Project Interview: Alex Vigil, Buffet of Lies
Hi, tumblr! This is our first interview post here. We like to interview creators about the things they make and how they use Project Wonderful to advertise it. This week we talk to Alex from Buffet of Lies!
Hi, Alex! Can you tell me about Buffet of Lies? Is it all cross country canoe races between Ted Danson and Kelsey Grammar?
I started Buffet of Lies about a year and a half ago, partly as a way to get out of a creative rut I’d been in. The first comics I made were gag comics, with no real focus, just some stuff I made for fun. But as I kept doing them, occasional characters that had been created for a one-time appearances seemed to have a greater depth to them. I started putting them in followup comics, and then into bigger stories. Lately, I’ve been wanting to turn the setting of the comic into a fully realized universe, which was/is one of my intention with the canoe race story. I chose to name the town they live in after american treasure Ted Danson, mostly because I think he’s got a big funny face. And I mean, I like Cheers. Who doesn’t like Cheers?
Cheers is indeed a great treasure of our generation. How have you advertised your comic until now? As you move into a more defined universe do you think your advertising strategy will change?
So far I’ve just been going down the relatively unintuitive route of buying space on comics I like, when I have the money to do it. I mean, these are all things that have informed my sense of humor, so it makes sense that people who like ‘em might like Buffet of Lies!
And I don’t think my ad strategy, or really even the ads themselves, are going to change too much. I’ve always made it a point to be at least a little enigmatic with my ads. Oftentimes I’ll see a lot of ads that try to spell out the premise of their comic, like, “A comic about a lawyer and a gamer living, learning, loving and trying to MAKE it in this crazy world. Oh,and did I mention there’s a TALKING GUINEA PIG?” and I’m like, man, I stopped reading that halfway through! So usually I’ll just put what I think to be a good-looking or enticing image up there with very minimal text, usually just the title. There’s a joke quote from my friend on one of them, but that doesn’t really let on to the nature of the comic itself. It’s more fun when you discover what something’s all about for yourself anyway, I think.
It sounds like you’re all about discovery! Is there anything else about your current work or using Project Wonderful you’d like to talk about?
All I think I have left to say is that if you’re using project wonderful to advertise comics, make at least one Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff-style ad to put under Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. They are super fun to make and a pretty big percentage of people click on them! Also make sure your comics are good and you are having a lot of fun making them! I like reading comics like that and so do others, probably!!!
Thanks, Alex! If you’re interested in his comic, go to Buffet of Lies!
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