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HOW TO LAND A COMIC BOOK JOB

Jack Kirby Hulk and Captain America creator Jack Kirby worked hard and made sacrifices to make it in the comic book industry — migrating to another country, picking up odd jobs and starting at the bottom. Though there are several ways to start a career in the comic book industry nowadays, it still takes dedication, hard work, and savvy planning to land that dream job.





Spiderman Funny WEAVE A WEB — CREATE A NETWORK

Peter Parker got a break in landing his photojournalism job with The Daily Globe by snapping photos of himself (well, his alter ego — Spiderman). Since most of us don't have superhuman skills or know a superhero personally, we must rely on our savvy thinking to open up possibilities.

As popular as comics are nowadays, with one big screen movie popping up after another, you could get your foot in the door by working for the fan press. You get to know the editors, writers and artists, which in turn can allow you to build enough trust from them that they would consider looking at your portfolio of work.

Being a dedicated fan to editors can help, too. Constantly writing entertaining letters to editors about newly released comics can make you familiar with editors, especially if you can come up with a unique handle other than your own name or "Hulk's Biggest Fan."

Attending conventions such as Comic-Con and after-parties can also help. Any face-to-face exposure with comic book reps of any kind is helpful, especially if you have good work to back you up. But be cautious with cold pitches — and avoid faux pas like approaching a possible contact while he's in the bathroom. Running into them in there is not fate, it's just bad timing.

Vintage Women In Bikini's
BUILD A FAN BASE

Publishing your work online through a blog or Tumblr is another way of getting noticed by the right person or persons. The more you can create a fan following, the better your chances of getting noticed.

Making a name for yourself means socializing, and social media makes it easy for you. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, shooting your work to the masses can boost your fan base quickly.

Sites like Comic Life or Toon Boom are a few blog sites that are available to get you started with creating your own blog. Once you've established a site, use social media to showcase your work to the public and draw traffic to your blog.

Interaction/feedback is another great way to hook new fans. Crowdsourcing makes your fans feel more involved and it's a good way to measure up your work to the Comics Fan Nation. Fellow comic book artists in the making could actually help you by offering tips or other outlets to get your work noticed.

Marvel Superheroes
GET SCHOOLED

There are still many Jack Kirbys in the world that can land a comic book job on talent alone. But for most people in the working world, having a degree to back that up speaks volumes.

Schools like Penn Foster can offer accredited degrees in graphic design, where you can learn color theory, stream technology and learn about corporate design and electric publishing, which is already an advantage over the "I just have natural talent" guy.

But being able to multitask at any job is going to raise employer eyebrows. It means more bang for their buck and better chances of you getting hired, which puts you one step closer to your dream job in the comic book industry.

Earning a degree in graphic design and writing is certainly a direct path to the comic book industry, but if you can include education in sales, web development or design, even social media, you're becoming a Superman protege.

This also helps with trying to land an internship with well-known companies like Marvel Entertainment, which encourages college-enrolled students to apply for more than one department. If the graphic design department isn't taking in interns, experience with sales and marketing can come in handy as it may be the key to getting your foot into the door with an internship in another department.

HOW TO LAND A COMIC BOOK JOB HOW TO LAND A COMIC BOOK JOB Reviewed by David Andrews on April 02, 2014 Rating: 5
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