Ask an Artist on the 11th! - A3on11 - HOW much does working in comics pay?

Welcome back to this month's edition of A3on11.

This month's question is “How much do you make for each page”?

Rather than get into the specifics about me in particular, I’m speculating that this means: How much money can I make in comics? Is it lucrative?

Comics can be a GREAT living, but alas, only for a small percentage of folks in the industry. Comic art professional page rates range from $50-$500 per page. This upper rate can go even higher for superstars who sell a ton of books. After that, the artist can sell his or her original pages to the art collectors market. Here too some of the ‘hot’ artists’ pages can sell for thousands of dollars! But wait…there’s more! You can also get that lovely royalty check every quarter as long as your back catalogue of work is still in print. The larger publishers track all that and pay out your % of the trade paperbacks sold.

Sounds good eh?

Time for a reality check.

The vast majority of folks in comics don’t make anywhere close to the big bucks. Even if they do, it’s usually after MANY years of working for REALLY low page rates, or even working for FREE.

Yes, I said it. FREE.

In the up and down world of comic publishing, you MUST be able to endure long periods of what I call ‘delayed financial gratification’ (DGF)! You gotta love the comics medium, and MUST be prepared to work for free when starting out. A perfect example of this dirty little secret was recently highlighted over at PJ Holden’s terrific blog. He was talking about the upcoming Fearless trade paperback. He penciled 4 issues when he was first starting out, and hasn’t seen a dime from it yet. He’s a consummate pro who keeps busy NOW, but as you can see …this wasn’t always the case. He survived the ‘DFG’ period that comics almost always demand.

So…if you are reading this and toiling away on a book or project you believe in without getting paid for it, have faith! Many of your favorites in the industry did the EXACT same thing. Keep your dreams alive, confident in the fact that this price has to get paid before you can grow into bigger and better things….and a decent page rate. ;-)

Take it from me, if you keep at it and stay positive, the money will follow. Then you’ll be doing something you love AND getting paid for it!


(I have a pet peeve about updating an art blog without putting any art up. So, here's a new page from the 2nd issue of Undertow , which I'm currently hard at work on)

Previous month's 'ask an artist' articles can be found over here : A3on11

Remember, I’ll be answering any questions you ask on the 11th of every month right here. Questions can range from very basic ones about general art creation and processes, to very technical comic creation ones. To shoot me a question, just email me (address on the right side on this blog), ask me on Facebook, or throw it in the comments section here. What I talk about just depends on what gets asked! Thanks for the question. Keep 'em coming. See you next month.

Holmes Inc # 2 now out, with bonus video and FREE download!

Unless you live in Toronto area, chances are you've not been able to track down the 80 page giant that IS Holmes Inc. #2... I can now fix that!

The book is now out and sold briskly at last weekend's Fan Expo. The comic is 80 pages and its packed full of goodness. If you'd like to grab a copy head on over the the main Holmes site, as they'll be selling them soon. I have some copies too, so if you email me or catch me at a con, I'll be sure to hook you up. Heck, I'll even sign it for ya!

If you want a nice sneak peek at some of the art, and to learn a bit more about the history of this project, please check out and click on this great video which aired over at a few weeks back. Let's face it, T.V. coverage for comics is very cool!



If that video whet your appetite, please be sure to download the issue by clicking at any of these sites below...you can grab it for FREE! Yep, you heard me. Free.
DRIVETHRUCOMICS

GRAPHICALY

MY DIGITAL COMICS

THE ILLUSTRATED SECTION

Free is good. Enjoy!

In the Gutters... # 177 that is.

I pencilled and inked 'The Gutters' #177, and it can be found HERE.

What is the Gutters? For those that dont know...In brief, Gutters is a series of standalone pages that parody the comic book industry and the heroes and characters that dwell within. Think of it as an editorial cartoon targeting comic books, and you'll be on the right track. Gutters is written by Ryan Sohmer, with Lar deSouza as Art Director and Ed Ryzowski serving as colorist. As for who will be doing the actual art, well, that's where things get interesting (and slightly different). Rather than have one artist pencil each page, we elected to have a rotating roster of professional artists, among them some giants in the comic book industry alongside new and emerging talent.

