| Selling Your Art by Douglas Ready |
It has been said that there are only two uniquely American art forms: Jazz and Comic Books.
Originally produced for the entertainment of school-aged children, the perception of Comic Books as a
medium directed at kids has all but vanished. Superheroes still dominate the American market, but
thankfully a plethora of material devoted to more varied and cogent subject matter can be found in most
any bookstore.
One estimate puts the number of comic books published every month in the United States at around
400 titles. Many of those books are what are referred to as Independent or Alternative books, which
means that the book is published by other than the dozen or so major comic book publishers. Often, the
creators of the book underwrite the cost of printing, promotion and distribution.
Graphic Novels are a more recent entry. Simplified, a graphic novel is a thick comic book. Comic books
are traditionally 32 pages in length and are published on a regular publishing schedule, usually monthly
or bi-monthly. A graphic novel is usually a minimum of 64 pages, may be printed on better quality slick
paper--like a magazine--and may exist without a continuing publishing schedule, in fact may exist as
what is referred to as a "one-shot", which means that the one book is what there is. There might be a
follow-up, depending on how well the first volume sold, and there might not. Because of this, it's
important that the story in a graphic novel is fully contained, that is begun and ended, within that issue.
The majority of comic books are sold through comic shops. At this writing, there is only one major
distributor providing product to these retailers, Diamond Distributors, and if selling a self-published
alternative comic is your goal you'll need to follow Diamond's requirements very closely to convince them
to carry your comic.
The comic book artist must be able to literally render everything, real or imagined. Whether producing
material for so-called "long-john" characters or rendering humor material, comic book artists are among
the most talented purveyors of the illustrators' art.
The major comic book companies farm work out in sections: one artist does the penciling, one does the
inking, and another does the lettering. Coloring is done mostly with a computer these days.
The smaller companies generally seek a ready-made product, art and story and all the peripherals
complete and ready for printing. They don't much care if the artist and the writer are the same person
or not as long as they're presented with a viable story.
Storytelling is the hallmark of the comic book artist. Drawing ability is essential, but pictorial storytelling
is what brings in the assignments, or in the case of an alternative work, what moves it off the shelves.
The competition is overwhelming, but securing a recurring monthly assignment from a major publisher--
DC or Marvel--to produce work for a popular book can catapult the artist into the upper strata of the
income bracket for practicing illustrators. A popular alternative title can also be a vehicle for prosperity,
but most of the money will generate from selling subsidiary rights--animation, action figures, and
etcetera--than from sales of the comic book itself.
Like many creative fields, breaking into the comic book business as an artist can be an exciting, but
challenging process. It takes proper training, making the right contacts, learning to sell your talents,
building a strong portfolio and at times, lots of patience.
Comic book conventions offer the best forum for meeting working professionals and publishers in the
same location. Some publishers no longer review submissions through the mail, instead preferring to
review portfolios at the conventions.
Everything considered, the comic book business may not the healthiest market to pursue. A number of
companies have folded, scores of comics titles have been cancelled and a many of those that remain are
on shaky ground. Given the difficulty of breaking into comics and the relatively small security and
rewards, investing your time, energy and talent in trying to break into a more robust field may be a
more logical career move.
That said, the companies do go through the motions of looking at samples and they sometimes take on a
newcomer. This is not because they're looking for folks who can do the kind of work they've been
publishing but because they're searching for that next superstar who will develop a following that sells
comics.
If the preceding does not discourage you: If you are to have any chance of procuring employment, you
need to strike that difficult balance between producing the kind of work that publishers know and
appreciate and bringing something wholly new to comics. Too much of either extreme will not do it. Your
work may well be interchangeable visually with a Jim Lee or a Todd McFarlane, but those guys have
already presented themselves as available and built a fan following and comics publishers generally
aren't searching for a clone--they're searching for the next unique style that will grab a comic buyers
attention and keep it long enough to convince him to part with the purchase price of the product.
Howard Chaykin, comics writer and artist extraordinaire, once said that his job isn't to make comics--his
job is to sell comics. If you're intent on pursuing work with major comics publishers you'd do well to keep
that thought in mind.
There are basically three ways comics artists get hired. One is to go to work for the company in some
other capacity — as interns or assistants, for instance — and then make a lateral move into producing the
art that goes into the books. There are very few of these openings and they rarely pay well enough to
support you in any reasonable manner.
Another method is to submit completed pages. This rarely pays off.
Arguably, the most successful method of breaking into the business is to do something for one of the
smaller publishers. They don't pay well, if at all, but getting something into print will at least elevate you
to a recognition professional status and hopefully give you a bit more of a real opportunity to be
considered by the majors. If you can't get the smaller companies to publish your work, the truth is that
you're probably not good enough to get the big guys to buy it, either. If you can produce something
outstanding, and get it into print by a smaller company, you'll have a better chance of being noticed.
