What belongs at the beginning of your book? Brad and Dave discuss whether an anti-AI statement offers creators any meaningful protection, break down the information that belongs on a copyright page, and explore the many ways cartoonists can approach the first page of a story or chapter. The best opening isn’t determined by a universal rule—it should establish the right expectations, reflect the story you’re telling, and give readers a reason to keep going.

Topics include:

• Skunk Watch 2026
• Do anti-AI statements offer creators legal protection?
• Why a standard copyright notice may already cover AI training
• The difference between creating, declaring, and registering a copyright
• What information belongs on a copyright page
• Copyright and trademark ownership
• When to use ™ and when to use ®
• Print location, printing numbers, and edition information
• ISBNs and Library of Congress numbers
• Combining copyright, title, credit, and dedication pages
• Should a comic begin with a splash page?
• Does the main character need to appear on page one?
• Using the opening page to establish tone and make a promise to the reader
• Why different stories require different kinds of openings
• Brad’s two-page system for beginning a new Evil Inc chapter
• Creating separate covers for SFW and NSFW editions
• Using chapter openers as archive markers, promotional art, and production buffers
• Dave’s approach to prologues, chapter openings, and world-building vignettes
• The difference between the first page and the first chapter
• ComicLab LIVE at the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards

I’ve been seeing this happen a lot recently, so I wanna talk about it. A creative person finds themself at a crossroads, and they need to make a decision. And in a moment of weakness, they do something that dooms them. Now, I’m going to focus on business decisions in this talk, but this can often apply to creative decisions as well.

Maybe it’s a new Patreon tier they’re considering. Maybe it’s a publishing decision. Maybe it’s a Kickstarter reward. And they go to their readers and ask: “Would you support a Patreon tier that featured XYZ reward?”

And — nearly 100% of the time — they end up getting the worst advice imaginable. 

That’s because readers are experts in consumption, not creation.