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Posted: |
May 20, 2015 - 9:04 AM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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I don't suppose anyone read the articles in those links.  As fascinating as they are--and they are quite engrossing--it's all office politics/sausage being made-type stuff that really does leave a bad feeling afterwards. I suppose every collaborative, creative endeavor will have those unsavory aspects, but for the most part it would seem that the majority of comics creators are survivors who are often tested but who manage to endure the hardships of their trade.
I read the one suggesting pay rate for comic book artists. I think they made a pretty decent income, though obviously way below recommendations. (Beats the heck out of dishwasher or store clerk)
But it appears they were way undervalued and I really wouldn't know what an artist should get per page unless I knew what a title brought in every month. Which is missing from the equation. The plus side is back then you learned a specific trait and stayed within those boundaries. New skills were not required.
In general graphic artists salaries have gone down tremendously over the last 40 years. A successful Saturday morning animator could make $500 a week in the 60's.
The low end in the 70's and 80's was what used to be called the paste-up artist. They only made about $5 dollars an hour! But higher end creative talent I believe made around $50k thousand a year.
Today most graphic artists, are forced to be jack of all traits whom are expected to know a little of everything, graphic design, print, web design, animation, etc. Average salary can be anywhere between $25K to $45K a year- which is outlandish! Add on top of that always needing to keep up with the technology and schooling.
Even storyboard artists whom used to only need to sketch in those little rectangles on paper now need to learn motion graphics as more and more story-boarding are becoming animatics and not still images on paper.
Long story short I'm sure comic book artists were are underpaid, but at the same time unions like the music field ask for a ridiculous amount in fees and royalities.
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Recently Reading Dept
Captain America, "War & Remembrance"
Reprinting the brief-but-brilliant Stern-Byrne run of 1980 (issues #247-255)
Agreed. This run is easily among the best Captain America runs. I especially enjoyed the stories with Mister Hyde and Batroc on the Roxxon boat, and of course the Baron Blood story, but every story was great. The book I have reprinting these stories teased the first few unfinished pages of what would have been the next issue. I wonder why Stern and Byrne broke up the band so quickly? Clashes with the editor? Oh well, it was great while it lasted!
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Posted: |
Jun 4, 2015 - 8:36 AM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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The book I have reprinting these stories teased the first few unfinished pages of what would have been the next issue. I wonder why Stern and Byrne broke up the band so quickly? Clashes with the editor? Oh well, it was great while it lasted!
My copy has that artwork in it as well. As for the Stern-Byrne's sudden ending of the run, I've read that Jim Shooter's "No More Multi-Issue Storylines" was the reason. Since Rog and John wanted to do a big Red Skull epic, they quit. That may very well been the case, but then Shooter's edict was quickly rescinded because Cap writer J.M. DeMatteis wrote a few multi-issue arcs (good ones, too) in issues #275-279 and later in #290-300, so I wonder if Shooter just changed his mind or if said edict ever existed in the first place. IIRC Byrne mentioned this in the "Further Adventures of Indiana Jones" controversy of 1982, where he, Byrne left a book because no multi-issue tales were permitted.
I think Byrne's run on Cap is one of the great forgotten runs. Yes, it's been republished a lot, but it has the misfortune of being stuck amid his legendary run on Uncanny X-Men and Fantastic Four. I also enjoy his broef six-issue run on Hulk (a continuing arc also).
Here is some info on the reasons for the end of that run--from Rog and John:
http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/captain_america_255.shtml
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Puff! Wank! Bam! Krank! Slap! Bonk! Wink!
Sorry, I prefer the controlled intelligence (and cultural resonance) of Carl Barks's Disney cartoons. 
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Posted: |
Jun 5, 2015 - 9:49 AM
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By: |
drop_forge
(Member)
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Standard content today (storywise) consists of about 20 pages.
The manga/anime influence isn't as pervasive as you might imagine. Check out J.H. Williams III, Greg Capullo, Jae Lee, and especially Lee Bermejo and Gary Frank (who's drawing the Batman: Earth One graphic novels).
...and, of course, the great Walter Simonson is currently doing his take on the Thor character with the comic Ragnarok, published by IDW. If you enjoyed his legendary run on Marvel's The Mighty Thor in the 80s, it's a must.
Bernie Wrightson's still working, currently collaborating with Steve Niles on Frankenstein, Alive! Alive!. The issues take a long time to come out, but Bernie's art is as breathtaking and detailed today as it's ever been.
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Posted: |
Jun 5, 2015 - 10:40 AM
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By: |
Solium
(Member)
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Standard content today (storywise) consists of about 20 pages.
The manga/anime influence isn't as pervasive as you might imagine. Check out J.H. Williams III, Greg Capullo, Jae Lee, and especially Lee Bermejo and Gary Frank (who's drawing the Batman: Earth One graphic novels).
...and, of course, the great Walter Simonson is currently doing his take on the Thor character with the comic Ragnarok, published by IDW. If you enjoyed his legendary run on Marvel's The Mighty Thor in the 80s, it's a must.
Bernie Wrightson's still working, currently collaborating with Steve Niles on Frankenstein, Alive! Alive!. The issues take a long time to come out, but Bernie's art is as breathtaking and detailed today as it's ever been.
Thxs for the suggestions. Looking at Simonson, some of his faces do look anime like, though I see a strong Jack Kirby influence which is cool! Wrightson is a God of illustration and inking! I don't know how it's humanly possible to do the art he does. J.H. Williams III certainly isn't anime looking, almost has a french cartoonist influence to it. I like the somewhat photo-realism of Lee Bermejo's work. Anyway those are some quick thoughts. I Google the rest when I have time.
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I agree that Under Siege needs to be back in print. I am surprised with all of the attention the Avengers have been getting, and that the story itself is so popular among fans, that Marvel hasn't released it in some form. What is especially puzzling is that Marvel recently released an epic collection of "Assault on Olympus" the storyline that takes place immediately after Under Siege, a few annuals and some other odds and ends. Hopefully a new version will be available soon.
BTW, my local comic shop has that Avengers Under Siege HC, so I'll be picking that up post haste.
That is great they still have the HC. I will be curious to hear your thoughts on the storyline. Enjoy the book, particularly if you are enjoying it with a glass of your sangria.
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Europe has Shakespeare, Goethe, Flaubert, Dante, Cervantes - The US have Stan Lee.
Well, ---
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Posted: |
Jul 1, 2015 - 7:07 AM
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By: |
Jim Phelps
(Member)
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Europe has Shakespeare, Goethe, Flaubert, Dante, Cervantes - The US have Stan Lee.
Well, ---
Yes, we DO have Stan Lee  , but we also have Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Tennessee Williams to name a few.
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