Today...I'm sitting here listening to Project Pitchfork and "Rain" while looking out of the window. I could take the diabetic way out and eat two cherry triples and four mince pies...hypoglycaemic coma combined with very messy trousers....better not. What would the neighbours say?
I hope that readers enjoyed the Chinese Manhua and Manga posts recently? Remember the days when CBO used to do big theme days or mega posts with thousands of words and hundreds of images like the Sub-Mariner, Avengers, JLA ones or those on Samson in comics, TV and film -or Jekyll & Hyde or-- well, you know. Used to be fun and attracted thousands of views. Not one word of comment though and it was at this point that I realised I might as well keep all the stuff in my head -at least I commented!
I was told -told mind you- by someone that a blog with so many views should attract things like Patreon support. Tried it all but nothing and this is something people think I am joking about until I show them -like the PayPalMe box (every so often I put the vacuum cleaner in there to clear out the dust...really big house spider in there now though).
I just actually deleted a few videos I had looking through British Golden Age comics and other stuff -all were made for CBO but...well, who cares?
Checked my online book store today and I can announce that I entered 2019 with zero sales and that is how 2020 will begin. A sort of cosmic certainty in an uncertain world. The huge £27 sales in June became (after falling £ and US Taxes) £16.00. According to one UK comics 'nice guy': "We've got him on the run"...I hate to point it out to the rather lewd fellow but with my leg I am NOT running anywhere.
My best piece of advice after over 40 years in comics and publishing: confine yourself to work and presenting that work to publishers. Forget the portfolio viewing at UK events beca I can really advise.use, as I discovered early on, these are wastes of time or PR exercises where even the most brilliant of artists I have seen walk away dejected after being told "You need to check out our comics and need to improve your skills" or "You are a long ways off of working in the industry -keep practicing". I actually looked at two UK "professionals" at one of these sessions and asked why an exceptionally good artist had just been sent off with one of these dismissive lines? "Well, if we told every good artist they ought to contact and editor or publisher we'd soon be out of work!" Seriously, talking to these people you find that either they have to do these panels for a company or they get into events for free if they do a portfolio session for the organiser -wannabe artists will buy tickets if they think they will get pros to view their portfolios and that means more cash for the organiser.
Let me tell you another story to show how good these pros are. I used to meet up with other artists in the 1980s at the old Westminster comic Marts and we'd look at each others work mainly to see the types of paper used as well as effects achieved using different pens or nib types. We must have looked like a group of junkies in a corner sniffing ink and stroking paper! Now, one well known artist approached us one day and looked at my pages and asked the brush type I used. Unfortunately, though I have tried, my fingers cannot use a brush, so I pointed out that I had used Berol pens -they give a nice fine and medium line. He went into a rant. HE was a professional and he KNEW when a brush was used and on and on. So I took out a Berol Fine Line and showed him. He walked off in a huff. Three other pros were of the same opinion that I was using a brush and one was annoyed that I would not tell him which because "that line is so smooth".
Keep well away from comic forums and internet comic groups. And never ever ever ask people on those sites for advice on your work. These days I flatly refuse to read complete scripts for people or give them advice on their projects unless I know them and if they send me scans I may still not look at them.
Reason? Simple really: if I have a story I am about to publish I may have written or drawn it a good 5-10 years ago but that does not matter if someone has recently sent me something for advice and it contains some of the same or similar elements. Several years ago a writer/artist accused me of stealing his idea and when I said I had never heard of him before or seen his work I was called a liar. Apparently he had been with a friend (his witness) and talked me though the pages at a Bristol Comic Expo I had never attended. Then he emailed me and asked whether there was another Terry Hooper in comics? My initial thought was to tell him to **** off but I asked why instead. He had seen two photos of me and I was not the person he had spoken to as that 'Terry Hooper' was chubbier and a lot balder ("a lot balder"...wow). Yep, I think from the description that I know who this was but I couldn't care less.
I once, for the need to get out of the house and talk to real people, went to a couple of meetings of a Bristol comic group. The two fellas running it had only produced so-so zines but acted as though they knew everything about comics -I asked several questions (basic ones if you have worked in comics) and they had no idea or simply threw out bovine excretia. As I was waiting to talk to them I overheard a female wannabe writer put forward an idea and it was shot down in flames as "the guys" said it would not be of interest. As at conventions I pointed out to the woman involved that her story was good and that she ought to think about self-publishing. But, no, "the guys" knew and she walked off. If these two were so professional and knew so much I had to ask myself why their every project HAD to be around zombies (really, that should have died out in the 1980s) and WHY they were not working full time in comics instead of having full time "norm" jobs?
I was recently on a Small Press Face Book page that I had not realised I was on any more. Someone hoping to break into comics had offered to sell 50 of his stories for £1 to get them published and the publisher could keep money made but not the rights. I pointed out that this was a VERY bad idea and that accepting even a $ for characters/stories was going to mean giving away those characters -just one good story or character that took off and that was it. Could he afford a legal battle to reclaim his rights having sold off characters and stories ("only 50 of hundreds I have!") because he had SOLD them and unless he had a legal contract (in comics a legal contract means nothing to a publisher) he was up Shit Brook with no boat or paddle (Shit Brook (also called Shyte Brook) is a culverted small stream in Much Wenlock
One thing you have to realise is that the people on web forums are not your friends. You may find the odd honest and fair person but comic forums are pure toxic. I know professionals who go onto them using pseudonyms (they are often friends of forum owners so try to get a fair reaction if you complain!) to belittle work uploaded by wannabe artists and will often make false accusations -the most common is that the artist is tracing from something. Complain and shout as much as you want and even show the pencilled pages as evidence and you'll hear "Clearly shows tracing lines" and the people on the forums who cannot draw will all condemn you -especially if the words were typed by a comics 'nice guy'.
