for comic book guys...

[marurun]

I have a friend trying to crack the writer's market. He's got pretty good material too, but finding a reliable artist has been a problem. And these days you can't really pitch something to a company unless you have a complete package. It's insular and frustrating, and given a lot of what's released you'd think they'd welcome some new blood and new ideas.

[nickfil]

I have a friend trying to crack the writer's market. He's got pretty good material too, but finding a reliable artist has been a problem. And these days you can't really pitch something to a company unless you have a complete package. It's insular and frustrating, and given a lot of what's released you'd think they'd welcome some new blood and new ideas.

Well- yes i agree that there is some stagnation in comics, and i welcome new blood. However your friend knows why people aren't reading scripts cold. Because finding a reliable decent person in comics is hard. The only way to know if someone is going to come through for you is if they already have. Why would Johnny Bigtime Publisher take a chance on you with nothing under your belt when he could hire a guy who has done a 6 issue run of something already? That being the case, no one really wants to work with someone inexperienced unless they are pretty great, or showing promise of something great. You can tell within 5 seconds of looking at art if the person has that potential. It might take 30 minutes of reading a script to see that. A DC editor at a con told me once that he looked at over 250 art portfolios in a day and he only gave out his card to 1 guy to get in touch with him. The ratio for scripts are no different. 249 bad scripts x 30 minutes and you are looking at 125 hours of work strait. It would take you 15 eight hour days to get through it. It is frustrating for new writers, but it is a fact of the industry. Why look at scripts when you can look at pages? The publisher doesn't NEED to publish you, or anything new. And if he does, he could just ask his buddy that he knows already for something.

Getting to be a writter is probably the hardest job in comics. At least if you are an artist, you can draw whatever you want and if you are good enough you'll get noticed. No one is going to read a script, no matter how good.

If you don't have an artist, you need to get one. You can do this by going to conventions and just talking to people. Conventions are a hive of people who are like minded and want to do one of two things, either break into comics, or continue to work in comics. It is hard to find someone good who will work for free, but not impossible. I would go to every convention you possibly can and talk to every person you can find who will listen. If people like you, or your idea that they might be like "I can't do it, but my friend is free and does great work... blah blah blah" Another alternative to a convention is to email art college professors of illustration or sequential art, and art college job placement people. Be totally upfront with them. Tell them you are looking to put together a comic, and ask if they have any students who are interested in putting together a pitch. Let them know if you can offer any money or not. Tell them that you will be shopping the pitch around. You never know how it'll work out. They could e-mail you back that they don't have anyone, or not email you back at all. Not a big deal, no gain no loss. It is difficult to find someone good to work for free, but not impossible.

Pitches with an artist are one way to break in, but most companies won't take anything unsolicited. In fact, i don't think marvel, dc, or darkhorse has ever taking anyone right out the gate with no prior work. Submitting to image is a great way to start out if you have a full team ready to go. There are certain ways to go about the submission though. I would take to a convention and talk to artists who have image books already how they ended up getting them approved and see if there is a common thread. Then talk to the guys at the image booth. See if you can submit then, or maybe get someone to schedule some time with you. If not, I'm sure they will give you directions on how to get it looked at. I would approach the booth when they don't look busy, and it isn't the tail end of the day. That way people are more interested in having a conversation, and even if you don't get to pitch you might still be remembered for when you do pitch. Here is the thing with pitching to image, they are a good baseline to figure out if your stuff is worth reading. If they reject it, chances are there is something wrong or not working with your pitch. Don't take it personal. Don't take it out on image. A lot of smaller press companies might want to take a look at it, but then you are starting to tread a weird ground. As a general rule, anything superheroish (not small press companies like fantagrphics, top shelf, or Drawn and Quarterly) that is small press are probably amateurs that want to be pros and are close to it, but just quite aren't there yet. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Companies that i really like that are small press, but by and large if image doesn't accept you and another smaller company does, you need to evaluate your situation. You should really look at the other books and see the kind of quality they are putting out because that is what you are setting yourself up with. Take as step back, Pick up an issue of batman, spiderman, x-men and the top 3 books of the new company and see how the small press stuff stacks up to them. I would assume DC/MARVEL is your end goal so that is the quality you should strive to, if not higher quality then that.

The other way to get off the ground a little bit is to just fucking do it. Forget the pitch! The artist is on board and is enthusiastically cranking out work like crazy. Just make the fucking comic book. I can not stress how much this will help you. When an editor decides to publish something or not they basically think how much risk is involved and if it will help/hurt the company. If the comic is done, you've eliminated a lot of the guess work for them. They have stacks of pages to see how mindblowing your artist is, and since it isn't a pitch they can see the witty flow of your dialogue. You just made it really easy for them to say yes. On the downside, if your artist can't really draw buildings and backgrounds very well, and your dialogue is clunky with awful characters.... you just made it really easy for them to say no. However, even failure is good for something! Don't take it personal. Be humble and eager to learn. Ask the editor if he/she can point out what isn't working and how to improve. In fact, show anyone with a critical eye who wants to see it, and learn from their pointers. At this point either overhaul the comic from the ground up and fix anything that isn't working, or take what you learned and move on to a new and better project. The amount of work involved in something like this is monumental, however so many people are so scared of putting the work in that you'll be sure to impress. And shit, if you aren't to embarrassed by your work by this point and do want people to look at it, you could even pop that comic online for free. People will read anything online for free, and you might be able to move some shirts or something if you get a small following. Plus, that small following might follow you onto your next work giving you a small built in audience.

