Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Fisher.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Our story begins in 2015. I was working as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Daegu Joongang High School in South Korea. I always had a penchant for cartooning but had never received any sort of formal art training. That year, I was given a prompt to write a two-page comic as part of the application for the Center for Cartooning Studies. Over that year, two pages became a twelve page comic about a grandfather’s tale to his grandson of a popular Korean dessert, Pat Bing Soo.
I returned to Pittsburgh in 2016 and dedicated the year to self-study of comics and cartooning. I self-published the original 12-page story I had made in Korea as an activity-filled comic book, Mr. Lee’s Fruity Bing. I also partnered with a friend from Taylor Allderdice High School, Alex K.A., to edit and publish an updated version of his first literary novel, Hell With the Lid Off. With this partnership, we founded Incubator Comics as the publishing home for our original content.
That year, we published three novellas, two zines, and two more comics but struggled to gain traction. I personally found that the opportunities to grow in Pittsburgh were limited. In 2017, I moved to Atlanta and enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design to formally train as a graphic designer and cartoonist in their Sequential Art major.
After moving to Atlanta, Incubator Comics evolved into a community platform, where artists develop their original content, receive constructive feedback from an editor, and market their publications at regional comic conventions. In 2019, we are proud to announce the debut of two new works; New Ape Idea, a 232-page cyberpunk literary satire by New York-based comedian Dan Sohval, and Doctor Carrots, a 36-page fully colored comedy by Atlanta cartoonist Spencer Thompson. This year, we will be tabling at HeroesCon in Charlotte NC in June, and once again at Atlanta Comic-con in July.
With each season, Incubator Comics continues to grow towards its goal of becoming a community hub where storytellers and artists alike can find opportunities for growth. We always welcome creators to submit to us their content for development, and our team also provides creative design, storytelling and illustration solutions for hire. To view a glimpse of our publications and learn more about Incubator Comics visit incubatorcomics.com.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has not been smooth, and we still grow gradually day-by-day, publication-by-publication, job-by-job.
The company and its mission were born out of a noticeable gap between enthusiastic and hard-working creatives who do not yet have the skills or connections to work with opportunity creators.
I experienced this gap in 2016, struggling to establish myself as a cartoonist in Pittsburgh. There was not a market-demand for entry-level visual storytellers who were also in need of mentoring.
To hone my skillset, I returned to school, moved to Atlanta, and continue to work towards completing my BFA at SCAD. The curriculum at SCAD is fantastic for skill development and networking. But there’s a catch. Art school is expensive, and consequently the education is not accessible to everyone. Incubator Comics is working to recycle an apprenticeship style of education, where education and work develop simultaneously in an accessible environment.
We are starting to achieve this mission by developing our original content and hosting events where creators can contribute to existing projects that need helping hands for execution. As a volunteer, you can learn a new technique from more experienced artists, get credit and perks, while expediting their project.
Our quality of talent and originality of storytelling is reflected by our publications. We have room to grow, but we tell some damn-good original stories. I’m very optimistic about what the future holds.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
We provide editing, design, and publishing solutions for the artist’s pilot works. Generally, an artist or a writer has developed an original cartoon strip, pilot comic, or manuscript. Their work comes in raw but shows promising potential to engage audiences. From there, we work with the artist to refine their vision, identify their target market and develop a pilot printed product, which we then publish under our label and market at regional comic conventions. (This is what we are most known for).
We invite our contributing artists and creators to table with us at comic conventions. These are opportunities for them to connect with industry professionals, receive portfolio feedback, and find professional development opportunities.
We are also known for our inclusive community-oriented culture. We like to do live events at Incubator Comics. Publishing an original work takes significant effort from the creative team, so we make sure to celebrate with food, live performances, and merrymaking at our launch parties. I think our celebratory, face-to-face, community-oriented culture sets us apart from many publishers, and our penchant for community engagement is a major reason that creators want to work with us.
What am I most proud of? We publish damn-good stories that entertain, educate, and spark a meaningful discussion. I can’t be more proud of anything else.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Yes. Atlanta is a fantastic city to develop Incubator’s model. We have creatives and tons of opportunities to do professional creative work.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
We are working towards adding two more important arms to our activities as our business grows:
- We are beginning to take on freelance contracts from clients.
- Many of our artists are also educators. My background is education and in Pittsburgh, I delivered How-To-Make-Comics workshops for elementary, middle, and high school students. We are seeking to connect with Atlanta community partners to pilot this workshop program in Atlanta.
- To accommodate the growth of our catalog and creative team, we have begun development of a new interactive website and brand-redesign scheduled for 2020. Stay tooned!
Contact Info:
- Website: incubatorcomics.com
- Phone: 412-445-1857
- Email: incubatorcomics@gmail.com
- Instagram: incubatorcomics
- Facebook: incubatorcomics
- Other: For Personal freelance portfolio visit isaacfisherart.com
Image Credit:
Doctor Carrots Cover: Spencer Thompson, New Ape Idea Cover: Isaac Fisher, Animal Funnies Sneak Peek Cover: Isaac Fisher
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