In the old days you broke into comics as Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland and many others did (I think Mark Millar had his first text story published by Ben Dilworth) -by contributing to zines -small press publications but these days they are not what they used to be. Hear of John Royle? I published one of his strips in Black Tower Adventure in the 1980s (I still have some original art he drew for me somewhere). Duncan Fegredo? First full strip work in my Previews Comic. This is all non-paying work because, let's be honest, if the publisher makes any money it hardly covers printing costs. Most will give you 5 copies of a book your work appears in to do what you want with -such as sending a copy to an editor or publisher to show your published work.
There is absolutely no fast and easy way into professional (paid) comics work despite what you might hear. You will need a full time job or part time job that helps pay your bills as you struggle to get any recognition.
Remember that once you post anything to the internet it will be copied or stolen. Always put a (c) notice on artwork. DeviantArt and other sites let you show off your artwork but the same thing applies and to be honest I have been on there since...well, over a decade now, and never once nbeen offered work. Well, I tell a lie. This one fellas shouted that he loved my style and that he had a 150 pages long graphic novel and he wanted me to draw it and was ready to go. I asked who the publisher would be? There wasn't one. Was he paying pro page rates or offering a page rate and percentage of sales? Never heard from him again.
There is a rather common thing going on where someone thinks having something to do with comics will make them cool. They tend to write mediocre stories that they want made into graphic novels. One person, back in the early 2000's, sent me a 30 pages script that had a lot of loopholes in it and was for all intents and purposes a Bladerunner rip off. There was confusion before I was told that this was what was to be a 120pp graphic novel. I pointed out that the script cover about 25pp and the response was that I could have a free hand in filling in the rest. Well, I had to sort his script out and add 90 plus pages. I declined the offer.
These people do not intend to have their graphic novels published. They are things to be brought into conversation such as "In my graphic novel" and "having written graphic novels" or even producing the artwork so that they seem cool, hip or whatever. It is wasting an artist's time and getting work for free on false pretenses. Similar to artists who beg for scripts and draw them but then change credits so that it is all their work and try to sell it behind your back (six times as I recall).
Get your own free blog or Face Book page. Do not think that paying for a blog will be any better than a free one -same features. Tried both. Went back to free. WordPress or Blogger and show your art on these -but if you are showing a 4-6pp strip leave out one or two pages so that anyone contemplating art theft would have to forge your style and know your script! Allow comments but be prepared for negativity -when all is said and done you have to grow a thick skin.
Do not make THE big mistake of thinking that if you buy the most expensive art paper and most expensive pens or brushes it will show you have a pro attitude and get work fast. Getting work depends on a lot of things but ,mainly your skill. What you have to remember is that in this day and age you scan work for publishers so you may page £10/$10 per sheet for your paper but who cares? I was once in the Fleetway offices and talking to editors and asked about the A3 photocopies but realised they were original art and was told most pros work on the cheap paper and a lot went for A3 or eve A4 -once scanned paper size made no difference.
Realise that a publisher will not be paying for the paper you draw on. They will not be paying for your pencils, pens, erasers, inks or even postage if you have to send in originals (in 2019/2020 you should not have to). They pay you for your finished art. You have to take costs into account and use whatever costs you the least but works. You only draw on a computer...meh. But no one gets really rich in comics -not everyone gets the TV or movie deal for their characters so ignore the talk of this being "quite common these days": It...is..NOT. Every penny counts because landing regular work for life is not guaranteed and some of the Bronze Age's best American artists are today employed tidying up the work of younger creators that would otherwise not be up to scratch (but they do this behind the scenes and get no book credits).
A 45 year comics veteran who produces top notch work on time every time and has pulled a publishers fat out of the fire more than once will be tossed aside because a newcomer with no real experience is brought in...in some comics 3-4 or even 5 pencillers are brought in to do the work on a 20 pager that one used to do -and the inker -or inkers- then go to work. These guys are young, hip, cool and berate fans and cannot keep deadlines but, hey, better than a tried and tested veteran who respects the fans right?
Basically...self publish because you might as well be calling all the shots and be poor than not calling any shots and being poor.
Do not trust comic pros, editors (I have a LOT of stories) or publishers (again -lots of stories) as all will screw you over one way or the other.
NEVER EVER give your work away or your characters.
When another artist describes you as "Comic Book Maverick and Outcast" you know you've made it. In my case made it and still poor!
About our contributor
Terry Hooper-Scharf is a freelance comic book writer, editor and artist as well as publisher of Black Tower Comics & Books and is a recognised comics historian specialising in the British Golden Age. He generally seems to work for nothing but for this piece he was given two stale slices of bread which he grabbed and began crying over and saying "Manna from Heaven -tonight I eat like a king!". He is known as "Herr Professor" or simply "The Professor" and loves nothing more than checking hedgehog poop left on his doorstep. Face it -he's screwed.
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