Nick Macari page rates

Comic Page Rates and Creator Budgets August 6, 2022 July 25, 2026 nickmac ——- UPDATED: 2024 ————————————– Indie comics is a complex industry. It consists of many moving parts in a constantly changing landscape . An incredibly diverse landscape covering the ground from single creator, completely self-produced micro-run books, all the way through to bigger name indie publishers like Black Mask, Mad Cave, Boom!, and everything in-between. Add to this the very nature of the creative arts and the fact that near everybody plays their financial cards close to their chest and it’s no wonder Comic production doesn’t have any kind of guild set minimum rate schedule . In an effort to help creators understand the industry, to help them properly budget their own projects and make sure they’re setting their own freelance rates correctly, I’ve been compiling and sharing articles like this over the years. There is no defacto standard when it comes to comic production rates, but following these articles will hopefully, help get you in a good (and fair) place. Here’s a breakdown strictly by the numbers . That is to say, a formula based solely on each artists’ time contribution. I created this to try and give the most impartial breakdown as I could. [ 61% to the line artist / 08% to the writer / 23% to the colorist / 03% to the editor / 03% to the letterer / 02% to the prepress dude ] I’ve watermarked these graphics; feel free to share em. Experience, Expertise, and Name Recognition I’m not sure there’s a way to create one formula that takes all variables into consideration. Starting from the Low Budget Column, to get a more accurate idea of a page rate, you can try moving one column to the right each time a talent ticks one of these : Extensive experience. Fantastic talent. Significant name recognition/an existing fanbase. While this approach may help you gauge individual page rates, it’s not really going to help you work within a budget formula . Once you start sliding around in the columns for 1 or 2 artists, your percentages are gonna be all out of whack. At the moment, I just don’t have a budget solution that covers every possible variable . Micro-Budget Note that in the Micro budget column, folks are just workin’ for free. Nobody can survive on those rates. See the sustainable section below . Low Budget This column teeters along the minimum wage depending on where you live in the U.S. Noobs who can’t demand a better wage and more experienced folks doing favors for people live here. Medium or Mid-Budget This is where you get into livable wage territory and find experienced talent who know what they’re doing. Big Budget At this bracket you find people at the top of their game. Block Buster Budget The far-right column isn’t a column you’re likely to ever use, until you win the lottery , OR save someone really famous from certain death –in which case it’ll be easy for you to presell 30,000 books. Highly experienced, top tier people, with name recognition live here. While you may never produce a book at this level, I think it’s useful to recognize what the biggest, most expensive comic can produce. Of course, at this level, there is certainly talent out there that breaks far beyond the scope of this column. The ultra rich and famous, don’t really play the normal laws of physics. What was the Rob Liefield page recently posted for? $7.5 million I reckon (unless that was an internet joke.) Just Because it’s YOUR Budget , doesn’t Mean it actually works . The above chart IS useful in grounding your minimum budget rates in reality and giving you a solid starting point in assembling talents of various experience and skill levels. However, as the bottom of the above chart states, the rates divide up a set budget across a generic time estimation . There is no core accounting for individual skill, experience, and marketability (name recognition/fanbase draw). If you read further down in this article , where I break down the individual elements of comic