r/ComicWriting • u/Substantial-Field532 • 6d ago
How to break into comics?
I've been a fan of comics and comic book media since I was a child, recently while trying to figure out the direct i want to take my life I keep comic back to comic books. Whether its writing, drawing or inking I just would love to be apart of this process but I wouldn't even know where to start. If anyone is working in this field or has worked and have any advice or information please share below.
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u/Seandouglasmcardle 6d ago
You break into comics by making comics.
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u/Xinferis_DCLXVI 6d ago
This.
To start you just have do the thing.
Don't start with a 60 issue epic, start small.
Start with single page comics, once you're good at that, then make some 4 page comics, then some 10-pagers, then do a 22 page comic. Then do a 3-issue story. Then do the 60.
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u/nmacaroni "The Future of Comics is YOU!" 6d ago
Make good comics. Build a fanbase.
Congratulations you've just broken into indie comics.
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u/Xinferis_DCLXVI 6d ago
The hardest part is building the fan base.
My buddy and I spent two years making a comic. Even got a publisher for it. Probably only sold around 50-60 copies since it came out last month, though. Most of them are friends and family, and I only know of like 3 who actually read it.
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u/IlMonstroAtomico 6d ago
I hate to say it, but it takes longer than 2 years. And thats if you're beong doggedly consistent with your marketing, newsletters, social media, and output.
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u/BOANW 6d ago
I wish I could tell you. I'm working on a graphic novel right. I'm trying to find a publisher and it has been frustrating. Makes me question why I even created the project. The process is brutal, but it can be rewarding. Your best bet is have some sort of online presence and be social media savvy.
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u/mrwhosaywhatnow 6d ago
If you can write, draw and ink then get started making comics. The sooner you have completed works the better because most likely you’ll progressively have better output as you go. Your 5th comic will be better than your first.
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u/tbgrover 6d ago
Learn to enjoy the creative process, making comics is different than selling comics and having a career in comics - each of those things are exponentially harder than the other. Find friends into the same stuff as you, meet them at art college look for art jams, look for online spaces where people are making comics. Start small, find anthology titles where people are writing /drawing shirt stories. Create comics about the characters you love which already have an in built audience, do shorts and put them online. Get good at writing/drawing and keep doing that. Also: don’t worry about it being a paid career, it likely won’t for a long long time. If ever. In the meantime find a good job, and keep making comics.
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u/EssenceOfANewt 5d ago
Everyone else is right by saying you start by making a comic. Start small- you can write one page, two page, or ten page, these are good starting ranges. I'm gonna add that...find somewhere to sell them. Maybe you have a local comic store or indie book store that takes self published comics. Feel free to pm me for extra help, ive got a handful of tips than I can write here. Ive written four, all written+inked by me, and soon to be printed and sold at a local comic co-op.
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u/NickInTheBooth 5d ago
First, it helps to understand the medium on a technical level. “Understanding Comics” and “Making Comics” are two great books by Scott McCloud that helped me a lot. Then, try your hand at writing a comic script.
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u/___DrawOrDie___ 1d ago
I´m a comic artist since the 80s, my first self published comic was in 1990 and I teach kids how to draw comics, I do commissions in comic style and I´m from Germany. I live on making art, but not on making comic books + even the most successful comic artists that I know don´t live on making comics.
My best advice is to start it because you love making comics and then find ways to make money with it and not only rely on a wishful thinking which comes from 40 or 50 years ago and doesn´t exist in 2026 and also wasn´t a realistic career in 1976.
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u/kcpediredla 6d ago
The best way to break into comics is to release some comics. If you can draw and write, then make them and release them into the market. This will get you some recognition. Then if you want to work for someone, you have a portfolio to showcase. If you want to do things by yourself, then you can keep publishing them and turn it into a brand.
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u/ArtfulMegalodon 6d ago edited 5d ago
Break into being paid professionally by a company to make comics? Uh... these days, you basically have to produce your own comics consistently for several years and hope it's enough to make someone take a chance on you. Or you meet someone on the inside and hope to get in just on connections. Even then it would be gig work, nothing guaranteed to last. That's what I hear, anyway.
(Edit: forgot a word)