[rec.arts.comics] General Comics FAQ
Francis Uy
Archive-name: comics/general-faq
Last-modified: 1996/11/20
URL: http://www.idyllmtn.com/rac/uber/rac-faq.html
----------------------------------------------
General RAC* Frequently Asked Questions
----------------------------------------------
* What is NOT in this FAQ?
* Where is the nearest/best comic store?
* Where is the nearest/best comic convention?
* Where are comics pros/companies on the net? and in the real world?
* How do I become a pro comics writer or artist?
* Where does the money go from buying a comic?
* Where can I get GIFs of scanned comics art?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
What Is NOT In This FAQ?
Anything about particular comic books, strips, characters, writers, artists,
buying, selling, TV, movies, toys or RAC* newsgroups is covered in one of
the subgroup FAQs, available from http://www.idyllmtn.com/rac or
rec.arts.comics.info. So what's left? Just a few VERY frequently asked
questions that cross all boundaries.
BTW, if you want even MORE online info, the following sites (with contact
addresses for corrections & help) have fairly thorough comics listings:
* http://comics.redweb.com -- WraithSpace (wra...@redweb.com)
* http://nspace.cts.com -- Negative Space (nsp...@cts.com)
* http://www.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Comics
* ftp://ftp.hiof.no/pub/Comics -- RAC* FTP Archives (jo...@hiof.no)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Is The Nearest/Best Comic Store?
Jeff Mason maintains three lists of comic stores at
http://grove.ufl.edu/~jrm -- one for stores in the USA, another for stores
around the world, and a third for stores that stock independent comics. He
gets this info from volunteer contributions, so please email
j...@grove.ufl.edu with any corrections and additions for your area.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Is The Nearest/Best Comic Convention?
Links to most of the major comic conventions are maintained by Jeff Mason at
http://grove.ufl.edu/~jrm, by Jerry Stratton at http://nspace.cts.com and by
Glenn Carnagey at http://comics.redweb.com, including:
* Dragon*Con - Atlanta, Georgia
* Caption - Oxford, UK
* Chicago Comic Convention
* Comic Arts Conference - San Diego, California
* San Diego Comic-Con
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Are Comics Pros/Companies On The Net? And In The Real World?
There are *way* too many comics addresses to print them all here. Luckily,
Jeff Mason's http://grove.ufl.edu/~jrm/ has a comprehensive list, and Jerry
Stratton's http://nspace.cts.com has a similar page. Thanks guys.
BTW, pros online should be treated the same as any other r.a.c'ers. It's
nice if they read or answer your posts, but they're not paid to do so any
more than you are. Feel free to critique a pro's comics on their merits, but
don't flame them personally (or anyone else here, for that matter). General
compliments/fan mail should be sent by email rather than posted.
Some pros who are particularly active on RAC* use Keywords to mark their own
postings and spot fan questions about their work. NOTE: it's silly to ask a
specific pro a question about a comic that they aren't associated with. For
example, you could write "Subject: PAD: Will Aquaman fight Suicide Squid?",
but don't ask him about WildCATs.
BREVOORT: Tom Brevoort BUSIEK: Kurt Busiek
DGCHI: Dan Chichester DORK: Evan Dorkin
DV: or DANSLAVE: Dan Vado ME: Mark Evanier
MWAID: or WAID: Mark Waid PAD: Peter David
PRIEST: Christopher Priest RAWSON: Dave Rawson
SG: Steve Gerber SL: or LIEBER: Steve Lieber
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Can I Become A Pro Comics Writer Or Artist?
Four ways to get a job as a comics writer:
1. Get a job with a comics company in editorial/sales/etc, and schmooze.
2. Learn to draw. Writer/artists are more and more common these days.
3. First get published in books/magazines/movie scripts/etc. Several
writers at DC did this: Nancy Collins, Rachel Pollack, Paul Dini, Sam
Hamm, etc.
4. Self-publish. Expect to lose money, but you'll have your own comic
without company constraints, and a solid resume if you decide to join
the majors.
Becoming a pro comics artist is easier but still tough. Three words:
practice, practice, practice. You need a portfolio showing that you can draw
professional-quality comics, not just pin-ups. Do multiple-page stories,
with multiple panels on each page. Don't skimp on backgrounds; draw
buildings, cars, trees, civilians not in skin tight suits, etc. If you can't
draw one professionally ready page per working day, you're too slow for a
monthly book. Mail photocopies of your art to companies, or go to major
comics conventions and show your work to editors or artists at the company
tables. Or self-publish.
More detailed information and business contacts are available from:
* http://www.teleport.com/~ennead/ampersand/
* http://nspace.cts.com/html/Comics/Creators/
* http://comics.redweb.com/Business/
* ftp://ftp.hiof.no/pub/Comics/Guidelines/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Does The Money Go From Buying A Comic?
This rough guide was provided Matt High of Antarctic Comics. Mileage may
vary slightly among different publishers. "Out of the cover price of our
books ($2.75/2.95 usually):
* 40-45% goes to the retailer
* 20-25% goes to the distributor
* 13% goes to the printer
* 7-8% goes to the creators/artists
* 2% goes to shipping (UPS/USPS)
* the remainder (10-12%) goes to the publisher (salaries, rent,
utilities, supplies, advertising, etc).
Antarctic Press is at the second-highest discount level...We sell
distributors books at 65% off cover price, they turn around and resell them
for 35-50% off. Marvel and DC sell their books to the distributors at 59-62%
off, and they turn around and resell them to the stores at 40-57.5% off."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Where Can I Get GIFs Of Scanned Comics Art?
It is illegal to post or upload unauthorized scans of copyrighted art, even
if no one makes money off of it. By the Berne Convention, any work is
automatically copyrighted as soon as it is in a fixed form. See Brad
Templeton's Ten Common Myths About Copyright post in news.announce.newusers,
or at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/law/
If you don't care about legal issues, try alt.binaries.pictures.cartoons or
a Scandinavian WAREZ site. Absolutely do NOT post binary files such as GIFs
or ZIPs to RAC* or any other group that doesn't have the word "binaries" in
the title. It's rude, and the Cancelbot will delete them in a day or two.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* written by Paul Estin, Tom Galloway, and many others.
* maintained by rac...@idyllmtn.com (the RAC-FAQ cabal)