An indie comic mini rant

Kerrin · 05 January, 2011, 10:38:19 PM

Out of interest, how much is a run of 100 half decent comics? Ball park.

locustsofdeath! · 05 January, 2011, 10:42:37 PM

Quote from: Kerrin on 05 January, 2011, 10:38:19 PM
Out of interest, how much is a run of 100 half decent comics? Ball park.

What Kerrin asked. Can our small press publishers mention quality printing companies as well?

stacey · 05 January, 2011, 10:53:15 PM

For me two pennies worth: I don't mind Kickstarter. No money upfront and a comic I wouldve bought anyway, ( I'm talking about Sleeping Phoenix mainly here) not a prob. I've been asked a few times lately to donate money toward printing costs but it's not clear that you get a copy at the end and I don't like that very much to be honest.

I think working your way up to a spanky trade in the small press is the way to go, much like Graham of Sgt Mike Battle has done. I bought enough of his single issues to know I was very happy to pay twelve pounds for the trade. If you're going for a big spangly self pub GN without testing the waters with a single issue or ashcan to generate interest or a small sum of money to start you off I fear you may be heading for a disappointment.

bluemeanie · 05 January, 2011, 11:18:13 PM

Quote from: Kerrin on 05 January, 2011, 10:38:19 PM
Out of interest, how much is a run of 100 half decent comics? Ball park.

Full colour 28 page comic runs you $2.80 each. So what's that, about 2 quid?
So two hundred I suppose.

Kerrin · 05 January, 2011, 11:19:39 PM

Cheers Rich. That isn't as much as I thought it would be, hmmm.

Van Dom · 06 January, 2011, 12:11:12 AM

A timely thread as I've been thinking along the lines of doing something like this myself lately. Just had a look at the ka-blam site Rich mentioned and got a quotation for 100 24pp b/w interior with full colour exterior/bw interior separate cover "magazine sized" (Im assuming that's close enough to 2000ad size in American comics terms?) at 175 dollars - about 140 euros. A hell of a lot less than I was expecting and very manageable. The only question I have - and maybe Rich can help - is, once you pay this for the 100 comics, what then? Do they ship them to you directly or just put them in storage for you to be called off as orders come in? Had a look at the f.a.q section on the site and cant see anything about it. If they do ship them to you I would imagine there is a separate charge?

Peter Wolf · 06 January, 2011, 12:38:37 AM

Quote from: bluemeanie on 05 January, 2011, 08:19:33 PM
Well the basic pre-pay ones arent the ones that piss me off
Many are "Pledge three quid and you get a copy"... which is essentially what you do if you order anything out of Previews anyway.

But the "Give me twenty quid" thing is bullshit. Its like me saying "I'd like to be a racing car driver... can you all pay for me to have one of those £500 Grand Prix days"
Why the hell should anyone?

I just dont see why someone needs over a grand to put out a single issue of their comic and why they should expect anyone else to foot the bill. Especially when I get at least 2 or 3 of these every day on Facebook/Twitter/Email at the moment.
If you are struggling to print your 50 black and whites to take to a con, then ok. If you cant quite afford those deluxe editions straight off, how about working up to them?

I wonder how many are scammers ??

Its all counterproductive anyway as it just causes bad feeling as you and everyone else will get tired of it and any that are genuine who do have something very good or good enough and are worth investing in will just get lost in the traffic which would be unfortunate.You know what people are like though as once a few start they all start doing it.

I guess how well you present what you are doing and how well you word it and that type of thing will decide wether or not anyone gives you any cash and it probably needs a bit of creative thought to work out a strategy that doesnt involve it being dismissed or ignored.

NeilFord · 06 January, 2011, 01:00:38 AM

Quote from: Peter Wolf on 06 January, 2011, 12:38:37 AM
I guess how well you present what you are doing and how well you word it and that type of thing will decide wether or not anyone gives you any cash and it probably needs a bit of creative thought to work out a strategy that doesnt involve it being dismissed or ignored.

Well quite, caveat emptor and all that shite.

bluemeanie · 06 January, 2011, 08:34:19 AM

Quote from: Van Dom on 06 January, 2011, 12:11:12 AM
The only question I have - and maybe Rich can help - is, once you pay this for the 100 comics, what then? Do they ship them to you directly or just put them in storage for you to be called off as orders come in? Had a look at the f.a.q section on the site and cant see anything about it. If they do ship them to you I would imagine there is a separate charge?

The ones I ordered all came in one lump package. One thing though, I'm using Ka-Blam's pricing for the sake of this argument as most of the "Give me your money.." messages I've got are from the states. The postage on Ka-Blam is HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE to ship overseas. I messed up and didnt pick the slowest option and it almost doubled my bill. That said there are companies over here that do the same deal

The one really cool thing they do though... if you place an order with Ka-Blam your comic also gets ported to their print on demand website so you can sell through that.

Exhibit A
http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1861

satchmo · 06 January, 2011, 09:25:43 AM

Or you could go with Lulu like we did with Solar Wind and Graham did with Mike Battle, order 20 copies and see how it goes, then order another 20 if you need them. Then your house isn't clogged up with boxes and boxes of stock for years on end. And anyone who wants one between cons can just order it direct from Lulu anytime.

I'm putting out a trade of my comics this year and that's the way I'll be doing it. Unless you all want to give me 50 quid:)

stacey · 06 January, 2011, 09:43:23 AM

Is Graham's done with Lulu? It is lovely quality I have to say

El Chivo · 06 January, 2011, 10:46:11 AM

'The Jikan Chronicles' is done on Lulu & they've done a lovely job

Chi

Jim_Campbell · 06 January, 2011, 11:46:17 AM

I haven't used either of these services, but the prices look pretty decent and they say that specifically geared up for comics and small press:

Smallzone

UKomics

Cheers

Jim

chilipenguin · 06 January, 2011, 01:21:03 PM

I've been lucky enough to get involved in a comic that's seeing print in the next few weeks. The basic flow of what we've done is to get it to an indie publisher in the states (the writer is american and the artist is australian) who in turn has got it into the Diamond previews. However, an important extra step has been to get a digital copy out early on Wowio. It's a great tool for building an early customer base and means that it's out there getting exposure before hitting the comic store shelves.

As for things like Kickstarter, I can only say that I have never donated. I'm not against it but nothing has grabbed me enough to make me pay more than I would for a regular comic.

Peter Wolf · 06 January, 2011, 02:00:20 PM

Quote from: NeilFord on 05 January, 2011, 08:04:42 PM
Interesting opinions, I don't see the problem myself, you dont have to pledge any money, exactly the same as you don't have to buy a comic from an independant creator at a conference.

In fact, if done in a creative fashion, I think it is a smart way of pre-selling original art & collectables. Have you seen what Kody Chanberlin did for Sweets? http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sweets/sweets-by-kody-chamberlain and http://kodychamberlain.blogspot.com/

I think what he did was very clever, it ain't 'begging' that's for sure.

What exactly annoys you about it so much?

I dont know if yourself or anyone else found that Sweets blog funny but i did.Thats the funniest thing i have read in a while with all the mock self depreciating comments.