From Bob McLeod's facebook page:
Bob McLeod: "Frank Miller pencils. You can't tell unless you download the image to enlarge it, but there's white line zip-a-tone over the entire image, which Miller requested. You can see by my voucher that comics didn't pay all that well (and still don't). With inflation, that would be about $105 in 2011 dollars. That's why most artists of that era were trying to do several pages a day rather than put hours of effort into a single drawing. But I was single and living cheaply in Florida and didn't care about the money. I just wanted to do my best. A lot of today's artists feel the same way, except that in 1980 the original art to that cover probably only sold for $50-$100 (the inker gets every third cover by the same penciler). Today's covers sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But today's pencilers should note: The exact linework and detail was done in the inks. The pencils were left vague enough for a lot of artistic contribution from the inker. This would have looked quite different if Sinnott or even Janson had inked it."
Man, 40 bucks? You know it's a labor of love, not a labor for money ... I'm willing to bet the pay scale for comics hasn't changed much, adjusted for inflation.
ReplyDeleteSad to say, but I think that's why there are far more mediocre artists in comics (both now and in the 80s) then there are real standouts. The really super-talented illustrators go where the money is, in more lucrative commercial art/design careers. Just my theory.
i love what an inker can do with someones pencils.. my favorite inker for Miller had to be Jansen.. something so copacetic between the two happened as Millers art underwent his signature style change towards what weve seen the past decade....
ReplyDeletei would have to wonder though if an artist known more for detailed backgrounds such as George Perez wouldnt have a more defined pencil base leaving less room for artistic interpretation and input in the inking of his work as opposed to the somewhat looser styles of Miller , Sylvestri , or Romita....
curious...
Jake