How to break into comics

Breaking into the industry isn't as simple as sending in your CV. So how do you do it? If we analyze the paths of established writers and the editors who found them, we can build our roadmap to success.

Learn from the professionals

First of all, let me stress that I am not a published writer, but rather an aspiring writer. This blog post outlines some of the research I have done for my own journey and what lead me to formulate my strategy. With that being said, my methods do stem directly from advice given by established talent scouts and professionals throughout the industry.

The state of the industry

Let's open with the advice of Marvel's very own talent scout, CB Cebulski:

CB Cebulski, comicfied ;-)

The good news is that it's easier than ever to break into comics. We have ways to get in now, through the internet, through communication, through publishing, through Kickstarter, so there's more opportunities than ever for you as aspiring writers, artists, pencillers, inkers, colorists painters, to publish your own comic and become, you know, a professional comic book creator. The bad news is, is that it's harder than ever to get paid for it... the talent pool has grown enormously for people like myself who are out there looking for talent, so you've got to work extra hard to not only produce good work, but to also make a name for yourself, and get noticed.

The key takeaways from CB Cebulski's advice are: create quality original work, publish it everywhere you can, and then get yourself noticed.

Start small: write short stories

Jean Giraud, a.k.a. Moebius

Jean Giraud, better known under his alter-ego Moebius, tells us:

Especially at the beginning of a career, one should work on short stories but of a very high quality. There's a better chance to finish them successfully and place them on a book or with editors.

Part of your strategy should be to start writing short stories that pack a serious punch. That will give you something to promote from the outset, garner some notoriety, and set you up for that first full book.

Also note: creating comic books is an expensive business, and unless you have a talented buddy who can draw advanced sequential panels and wants to do so for free, you'll be paying a lot of money to get your first couple of stories produced.

Publish web-comics

Jimmy Palmiotti deserves a beer
for that excellent advice he just gave you.
Buy him one next time you see him.

Jimmy Palmiotti advises us:

Keep a daily writing blog and talk about yourself and experiences in it, and if you want to do comics, find an artist, become friends and start working together. Create a web page of your work and let others enjoy your work as well.

Te key takeaway: what if you get noticed by an editor? How would they learn about you? Make sure that you publish a website address in every short story you put out there, where others can learn more about you and your vision. Blog about writing and post your webcomics.

Brandon Montclare also points out:

If you're unproven, [editors] will want to see your work. You really won't find an editor who will say: "Here, send me a pitch first." They are going to say, "Send me a sample, if I like the sample [I'll listen to your pitch]."

Start networking with editors

Beau Smith, prolific writer
of fan letters.

Beau Smith, writer of Green Lantern, Wildcat vs Batman, Wynonna Earp, 9-11 and many more, got noticed in the industry by writing fan letters to comic book editors:

Back in the late 1970s, before I began my professional writing career, before the internet, before fax machines and other sources of communication technology, I figured that the only way an aspiring writer was going to make any connection with Marvel and DC comics was to write letters to the editors. The letter columns in the back of the comic books were the focal point of fan/reader communication. That was where I was going to do my networking. I decided that I would write a letter of comment to each comic book that I bought each week, and that put me at about 10 letters a week. I only wrote to the comic books that I liked and read. I wasn’t going to waste my time and money writing to comic books that I didn’t enjoy.

Beau's letters introduced him to editors who helped him develop his skills:

I met DC editors and creators Alan Gold (Blue Devil), Ernie Colon (The Flash), Murray Boltinoff, (G.I. Combat), Robert Kanigher (Sgt. Rock), Joe Kubert (Sgt. Rock), and Marvel Editors and creators Jim Shooter, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Tom DeFalco, and Roy Thomas. All of them were super helpful in getting me started in writing comic books in one way or another. Walt Simonson sent me plot proposals to learn from, Joe Kubert gave me advice on how best to write for an artist, and Robert Kanigher became a very good friend and taught me hours and hours of storytelling lessons. I couldn’t ask for a better foundation for my career.

Of course, these aren't the 1970's, but Beau's advice still stands. Early on, start making a list of all the editors and assistant editors that work on comics you like. Not all editors working on a book are mentioned in the comic's credits, but ComicVine will give you the full list of talent for each book.

Once you have your list, research where these editors and assistant editors hang out online and start interacting with them about the books they publish. Be honest in your appreciation and show that you understand the skill that was involved in getting the book just right.

Attend Comic-Cons and go talk to your favorite creators. If you interact with them enough via social media they will eventually get to know you.

Start promoting your own work

CB Cebulski, in real life.

Wait, where have we heard this before? Oh, yes, this was the closing remark in our previous quote from CB Cebulski:

You've got to work extra hard to not only produce good work, but to also make a name for yourself, and get noticed.

If that advice seems a little vague, Cebulski clarifies it in a later statement:

You guys have a tool right now that is amazing and I use it more than anything else developing writers and artists. It's Twitter.