Comic books are a visual storytelling medium--think of it as a storyboard for a movie--and editors have
little need for pinup artists. If you're pursuing--or considering pursuing--a career as a mainstream
comic book artist, you've undoubtedly uncovered the following skill requirements, but just for the heck of
it let's list them anyway:
1. Have a knack for sequential storytelling.
2. Be able to convey a full-range of facial emotion.
3. Master anatomy and perspective.
4. Learn to draw convincing and realistic cityscapes.
5. Resist cloning your favorite artist's style. Editors are looking for fresh and innovative talent, not a
reproduction of something they've seen before. Be yourself.
Comic book art production involves several distinct steps - penciling, inking, and coloring. Generally
speaking, comic book artists are specialists. Each page of artwork begins with a penciller, who lays down
the preliminary pencil lines to be traced over with ink by the inker. Only after the pencils are inked will
color be applied by the colorist. You'll do well to take inventory of your skills and identify your strengths.
Your portfolio--or your submission package--should contain six (6) pages of sequential storytelling art.
This showcases not only your artistic ability, but your ability to successfully tell a story with pictures.
And, do yourself a favor: DO NOT simply render a six-page fight sequence.
Include several pinups. This may sound contrary to what I said earlier, but pinups are useful for
providing quick glimpses of your talent. In addition to your sequential art pages, throw in an assortment
of pin-ups and splash pages to show off some of your artistic strengths.
A ten-page total submission package is more than enough. Editors won't glance through more than that
if your work doesn't grab them. If it does grab them, they'll ask for more.
Make sure your samples are arranged in an order that makes sense. Not only will your future editor be
grateful, but he'll be impressed by your professionalism, an impression he'll transfer onto you.
If you're only interested in doing pencils, submit only pencils. If you decide to do inks, show samples of
your inked work next to copies of the penciled originals so editors can compare the two. If you're
submitting color samples, submit the black and white art you colored.
Don't send original art. Arrange good quality copies into a flat binder or portfolio case--most office
supply stores will sell you a ten-sleeve sales binder that works like a charm for less than $10--and send
it on it's way.
Show them that you're a master of the little things, like anatomy, perspective, and background details.
Stay away from swiping your favorite artist's style. Drawing like a Todd McFarlane clone may impress
your friends and family, but editors are looking for fresh and innovative talent, not a rehash of something
they've seen before. Follow the standard Be yourself.
One other quick pointer: you'll probably make a better impression--and give the Editor a better idea of
what you can do with one of his characters--if you actually use one of that company's characters in your
submission package. Sending six page of a Superman story (assuming it hasn't been published by DC) to
Marvel might well indicate that working for Marvel is your second choice, not your first.
There are other avenues for selling comic book art. Some of the humor markets--MAD Magazine,
CRACKED Magazine, even PLAYBOY--will purchase original comic work. The old NATIONAL
LAMPOON published some of the most wonderful comic material ever to see print, but they haven't
been around for years--however, you can sometimes pick up a copy of NATIONAL LAMPOON COMICS
on EBay for $7-8 and it's well worth the price.
The humor market continues to shrink at a more alarming rate than the long-john market, but
publishers like ARCHIE COMICS will consider completed pieces by a solo contributor.
Another viable market is the Alternative Press. These books are generally creator generated and
presented to a potential publisher in a finished and ready-to-publish format. These books are highly
individual, speak with the creator's unique voice and range from autobiographical to bizarre humor to
slice-or-life. They are designed to exist as a stand-alone project, not a jumping point to producing work
one of the major superhero publishers. Books such as LOVE AND ROCKETS , Peter Bagge's HATE, Dan
Clowne's EIGHT-BALL (published by Fantagraphics Books) and STRANGERS IN PARADISE (a
successfully self-published venture) fall into this category. Some independents do well, especially when
able to license their projects into other formats, such as movies and television--witness THE TICK,
GHOST WORLD and AMERICAN SPLENDOR.
If you're going to approach an Alternative publisher, he'll generally want to see the completed first issue.
If you're going to publish and distribute the book yourself, Diamond Distributors will generally want to
see the first three issues in finished form before making a decision on carrying the book. If self-
publication is your goal, you may want to consider publishing the material as a graphic novel--your
upfront expenses will be more, but the potential return (figure $2.95 as a price point for a single issue
comic of 32-pages as opposed to $7.95 - $11.95 as a price point for a 64-page graphic novel) is better.
Diamond may require three issues to review, but there's nothing stopping them from dropping your
book if Issue #1 doesn't perform to their satisfaction. With a graphic novel, Diamond is reviewing a
solitary, one-time product--you can always follow the graphic novel with a comic book series or, for that
matter, more graphic novels--and, a graphic novel format not only increases your shelf-life in the comic
book stores, but increases the possibility of general book store distribution.
Pursuing the Comic Book market can result in a reasonable return on one's effort if approached in a
logical manner. Thoroughly explore available product, inventory your skills, dictate an approach to
creation, select a proper working category and pursue it diligently.
Then, hope for the best.
Douglas Ready
©2006 Serendipity Press. All rights reserved.