Pat Mills and 2000 AD royalties

[CalHab]

There has already been a self-publishing boom in comics. Even those who made a success of it (Dave Sim springs to mind) didn't make much money and many incurred significant debts (Stephen Bissette for example).

Comics seems to be a field in which there are many different and creatively fulfilling ways to lose money.

[TordelBack]

Mmmm, so many other great witer-artists tried self-publishing in the Cerebus years: e.g. Eddie Campbell, Paul Pope, Terry Moore, Jeff Smith. While of all these geniuses ended up working with publishers (usually Dark Horse, Top Shelf or Image) at some point, despite self-publishing ambitions and stints of various lengths it's worth noting that some of them did okay in the short term.

[JOE SOAP]

John Wagner recently said in an interview (timecode: 17:18) that he's still in debt after the first volume of Rok of the Reds.

https://www.facebook.com/anenglishmaninsandiego/videos/2358600121095033/?t=1037

A kickstarter for volume 2 is due to go up soon.

[sheridan]

There has already been a self-publishing boom in comics. Even those who made a success of it (Dave Sim springs to mind) didn't make much money and many incurred significant debts (Stephen Bissette for example).

Comics seems to be a field in which there are many different and creatively fulfilling ways to lose money.

Sim's a special case - from what I recall he was doing very well, until #186 came out...

[CalHab]

Sim is indeed a special case. I can't imagine any publisher being keen on using a black and white funny-animal Conan parody to give book length critiques on politics, religion, comics, art, the death of Oscar Wilde etc over the span of nearly twenty years. Self-publishing worked for him.

Unfortunately, in the end Sim demonstrated why other publishers wouldn't be keen. But he still gave us some incredible comics before he lost it.