Sadly, Independent comics do not sell and so the writing, drawing, editing and lettering as well as making print ready files and then the publishing I do unpaid. It is not great and certainly more sold in the 1980s-2000 than they do today.
For people starting out, however, it is a great way to get experience in putting a comic strip together to show what you can do. It also means that if you ever approach a mainstream paying publisher you can accurately state how many pages per week/month you can produce to a good standard. Publishers want to know that if they give you a 20 pager to draw that you CAN do it and to a publishable standard.
It is rare in comics to draw your own characters so working on scripts that do not involve them shows you can do the work. One piece of advice: NEVER make changes to the script or change characters names. I've had some really good newcomer artists do that with me and it creates a lot of tension and very few recommendations.
I wrote a four issue series in the 1990s and the publisher liked them so the artist was new but had all four scripts. After a month I received a package and the art looked great. I phoned the artist and said I hoped he had found time to at least work on our project? I was told that the pages I got WAS our project. Character names had changed and rather than contemporary scenes it was very Judge Dredd -the artist thought he had improved on the script! It made no sense turning it into a sci fi story as that would mean re-writing parts 2-4 AND the fact that the name of one of the characters was to turn out to be a significant clue... was gone. Apparently he tried similar when given a script by 2000 AD -his career ended. And before anyone asks: the publisher who was interested told me "No. This is not the story or series we approved" so that went out the window.
If you thought "I'll give it a go" what benefits are there in drawing for Black Tower other than gaining experience? Firstly, the art (not the characters) is yours. You can sell it to make some money or just to add to your portfolio.
Do not think that changing a couple names and a strip title that you can sell the story/characters to a publisher. I had three artists try that and since the internet came in you can be found out quickly. I got a call from an editor one day who asked who a certain artist was so I told him and "So you thought making some changes and having him submit the work instead of you might work?" I had no idea what he was talking about but within 30 minutes an email arrived with the altered pages -my credit removed. The editor thought he was being taken for a fool and told me "His name is not blocked in future -how do I know he won't take one of our projects and do this?"
The artist? "Oh, I thought you were out of comics" which was a bloody outright lie and did he think that meant he could steal any potential earnings from me? Another one who vanished. But that situation has arisen a couple times. You need to be honest and play it straight.
If you draw something that gets published by me you get 5 copies of the title the strip is in. Pass around your family. Sell to make some money or, again, keep it as part of your portfolio.
One thing, however; if you are not having fun drawing a comic or comic strip then stop. You have to enjoy the challenge of what a script gives you whether it is sci fi, horror, detective or super hero (I once watched a very talented new artist destroy his potential career. At one of the old UK Comic Art Conventions in the 1980s he approached a DC editor who happened to be talking to a Marvel editor. They were both impressed but one said "DC and Marvel want more artists to draw super heroes -do you have any samples?" the artist replied and my thought immediately was "oh ****". "No, I'm not interested in drawing super heroes. I would never do things and go Marvel. I'm looking for sci fi or horror" The Marvel man just turned away while the DC editor closed the portfolio and said "You may need to change your mind if you want to work in comics". The artwork was fantastic but never saw the fella again.
Oh, and "Yeah I'd a couple days behind cus I went on a pisser with my mates over the weekend and then Monday was hung over" is not something any editor or publisher needs to hear because going on drunken binges when you have a deadline t6hat you are already late for...
If interested send me scans of 5 pages of your comic work and we can take it from there. Or if absolutely not interested because "My work is shit hot and I'm heading for Marvel!" (genuiine quote) then ...well... don't email me!
Welcome to real life in comics!
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