The Business of Cartooning

Original posted on 11/28/2012 – updated on 5/2/2013

The following is a resource page for Cartoonists/Comic Artists I’ve put together in regards to the business side of the profession. It’s culled from various sources that I’ve found helpful or informative over the years. It doesn’t cover everything, but it can be used as a starting point.

If there’s any links you’d like to add, please use the comments section below – I’m always on the lookout for items that are off my radar.

Breakdown of categories that follow:

1. Comic News Blogs
2. Contracts
3. Work for Hire – Fallout
4. Resources/Articles
5. Print On Demand Publishers
6. Self-Publishing Resource Articles
7. Convention Resources
8. Cartooning Schools and Organizations
9. Financial Aid

1. Comic News Blogs:

• The Beat Heidi MacDonald
• Comics Reporter Tom Spurgeon
• The Comics Journal Edited by Tim Hodler, Dan Nadel and Frank Santoro
• Bleeding Cool Comics, TV and Film – by Rich Johnston and friends
• Comic Book Resources Comic book news and reviews.

• Editor and Publisher Covers all aspects of the newspaper industry.
• Hogan’s Alley Magazine of the Cartoon Arts.
• The Daily Cartoonist Mainstream & Syndicate News.

2. Contracts:

• Graphic Artists Guild: Contract Monitor – A Tutorial.
  Also recommended: GAG Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines

• F*ck You. Pay Me: The Necessity of Contracts
  by Mike Monteiro
• The Creator’s Bill of Rights
  1988 Comic Book Artists “Summit” – Scott McCloud
• DC Contract to Dave Sim
  2005 – With Dave Sim’s annotations.

3. Work for Hire – Fallout:

• Siegel and Schuster – Superman
  Ongoing legal battle – parallels to Charles Dickens’ Bleak House
• Truth, Justice, & The Corporate Conscience
  by Steve Gerber via 20th Century Danny Boy

• Gary Friedrich – The Curse of Santayana
  Beat Article – by Torsten Adair
• Sean Gordon Murphy – Dealing With Marvel’s Lawyers
  Bleeding Cool Article – by Rich Johnston
• Gene Colan – Wake Up
  2011 Timeline of events in Gene Colan’s life – by Matt Seneca
• Steve Gerber – RIP
  2008 Beat Article
• Pop Injustices of 2012 – Stephen Bissette
  Bissette covers the uphill battle creators have had in 2012.
  The take away – Get informed & PAY ATTENTION.
• Don Rosa – Why I Quit Comics
  Bleeding Cool Article – by Rich Johnston

• Boycott Marvel – Stephen Bissette
  Artist/Editor/Publisher and Instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies.
• Boycott Marvel – James Sturm
  Co-founder and director of the Center for Cartoon Studies.

4. Resources/Articles:

• Welcome, Art Students!
  Colleen Doran gives sage advice regarding working in the trenches.
• What I Think of Art School.
  by Kate Beaton
• The Specs on Specs: The Critical Importance of Following Guidelines.
  by Chris Tugeau
• Ten Common Mistakes in Resumes and Cover Letters.
  by Petrula Vrontikis
• You Have to Have an Agent to Get a Book Deal / You Have to Have a Book Deal to Get an Agent
  by Gina Gagliano

• Creative People Say No.
  by Kevin Ashton
• Advice to Unpublished Authors.
  by Alan Moore
• 25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing.
  By Chuck Wendig
• 10 Things Every Creative Person Must Learn.
  By Chase Jarvis
• 6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person
  Cracked.com article by David Wong
• Top 5 Mistakes (I’ve made over the years)
  By Sean Gordon Murphy
• Succeeding in the Arts
  Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech – Philadelphia’s University of the Arts
• When to Give Up
  by First Second Books editor Calista Brill

• “Keep Them in the Dark” – Predatory Publishers
  From the Beat
• “The Payoff Will Be in Good Karma”
  Agent reveals the depth of his integrity.
  By Steve Almond
• Looking for Magic Carpets
  Open Letter to Fellow Writers (and Artists)
  Steve Bissette on drawing a graphic novel.

5. Print On Demand Publishers:

• Ka-Blam
• CreateSpace Amazon
• Lulu
• BookMobile Minneapolis, MN

6. Self-Publishing Resource Articles:

• The Path to Becoming a Bestselling Graphic Novel
  By John Shableski
• The Reality of Mainstream Creator-Owned Comics
  By Jim Zub
• Okay, But What About Digital Comics?
  By Jim Zub
• The Creator as Retailer
  Beat Article – by Mark Andrew Smith

• Stickman Graphics
  Self-publishing resource guide.
• Tyler Page Blogspot
  2010 blog relating experiences with self-publishing.

• Optimum Wound
  The Submission Guidelines for every Comic and Manga Publisher in the Universe
  Circa 2010 – needs to be updated but good to springboard off of.
• The Master List
  Comic Book and Trading Club stores.

7. Convention Resources:

• ConventionScene.com
  Convention Calendar
• imPhotoGraphics.com
  Banner Stands
• www.hotflips.com
  Archival Products: Top Loaders for Original Art

• Artist Alley lessons
  by Gene Ha
• First Time Con Set-up Notes
  by David Petersen
• Working a Show
  by Arnie Fenner
• Networking and the High Cost of Comic Conventions
  by Jim Keefe

8. Cartooning Schools and Organizations:

• The Kubert School
  A three-year course of study – located in Dover, New Jersey.
  Also offers Correspondence Courses.
  Founded by Joe Kubert.
• The Center for Cartoon Studies
  A two-year course of study located in White River Junction, Vermont.
  Recently the focus of the Documentary film Cartoon College.
• The Minneapolis College of Art and Design – BFA & MFA in Comic Art
  Check out student work on the MCAD Comic Art Tumblr.
• The University of Wisconsin Stout – BFA in Entertainment Design
  Concentration on Comics and Sequential Art
• The California College of the Arts – MFA in Comic Art
  Campuses in Oakland and San Francisco
• SCAD – BFA & MFA in Sequential Art
  BA in Visual Communication/Concentration in Sequential Art – offered online

• Graphic Artists Guild
  National union of illustrators, designers, web creators, production artists, surface designers and other creatives.
• The National Cartoonists Society
  Artists/members mostly from newspaper syndicates – but growing to include artists from all fields.
• www.CartoonistConspiracy.com
  Active groups in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Pennsylvania and Montreal.

9. Financial Aid:

• The Writing Center – Grant Proposals
  Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• The Jay Kennedy Scholarship – Yearly award for best college cartoonist.
  Applicants must be students at a 4-year college in the United States, Canada or Mexico.
• Kickstarter
• Why this jilted Kickstarter backer decided to sue and why he was right.
  From Venture Beat.