Comics page rates in USA???

[Swal]

Hi there!

I have recently got in touch with an american comics publisher and they are interested by my artwork. And they asked me my page rate... As a French artist, I really have no idea about rates in use oversea. I have found this on the web:

Here is a GUIDE for PENCILING page rates:

Beginning rates
$80/page - $100/page
$1880/comic - $2350/comic

After 5 working years
$175/page - $200/page
$4112.50/comic - $4700/comic


It's only for penciling, that means only elaborate sketches, right?
Someone could give me more details about that? I am not really a beginning artist as I have already drew two comics in the past and I work as an illustrator for nearly 10 years.
Many thanks for any reply!!!

Cheers,
Swal

[grudge]

My friend... who I am not ever going to name works for Tookyoo(omg I took 3 years of Nihongo and I can't spell Tookyoo!) pop here in America.. and his page rate for pencils only is an astounding 10 dollars....a page with no bonus for anything, as near as we can tell.
In case your not familiar with them, them make manga books, I'm not sure if this at all applies to you, you might be talking marvel or Image, in which case you could likely demand some decent sort of compensation for your efforts!

[DavePalumbo]

10 dollars a page? Do they charge extra for the kick in the balls too? From what I gather and by the standards of the Graphic Artists and Designers Guild, your rates look reasonable Swal.

[Egets]

hey this is a good topic ! I myself have 90 pages of story as sketches, I have let it rest there in the closet it seems to be the only brain capital I have so Im very stingy and possessive about it, I rather keep it there finessing it throughout years and then selfpublish it or something than start whoring it for some anime company for 10 dollars, but if I got a good contract with some anime company then I might consider giving them the only rights to publish it for me but not so sure about it, I know that there is a lot of story to tell but Im still searching for my style and gathering more experience, and as well I want to be faster because I realise that by the time I go in to the business itself then one should be ready to produce and produce and no more time for going out there to look for references etc

based on my story does any body has any comic company coming to mind that would respect my individual story and yet would not try to rip it off, I| mthinking some kind of agreement where the publisher takes their own share and I have mine and this all will be of course in ratio of how the comic sells now so if it sells we get lot of money and share it according to what the agreement says or then if its not selling... then oh swell

[Mirana]

Tokyopop is NOT standard. They take advantage of young artists who have never worked in the business and do not know what standard rates are. They ask for three 150pg novels over 1.5 yrs written, penciled, inked, toned and lettered for 10K. That's about $22 a page ($2.75 an hr for an 8hr day if you finish one a day?). That's LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE.

I like what that company does for established work, but I would never work for them at that rate.

Anyhoo, your rates sound about right. The Graphic Artists Guild Hand Book says as of 1997-2000:
Pencils: US$55-200
Inks: US$45-150
Lettering: US$18-35
Coloring: US$20-35
Painted art: US$150-350

Those are a pretty wide range, though. If you're doing more than just the pencils for a page, you should be asking for payment for more than one job. Check out Staz' Marvel pages if you want to see what is considered a finished penciled or inked page.

[pencilkiller]

Originally Posted by Mirana

Tokyopop is NOT standard. They take advantage of young artists who have never worked in the business and do not know what standard rates are. They ask for three 150pg novels over 1.5 yrs written, penciled, inked, toned and lettered for 10K. That's about $22 a page ($2.75 an hr for an 8hr day if you finish one a day?). That's LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE.

I like what that company does for established work, but I would never work for them at that rate.

That is not ture, at least in my case....Get a contract from them and look for it yourself...

[Mirana]

I turned down a contract from them. I'm not that desperate, nor willing to be taken advantage of. I got a contract elsewhere.

However, it's been a while (2yrs?) and I couldn't remember if it was 10K($22) or 16K($37). Either is atrocious. Maybe they've gotten better since then, but the last time I spoke to a TP editor, it was not the case.

[GHill]

I had a friend in school who penciled a short-lived comic for the short-lived Dreamwave company. He got $120 per page. That was 3 years ago, and his first real paying gig I think.

Wow, $10 a page from Tokyopop! That would explain the quality of most of their American releases. I've heard a few bad stories about the way they treat their artists, but I've heard even worse music from their CEO "DJ Milky".

[Mirana]

Aww, Dreamwave. I miss their stuff. I would have liked to work for them. :/

[Silvertone]

I'd ask 125...maybe 150 per page. What company? A small one just starting out might not be able to pay that much.

And what about the cover, are you going to be doing that as well? pencilled/ inked and colored or painted maybe?

Sucks comics pay so low.

[fixx]

Seems a little low. The rates might have gone up for beginners.
But I doubt Jim Lee and the "superstar" pencillers get just 100/page.
No, they don't want just an elaborate sketch. DC and Marvel wants tight, clean pencils, such as the link to Staz stuff . Although, DC prefers artists with their own style, whereas companies like Image and TopCow have a style they want you to fit into. Turner anyone? ick. lol
Hope that helped.

[Swal]

Hi there!

Thank you all! I see clearly now... In France the average rate for a pencilled/inked page is around 220 bucks. Nearly the same thing in the USA. But royalties are different I think. ^^
Thanks again.

Swal