Comics books - funding and unions
Recently there has been a lot of talk in the graphic novel world about comic book creators simply not being able to make ends meet. Because they simply can’t afford to, it takes too much time for too little money.
Now amongst the discussions have been very detailed considerations of how we increase our readership, market our books better, make books that people want to buy, increase our social media presence, etc. All of these are relevant. But, oddly enough, the main cause of the basic problem is rarely mentioned. And what is that? Our old arch-enemy that has - so far - refused to lie down: capitalism. The fact that, in capitalism, things are valued according to how much profit they will make is the real source of the financial trouble that we comic book creators have.
For example, a recent article by Thom Pratt, notes that since Disney make more profit from just ONE superhero movie than they do from a whole year of publishing all Marvel comics put together, then it's not inconceivable that they could decide 'Why bother publishing the comics at all?' Based on the rationale of profit that makes sense. But that's the problem with capitalism: there is more to life than profit. Comics, and all art, brings us something meaningful via the joy of the art, of a good story, the characters, the ideas explored... also the creation process, the satisfaction of achievement, the value of creativity. So, if the capitalist system degrades and neglects all that great stuff, and leaves creators impoverished...then why not get rid of that system?
I’ve already written an article about how in a non-capitalist system comics would flourish much more. Probably one that draws on elements of socialism, anarchism and environmentalism. But as most of those words have silly clichés attached to them that blind most of us to calmly considering the issues, let’s just call it a ‘Better Economic and Social System’ (BESS). In a BESS private profit will not be the main focus.
Of course the predictable reaction to that will; be two main things: ‘That is utopian nonsense’. Easy answer there: no, its not, it’s a practical thing that we can achieve if enough of us decide to do it.
Ok, and then the 2nd predictable reaction: ‘I agree, that would be good, but we have to deal with the reality of the way things are now.’ Agreed, we do need to deal with the way things are now (while, at the same time, trying to move things forward to something fundamentally better). So, let’s have a look at some of those things that can be done while we are still - unfortunately - stuck in the capitalist system.
Firstly: more grants for comic books. A strong case could be made to say that comic books are worth supporting, that comics are a part of British culture with a long history, stretching back into the late 19thC, with many aspects of British culture reflected in their pages. We could also say that the comic book medium is one that British creators have made a world class contribution to. Yet, so far comics get a very small level of grants compared with the far higher subsidies received for other art forms, such as opera. I have nothing against opera, this is just a comparison in order to go into how poor the situation is for comic books and how it might be improved.
For example, according to data on the Statista Portal, research carried out between 2005 and 2015 suggests that around 4% of the population attended an opera or operetta once a year. If we compare that with comics we see that a study carried out by the National Literacy Trust, released in May 2016, indicates that over the same period around 28% of 8 to 16 year olds regularly read comics. And the study also concludes that 5% of the UK adult population read 'comics and manga' in 2015. They based that on a survey of 54,213 adults between 18-64 years of age. So, presuming its accurate, this is a small symbolic victory for comics, as its 1% ahead of the regular opera goer 4%, which helps build the case to grant giving bodies that comics should be supported more.
Yet, up to this point and despite an improvement in the amount of grants available to comics over the last 20 years, the position is very poor. How much do they get now? No one seems to be sure. The data sets of Arts Council England don't specifically cover comic book/graphic novel funding. Communications Officer, Abbi Knell, told me:
“It would be difficult to collect data specifically related to comic books and graphic novels, as the way that many are funded isn’t clear cut." But perhaps we can make some rough comparisons with opera and literature. According to a BBC article opera alone received something around £60 million in funding at a time when literature receives around 2% of spending on the National Portfolio. Antonia Byatt, Director of Literature at the Arts Council England told the Royal Society of Literature that: “In 2013/14 literature Grants for the Arts funding for individuals was approximately £700k... Grants for the Arts often works better for smaller organisations too – in 2013/14 we spent just over £2m on literature.”
The difference between what opera receives and what literature receives seems very unbalanced – something around only 5% of the amount, if the various grant programs are added together. But that is literature in general, of all types, not just graphic novels. Since there does not appear to be any clear figures, could we hazard a wild guess and say that comics related projects, of all types, account for 10% of the figure for literature?
Now, this is not to have a go at the arts council. They also operate within capitalism and are not a bottomless pit of resources. I myself received my start in comic from an arts council grant in 2003. I'm very grateful for that, and we can say that their investment paid off as I have gone on to write many more books in the 14 years since then for a variety of UK, US and Japanese publishers. It seems highly likely that the arts council would be happy to fund more graphic novels, if resources allowed. In order to give more people like me a start, and to further support established creators too.
So, how can we apply more pressure for an increase in the amount and range of grants available for comic books? There are a variety of things that come to mind: we could create on online petition at the UK government website. These require some parliamentary response at 10,000 signatures and a debate if 100,000 signatures are collected. Or we could form a pressure group - 'Grants for Graphic Novels' (GGN) has a ring to it - with the set purpose of pushing the issues. We could continue to persuade more people that comics are interesting, of artistic and cultural value.
(addition for 2023: since i wrote this in 2017, such a group HAS formed, focusing on trying to increase funding for comics: Comics Cultural Impact Collective)
We could write newspaper and online articles on how comics should get more grants. We could vote for a party that incorporates further support for comics into its manifesto (unlikely to be the stingy Tories, but with the recent Corbyn themed comic book Labour may be up for it). And simply: apply for more grants. The accumulated effect of a wide scale effort by comic book creators could lead to more grants being set up, and a considerably easier financial situation for us.
A second thing to mention, briefly: we could unionize. At present only a very small % of comic book creators are in unions. Of course the power of unions was very considerably decreased by Thatcher and gang. From 1979 to 1998 the % of people in unions decreased from 50% to 32%. But since then unions have been making a modest come back, which looks set to continue (addition in 2023: since i wrote this article in 2017 there has been some attempts at forming unions amongst comic book and animation groups, which is great to see). What is the point of a union? To bring together weak individual workers into a strong collective that can act more successfully in negotiations with strong employers. That applies to comic books creators as much as it does to garment makers or McDonald's employees.
I spoke to Theresa Easton, the General Secretary of Artists' Union England (AUE) and she has this message for comic book folk: "Artists' Union England welcome artists from the broadest spectrum of visual creativity to join this growing trade union. Comic artists, illustrators and creators of graphic novels all experience exploitation, the driving down of wages and discrimination. Access to legal advice and support from an independent, democratic organisation is vital in this labour market."
Likewise, Sarah Woodley, the Communications Manager of The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) has this message for us: “We are delighted to count authors of graphic fiction among our members. As a campaigning trade union representing writers in TV, film, theatre, radio, books, poetry, comedy, animation and videogames, we work hard to protect writers’ rights in a rapidly changing digital landscape, and have been doing so for over 50 years. Our members include emerging as well as established writers, and member benefits include free contract vetting, support, advice, a pension scheme, discounts, and a weekly ebulletin. We also run networking events linking writers with the industries they work in, including Meet the World of Graphic Fiction.”
Sounds good, huh? So, why not contact the WGGB or the AUE (or their sister group in Scotland). An increase in good old collective action among comic book creators may help us better tackle the financial problems that we face. Which is not to say, of course, that its only money we after. This is a rather admirable thing about comic creators: most put a lot of work into their books – despite the low level of money - because they love the art form, they enjoy the process, it gives them a sense of meaningful purpose, something worth getting up in the morning for. But, while we are stuck in the capitalist system, the rent needs to be paid and food needs to be put on the table. So these two options, grants and unions, are two steps that can be taken right here and now.
(first appeared in INK magazine, 2017)