Preface: I don’t know anyone personally who isn’t struggling financially. The subset of that group which is actively interested in making comics is having even more financial difficulty.

Which runs into this difficulty: I see folks starting projects that can’t be completed without taking a major financial beating. No one gets in to comics to get rich. But on the flip-side, no one gets into comics to get poor, either. This means we have to use math.

Say I’m a writer trying to get a project started (I’m roleplaying here, use your imagination). I’m starting out and I don’t have the love of any editors, Big 2 or otherwise. Let’s also say that I’m not in love with the idea of getting in debt to start this project. I reach into my back pocket (or purse, or whatever) and pull out my wallet. I open the wallet and start counting. Depending on my result, I have some options. Let’s go over them.

$0 – I’m broke. There’s nothing in there. I’m either going to have to find some cooperative and understanding friends, or I’m going to have to draw this project myself. Let’s break this down to even more granular options, because most folks I know are in this situation (including, frankly, myself.)

• I can get a gang of folks together and pitch to Image or another creator-friendly publisher. We’ll use Image as our example, here are their submission guidelines. The cons are the pitch will take five pages and a cover of completed work, which can mean a significant investment of time for your gang, depending how fast everyone is. You submit your pitch and it goes one of two ways. You get rejected or picked up. If you’re rejected, your gang hangs their head, kicks a rock, and starts over (or takes the pitch elsewhere). If you’re picked up, everyone goes back to work to get the book done, working for free for the next three months, or more. Don’t try this without a day job. If the book is profitable, you’ll get checks eventually on the back end after all the sales tallies are counted up. The pros of this approach is the only cost is sweat (and maybe art supplies). Everyone works, turned in the product of their labors, and hopes that the fruits of their labors will be harvested far, far into the future.
• Who needs artists? I’ll write and draw this thing myself! I’ll bash my head against my desk for however long it takes, until I produce something on paper that I don’t feel the urge to vomit all over. Then I’ll just throw it up on a Blogspot or Wordpress page, and I’m all set. Cons: You don’t know how to draw. You’re an idiot. Pros: You did it all by yourself. High five. You rock.

  This line of thought will be continued…

Is that a bit much? I think that’s a bit much. Too many starts, not enough time and attention. I’ll get it sorted out eventually, right? Right.

What else is going on? Just bought SHIELD #1 and enjoyed it a lot. First single I’ve bought in a loooong time. I’m reading a LOT of webcomics, mostly because I’m short on cash and we’re expecting a baby. I tend to read more about comics than actual comics themselves.

Just finished reading the DC Guide to Writing Comics and I really enjoyed it. I’ll have a full review posted soon. I’m trying to hold myself to some specific writing requirements these days (along with my workouts) so there should be more writing to share soon. Brain and body, obey my commands.

I repeat, there will be more bloggage. There will be more comics. There will be more stuffs in the near future. I’m back on the horse and ready to shoot some bad guys.

I mean, it’s on my To Do list. That means it’ll get done, right?