Page rates

[Emperor]

Pros don't like talking about it in public as it can vary a lot but a ball park figure can be important for up-and-comers as someone may ask you what your page rate is (especially if you are an artist) and you may need to pay someone to help create your comics (especially if you are a writer).

Sooooooo numbers...

ComicMix give a ball park figure of $500 a page and break it down:

www.comicmix.com/news/2010/09/06/labor-day-and-the-cost-of-doing-business-in-comics/

Heidi MacDonald has chipped in to say that isn't unreasonable:

www.comicsbeat.com/2010/09/08/money-makes-the-world-go-round-the-bottom-line-of-comics-creation/

You aren't going to get a well-known talent for that but by the time you get round to working with them you'll have progressed a bit in the industry and know your worth a little better (or, critically, you know what you need to get paid to keep putting food on the table, that fancy motor boat you want may take a little longer).

[chilipenguin]

Cheers for that Emperor. Interesting to see the ballpark figures as I hadn't a clue what they might be. Not that it matters as I haven't made a penny doing anything comicsy (so far).

[Lady Festina]

Interesting indeed! I'll be looking out for numbers like those when Fester's next tax return needs doing.

Letterers seem to get a raw deal.... poor misunderstood souls....

[Emperor]

Letterers seem to get a raw deal.... poor misunderstood souls....

This message was brought to you by the Jim Campbell Preservation Society.

[Jim_Campbell]

This message was brought to you by the Jim Campbell Preservation Society.

Actually, that figure of thirty bucks a page sounds a little high. I'm certain someone fairly authoritative on the DW Lettering Forum (Tom Orz, I think) said Marvel's standard lettering rate was $20 per page... although my web fu fails to provide me with a cite for that, so I may be wrong. The likes of Orz, Klein and Workman probably get a little more, but the rest of us schlubs...?

Cheers!

Jim

[Beeks]

That comicsbeat article was interesting if in dollars

Never realised how expensive it is!

So with regards to writers..am I right in thinking that ballpark $100 a page is correct? Around £50/60?

[Lady Festina]

Letterers seem to get a raw deal.... poor misunderstood souls....

This message was brought to you by the Jim Campbell Preservation Society.

If he keeps working at this rate, we can buy a nice jar and some vinegar and preserve him forever....

[Emperor]

Letterers seem to get a raw deal.... poor misunderstood souls....

This message was brought to you by the Jim Campbell Preservation Society.

If he keeps working at this rate, we can buy a nice jar and some vinegar and preserve him forever....

Buy him a bottle of vodka and he'll pickle himself.

[Buttonman]

I'm sure the last time this came up the figure of £35 a page for writing a future shock was mentioned which translates to £175 a story or two a week, every week, for a decent living. I think if you can get a few in and get paid it's a nice paying hobby but it'd be hard to see how you could make a sustainable living if it were your full time job.

Once I get a letter published and a I got a doubler Judge Anderson book that I sold on eBay for £3. Here endeth my publishing career of richies!

[Emperor]

Some discussion on Warren Ellis' forum which already has a few pros contributing:

http://freakangels.com/whitechapel/comments.php?DiscussionID=8890

[Dave Hedmark]

Thank you Emperor interesting reads. I've been charging $70 a page for pencils and inks my next project the customer accepted $80. I think a low price is good for someone just starting. Here's an article from http://www.scottmcdaniel.net/

"THIS IS A GUIDE, REALLY, AND NOT MEANT TO BE USED IN ANY NEGOTIATIONS YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF IN!

Artists get paid by the page (in fact, so do most other creators like writers, letterers, colorists). A typical comic book is 22 pages of interior art, and 1 page of cover art. Covers (and pin-up illustrations) usually pay a little better than the interior art pages -- so for this example, let's just estimate that the pay for one cover (or for one pin-up) is 1.5 times the pay for one interior art page. Doing the math yields one full comic at approximately 23.5 page rates (22 interior page rates + 1.5 page rates for the cover).

Here is a GUIDE for PENCILING page rates: Beginning rates $80/page - $100/page  $1880/comic - $2350/comic 
After 5 working years $175/page - $200/page  $4112.50/comic - $4700/comic 
Contracts $225/page - up  $5287.50/comic - up "

[briantm]

So does that mean alot of script and art droids are stacking shelves in Tesco on the weekends? 

[Emperor]

How Much Money Can a Good Comic Book Artist Make?

Misses out a lot, like selling art, prints, their ass, etc. but if the top flight artists can get $1,000/page (presumably on an exclusive deal) it might explain why the rate pages appear often slackens off with the big time artists.

The source they use goes into more detail:

These days, Cassaday finds himself in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose which assignments he takes. "I've got specific goals in mind and don't want to deviate just for a few bucks if I'm not interested," he says. "The story must come first." Though he won't reveal what he makes, his page rate—the amount an artist charges per page drawn—is among the highest in the business. Given that an elite illustrator can command up to $1,000 a page for a 22-page comic book and that most popular titles are monthlies, a top talent like Cassaday can comfortably clear six figures annually. And that's not counting potential back-end royalties for merchandise, trade paperbacks, and spin-offs, which are negotiated separately. 

www.portfolio.com/careers/job-of-the-week/2008/04/28/Comic-Book-Artist-John-Cassaday/

Which might explain the lateness of Planetary

[Richmond Clements]

It all seems a but suprious to me!
I know a couple of Really Famous artists, and know what they get or have been offered per page (not by the BIG TWO in fairness, but by other rather well known US publishers) and it is, frankly, a fucking joke.

I suppose if your Jim Lee or JRJnr you can ask for $1000 a page...