There are no “art comics”
by Tim Broderick
The discussion over Bookscan figures, some of which can be found here, here and here, has a connection to my next Comixtalk column on money and contracts.
I don’t want to get into that discussion, but what I did read made me think about how important expectations play in signing the right contract with the right publisher, and how the language we use can shape those expectations.
Here’s what I mean. You, as a comics creator, are an independent agent. You need to approach all this as a business and you need to protect your own interests. You also need to figure out who your market is and the best way to get your work in front of those people.
Unless you choose the self-publishing route, that means you need a business partner in the form of a publisher of some sort. Forget superhero and art comics – I wish we would just get rid of those terms all together. Here’s the terms I use, and they’re not a label for me or my work. They describe who I might do business with:
Corporate comics: Marvel and DC and whoever joins them in being primarily property acquisition companies. If you take your comic idea to them and they like it, chances are they’ll want to own the whole thing. I avoid that kind of deal. I’m not talking about work for hire here – that’s a completely different topic and I have no complaints about that aspect of their business. But if you want to retain the rights to your characters and stories, going this route would make that difficult.
Import companies: They bring properties over here, so what is there for the independent agent? Sure there are some efforts at becoming publishers of local talent, but it’s still very limited. But if you don’t do OEL manga (Peach Fuzz), they’re not the business partner for you.
Small press: God love ‘em, and I do too. They do what they have to do to get their product in front of the people willing to buy it, and if that means different distribution channels than traditional comics culture dictates, so be it. They’re the comics publishers whose deals most closely resemble traditional prose publishing. And that’s a good thing. Wish these small folks could grow into big folks so they could publish more.
Traditional prose publishing: Could be large corporations or small press, but by and large they purchase rights to publish for a period of time. You retain ownership, and sharing of other rights such as foreign or film are negotiable. As with anything, it’s buyer beware, but generally this is the model that independent agents should strive for. The good news is they’re looking at comics more and more. Maybe competition from these guys will make Corporate comics change they way they operate.
I know this is all a bit of a broad brush, but looking at the publishing world this way helped me find what I think was the best way to get my book in front of the people most likely to purchase it. And in the end, that’s what’s important.
And it’s whole lot more useful than “superhero comics” vs. “art comics.”
I’ll talk more about money and contracts in my March column at Comixtalk.
