So, do you want to be an independent comic book publisher or
release your own comic? Well, dreams definitely come true but this one may cost
you a pretty penny! People rarely think of the cost to produce a comic book. Keep in mind that this is not to deter you but to inform
you of a realistic budget to make your comic book dreams come true.
Firstly, comic books are an art form that is mainly done
with a team, that is, unless you can or want to do it all yourself. Many people
do, but that takes a LOT of time to do correctly or at least to the level that
will sell enough books to make the time worth it. If not, you will need a
writer, penciler, inker, colorist, etc. All of these people need to be paid
depending on their personal rates. We will look at some of these rates, based
on pro artists that I know and we will build our budget!
Most, if not all, of these artists are professional indie
freelancers. They cater their prices to the common audience and not to big
publishers like Marvel and DC, so they are much cheaper but still good. Despite
this, you’ll see how quickly their prices can add up.
MAKING YOUR BUDGET
Every book needs a cover, so we'll start here. A good cover will cost you between $100 and $300 so let's choose the $200- right in the middle. Pencilers charge between $25 to $100 a page but I know a good one who charges $35 and a great inker who charges $40 per page. I'm a colorist and my rate is $45 a page and I work with a separator (who lays down the flat colors for me to do my stylized detail work) who charges $10 a page. A letterer typically charges about $25 a page.
To round out our team, we'll pay our writer, an editor and a graphic designer a measly $100 per book, each. Also remember that a typical comic is 24 pages. So let's plug in these figures and add this all up with the chart below:
DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB
Yes, $4,220 for ONE 24 page issue! Remember, this is a more
conservative price because many of these artists are on the cheaper side! So
now, you can see why you would need additional income outside of comics to
start publishing. Many people just don’t have that kind of disposable income
and end up doing it themselves, which takes a LONG time. Even if you have the
money to pay a team, the artists also have other jobs on their plates as well,
in order to survive, and have to balance their time for your project with other
deadlines, which also takes a LONG time! Either way, patience is a virtue that
not many people have to complete projects in this line of work. It’s just too
costly and takes too long.
I know you are thinking that you can probably cut some
corners and consolidate or eliminate some of these jobs on your book. Some you
can and some are more essential than you think.
Take the graphic designer for example. You may think his job
is done with just the title and company logos but these days comics are sold
digitally as well as print. You need a graphic designer to import/export and
convert to correct file formats, make sure the page bleed is correct, the
color-coding and resolution are print ready, pre-flighting, etc. Hell, even the
legal info on the inside cover and all of the ads are laid out and designed by a graphic designer for each issue.
Looking at the editor, you need one for proofreading,
spotting art and layout inconsistencies, plot holes, continuity errors and all
around damage and quality control. Simply put- if you want a GOOD book, get an
editor.
REALITY CHECK
Here’s where it gets real… again. If you plan to sell your
book at the common cover price of $3.99, it’ll take you to sell more than a
thousand copies just for you to break even and get that $4,220 back before you'll even see any profits. Do you
think your book can sell those units? Well, it’s possible if the quality is
there. That quality just may cost you $4,220.
