by Kazu Kibuishi

Copper is a webcomic I started shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11th, 2001. I drew a picture of a scared, quiet, but calm kid, and I decided to write a story about him and his fearful dog, Fred. Scroll down to the bottom to read the very first Copper comic, “Rocket Pack Fantasy”.

The original Copper comics were published in YOLK, an Asian-American culture magazine that was printed in black and white. This was an unpaid assignment, but it provided me with room to experiment while retaining ownership of rights to my material. The magazine was printed in black and white for budgetary reasons, but I decided to color the comics anyway. I decided to take this opportunity to learn about coloring, something I rarely did at the time. I also wanted to learn more about creating webcomics, so I posted these final color versions on my website boltcity.com, which was originally designed to look like a printed newspaper.

Eventually, YOLK ceased publication, but Copper developed a strong following online, so I continued to post the comic every month for several years. During this time, I worked at full-time jobs in graphic design, architecture, and animation, and drew Copper comics at night and on weekends. The comic garnered critical acclaim and attention, leading to interest from comic syndicates and major publishers. A collected edition of Copper comics is available from Scholastic Graphix.

After taking a long hiatus to focus on Amulet and other projects, I began posting new comics in 2017. All of the webcomics are posted here in reverse chronological order.