Anything Goes : Graphic Novel Developers by David Gonzalez

By "graphic novel developer", you mean a comic book artist? I know thousands.

Ive been asking the same question and would be keen to know more. Most graphic comics are done USA but having said that comic strip artists are specialists that can be accessed at the start of their careers via universities anywhere. Im reading The Black Dahlia at the moment by James Ellroy, David Fincher and Miles Hyman a gritty noir comic based on Ellroys novel. The graphics are good, but i reckon one could learn or hire a student....or pay hollywood bucks of course!

Artist rates vary widely depending on who you’re trying to get, but you could likely find a reliable beginner for about $100 to $250 a page (pencils and inks), and a more experienced professional with several known credits would be $250 to $400 a page. Well established pros would be $400+ a page. From there if you want a superstar artists with a huge following, the sky’s the limit. If you have a budget and/or page rate, and a particular style or aesthetic, feel free to message me and I might be able to recommend someone.

A word of caution, paying super low rates or offering back-end might get an artist’s attention and they might even sign on for the project, but in my experience, those projects never get completed. The workload of a professional comic book artist is just too massive, and working without pay (or too little pay) leads to burnout within a couple of pages.

Interesting feed back @Kody. I recently found out that some comic graphics artists have huge following ASIDE from writer of whatever the story is. We have been hunting for Noir specialists in comic strip and came across either Marvel or Archaia publishers who use Noir cartoonists. Miles Hyman and Luc Jacamon feature heavily in our Noir searches for comic artists. (USA Artists) I was thinking that Noir comic artists are thin on the ground in UK but might find budding yet competent student who excels at the craft, not to pay less ....but more so ....because not many Noir specialists to begin with and only options are USA. Ive told producers about Luc and Miles....LOL...They might bite!

Debbie Croysdale Marvel did have a Marvel Noir line a while back but it was centered entirely on their existing properties. All talent on those books were hired as freelancers (work-for-hire).

If you're in the US, I'd recommend picking up a copy of the PREVIEWS catalog from Diamond, or review the online version [ https://previewsworld.com ]. Here, you can see listings for all the major comic publishers, and more specifically, the GENRES of the books currently being published. Different publishers have different rules and business models, so not all publishers are friendly toward outside pitches, and not all are friendly to you controlling your film/television rights.

Worth investigating before pitching.

@Kody. Thanks for your interest. Ive only just seen your update post now, so did not answer before. I will rejoin this thread at a later date.

Debbie Croysdale David Gonzalez Curious if either of you have made progress on this? There have been a slew of new and newish publishers popping up including Vault, TKO, Alterna, and a couple of others. I haven't quite worked with everyone yet, but from a writer's point of view, it's a good time to be doing comics because the deals are getting more and more competitive in the writer's favor.

David, can you let me know from what angle you are approaching this? I'm a novelist and am just putting out a call for collaboration from artists to help me develop/produce a number of graphic novels. All the very best for the new year. 2019. Kind regards Andi x

Kody Chamberlain / Kody, just been reading your feedback; gives one a lot to think about. My budget has me offering only back-end. Sounds like you don't recommend this approach> all the best Andi x

Kody, just been reading your feedback; gives one a lot to think about. My budget has me offering only back-end. Sounds like you don't recommend this approach? all the best Andi x

Andi Katsina Andi, sorry for the slow reply, I wasn't tagged so I never got a notice of it. I just happened to be poking around and spotted it. :)

My apologies for the confusion. To clarify, I actually prefer the back-end structure, I do it myself for nearly all of my projects at Image Comics. I own my books 100%, and that means it's gotta be a back-end deal for that to work. It's literally my preferred way of doing comics.

I only mention it as a negative because the failure rate is VERY high when partnership or work-for-hire deals are structured in this way. I draw my own books, so I know my abilities and my temperament, so I know I'll finish my own book because I own the book.

'Hiring' an artist is different, though. Any artist you 'hire' for back-end pay is not the owner of that book, although offering a 50% or 49.9% stake is a big help. The reality is the workload is absolutely massive and as a project moves forward it becomes exponentially more difficult to keep going without revenue coming in.

Here's the pattern we see over and over: An artist loves the idea and agrees to do it. In the beginning, inspiration and excitement are very high and pages get done quickly. Pitches are sent out, publishers get excited, deals are made, and then inspiration fades and reality kicks in. An artist will work upwards of 8 or 10 hours per page, and multiply that times the total page count, plus edits, revisions, etc. The physical workload is undeniable. What happens here is the artist(s) tend to quit these books very quickly, usually within the first 10 or 12 pages, or maybe a full issue. Other artists will completely disappear, no emails, full radio silence.

I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying it's VERY difficult to make this structure work.

I'd recommend checking Instagram for graphic illustrators--I've been in contact with a few who are very talented and easy to communicate with. Give it a shot.

Thank You All!