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JayFaerber

Name: Jay Faerber

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December 16, 2010 10:08 am @Cormac - While THE WALKING DEAD is Kirkman's biggest success, I know he makes a nice profit on INVINCIBLE, too. And it was optioned for film at one point, a few years ago. Kirkman was even able to negotiate the deal where he wrote the screenplay -- which is pretty impressive.
December 15, 2010 10:23 pm @wallythegreenmonster - I realize I'm coming across as defensive on Image's behalf, but a difference between them and traditional book publishers is that book publishers are in it to make a profit. Image isn't. Image's fee is a flat fee for all their books, and it covers their office space and staff, that sort of thing. So they make as much money on THE WALKING DEAD as they do on their worst-selling title.

But yeah -- the less creators you have in your creative team, the more profit there is to split between them. I know Alex Grecian does his own lettering on PROOF and Kirkman used to letter all his own books before they got so successful that he could pay someone else to do it. 

Image isn't the place for everyone. Some creators don't mind giving up some control and some media rights if it means they get a page rate. But if you want maximum creative control with maximum market exposure, Image is where it's at. 
December 15, 2010 9:38 pm @wallythegreenmonster - I take your point, but I wouldn't really call coloring and lettering "production costs." Those are more like creative costs, since the colorist and letterer are part of the creative team. Production costs would be pre-press formatting, and actual printing. That sort of thing. Which Image handles. Don't get me wrong -- it IS a sad state of affairs that profits are so low on most creator-owned books that publishers can't normally afford to offer any kind of advance without owning part of the property. It's very tough out there. But I don't think writers and artists should pay colorists and letterers out of their own pocket. They should instead look for colorists and letterers that are willing to work for a percentage of the profits (or partial ownership, or both). That way, no one's paying anything upfront. But hey, different people have different ways of doing things. 
December 15, 2010 8:49 pm @wallythegreenmonster - No one "fronts" money for production and marketing costs at Image. Maybe this isn't what you mean, but "fronting" that money makes it sound like you're cutting Image a check for that stuff ahead of time. In fact, it's the reverse. Image fronts YOU the money for production and marketing. Image pays the printer, freight, etc., and then recoups production and distribution costs (as well as their small fee) from the profits. I can't think of a single company that focuses on creator-owned material that operates differently. That's the trade-off for doing creator-owned work. You own all the media rights and have complete creative control, but there's little (or no) upfront money. With work-for-hire, you get a page rate, but you have to give up some media rights and some creative control. 
October 27, 2009 10:58 pm I love iFanboy!
October 27, 2009 11:54 am

I'm glad you guys are excited about the book -- and I'm also glad you've been so patient with us. Trust me, after our hiatus we'll be back with a much more reliable shipping schedule, and some really cool changes. Plus, some incredible guest stars.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy #25. We're really proud of it.