Finishing "The Hike" Behind the scenes of a new short story

I’ve finished another short story—and a post about the process!

Making a 1-page zine An unexpectedly valuable (and vulnerable) experience

My latest Substack post is out! It’s about making a 1-page zine—a project that wound up being more personal than expected.

2025 review (part 1) On making stories

Here’s my first Substack post of the New Year - looking back at 2025 and my goals for this year! open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...

A photo from my presentation. The audience, moderator, and even her dog are extending a warm welcome!

Photo of the zines I gave out at my talk.

I was honored to give a talk at Yale about how creating comics improved my life (and vice versa)!

I made a zine from my talking points so the audience could literally take something away with them. It was a great evening with an enthusiastic and engaged audience!

Thanks @dczinefest.bsky.social for a creating a great space to share our comics! We had an awesome time, saw a lot of familiar faces, and made lots of new friends. We sold out of the @kidscomicsunite.bsky.social anthology that we’ve just been published in. What a great time with a great community!

Photo of my zines, postcard prints, and the comics anthology I’ve been published in.

Banner announcing this year’s DC Zinefest on November 1 at the MLK Library in Washington DC from 11 am to 4 pm.

Map of the DC Zinefest showing where my table (#8) is located.

Merch for DC Zinefest is coming together! Come by lucky table 8 this Saturday, November 1! @dczinefest.bsky.social

The @kidscomicsunite.bsky.social anthology has arrived! A huge thank you to everyone to everyone who made it possible - especially our Kickstarter backers! If you’d like a digital copy, you can pre-order from Amazon below! a.co/d/fsS2lQK

Photo of my latest comic zine.

Poster promoting DC Zinefest on November 1, 2025.

I’ve made a zine from my Kids Comics Unite anthology story! Find out how on my Substack - and grab a copy at DC Zinefest on November 1!

A comic illustration of a young sci-fi monk playing with butterfly-like energy creatures.

I’m working on a zine version of The Quha Gardens, my short story that will be published in Kids Comics Unite’s anthology this fall. Here’s the zine cover!

#KidsComicsLetsGo ... READ what @dhoover.art shared about their anthology experience!

Did you know that on our #Kickstarter you can choose to have Deven Hoover turn one of your kiddos drawings into a professional illustration?! There's time to upgrade and 4 spots left!

kck.st/4jEJkdv

#illustrator

Talking KCU Anthology this afternoon w/ guest Bert Tzeng! - wagworksga on Twitch wagworksga went live on Twitch. Catch up on their Just Chatting VOD now.

Here’s another cool promotion for the Kids Comics Studio anthology that I participated in: a Twitch livestream with fellow creator Geoff Wagner. We talked about so many cool things - Geoff is as awesome an interviewer as he is an artist!

Anthology story timeline How long does it take to make a short story?

The Kids Comics Studio anthology is live on Kickstarter! As part of our marketing campaign - and for today only - I’ve been handed the keys to the anthology’s social media account to share my experience. Here’s what I posted! open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...

It looks like we made our second stretch goal within minutes of posting this!
Onward to Print upgrades for this beautiful cover!

bit.ly/KCS-Antholog... #KidsComicsLetsGo
#kickstarter #stretchgoals

Let's Go! A Kids Comics Anthology for readers of all ages! Join 31 international creators working together to make this adventurous comic anthology for young readers of all ages!

Thanks to everyone who’s backing our Kids Comics Unite anthology - we hit our funding goal on the first day! Check out the campaign page where you can see a sneak preview of my story! www.kickstarter.com/projects/kid...

Character swap with graphic novelist Bert Tzeng Bert Tzeng calls himself a Part-time creator, full-time cat dad. His in-the works graphic novel is titled Solaa’s Order. As a side effect of the two of us having work in LET’s GO! A Kids Comics Studio Anthology and the themes evident in his work, I suggested we try a character swap. We would each take a turn depicting the other’s character.

Character swap with graphic novelist Bert Tzeng

Bert Tzeng calls himself a Part-time creator, full-time cat dad. His in-the works graphic novel is titled Solaa’s Order. As a side effect of the two of us having work in LET’s GO! A Kids Comics Studio Anthology and the themes evident in his work, I…

Coming soon: Let's Go! A Kids Comics Anthology for readers of all ages! Join 31 international creators working together to make this adventurous comic anthology for young readers of all ages!

Kickstarting TODAY! Support kids' comics creators (including me!) - and join our live launch event at 4 pm EST: www.youtube.com/live/_fllsKo...

A sketch by Patrick Lugo of my main character, Solaa, performing kung-fu exercises.

Here’s a cool portrait of my main character, Solaa, by Patrick Lugo (A Tiger’s Tale) - and check out some of my anthology story pages at his Kickstarter! www.kickstarter.com/projects/plu...

Check out this write-up by anthologist @berttzeng.bsky.social that explores his editing process for his submission.

Anthology character swap Or, how to draw a cartoon tiger

Tiger Brothers Puah, Kan & Chen — drawn from the pages of A TIGER’s TALE through the pen of @berttzeng.bsky.social substack.com/@berttzeng/n... #aTigersTale #tigertuesday #fanart #OC

Coming soon: Let's Go! A Kids Comics Anthology for readers of all ages! Join 31 international creators working together to make this adventurous comic anthology for young readers of all ages!

My short story for Kids Comics Unite’s anthology is complete and the Kickstarter campaign is starting soon! Please follow the campaign - it really helps our pre-launch numbers- and support up-and-coming kids’ comic storytellers! www.kickstarter.com/projects/kid...

Anthology revisions, part 1 My story's first contact with the outside world.

Here’s part 1 of the revision process for the short story I submitted to the Kids Comics Unite anthology!

Making a 4-panel comic A fun exercise and a great learning experience!

Here’s my latest Substack post - on making a 4-panel comic and how it was more fun (and challenging) than I expected!

2024 in review Well, that was a year.

My creative 2024 in review (and last post for the year) is up on Substack. Happy New Year everyone!

On competence And the characters who embody it

My latest Substack post is up!

Doing the uncomfortable thing ...until it becomes comfortable.

My latest Substack post - on getting comfortable being uncomfortable! open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...

Anthology submission, part 3 From pencils to inking to color

Part 3 of my short comic story process, on Substack! open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...

Anthology submission, part 2 From thumbnails to colors

Part 2 of my short comic story process, now on Substack! open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...

Anthology submission, part 1 From concept to outline.

Here’s my first Substack post! Part 1 of my process of creating a short comic story: open.substack.com/pub/btzeng/p...