What It’s Really Like Creating an Indie Comic from Scratch

Early sketch from 2014

Starting with Nothing

When I started Project: Saviour, I didn’t have a plan. No team. No budget. Just a notebook, a pencil, and this vague but persistent idea about a world where one person has to carry the weight of it all.

You hear a lot about comics as polished products — full-colour covers, tight dialogue, perfect pacing. But creating something as an indie artist is rarely polished. It’s messy, slow, and full of trial and error.

But that’s also what makes it real.

The Early Days

Most of the early Project: Saviour pages were sketched on scraps of paper between working day jobs and late-night shifts at a bar. At the time, it started with a simple idea. To tell a story of good vs evil. I wanted to keep it grounded but mean something. I had to get him down on paper.

Over time, the sketches turned into rough scenes. The scenes turned into arcs. And somewhere along the line, the world started to build itself.

You don’t always realise what you’re building when you’re in it.

Balancing Art and Life

What no one tells you is that making a comic isn’t just drawing. It’s editing. Writing. Rewriting. Learning how to handle rejection or, worse, silence. It’s balancing commissions, day jobs, mental blocks, and your actual life while still finding time to sit and create something that feels meaningful.

There are weeks, months and even years when I question whether I should keep going. Then I look back at the work and remember why I started in the first place.

What Makes It Worth It

The truth is, I didn’t start this for sales, followers, or trends. I started this because the story wouldn’t leave me alone. Because there’s something powerful about taking an idea from your head and shaping it into something other people can experience.

Every time someone messages me to say they’ve read the comic or connected with a character, that’s the moment it becomes worth it.

It reminds me that even though indie creation is a solo path most days, it’s also one of the most honest forms of connection.

Where we are now

The Point of All This

If you’re reading this and thinking about making something of your own — a comic, a painting, a story — do it. Even if it’s slow. Even if you don’t know where it’s going. Start with the scraps. Let it be messy.

You’ll figure it out as you go.

I didn’t build Project: Saviour overnight. I’m still building it now. And somehow, that feels like the point.

Thanks for being part of it.

— Craig Johnson - Project Comic Universe

• Want to see how the story’s turned out so far?➝ [Read Project: Saviour]