Comments on: Xeric Foundation Ends Grants to Cartoonists

By: Look Straight Ahead Tackles Mental Illness in Online Graphic Novel » Comics Worth Reading

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 02:26:56 +0000

[...] Straight Ahead was also one of the final Xeric Award recipients. This month, you have plenty of time to catch up on the story, since updates will resume [...]

By: Picket Line » Comics Worth Reading

Picket Line » Comics Worth Reading — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:49:58 +0000

[...] Picket Line is one of the last Xeric Award grant recipients. It’s about a restless young woman who doesn’t know what she wants in [...]

By: David Oakes

David Oakes — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 21:23:06 +0000

The Internet is letting your drive the Porsche, for roughly the cost of gas. But if you want to make money, at some point you buy the Model T (invest in a print run), and tool around the country talking to individual customers (sell the books).

Now, you might as well let the Internet take you to all those customers’ houses first, so you can gauge the value of buying the Model T. No argument there. But unless your *only* goal is the artistic satisfaction of the work existing, you simply aren’t going to get there in someone else’s car.

By: Davy Jones

Davy Jones — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 20:25:21 +0000

I’m amazed there are still people self-publishing paper comics at all. Why would any indie creator these days even bother? The internet is a superior medium in every respect. It’s cheaper, more immediate, space is unlimited, and you can (potentially) reach a LOT more people than two thousand (or, more realistically, the 400 you’ll sell)hard copy comics could. Granted you’re not making any money, but at least you won’t end up in debt, surrounded by unsold comic books.

The only attraction I could see in publishing a hard copy comic is the “thrill” of having a real live finished comic in your hands. But you know what? I’ve been there, and that thrill gets old, fast. At this point my main concern is just getting the work out there as quickly and painlessly as possible. And I couldn’t imagine going back to the Model T of print comics when the internet is giving away a free Porsche.

By: Xeric Foundation to offer one last round of grants to creators | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:13:04 +0000

[...] (via Comics Worth Reading) [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:15:00 +0000

I think some people in Canada have gotten arts grants there for comics, although they aren’t intended specifically for that format. Me, being a pessimist (although I prefer realist), I’m still waiting for the first great Kickstarter scandal, where someone raises a lot of money and bails on the rewards. But like you, I hated the idea of the Xeric ending, before I thought about it and realized it was just a sign of changing times.

By: Diana Green

Diana Green — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 01:07:05 +0000

My first reaction – no! – is tempered by a bit of common sense.
It’s not just the Web model that has changed the face of indy funding, but Kickstarter.
In the latter model, your successes are not contingent on the judgment of a half-dozen people, a dicey situation no matter how versed in the nuances of comics those six may be. Instead, you’re answerable to the masses, a sort of online American Idol for comics.
Does that model solve all the problems? Of course not. But there is an evolution to this stuff, and it’s wise of the Xeric folks to accept that.
It’s been a great 20 years. But now the only self-publishing grant (AFAIK) is the PRISM Grant.