How to Have Your Comics Reviewed at Comic-Con

The comic book industry is very competitive and fairly difficult to break into. Most aspiring artists begin with the traditional route of sending portfolio samples to big mainstream comic book companies via snail-mail. Of course, waiting for work to be retrieved from a slush pile and finally reviewed can be a long process that takes several months. To shortcut the process and possibly get a chance to have a face-to-face portfolio review with major comic book company editors, an artist may need to take a trip to the world’s largest annual comic book convention, Comic-Con in San Diego, California. At Comic-Con, most of the major companies, as well as boutique publishers, conduct portfolio reviews during specific time periods at a specially designated Portfolio Review location at the Convention.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Transportation and accommodations
• Portfolio
• Extra packets with cover letter and business card
• Talent

1. Prepare your portfolio for presentation. Make sure that your best work is placed in the first pages.

2. Arrive at Comic-Con. If you’re serious about making the right contacts, it’s best to get to the convention on the morning of the first day. Attend the “Professional Networking” panel to get an overview and specific tips on networking at Comic-Con. Note that last year, this panel was held on Thursday, the first day of the Convention.

3. Find the Portfolio Review Area. Last year it was next to the Autograph Area. Note that it’s best to arrive at this area early, since DC Comics holds its mandatory pre-portfolio review seminars at the beginning of the convention day. Also, most editors and reviewers will be at their mental-freshest and friendliest at the beginning of a convention day.

4. If an interview appears to be going well, give the editor a leave-behind packet containing a cover letter and a business card.

5. Network with other cartoonists going through the review process. Collect tips and job leads.

Resources

• Tips for portfolio reviews
• Tips from Dark Horse
• Get Reviewed by Marvel