We were lucky to catch up with Barbra Dillon recently and have shared our conversation below.

Barbra, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

Our fundamental drive at Fanbase Press has always been to celebrate fandom(s) and highlight the importance of storytelling. Serving as both an award-winning comic book publisher and media organization for the past 13 years, we’ve worked to build a community for fans and creators. We celebrate and give voice to the themes, ideals, and people who make our favorite art so exceptional.

But, in these past several years, as we’ve witnessed the monetization of fandom by large corporations, it’s become more important than ever that we not only highlight the value of storytelling, but that we think and talk about how to protect the art we love and the artists who create it. It’s time that we, as a community built through fandom, begin to use the ideals and themes and heroes we look to as a starting point for working together to become our own heroes.

Through our publishing and journalistic efforts, we encourage our readers, viewers, and listeners to dig deeper. For example: *Why* are these stories so important to us? What do they say about the world around us? And, especially in the midst of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, who are the creators that brought these stories to life, and how can we demonstrate our solidarity to ensure that they’re fairly compensated for their work?

Fanbase Press wants to weather this storm that the “corporate/industry standard” has created. We look to do it together with other small publishers, media companies, artists, and fans. Because we love this medium with all our hearts. And when a creator or fan comes in contact with Fanbase Press – in working with us or purchasing our products, I think that they get that.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and I have lived in Los Angeles, CA, for nearly 20 years. During my early days in Los Angeles, I worked in the TV and film industry with talent managers and producers for Hollywood’s leading comedic talent. It was this experience that truly gave way to Fanbase Press, as I found that there were so many individuals who were not afforded the opportunity to share their creativity with the world.

My partner Bryant and I co-founded Fanbase Press as a way for creators to share their stories and for those stories to reach new audiences. As creators, we recognize the incredible creative process that is needed to bring a story to life, and we empathize with the barriers that exist in trying to publish, market, and distribute those stories – both through the traditional publishing industry and as independent creators.

Fanbase Press produces new and distinctive works, as well as daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture spectrum. Over the past 13 years, the Fanbase Press brand has become synonymous with 1) high-quality books featuring heartfelt stories by marginalized creators, and 2) spotlighting the works of other creators across mediums, building a foundation for all of us to succeed together.

We are a two-person operation, focusing on one publishing project at a time, given that we work with the creator for the entire lifespan of the project: from development and production, to pre-press, marketing, distribution, convention and signing appearances, and award submissions. Ultimately, our promotion of the book does not stop after its release; we are here for the entirety of the project.

Our catalog of comics and graphic novels include the 2023 Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated RIPPLE EFFECTS, 2018 Eisner Award-nominated QUINCE, the 2020 IPPY Award-winning QUINCE: THE DEFINITIVE BILINGUAL EDITION hardcover, the 2022 International Latino Book Award-winning NUCLEAR POWER, the recently released LGBTQIA+ coming-of-age graphic novel, FOUR-COLOR HEROES, and many more.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Many years ago, I read the best piece of advice regarding how to approach social media and growing your audience. It’s helpful to think of social media engagement like a cocktail party: If you’re the loudest person in the room who only ever talks about themselves, people will likely not want to interact with you. If, however, you’re at the party and you genuinely initiate a conversation with someone about who they are and their interests, you’re more likely to build a lasting connection with that person. Once that connection has been built, they will likely engage you about your interests, as well. Above all else, remember to be kind and genuine.

The same applies to social media. You have to put in the effort to engage with like-minded people, companies, and organizations in order to organically build your audience. If you’re only ever promoting your own work, it’s like talking in an echo chamber; you’re the only one who is going to hear it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Fanbase Press has always been a unique business model, given its foundation as both a publishing company and a journalistic outlet, but that dual nature has also enabled us to grow our presence in the comics community over time. We have worked hard to build a catalog of award-winning titles that appeal to various age groups and genres. Concurrently, though, our work in promoting artistic projects outside of our own has introduced us to other creators, publishers, librarians, educators, and future collaborators which we may not have acquired through publishing alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fanbasepress.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fanbasepress/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanbasePress1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fanbase-press/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fanbase_Press
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoZay6wk0kCXa7Nb4jsRGLQ
• Other: Online Store: https://fanbasepress.ecrater.com/c/135068756/comic-books

Image Credits
Michele Brittany, Bryant Dillon, Ryan Claytor, Pamela Mullin Horvath