Comic Book Resources

This kind of stuff is always shocking but never suprising. It leads me to ask the question I’ve asked more than once before: what exactly is the editor’s job if not to liase between the creators about the progress of the book?

Several years back, in a job interview for a medical writing job, the conversation turned to the prospect of me being fast-tracked into a project manager position. I’d never worked in a shop before (only by myself), so it sounded like a big deal and I was a bit cowed. So I guess I came off as less than confident, and subsequently didn’t get the job.

Seeing that what I would have been doing is pretty much what’s required of an editor, and seeing what kind of incompetence passes for project management in what is a pretty big enterprise like a comics company, I guess I should have been more confident. Even an inexperienced goof like me could have done a better job coordinating talent than some of these bozos.

It’s probably standard procedure for freelancers they don’t give two shits about.

Is it TYPICAL? No. But it happens. Usually at a company with incompetent editorial staff.

Most companies manage to reach a baseline-competence level that we really aren’t seeing from DC lately. This is just one more example of it.

They should be given a heads-up, as a professional courtesy. Even if they don’t have a contract, the editor knows they work from issue to issue. At least this guy has 2 months to find another job. Lord knows how many others may not have been as lucky…

I’ve done it with freelancers, and seen it done, although it was on order from management (and to be fair, not on something that would have taken up as much time as comic colouring).
I wasn’t particularly thrilled, but I wasn’t going to risk trouble to ring someone up and tell them we weren’t going to be using them again either.
It’s part of freelancing though, when the jobs are coming in, it’s great, but when they stop, they stop dead.

I’ve been in this situation, too, though not in comics. Freelancers who are lower down the food chain typically get such treatment, especially if their projects aren’t considered especially important.

Is there some advantage to being *aherm* rhymes with clicks about this? A phone call or even a mass e-mail to the book’s entire creative staff (“Hey, we’re really sorry. The book is ending for the usual sales related reasons. We’d like to thank you for all your hard work, and we hope to see your work again in the future”) took me all of twenty seconds to compose.

Is there a reason not to do this that I’m not seeing?

Is there a reason not to do this that I’m not seeing?

The best I can come up with is to help keep it firmly in place that they are freelancers – so that they don’t start to think of themselves as more than that, and so that staff don’t start to think of them as more than that.

I think the main reason they don’t tell the freelancers is to keep them on the project until the last issue is out because they’re worried people will bail before the last issues are complete. That argument would make more sense if there were more companes and jobs out there for freelancers. Maybe it’s to keep the cancellation under wraps longer?

Freelancers are seen as hired lackeys. Day laborers. It’s unfortunate that they are treated this poorly, but it is inevitable that the people on the bottom rung get shat upon.

Sign contracts. Call the editor once every two-three weeks. Force your name and face into their consciousness. Make yourself part of the team. You are less likely to be overlooked if you are a presence than if you are get a cog in the machine.

Freelancing is a tough way to make a living. I’ve seen reports from some freelancers where they go 2-3 months without any new work coming in, then get offered 4 projects in the same week. It must be mentally draining to work in freelance.

Sounds like, from the majority of the comments here, freelancer is code for “Subhuman.”

Pretty disgusting.

It really depends on who you work for. I’ve freelanced for some editors for years and gotten respectful treatment and all the work I could handle when projects were available. Other editors have been quick to use me as a scapegoat the moment a project went sour, whether or not I had anything to do with any problems in question. Basically it’s just that some people are assholes and others aren’t, which is a problem I’ve had in every “real” workplace I’ve been in, too.

Seems to be a lot of supposition. Shouldn’t someone actually ask DC instead of throwing a lot of BS around?

My experience as a design freelancer with the company i worked through was I was supposed to make a commitment for the length of the contract, but the customers could (and did) end it early…that was frustrating…

Really sounds like crap managers/editors…

Or gutless…

If the freelancer screws the job after you’ve warned him it’s finishing then he’s an idiot… He’s not going to get paid.

Be brave. Talk to the freelancers. tell them that it’s going to dry up in a month or so. Look for something new to use them on.

If you don’t think they’re good enough, tell them how they would need to change to be approved.

Don’t pussy-foot about and wait until the last minute… (or as it sounds above – never tell them)..

That’s cowardice and/or poor organisation…

“Seems to be a lot of supposition. Shouldn’t someone actually ask DC instead of throwing a lot of BS around?”

Todd? This is the internet. Internet? Todd.

Sounds like, from the majority of the comments here, freelancer is code for “Subhuman.”

Pretty disgusting.

It’s just how it is – they haven’t committed to working for you full time and you haven’t committed to them.
They are free to take a better job at a moments notice, you’re free to stop giving them work at a moments notice.
It’s a very similar deal as a Casual worker – there is no set commitment to one another between employee and employer.
Personally, I’d prefer to always keep open lines of communication, but that’s not always necessary or practical, or company policy.