Monday, December 1, 2008

MUST READ – Comics Independents vs Comics Corporate Giants

We consider this compulsory reading for comics creators. A debate has been raging in US comics circles about whether to go independent with your comic book/graphic novel title or whether to publish through large corporates such as DC and Marvel. The two people spearheading the discussion are Robert Kirkman (The Astounding Wolfman, The Walking Dead) who publishes through Image, and Brian Bendis (Jinx, Goldfish) who publishes through Marvel's Icon imprint. We're not going to weight in on the debate but this kind of information laid out on the table does help us (and other comics creators) make pivotal publishing and marketing decisions.  Check out: "Kirkman and Bendis battle for the very soul of comics" at PW The Beat and "The Kirkman/Bendis Debates: Let's Do the Maths" at Publishers Weekly which looks at facts AND figures by outlining production deals; presenting tables of print costs on black and white product as well as colour product; and by working out volume sales ranges for break even points, those earning "beer money", those starting to get paid, and the real money spinners.

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