Comic book artists' pay per project varies widely based on publisher, experience and reputation. Mainstream comic book companies hire artists to create comics on an assembly line model with characters owned by the company. Independent comic publishers pay artists royalties based on sales. Some of the best paying projects come from magazines and advertising agencies. Comic book artists negotiate their pay per project with their employer or publisher.
Mainstream Comics
Mainstream comic book companies such as Marvel, DC and Darkhorse pay per project at an agreed upon page rate. Page rates for pencil art run from £65 to £162. Painted art rates run from £195 to £260. Ink art pays £48 to £130 per page. A pencil artist would earn from £1,560 to £4,062 for a 24-page issue of a comic book. Cover art generally pays 20 per cent more. Some mainstream comics companies pay a royalty over a designated sales threshold.
- Mainstream comic book companies such as Marvel, DC and Darkhorse pay per project at an agreed upon page rate.
- Page rates for pencil art run from £65 to £162.
Independent Comics
Independent comics publishers such as Fantagraphics and Top Shelf Productions operate like book publishers, paying the artist a percentage of the cover price of the book. Many contracts pay 8 per cent of the cover price up to 5,000 units sold, with 10 per cent of the cover price paid for sales above 5,000. Typically, an advance against royalties is paid upon the artist signing a contract, with the balance of payment coming after publication. For a 24-page comic book retailing for £1.90 with sales of 10,000, the artist would earn £1,950.
- Independent comics publishers such as Fantagraphics and Top Shelf Productions operate like book publishers, paying the artist a percentage of the cover price of the book.
- Many contracts pay 8 per cent of the cover price up to 5,000 units sold, with 10 per cent of the cover price paid for sales above 5,000.
Freelance Comics Illustration
Comic artists doing advertising and editorial comic illustration earn top project rates. Comic book artists such as Robert Crumb and Bill Griffith earn from £650 to £1,105 to create a page of comics for the New Yorker magazine. Top comic strip artist Lloyd Dangle earned £2,600 for a two-page project advertising a shaving product. Dangle negotiated a contract where the client could elect to pay an additional fee for the right to use the page for a second year, which it did.
- Comic artists doing advertising and editorial comic illustration earn top project rates.
- Top comic strip artist Lloyd Dangle earned £2,600 for a two-page project advertising a shaving product.
Self-Publishers
Self-publishers shoulder the risks of publishing, but may do well if their book sells. A book retailing for £6 may cost £1.30 per book to print. The distributor pays £2 per book, 40 per cent of the cover prince. With sales of 1,000 books, the artist would make £1,300. Many self-publishers use the Kickstarter funding platform to help finance their projects. "The Rice Boy Book," a comic by Evan Dahm, raised £5,652 to finance the project.
- Self-publishers shoulder the risks of publishing, but may do well if their book sells.
- A book retailing for £6 may cost £1.30 per book to print.