I met the Gutter folks at the last con. The editor liked my art, and plied me with a copy of the Gutter Omnibus. It CRACKED me up, and by the 5th page, I knew I'd be doing one. (or more!) If you know the comic industry, and dont laugh out loud at least 3 times by the end of that book... you might be legally dead!

As you can see I went a little extra cartoony with this one...check it out and see what you think.

Ask an Artist on the 11th! - A3on11 - What happened to WASTED?

The question I've been asked the most this month by FAR..."What happened to WASTED?"

For those that haven't heard, WASTED magazine is no more.

The message on their website reads as follows:

Due to unforeseen and adverse circumstances, Bad Press Ltd is closing down. Thank you to all our writers, artists, colourists and letterers; to all of our customers, supporters, distributors and advertisers; and to all who only came to browse.

Please note, all existing email addresses and points of contact are in the process of ceasing business. For any further information, please contact:-
bp.liquidation.info@gmail.com


An article over here provides a bit more insight.

So, it appears that a lack of support for small independent books like WASTED has reared it's ugly head again.

I've gotten the impression that some of the people asking about the situation have been looking to hear 'sour grapes' and bitter, negative comments from me. That ain't gonna happen! The WASTED crew and Alan always treated me like gold, and I enjoyed every minute of working with them. So much so, that I was surprised how gutted (to use the U.K. expression!) I was when I got the bad news in early July. It really bummed me out for a few days. I had just started working on Alan's latest script for issue #9 at the time. I'm hoping that the pages will it one day see print...and they might.

The fall of Bad Press in no way restricts or prohibits our ownership/rights to the characters. I'm hopeful that Alan and I can find the "War on Drugs" and Johnny K a new home in the future. (If anyone can suggest any magazines/anthologies looking for this type of content...hit me up!)

So there you have it.

Here is strip from issue #2 that was one of my favorites. Let's go out with that.




As always, if you have a question …just ask! I’ll be back next month on the 11th to answer another question. They can range from very technical comic art ones, to very general questions- there is no such thing as a bad question. What I answer will depend on what gets asked. Feel free to email me at gibsonquarter27@yahoo.com , ask it in the comments section below, or shoot me a message on Facebook.

Other 'A3on11' blog posts can be found by clicking here.

When your belt buckle cracks...

Dont you just HATE it?

This guy sure does. This is a panel from a 1 pager that Dino Caruso and I are whipping up.

I'll post more on this later if it works out!

Ask an Artist on the 11th! - A3on11 - Pacing and Dynamic layout...

Talk about good timing...it's posted on the 11th!

As you probably know I'm working with the fine folks over at Holmes inc. and they are just about to launch issue #2.

They had asked me to write a brief tutorial on 'Dynamism and pacing' in the laying out a comic page. I'm a bit afraid I've made it TOO brief, but you can judge for yourself over here. If you need/want more details, just LMk and I'll be happy to expand more on this in the future.


As always, if you have a question or want me to expand on any of the above…just ask! I’ll be back next month on the 11th to answer another question. They can range from very technical comic art ones, to very general questions- there is no such thing as a bad question. What I answer will depend on what gets asked. Feel free to email me at gibsonquarter27@yahoo.com , ask it in the comments section below, or shoot me a message on Facebook.

Other 'A3on11' blog posts can be found by clicking here.

Cheers!

Holmes Inc. # 2 Cover and promo art...

Excellent.

I can finally show and talk about Leonard Kirk's excellent cover to Holmes Inc. #2!

Here it is in all it's glory.


Yes, it was drawn by THAT Leonard Kirk (Supergirl, X-Factor, JSA, and many other well drawn comics) It was coloured by my long time colorist KT Smith (Northern Guard, Revolution on the Planet of the Apes, and lot 'o' other stuff...like this for example! )


The book will be released on July 22nd. Details, and TONS of other art, tutorials and all things Holmes can be found here.

Feeling inspired by Leonard's cover, I whipped up a quick promo piece with the 2 main characters from my pages, Edgar and Elizabeth. Enjoy!