Crucial Comix Career Advice

In January 2021, I did an interview with Daniel Elkin at Solrad where I gave advice on making comix for a living. Soon after, I soured on the business of comic books, got allergic to pitching to publishers, and nearly quit the medium. In early 2023, I was mentoring six cartoonists at The Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and I was at the end of my freelance rope when I decided to rediscover the joy of crafting stories and crowdfund that joy. Since then, I’ve successfully completed five comix Kickstarters, from Covid Cop to Antimatter. A good five years have passed since I shared that comix career advice and nothing has changed but it hasn’t gotten easier, either. Here’s what I had to say:

What I expect from working with a publisher:

I expect a publisher to do what a creator can’t and/or shouldn’t have to do. I’d like a publisher to offer editorial insight, a livable advance, and a respectable deal. Help manage a reasonable workflow and keep timely communication. Provide great distribution and even better marketing. Why make something nobody knows about or can’t find? I need my publisher to invest in my idea as much as I do even if they don’t own any of the intellectual property. Besides artistic expression, the business of comics is to make money, right? Otherwise, there are many ways for a creator to get eyes on their work and money in their pocket on their own terms.

Why submit to agents and publishers?

I’ve never hired an agent so I can’t advise. I’ve heard legend of some good ones, but, according to colleagues, most agents are lazy and lousy. Be careful.

If you’re pitching cold to a publisher, make it easy yet interesting as possible. Understand your concept inside and out but leave wiggle room for a smart publisher and editor to respond proactively. Provide a compelling title, synopsis, main character descriptions, cool art, and an illustrated scene that helps set the visual tone. And know what the publisher likes. Don’t try to sell a steak to a vegan. But, jelly makes a peanut butter sandwich so much sweeter.

Red Flags creators should look out for…

Run away from NDA’s (Non-Disclosure Agreements) unless it’s Coca-Cola, Disney, or some giant, well-known conglomerate who will PAY you really well to zip your lips. Otherwise, how the hell does a stranger know what ideas you’re developing? They could be very similar and suddenly you’re in a legal battle over Captain Ginormous! ALSO, work with a publisher who’s had at least 5-years of publishing experience. It should’ve given them enough time to make their rookie mistakes and manifest a strong strategy that works.

Take a lower-paid illustration job in return for…

Exposure? Nah. You can always take a lunch break in the sun if you want exposure. The only reason I might discount my rate is if I was getting work in bulk or I was trading it for something like a root canal at the dentist or an operation for my cat at The Vet. Decide what your rates are for friends, family, and business. Respect yourself before you wreck yourself.

When an offer seems to good to be true…

Ask other creators who have worked for said publisher if they’re on the level. Get the lay of the land. Usually, if something’s awry there’s already chatter about it online. But, don’t believe everything you see and read on the internet. Do your homework. Meanwhile, a contract is supposed to be binding. Keeps both parties culpable.

An organization I’d go to for support if I needed advice…

I don’t have a lawyer or agent, but I’ve been a freelancer for 30+ years and I’m lucky enough to know smart people in the business. I tend to lean on them for legal questions, etc. Maybe you, too, know friendly people like that who fight the good fight. I know the CBLDF (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) has been good for creators’ rights. And, The Hero Initiative helps cartoonists in need. In fact, they were the group I curated and co-edited a benefit anthology called PANDEMIX, Quarantine Comics in the Age of ‘Rona, for.

Promoting your work online and at cons…

A communication artist grows up in public, warts and all. Don’t be shy about what you do. Try to be witty and bold but don’t bully. Comfortably engage with your industry veterans, peers, and your readers. Develop healthy relations with movers and shakers but ignore the jerks. Know your community and show up to your own party.

To take care of your health / mental health as an artist…

Stand up. Stretch. Wave your arms. Move around. Rest your eyes and hands. Drink lots of water. Learn to cook food. Eat spicy food. Get cheap massages and go to the Russian-Turkish bathhouse if you don’t have a bathtub to steam in. Indulge in new things on a regular basis. Walk home a different way. Look up.

Things I wish someone had told me before I started working in the comics industry…

There are so many things that recommend making comix. Starting with the low-budget aspect of creating worlds with a full pen and a blank piece of paper. No permissions. No apologies.

BUT…

Making comix can be extremely lonely. Sometimes hard to motivate. Almost impossible to be seen by strangers. Some people are okay with the process. Just making the comic is good enough. And, I applaud that exercise. But MY comic isn’t finished until YOU have read it.

I wish someone could have told 11-year old Dean that comic books would start to cost A LOT more than 35-cents and most newsstands and comic book shops would dissolve, only to be replaced by the realizations of Dick Tracy’s wristwatch radio, Star Trek’s communicator, and Jack Kirby’s Mother Box.

I wish someone had told me that working in the comics industry was the most unprofessional profession, and would basically become free digital content where most fans of the form will never read your stuff or know it even exists. That the coolest medium of all time would be forced to compete with cinematic sisters and blockbuster brothers. Don’t get me wrong, I love movies and TV but Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane said it best when Christopher Reeve’s Superman caught her falling in mid-air and he said, “I’ve got you.” And she said, “You’ve got me? Who’s got you!?”

Remember when “what happened?” was something you were interested in finding out on your own terms? Nowadays, narrative “content” is usurped by spoilers and click-bait aggregators fanning the infinity flames of social media outrage and “breaking news.”

Sure, reading teaches us that it’s one of the main characters who did it in a whodunit, but it’s the journey of getting there, as crafted by the sensibility of a unique author and/or creative team, that makes me a loyal fan.

So, if you so choose to dedicate your life to this, only YOU (and/or your team) can make YOUR comix. Meanwhile, live and learn, seek good advice, but don’t let anyone try to take that away from you. And, if you’re ever granted the privilege to be a custodian of an established property, please be respectful to its legacy. Don’t start drawing funny mustaches on all the characters just because you can.

ITEMS:

I did a very fun interview with Chad Farley for Collectors Confessions and he created a graphic collage of my art (see above) with a digital tool called Canvas that turned me into AI Dino. I dug the parlay but I’m disturbed by the fake face. It’s creepy. And now the internet thinks it’s me but THAT’S NOT ME.

One billion dollars.

I’m waiting for Christopher Nolan’s cinematic version of The Odyssey to break one billion dollars before I fork over my hard earned $20 (or whatever it costs to see a movie in NYC these days) because THEN I’LL KNOW IT’S A GREAT MOVIE. Because it made one billion dollars.

In all seriousness, how much money a movie makes NEVER even crosses my mind when I decide to watch one. Why would it? There are so many movies I love and cherish that straddle the financial fringes and — at best — often fall short of what it cost to make and market said movie. Again, none of my business.

I find it odd that part of the marketing strategy for many creative things is how much money it cost to make and how much money it made. It’s akin to Kickstarters where some people wait to pledge until it’s reached its initial goal. Like the project is not worth investing in until there’s a surge of endorsement.

I mean, where do you think cult classics come from?