Dave Baker.

What does it actually take to build a life in comics? Dave Baker joins Howard to talk about finding his voice, publishing his own stories, and balancing the work he loves with the work that pays the bills.

Dave traces his start to a librarian who introduced him to Tintin, the comics he began self-publishing in high school, and his decision to pursue illustration. He gets candid about the business behind the art: understanding publishing deals, protecting ownership of your characters, meeting deadlines, and knowing what you’re signing before you say yes.

They dig into the making of Mary Tyler MooreHawk, a project that grew from an eight-page experiment into a hybrid of comics, prose, and photography. Dave explains how his drawing process shaped the story, why he writes to a collaborator’s strengths, and how Halloween Boy became a chance to revisit pulp adventure on his own terms.

The conversation moves through finding readers online, selling directly through TikTok, and keeping social media feedback from taking over your creative judgment. Dave also shares how years of showing up led to licensed work, the Seven of Nine story he pitched for Star Trek, and the long string of rejections that preceded a publishing deal for Mary Tyler MooreHawk.

To close, Dave and Howard get into creative compromise, the pull of outside validation, and the practical reality of earning a living across different kinds of work. Dave’s advice for emerging artists: make original stories, build genuine relationships, take rejection well, and keep betting on the work you want to own.