Haha! Gift, donation, subscription -who cares? It's called "earning a living."

I don't have an opinion on when or how a "donation" is given, or if it's appropriate to give a little over time or a lot in one big lump.

I think what's weird about this whole concept is that its backwards from the way things worked before there was an Internet.

Lets stick entirely with comics. I make a comic book. you make a webcomic. We both invest a huge amount of time in them. Lets even say we make the same exact comic, except yours is digital and mine is printed on paper.

The only difference in these comics is that I am going to say, "give me $3 and you can have my comic," and you are saying, "here is my free comic. If you like it please give me money."

So I demand money up front, and the web artists asks for it after you've read the comic. But in both cases you are talking about somebody pouring a lot of time and resources into a thing and then trying to sell it.

You mention it being "presumptuous to believe one has earned a gift". Well what "gift" are you referring to? A gift is something given without assumptions and received unexpectedly. That webcomic didn't just magically appear. You worked hard on it. You're not taking charity. You're earning income, and if your amazingly lucky, it might even become your sole source of income.

The Internet is full of people who think they deserve whatever you've got on offer for free, simply because you've put it on the Internet.

Well fuck that noise.

Every successful webcomic has the equivalent of a donation jar. Everything from the literal "donate" button to Penny Arcade's elaborate web-based nerd empire. They are all saying the same thing:

"I have busted my ass to create this thing. If you like this thing and would like more of it, please think about making a donation."

Internet artists are like subway performers. They toss out a hat and play their asses off. Some have CDs to sell, some don't. In NYC some actually get sponsored by the city to bring culture and music to the great slack-jawed masses -lets call this the advertising revenue that some webcomics generate.

At the end of the day it's all the same thing. The artist or the performer is going to put on the best show they can. If they are good, people will give them money so that they go on making more comics or songs or whatever.

if they suck, or no one's interested in what they've got to offer . . . well, you can imagine how long-lived that webcomic will be. A good webcomic is like public radio/television -it creates a fan base that is large enough and passionate enough to sustain it.

I don't see any sense of "entitlement" coming into play here. You're asking for donations because you are working hard. If you're good, you'll get some.

Ice Pirates: the kung-fu robots, the space herpes, and any scene that had Mongo from NERDS in it.

No, I don't think so.

Comics are one of those things that it is almost impossible to make money on. If you make comics because you want a financial pay off you are going to be very disappointed at the end of the day. And so above all else it has to come from the heart.

However, we who make comics are also trying to survive. I sell my comics on stores, on the Internet, and now on things like smartphones and the iPad. I ask for money for what I do.

Asking for people to donate to your webcomic is no different.

As soon as I figure out how to be awesome and cool I will publish my very own "How To" manifesto.

Because I live to entertain.

Robo's pet goldfish, Charles DeGaulle. But we don't really see much of him.