Warning to young artists
Let’s go w-w-w-a-a-a-y-y-y back to the first time I published an illustration. It was with Antartic Press. On the surface it was quite a good moment. Three of my illustrations were published in three different issues. What more could a young comic artist ask for? Keep reading to find out what I learned. *Warning* It ain’t good. I was published in these three Gold Digger specials:
• Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #4
• Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #5
• Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #7
The Dark Side of Comics
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ When you’re young and finally get published, it should be a thrill! A HUGE accomplishment. That one big break that you’ve been wishing for. So when that momentous achievement arrives, you’d think the editors would contact you to say a few things like:
– We’d like to publish your work.
– Here’s our contract.
– Here’s how much we pay.
– Congratulations!
ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞNothing even remotely close to that happened. Not only did Antarctic Press NOT tell me that I was published, they didn’t bother to pay me! That’s right. I submitted my work, their editors selected my illustrations, they published them and didn’t tell me. Zero contact. They didn’t even add my name to the credits on one of the issues!
I guess that’s they’re strategy. Publish whatever you want and hope no one notices. No contract, no credit and no pay! It’s horrendous behavior by Antarctic Press. Sadly, I’ve heard similar stories from many artists. And it wasn’t limited to Antarctic Press. It was common in the entire industry! (And maybe still is today?)
Well, back to my story. After I had submitted and heard nothing, I went to my local comic shop and saw the Gold Digger Swimsuit Special on the shelf. Naturally, I flipped through the pages was SHOCKED and thrilled to see my illustration! Yeah, baby! I was a now published artist!
But a moment later I realized that NO ONE contacted me! I felt like I had been scammed. How crappy of a person are you to publish someone and NOT tell them. The level of disrespect is off the charts. Like I said earlier – no contract, no credit and no pay.
I was proud, angry and embarrassed – all at the same time. It really sucked. I personally contacted the editors and they agreed to pay me (gee, thanks). They even said they wanted to publish more of my illustrations. Honestly, getting paid was important, but my real goal was to build my publishing credits and professional portfolio. The whole experience was such a disaster. And it’s even worse knowing this used to happen all the time.
∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿ So, there you have it. My experience being published for the first time.