A comic book artist who wants to be a publisher should first and foremost be a trained artist. There are numerous art schools that teach comic art, the most prominent of which is the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey, found by Kubert, one of the original Golden and Silver Age artists who worked on such iconic comics as Sgt. Rock, Hawkman and The Flash. While formal training may not be necessary, publishing is expensive and the would-be artist/publisher should be able to produce polished work that rivals professional work from other publishers. Additionally, the key to successful comic books is story and art, not simply art. An artist planning a comic should know his story is first-rate or he should consult with a writer to make it so.
A comic book writer who wants to publish needs an artist with whom he can collaborate. Rare is the comic book artist who does not want to have input into the story or at least be able to make creative suggestions. The writer must understand the artist's needs and provide him with a detailed story, panel by panel. Additionally, the writer should be accomplished and confident enough in his writing to enter into a publishing venture knowing his work is of the highest quality.
Someone interested in being a publisher, bringing together writer/artist teams to create professional comic books, should have a firm understanding of publishing. Independent publisher Alan Swan suggestions that a publisher needs to decide if the comic will be in color--an extremely expensive proposition--or just the covers. The publisher should know who will distribute the comic book and how distributors and outlets will classify it. Additionally, he will need to decide what, realistically, the sales will be. It is necessary to promote the comic book prior to printing it and deciding how to promote and advertise it is crucial. Finding an affordable printer also is critical to maintaining a sensible budget and a publisher should learn printing terminology or find someone to help them deal with the printer. An another component of publishing is to cover the legal bases. In many states, a publisher can form a limited liability company (LLC) that afford him, as an individual, legal protection.
There are scores of comic books published online. It is far less expensive than having a comic printed. For the publisher looking at the Internet as an alternative to hard-copy comics, it is important to understand the requirements of web publishing. It is a good idea to find a good Internet service provider (ISP) with whom to work. Original comic book pages are often larger than a typical scanner and therefore may have to be scanned at a commercial shop. On the plus side, publishing online allows for color throughout the publication. However, it brings up a number of thorny questions: How will people pay for the comic and in what format will they download it? How will it be promoted? Perhaps through Facebook that reaches millions of potential buyers. Can the publisher realistically maintain a regular schedule? In what format will the comic book be presented? For downloading to a computer, a PDF format is acceptable, but with so many platforms available, such as Kindle, Barnes & Nobles PubIt, iPad and many others, the online publisher must know and understand how his comic book will interface with various platforms.
In Portland, Oregon, a small company has created ShishKaboom, a publishing venture that showcases new comic book artists' stories online for community feedback. Positive feedback results in publishing deals and income for the artist/creator and ShishKaboom. This is one of the new ideas for using the Internet as a marketing tool. ComicBookMarketing.com, a site devoted to helping the comic book publisher promote his work, suggests that contemporary comic books are "unreadable" compared to comic books published 25 years ago, largely because today's books appear stylish, but are in reality hard to read and thus, hard to market. The site also has tips and tricks for successful marketing. In the end, it is important that the comic book publisher be knowledgeable about art, story, printing and/or publishing on the Internet and marketing.