Comic artist Isaac Fisher continues to write his story

Isaac Fisher does not believe in straight lines. His career has unfolded in turns, detours and moments of discovery that only make sense in retrospect.

Similar to what you might read in a comic book.

A Pittsburgh native and a 2023 graduate of Heinz College, Isaac is the founder of Incubator Productions, a publishing service that provides tools, guidance and community for cartoonists and illustrators. And what began as a passion project has become a growing platform dedicated to helping independent artists bring their work to life.

Today, Isaac is navigating several major life changes at once. In 2023, he moved to Lima, Peru, and he became a first-time father in 2024. He and his wife, Lucero, who met while both were students at CMU, are settling into family life in the capital city. Lucero earned a degree in information systems management; Isaac completed the master’s of arts management program.

The couple’s journey mirrors Isaac’s own professional path — unconventional, global and shaped by curiosity rather than a rigid plan.

Isaac earned undergraduate degrees in anthropology and natural sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012. His entry into the world of comics came not through coursework, but through a volunteer internship at Pittsburgh’s ToonSeum, one of only three museums in the country dedicated to cartoon art at the time of its founding.

“At Pittsburgh’s ToonSeum, I found myself in a very important way,” Isaac says. “There was a dream — a seed planted — that told me somehow this is where I want to be.”

Instead of pursuing comics immediately after graduation, though, Isaac accepted a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in South Korea. The experience, he says, deepened both his interest in cartooning and his understanding of discipline and craft.

“Students there are very diligent,” Isaac says. “They choose one thing and stick with it. They dedicate a lot of attention and time to whatever skill they’re drawn to, and they get really good at it.”

After completing the fellowship, Isaac enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, where he studied sequential art — the formal term for comics — and began publishing his own work. As he connected with other artists, his focus expanded beyond his personal creative output.

“The question became, ‘What is this industry really like?’” Isaac says. “‘How can I connect with other artists?’”

That question led him back to Pittsburgh and to Heinz College, where he studied nonprofit management, organizational leadership and arts administration. The program, he says, taught him how to balance creativity with structure.

“Heinz College is where everybody gets a master’s degree in time management,” Isaac jokes. “You’re balancing classes, group projects and internships all at once. You really are there to be a sponge and to see how much you can soak up.”

The idea for Incubator Productions, however, dates back to a dream he had as a 25-year-old, shortly after concluding his Fulbright in South Korea. In the dream, an egg hatched into a small black dot.

That image stayed with him.

“I woke up thinking, ‘This is it,’” Isaac says. “I’m going to start an incubator for cartoonists that allows them to nurture and workshop their projects together.”

Nearly a decade later, the hatching egg became Incubator’s logo — and its guiding philosophy. The company helps artists develop publishing campaigns, promote finished works, host author events and seek sponsorships. Isaac describes the model as community-centered and rooted in professional development.

“The difference between an overlooked artist and one who’s not is often opportunity,” Isaac says. “We’re trying to help close that gap.”

Isaac is drawn to the role of facilitator, handling what he calls the “dirty work” of the creative world so artists can focus on storytelling.

“I’ve always valued the healing role that storytelling plays in our lives,” he says. “Nothing feels more rewarding than giving my time, energy and organizational skills to artists who have something important to say.”

He is currently serving as the editor of a publishing project of Incubator — a children’s book titled “Milo the Mime,” which centers on a non-speaking character navigating a noisy world. The story explores themes of inclusion and neurodiversity, and will officially launch on March 1 at the Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month Book Fair in Pittsburgh. 

“Milo’s message is that you don’t have to fit in to be someone who matters,” Isaac says. “We all communicate in different ways.”

For Isaac, whether he is building infrastructure for artists or shaping stories of his own, the goal remains the same: to create space for voices that might otherwise go unheard — and to prove that zigzags, when followed with intention, can lead somewhere meaningful.

“The conversations I really enjoy usually hint at answering a deeper question of some kind,” he says “There’s a bigger overall message that’s embedded in the projects that I take on.”