I know all of that. But for the time that DC was able to have them, it might have been more beneficial to have them work on regular titles rather than mini-series. It might have helped to hook people in to continue with the series even after other creators took over. And I would be fine with trying to work out a schedule of rotating creators to try to get them to do more work for DC.
I agree that having better artists on their monthly books, even if they had to be rotated, would be beneficial. But what I’m saying is that a lot of the Before Watchmen artists wouldn’t have done any interior work for DC if it involved doing just a standard four- or six-issue story arc of a monthly title. You don’t think they tried to get Amanda Conner—one of the few on that list who can actually draw twelve books a year—to draw a New 52 series? I’d be shocked if they didn’t ask her.
The fact is DC doesn’t have the budget they had ten, fifteen years ago. They don’t offer the benefit-heavy exclusive contracts they once did. They haven’t raised their page rates in many, many years. Do you think it’s a coincidence that (last I checked) somewhere between a third and half of their monthly artists live outside the United States? DC is no longer the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and getting top talent isn’t quite as simple as it used to be for them.
To be honest, I think kickstarter/indiegogo may be the pot of gold.
If you have made a name for yourself, and have a decent following, and don't get stupid with your pricing, you can make a nice dollar and cut out the middleman (outside of the fee those sites will take if you succeed).
If you're a relative unknown, but have a really solid idea, and can market yourself well, you can also make a nice dollar.
From Gail Simone to Jake Richmond, you can fund your project and if done right put a little to the side for yourself.
DC is no longer the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and getting top talent isn’t quite as simple as it used to be for them.
Who do you think is that "pot off gold" now?
(I don't know much about the business side of stuff) Just to be clear, I was using the phrase more in the sense of being the end goal, the highest aspiration for a comic book artist’s career, rather than in the sense of monetary reward—though the two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. For some artists, DC (or Marvel) probably still is their pot of gold, but more and more are seeing the potential success of creator-owned comics as their end goal. Most creator-owned comics (Kickstarter-funded or otherwise) make relatively little money (if any) for the artist, but with Hollywood combing the independent market for ideas, it’s a risk that’s becoming increasingly worth taking. And you see a lot of artists these days splitting their time between doing work-for-hire and doing creator-owned work as they hedge their bets.
Nweathington makes a good point. I don't know if there is a pot of gold for comic books. I'm just shooting from the hip here, I haven't done market research on it, but my impression is that few if any are getting rich from comic book work alone. Making a living maybe, but not likely becoming wealthy.
If there is a pot og gold, I think its from having your work noticed and getting offers from other areas of entertainment, whether its movies, TV, video games or whatever.
The ultimate goal for most comic artists used to be in the syndicated strips where they could get away from the 'chidish' image that comic books used to have -- as well as away from the 'enablor' of juvenile delinquency, as charged by Frederic Wertham. The newspaper strips were considered better paying with higher prestige. That changed in recent decades, especially with the shrinking of the comics page and the evaporation of daily newspapers, and the slow but steady acceptance of comic books into the general social mainstream once more. But that's all changing again, as noted above, and neither area is all that stable anymore for making a living off of.
If there is a pot og gold, I think its from having your work noticed and getting offers from other areas of entertainment, whether its movies, TV, video games or whatever.
That’s exactly right. Concept art/pre-production work for movies is an area a lot of comic artists are ending up. Guy Davis left B.P.R.D. to work for Guillermo del Toro on his delayed Lovecraft Mountains of Madness, and ended up doing monster designs for Pacific Rim. Geof Darrow only dabbles in comics these days, but spends most of his time working with the Wachowski Brothers, among others as a concept artist. And there are plenty of others.
Comments
The fact is DC doesn’t have the budget they had ten, fifteen years ago. They don’t offer the benefit-heavy exclusive contracts they once did. They haven’t raised their page rates in many, many years. Do you think it’s a coincidence that (last I checked) somewhere between a third and half of their monthly artists live outside the United States? DC is no longer the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and getting top talent isn’t quite as simple as it used to be for them.
(I don't know much about the business side of stuff)
If you have made a name for yourself, and have a decent following, and don't get stupid with your pricing, you can make a nice dollar and cut out the middleman (outside of the fee those sites will take if you succeed).
If you're a relative unknown, but have a really solid idea, and can market yourself well, you can also make a nice dollar.
From Gail Simone to Jake Richmond, you can fund your project and if done right put a little to the side for yourself.
(I don't know much about the business side of stuff)
Just to be clear, I was using the phrase more in the sense of being the end goal, the highest aspiration for a comic book artist’s career, rather than in the sense of monetary reward—though the two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. For some artists, DC (or Marvel) probably still is their pot of gold, but more and more are seeing the potential success of creator-owned comics as their end goal. Most creator-owned comics (Kickstarter-funded or otherwise) make relatively little money (if any) for the artist, but with Hollywood combing the independent market for ideas, it’s a risk that’s becoming increasingly worth taking. And you see a lot of artists these days splitting their time between doing work-for-hire and doing creator-owned work as they hedge their bets.
If there is a pot og gold, I think its from having your work noticed and getting offers from other areas of entertainment, whether its movies, TV, video games or whatever.