My Comic Book ICM Folder Factory Works

If you’re using AI to build something bigger than one image or one afternoon’s work, don’t make the chat your production system.

I learned that building our 104-page graphic adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s *The Lost World*. And by “our,” I mean me and ChatGPT. I made the creative decisions; ChatGPT helped execute and keep the work organized.

The method was what I call **folder factories**. Each part of the job had its own saved inputs, working files, decisions, and checks. The next step could begin from those files without needing to reread a months-long conversation.

Three things made the difference:

1. **Design the world before making the book.** We established character and creature designs, costumes, props, vehicles, locations, and a consistent painterly look. Every new panel had specific visual rules to answer to.

2. **Prove the process before scaling it.** We tested one finished panel, then a complete page, then a difficult ten-page run. Only after that did we build the 100 story pages and 372 panels.

3. **Treat review as production, not cleanup.** A panel can look great alone and still fail beside the next page. We checked continuity, page turns, dialogue, lettering, and eventually the print-safe area. When something failed, we could return to the part of the process that owned it without starting the whole book over.

We learned why this mattered when trying to load hundreds of images crashed the chat. The work survived because the source art, approved decisions, and revisions lived in the folders.

That’s the lesson I’d pass on: **generation is not completion.** A creative project becomes manageable when you can find what was decided, see what changed, and hand the next person or tool a usable file.

The complete graphic novel is free to read on The Gutter:

https://the-gutter.racon-gunner.chatgpt.site/comics/the-lost-world/complete-graphic-novel/?page=1

Based on the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. Adapted by Racon Gunner.

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My Comic Book ICM Folder Factory Works