How to Get a Comic Strip Published
Comic strips have been around since the 19th century. Often humorous and smart, comic strips have touched each generation since its inception. Whether it's The Peanuts, The Phantom or The Boondocks, the creative team behind them spent years and years to get their work published. From creative, solicitation to getting an agent, we show you how to get your comic strip published.
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Things You'll Need
- Artistic talent
- Creative team
- Art materials
- Website
- Web designer
- Portfolio
Instructions
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Creative Team; Concept to Publication
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Get your creative team together. A drawer and writer are essential. They can be the same person as well. "If you can't write then find someone you know who has talent. A friend who wants to break in the business and wants to get their name out there is a good way to save on the budget," claims Courtnee Blackmon, independent graphic designer.
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Concept the art work, faces and poses. Conceptualizing is part of the theme or main idea for the comic script. Bart Simpson has a constant "look "to him, do the same for each of your characters.
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Take your comic concept and solicit it to local your independent comic book shops, newspapers and local rags. The Boondocks comic strip was started at a college newspaper, then to a national publication and later a TV show. Please note even the Boondocks example was not an overnight sensation but years of hard work to reach each of those accomplishments.
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Meet with potential agents to represent your work. Show either your portfolio or website with your concept ideas. The agent that represents you must believe in your comic strip, so feel good about the agent you choose.
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Self publish! Several comic strips have gained large audiences with their Web-only publications. "Penny Arcade and Ray2kproduxions are such examples. Create a web site with easy navigation. A simple but sleek web design needs to compliment your comic strip. Add social networking pages as well to attract and gain new traffic.
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Self promote your work. Do the footwork, don't think that just cause you have created the greatest comic in the world people should flock to your website. On the contrary, hustle your comic with the same passion you created it with.
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Tips & Warnings
The comic strip industry is heavily freelanced. Universal Press Syndicate, which is home to Doonsbury, La Cucaracha and Calvin and Hobbes, is technically an independent company.
A problem is that most Agents to see that you can get work on your own first, independently, and have a small following to build your name off, so be active with self publishing and promoting.
