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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Getting Rich in Comics?
Probably not...
NOTE: This will be a two-part article, the first part focusing how you will probably fail to make money creating your own comics, the second on more positive aspects of doing so and what established comics creators point to as the secret of (realistic) success.
PART ONE
Every few months, I read a cover letter on a submission that informs me that the artist is sure his comic book will be "lucrative" or "profitable." Once it was even ”highly profitable" -- I guess the italics were meant to make me imagine the towering stacks of dollars that could be made from this no-doubt brilliant work. The writers of these kind of letters are dead set on getting rich off their comic. They call their comic a "franchise" or "property"; they envision a merchandising empire; one believed that SLG's "vast connections with animation studios" would help him make his comic into an animated cartoon. (How vast are these connections we supposedly have? Are we talking Transgalactic here, or just Transatlantic?) What to do with people like this? Ignore them, mostly, and toss their submissions in the recycling bin (they're usually not detail-oriented enough to remember to include a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply). But I thought I might do a public service by telling aspiring comic creators about some fiscal realities.
In response to my declaring this, Evan Dorkin, creator of the SLG series Milk and Cheese and Dork*, freelancer for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and others (and writer of emails that I could, if I were smart, just paste here and then call the column done), told me, "There is very little that can be done to dissuade anyone who thinks comics is a done deal financial paradise or a sturdy stepping stone to Hollywood." But I am going to do this anyway.
If you are an aspiring comic book creator and you have visions of wealth and celebrity, I have to tell you this: STOP IT. I am not saying this to be mean or to keep "newbies" out of the industry. (I wouldn't have a job without comics creators, after all.) I am saying this for reasons that I hope are much more constructive.
The First Reality: You are not likely to get rich, or even make a decent living, by creating comics. Yes, there are exceptions to this, but you cannot start out thinking of yourself as an exception because, odds are, you are not. Most of the comic book creators I know have day jobs to pay for their living expenses. This means, if you remain committed to creating your comic, that you will lead a grueling life.
"You're going to be like most of us," Gilgrim, creator of the SLG comic The Cemeterians, warned prospective comic creators, "who spend 40-plus hours at an office, or school, or shop, what have you, and then--broken, worn out, tired, fagged and generally wanting nothing more than last night's pizza, play some video games and go to bed--come home to the fact that we have to, instead, go to the table, chain ourselves up for at least a few more hours, most likely forgoing sleep, and crank out some pages. Wash, go to the day job, repeat." (I will not comment on Gilgrim's predilection for chaining himself up.)
Evan recalled when he was first beginning to do comics. "Until I managed to work full-time in comics, I washed dishes, worked off and on at two comic shops (got fired a few times) and bussed tables and worked as a barback in a punk club." Even now he supplements his comics work with freelance jobs. "I've rarely made enough solely on comics work to support myself, and I've been doing this full-time since 1991." He recalls that 1997 was the only year he supported himself solely on his independent comics work. "Do not quit the day job," he advised. "Eat your ramen and sleep on the mattress, work hard, hope for the best and expect everything below that."
And that brings me to...
The Second Reality: Your too-high expectations will probably be dashed, leading you to question the meaning of your life and perhaps life in general.
This is especially true if you have an artistic temperament. And let's face it: You're an artist. What other kind of temperament are you supposed to have? Your work is important to you. You work hard on your comic, and then after a few issues its sales have dipped below 2,000 copies (and this is when it's still doing all right), then below 1,500, and then below 1,000, whereupon it is canceled.
I will be frank: We have had to do this at SLG recently. As we tell the creators, this is not an accurate reflection of the quality of work. ICV2 has proclaimed 2006 "A Very Good Year (For Comics)", but that was not true for us. When "event" comics from the big guys are driving an increase in pamphlet sales, it seems the little guys suffer for it. Good comics get canceled and their creators, good artists and storytellers, have to struggle with self-doubts and disappointment.
You, if you are an independent comic creator, might find yourself in this position. Then again, you might not get that far. When there are bills to be paid, food to be bought, a family to support, you might decide you need to spend your time working on something else that will actually make you enough money to live on.
"I can't rationalize my spending time on comics work when I should be worrying about taking care of my family," wrote Christopher, creator of the SLG comic The Ghouly Boys. "Making comics feels selfish and like an indulgence." Christopher's former roommate was a comic book artist who was one of the lucky few who could support himself on what he made from his comics, which led Christopher to expect to make more money. However, what he did make from his comics "wouldn't have been enough to cover rent or living expenses if it had been my only income."
T., who drew a graphic novel for an advance that he broke down to $13 a page, told me, "I had low expectations going in but even those were shattered after the gig. It's my understanding that it's like this with every small publisher."
This reality has inspired many artists to go at it on their own--and for free, as Steve Emond, creator of the SLG comic Emo Boy, pointed out, referring to the many online "comic collectives" that have appeared over the past few months. While noting that discovering just how little money there is in creating comics is "a harsh reality lesson," Steve goes on to say, "The weirdest thing now is that people don't even care anymore. They work day and night to put comics on the Internet for free, which sadly makes sense as your audience can actually be larger."
Why go on, then? Your dreams, man. "Most of us [comic book creators] grew up with the dream of holding a comic book with our name on it," Steve commented. "Once you accomplish that, you look back and say, 'Shit, I've been working at this for years, and it's all I know how to do now.'"
And that is how we trap you.
* I must acknowledge that most of the quotes in this column are from artists who work with SLG. It is difficult to discuss your finances with someone you don't know and trust, and these are the guys who know and trust me (aww!). This of course provides a limited view of comic creators' finances. I heard from non-SLG comic creators, but they, for the most part, preferred to be anonymous.
Continued next month! In part two, I will look at the rewards, monetary and otherwise, sticking to your dreams might get you.
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