PS.You can follow him on Twitter: @CBCebulski.

Solicit your work, get published

Look up Comic Book Anthology Submissions on Google and write down every opportunity to get your work published in anthologies. You'll want to favor those publishers that allow you to keep all the rights to your stories/characters and that don't require you to submit only never before published work (though the latter may be harder to find). This shouldn't be a problem, since in the beginning your work will truly never have been published before and after a while you'll get to know what publishers accept previously published work and which do not.

Getting published is a major arrow in your quiver: you can now call yourself a published author.

Start pitching to editors

You now have a small amount of stories in your war chest, perhaps even a published story with a small comic book publisher. Time to start pitching stories.

Jimmy Palmiotti thanks you
for the beer.

If you have followed my earlier advice about networking, you are already in contact with editors via social media and have been tweeting and writing fan letters about the comics you've enjoyed. Now it is time to show yourself at comic book conventions, network with editors, get an email address and start pitching them your beat stuff.

Accept rejection and learn from it. Jimmy Palmiotti tells us how to deal with rejection:

Listen to what they are saying and try to apply it. If there is a constant theme to their advice, its probably right on some level.

Don't get disheartened - learn from the critiques, improve your writing and keep pitching.

Diversify your skills

If you are reading this, chances are pretty good that you aren't working in the comic book industry. Every day I receive countless tweets from aspiring comic book creators about how they wish they could just ditch their current job and work in comics instead.

You should love the job you are doing right now, even if it isn't in the field you aspire to get a career in. Your job is doing two things:

It provides an income that you can invest in making the comics that will get you noticed.
It gives you valuable skills (other than writing) that could provide you with a job offer within the industry.

Beau Smith first got a job in comics as a sales manager:

It was during that 1984 Chicago Con that I met Tim Truman for the first time. Tim was doing GrimJack at First Comics. We hit it off through our mutual West Virginian accents. We talked a long time about our West Virginia roots and remained in contact from that con forward. In 1987 Tim contacted me and told me that Eclipse Comics was looking for a Sales Manager. I was working in sales and marketing at that time for a local audio/video chain here in Huntington.

If you can, try to plan your career so that you start working in fields closer and closer to the industry. Acquire skills in your current job and apply for jobs in industries related to comic books.

That is exactly the route Mark Waid (Captain America, Kingdom, JLA, Flash, Impulse) took:

Certainly the way I broke in was to network, to get to know the editors, writers and artists. The best way to do that, frankly, is to work for the fan press.

Mark became the editor of Amazing Heroes, and that lead to an editorship at DC because he interviewed many potential employers for the magazine.

It allowed me to network with them. They could then put a face with a name. If they get to know you as a person they're more likely to entertain your submissions.

Don't turn down write-for-hire offers

Brandon Montclare

This is exactly why you are going it alone, isn't it? To get noticed by publishers and get commissioned. So don't turn down early job offers just because they are from small publishers, don't pay well (or don't pay at all), or aren't the title you wanted. (So you got hired by Marvel but they didn't offer you Spider-man -big deal, you're in!)

Brandon Montclare tells us how he got odd jobs when starting out as a writer. His first book featured the all-star cast of Howard the Duck, Man-thing, Night Hawk, Frankenstein and She-Hulk - an eclectic bunch for sure.

Grace Randolph started out in the kids-line, wrote StarCraft and War Craft, pitched Muppet Peter Pan. Your first offers might not be the titles or even the comic book lines that you want to work on, but committing to them and handling them well grows both your network and your chances of getting noticed.

As both writers point out, you also have to be in it for the long-haul. There is no overnight breakthrough success in comics.

Grace Randolph,
the only person at Marvel
who could lift Thor's hammer.
She was worthy.

Be willing to be edited

Brandon Montclare tells us:

The type of gig that you are going to get as a first time writer is going to be very much dependent on you filling a need that they have, not you bringing a great story to them.

Grace Randolph elaborates:

Just like making a movie or every other form of entertainment, a comic book is [created by] a team.

Be a team player and do the job you are hired to do.

One job will lead to the next

Bill Loebs

Bill Loebs reflects on his eclectic path towards comic glory:

I was hired because of the work that I did in Nucleus, Abortion Stew, and others to do Welcome to Heaven, Doctor Franklin in the back of Cerebus. That got a lot of comment from readers and I was offered a regular gig which turned into Journey. I landed Jonny Quest from Journey and then Jonny Quest got me Flash.

Every book is a stepping stone to the next project. That is why you should treat every book as if it were special. There are no small characters or unimportant books or sideshows. Not for you, the writer, in any case. Every book is an audition, a step along the way to eventually be a head writer for a major book.

And there you have it. Your entire road map summed up by analyzing the careers of those who went before you. And of course, you always need a little bit of the secret ingredient that artist Vince Locke credits his career to:

I just got lucky.