Last week, we took a look at some of the reasons why someone might want to create their own webcomic. Financial security was not one of those reasons. While there are some really good examples of people making a living exclusively from their webcomics, that is decidedly not the norm. Often, webcomics are done in addition to a full-time job; many of the creators I've looked at work in artistic fields that have them designing print ads, storyboarding commercials or developing websites. Let's take a look at a specific, not entirely atypical, example.
Cool Jerk is by California resident Paul Horn. Like many artists, he drew a lot in school and did an ongoing comic strip for his college newspaper. (Two ongoing strips, actually!) When he later started working at the Reno Gazette-Journal as a graphic artist, he was tapped with helping to develop a page aimed at a younger demographic. (Bear in mind, this was before the days when everyone knew what the Internet was and newspapers still thought they had a fighting chance to compete with it.) He debuted Cool Jerk in the newspaper, as a paid member of the newspaper staff.
The strip garnered a small syndication and Horn continued to produce the strip after leaving the Gazette-Journal and moving to San Diego. He was earning his income creating infographics (like the Fantastic Four piece at the right used to explain the characters/concepts of the 2005 movie) and illustrations for The San Diego Union-Tribune and doing Cool Jerk in his spare time. But despite the initial newspaper syndication, he was doing the strip for free.
Horn starting promoting the comic online in 1997. He began selling t-shirts and other apparel through a Cafe Press store in 2004. If you’re unfamiliar with Cafe Press, they’re essentially an online, print-on-demand service specializing in light clothing. You can upload your own artwork and sell goods online without having to deal with inventory or shipping issues. Cafe Press charges a base fee for each item, and you’re able to set a price above that in order to make some profit. Typically, this isn’t a huge windfall but it was, at least in Horn’s case, probably more than enough to cover his hosting and domain name costs which, until then, had technically been making Cool Jerk a financial loss.
Cafe Press certainly isn’t the only option open along these lines, but they’re one of the more widely known. Generally speaking, the print-on-demand approach tends to be a little more expensive on a per item basis, but they also allow for extremely small print runs. As small as one, in fact, which means that they remove all of the financial risk on the part of the webcomic creator. If a t-shirt design they make doesn’t sell at all, they haven’t actually spent any money on it in the first place, so there’s no strain on their bank account. As soon as a single item sells, it’s making a profit, albeit a modest one.
Horn was still working at the Union-Tribune, though, and that would continue as a source of income until 2006. It was then that he ventured out into the world of freelance and webcomic professional. In 2007, he published his first print collection of Cool Jerk strips. Unlike the print-on-demand model, these were printed up more traditionally and sent to Horn in bulk. This method is cheaper and means Horn can keep more profit from each book, but he does have a larger outlay of cash to get them printed in the first place. Plus, each order that comes through his website is handled by Horn himself. He’s packing them up, schlepping them down to the post office and sending them out on his own.
Horn has also talked to various comic retail shops like Isotope, Laughing Ogre and The Beguiling and got them to stock his books. But, again, he’s had to do the work himself; he’s not working through a larger distributor. I’m sure he’ll be the first to tell you that’s a lot of work on his part.
But on top of all that, Horn is still doing freelance illustration. Since he left the Union-Tribune, he’s done pieces for everyone from Wizard Magazine to Coldwell Banker. He even did some illustrations for the book Machine of Death. He’s making a living, and even managed to get himself married in 2009. (No small financial outlay there!) But that’s all work he’s doing in addition to his cartooning.
But that’s how Horn is making money. He’s selling stuff related to his comic (notably books and t-shirts) from his website, while giving the comic away. Other artists also include donation options and advertising on their sites, but by most accounts, the money they receive from those venues is pretty minimal. The comics themselves are considered a loss leader to entice people to the website, which is then used to sell tangible goods like buttons and stickers and books. It’s the sale of those pieces that keep the money flowing for webcomic creators. And that’s why the creators that are making a living off their webcomics are generally the same ones who are the most popular.
Related Posts:
Kleefeld on Webcomics #1: Webcomics, A Primer
Kleefeld on Webcomics #2: Really Simple Syndication
Kleefeld On Webcomics #3: Why They Are Made
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