AndyFish

I wasn't going to respond to this either but maybe it helps someone else. I've got something like 20 graphic novels and HOW TO DRAW books from various publishers as well as self published work. My first self published graphic novel sold about 500 copies and I spent the next five or six years chugging these to cons to try and move them. My last self published book moved about 28K copies with a lot of sales through libraries and traditional book distribution. A graphic novel I did with comedy writer Steve Altes hit $45K on Kickstarter and even a bit more after the campaign was over as funding kept coming in. A very positive experience. So the above is my credentials-- you can look me up on the all knowing Wikipedia if you want more info. To anyone planning on embarking on this road as a writer you really have only a few options; 1. Devote all of your free time to learn how to draw, then learn how to do sequentials. The looks I get from people who can't draw when I suggest this are priceless. There is a point when none of us can draw and yet all of us do-- childhood. The kids who keep on drawing are the ones who learn to draw. Ditto the kid that sticks with guitar, or piano or any other creative endeavor. There is an element of talent but it's mostly sweat. Draw everyday for hours a day and over the course of a year you will see a genuinue improvement. After two or three years your work will approach pro level (and keep in mind some of the most popular artists working in the independents have very crude styles that are marketable) so as laughable as this method sounds in the long run I think it's your best option. I've been teaching adults to draw for about 15 years now and I've seen it work time and time again. This will eliminate the headaches you're going to find with your other options... 2. Find an artist you can afford and offer them some kind of spec with hopefully a base pay of sorts. This is your WORST option. Why? Because you'll be signing contracts and such and now you have given over half or a third of your project rights to someone who has done nothing except maybe the sample page you asked them to draw before you chose them. Good news you like this artist, bad news this artist is not a professional and pages are going to be late. How do I know this? Because professionals are busy doing work that actually pays the bills and they aren't wasting their time taking a shot at an unproven property. You are going to face years of headaches as you hope for pages, meanwhile the artist will work on your project when they can because they need to do other work to pay the bills. Worse yet, if the artist you agreed to work with is actually good and just starting out, they are going to get work that actually pays which will lure them from your project and contract or no contract you'll still be regulated to the back burner. You can write into the contract that the whole project is due in 30 days but in 31 days when you have five pages from them are you really going to file court papers to enforce the contract? What do you think will compe of the collaboration going this way? 2A. Put your house up for a home equity loan and pull out the full $5-$8k a pro artist is going to get paid for a fully rendered 22 page book. How much do you believe in your project? You're asking an artist to put up his time and passing on regular paying gigs in option 2 above-- put your money where your mouth is. You'll have all rights to the art and content. You won't get the original art unless you make some kind of arrangement up front. The norm is such that artists get the work back and are able to resell it in the off chance your book is popular, so don't think paying pro rates means you'll get the art. A lot of creators (the majority?) are now working digitally so there's a real chance there is no original anyway. 2B. Do a combination of the two-- you can find a new pro for likely around $200/page but you want to make sure whoever you're hiring works as a comic artist FULL time. This will mean a timely turnover of the project, if the artist believes in the project they may be willing to work for slightly less money if you give them a piece of the ownership-- especially the licensing should this get picked up for film or TV. BUT no matter what you do DO NOT approach a student. The last thing you need is someone who is just figuring out how to do this. I don't care how talented they are, you will regret this choice. I work with a lot of talented college students right now and not one of them would be one I'd recommend if someone asked. You could take whatever pro pages you have-- say you can only afford $2k to get 10 pages done-- take those 10 pages and try doing a kickstarter for them. Do your math for what printing and publishing and shipping will cost as well as creator expenses (pay yourself) and ask for a little bit more. Figure out a good rewards program and put a lot of work into your promotion video to sell your concept-- then turn on full marketing mode for the 30 days the campaign is up and push the hell out of it. Self publishing is a hassle but it can be profitable but it takes a lot of work and a lot of thought.

Thank you all for the kind words-- look for a new chapter each week right here.

So I recently did a 33 chapter weekly comic strip featuring the Golden Age Batman and had some fun with it. Now I'm going to try my hand at a 60s take on Batman in the '66 tradition. Same as last time-- a page a week, although I'll need some slack since paying gigs come first, but anywhoo-- here it is for anyone who wants to read it.

Bump! Books to move over to eBay on Sunday night, invoices going out tonight/tommorrow

What I remember of the story is that a fan commissioned the illustration from Simonson and then DC Saw it and decided it should be a cover and built the story around it.

While I'm definitely a Golden Age guy this one by Walt Simonson is one of my favorite Batman covers of all time.

POWDERED TOAST MAN 8" Non Action Action Figure! How can you start your day without him? $60 MIB

A whole SLEW of BATMAN's -- all right SLEW might be an exaggeration-- but here's a few of them! BATMAN #267 VG/F $5 BATMAN 272 G/VG $5 Great early Jose Garcia Lopez Cover!! BATMAN #305 VF+ $10 BATMAN #308 VF $10 Some great Jim Aparo Covers there! JUST before he started getting a little too Aparo. Take the whole lot of Batman's for $25

X-MEN #19 VG -- with that pesky coupon already cut out for you! No extra charge for removing it! Yours for $35

FANTASTIC FOUR #28 VG-/VG $50 because we can't decide if it's a VG- or a VG. Great cover-- got the classic X-Men on it-- what more do you want? Where's Wolverine? Who's the big schlubby guy? Buy the book, read it and you can find out!

FANTASTIC FOUR #39 VG- BONUS sticker stuck on the inside front cover! $30 There are some really boss DOOM covers in the early FF run but I happen to think this one is the DOOMIEST! Get this one before North Korea and the US start blowing up the world! Sticker is guaranteed to stand up to anything just shy of a hydrogen bomb!

Yeah she's a keeper!

Yeah I think they had fun with this one

BATMAN '66 #1 RARE COMIC CON MATTEL PHOTO VARIANT COVER VF/NM $20

DELL GIANTS #1 aka BUGS BUNNY'S TRICK OR TREAT VG/F $45

CASPER'S GHOSTLAND #10 VG- $6 Great squarebound-- terrific Halloween reading material in here!

MARVEL COLLECTORS ITEM #15 G+ $4 Originally this was to be the cover of Hillary's WHAT HAPPENED book but they couldn't work out the licensing.

THOR #338 F - $5 You know you'll never convince me that THOR was ever better than when Simonson was doing it-- with serious apologies to Kirby.

SPIDERWOMAN #1 VF/NM $40 A character who has been getting some love with the newbie fans despite her latest title getting cancelled and putting my wife in the unemployment line

FANTASTIC FOUR #56 VG/F - $40 BOY I cannot get enough of these prime Kirby Covers This one is nice and clean for its grade.

Ms.Marvel #1 Vf 8.0 $80

Spectre #7 Fine $15