This is the general bottom line: the best way to make any headway in comic books (baring just making comic books all willy nilly with no care as to cost or time) is to go to as many conventions as possible. Don't sweat trying to get a job immediately or getting people to notice you. I have personally never ever gotten a job from bringing around a portfolio at a convention. No one hires on the spot like that, so don't expect it. Bring it with you, so they can see that you are not a joker about it, and are competent. But, more so just hang out with people and shoot the shit. Then, only after, over e-mail, work something out if you have a lead. Ask where people are having drinks that night, and go have some with some fellow comic nerds. If you are nervous about the whole thing, bring a friend. Have drinks with him and maybe you'll meet someone maybe you won't, but at least the next con you go to you won't be a complete stranger. Hit as many as you can, and eventually you meet people and they ask you what you do blah blah blah. Just go, don't panic, and have a good time. If you do that, It'll happen naturally and create stronger ties with fellow artists/writers/editors then if you are a panic stricken mess.

Also- if you do want to break in as a writer there is always the lateral move. Break into comics as something else, editor, colorist, artist or whatever you can and make contacts so you can get eyes on a script. Or hell, be an actual writer of sucessful novels or a screenwriter and then bring those achievements to comics. The only way to get people to read your script is if they know who you are already. I can guarantee that if J.K. Rowling wanted to write a comic, she would barely have to pitch anything. So you know- just be successful at something else first.

Sorry for the rant. I would love to see new blood in comics, and I feel like this stuff is unspoken and would help a lot of people out from making mistakes along the way. So you know... ranting. And this is just my .02 I am not a writer, so i've never had to break in that way. BUT if i was a writer that is what i would do.

[Jrecee]

Yeah I'd say if you can write a screenplay and get it sold you have some cred you can bring to the table. If you hand the guy just a script but can also say you've sold a screenplay there's a better chance he'll look at it.

[nickfil]

Yeah I'd say if you can write a screenplay and get it sold you have some cred you can bring to the table. If you hand the guy just a script but can also say you've sold a screenplay there's a better chance he'll look at it.

most people that sell scripts have no interest in comics though.

[Jrecee]

I mean if someone who was into comics wrote a screenplay it might help get them somewhere. . .

[Ack]

Actually, it's probably easier to break into comics than it is to start by writing screenplays. Film and TV production companies almost always automatically refuse non-Writer's Guild members, so you first have to join the Guild.

Good luck joining the Guild.

[nickfil]

Actually, it's probably easier to break into comics than it is to start by writing screenplays. Film and TV production companies almost always automatically refuse non-Writer's Guild members, so you first have to join the Guild.

Good luck joining the Guild.

I can't speak for what it takes to join the guild but a few of my friends are in it so it can't be impossible. If you know people in movies this might be a better route to get to comics. It is all in who you know. I was just saying, it isn't the most strait forward way to get to write comics, but it is a way.

[marurun]

I have a friend trying to crack the writer's market. He's got pretty good material too, but finding a reliable artist has been a problem. And these days you can't really pitch something to a company unless you have a complete package. It's insular and frustrating, and given a lot of what's released you'd think they'd welcome some new blood and new ideas.

Sorry for the rant. I would love to see new blood in comics, and I feel like this stuff is unspoken and would help a lot of people out from making mistakes along the way. So you know... ranting. And this is just my .02 I am not a writer, so i've never had to break in that way. BUT if i was a writer that is what i would do.

Well, my friend is VERY reliable in terms of scripts. He's completed 10 issues total, though he's writing them in a more human readable form for now so that friends' opinions can actually be helpful to him. He's a hard worker is on the ball. But every artist he finds is a flake, it seems, or hard to get in touch with. He's very frustrated.

[nickfil]

Well, my friend is VERY reliable in terms of scripts. He's completed 10 issues total, though he's writing them in a more human readable form for now so that friends' opinions can actually be helpful to him. He's a hard worker is on the ball. But every artist he finds is a flake, it seems, or hard to get in touch with. He's very frustrated.

What is he doing to find an artist? I hope he gets one eventually.

[marurun]

Well, he hasn't got his ass to a convention, yet. He is looking around on-line in various places. If you know any artist hang-outs please do share. He's netted mostly students so far, since a lot of art schools have comic or sketch classes.