Comic book artist David Cassaday is one of the best-known names in the comics industry today. This 36-year-old began his career in film school, but he had a fluke when he presented his portfolio of drawings to some publishers at the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1996. “Dancers in superhero costumes,” noted editor Mark Waid .
Once he established his contacts, work began to pour in, first with smaller publishers and later with DC and Marvel Comics. Cassaday went on to illustrate “Astonishing X-Men”, “Captain America”, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Cassaday says of his work: “I get to clock every day as a kid and make the stories come to life. It’s a wonderful thing.”
The nature of your artist’s work requires you to be an entrepreneur who can multitask, meet deadlines, be disciplined, weather the tough times, and ultimately freelance. Early in your career, you’ll need patience and your assignments won’t necessarily be handed to you. Some artists work on a contract basis for long-term projects that span an entire series of comics, while others get work on different comic book graphic novels from various sources.
In general, good graphic novels sell for between $100 and $300 per page, although professionals who have been in the industry for a long time can charge up to three times that amount. In fact, an elite illustrator made up to $1,000 per page (on a 22-page comic)! Most of the popular titles artists work on, like David Cassaday, are monthly editions, which end up earning him a six-figure salary. Final royalties on merchandise, trade paperbacks, and movie royalties are also generous.
Your success often depends on your own personal motivation. Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy comics, says he works seven days a week from 9 am to 9 pm in his home studio, taking breaks throughout the day as needed. That is one of the advantages of this work; that you are relatively free to make your own schedule, although there are deadlines. “If you work for a comic book publisher like Marvel or DC Comics, you usually have to deliver a five to six page strip in about three weeks,” says British comic artist Jim McCarthy. “A graphic novel takes much longer: it can take eighteen months to two years from the original start to the finished book.”
The good news about his industry is that it seems to be doing very well, particularly given the box office success of comic book movie offerings, in general. So there are likely to be plenty of jobs for the particularly talented comics artist to come in the future. There are other perks to being an established comics/graphic novel artist as well, most notably, publisher-funded travel.
“I’ve probably flown in signings in every major city in the United States,” says Dave Dorman, a freelance artist who has worked on “Star Wars,” “Aliens,” “Indiana Jones” and “Batman.” Artists love creativity, an open schedule, and glamour. Artist Tom Mandrake admits, “You get very famous in a very small market. It’s great to go to a convention and hear people say that he’s been reading your comics his whole life.”