Comics and above all graphic novels – i.e. longer comic stories in book form – are becoming more and more visible in the culture industry. According to the magazine “Buchreport”, they recorded a double-digit increase in sales on the German book market last year. Nevertheless, so far only a few comic creators have been able to make a living from their work in this country.
One reason for this could be the inadequate comic infrastructure in Germany. Funding exclusively for comic projects is rare. Since 2017, Berlin has been the only federal state to explicitly offer scholarships for comic artists. Compared to the numerous funding opportunities for literary projects, this is little. However, comic creators are dependent on funding.
In order to improve working conditions, a group of comic creators has now founded a trade union. The reason for this was the invitation from comic artist Nino Bulling to Documenta 15 in the summer. He used his budget and invited other comic creators to jointly develop the idea of a union that emerged in 2021.
Their manifesto makes it clear what the union is about: “With the union, we want to create a structure that comic workers can turn to with professional issues. Our circumstances and careers are different, but we all share the precarious situation of self-employed cultural workers.”
Our circumstances are different, but we all share the precarious situation of self-employed cultural workers.
From the Comic Union Manifesto
The core team includes the comic artists Jul Gordon from Hamburg and Sheree Domingo from Berlin. “There are still hardly any funding opportunities or residency grants for comic workers in Germany,” says Gordon, explaining her commitment.
“We usually work separately. Many of us feel alone when it comes to questions about remuneration, image and usage rights and social security,” says Sheree Domingo. “Our dream is a union that functions like an organic structure and is structured horizontally – like a collective with political demands.”
A forum for open exchange and the establishment of fee tables are planned
In concrete terms, this means, for example, openly exchanging views on the subject of payment in a forum, offering information pools for foreign artists and setting up fee tables. “We can’t go on strike,” said Sheree Domingo. “But if we network, we can demand minimum rates.”
The German Comic Association also offers initial orientation in this direction on its website. There is a list of recommended minimum fees. In reality, however, these are often undercut.
Hamed Eshrat, who recently published his graphic novel “Coming of H”, knows this. “Clients are often not aware of how time-consuming and complex it is to draw and write a comic. It’s often institutions or associations that set themes and say: ‘Illustrate that quickly!’ It doesn’t work like that. Just condensing and reducing themes and stories to make them work as a comic is very time-consuming,” he says.
In September, after his reading of “Coming of H” in the Berlin library at Luisenbad, he showed how long it takes to finish a comic – with excerpts from his work, from the first draft to the storyboard to the finished book, on which he worked for about four years.
“Clients are fetching prices that were exploitative 20 years ago,” says Eshrat. “Or they ask students, who usually take less money. But their prices have nothing to do with reality.” For him, the task of a comics union would therefore also be to show that the work and time invested by comics creators must be rewarded.
Many comic creators are at the edge of their power.
Barbara Yelin, comic book writer
The website of the comic union has been online since the beginning of September and is very popular in the scene. An empirical study should form the basis for future demands and fields of work. Comic creators can fill out a questionnaire on the website until November 30th. At the time of going to press, 722 people took part.
People who do care work are disadvantaged when it comes to grants and scholarships
The Munich-based comic author Barbara Yelin (“But I live”) is curious to see how the union will develop. “We all always charge too little and work way too much – and then do commissioned work to make up for it,” she says. “Many comic creators are at the edge of their power. Reconciling work with family means even more tasks. That drives me to despair sometimes.”
Exchange, empowerment and networking have therefore long been important to Yelin. “15 years ago in Berlin there was a kind of living room salon that Ulli Lust and Kai Pfeiffer organized,” she recalls. “It was a good place for exchange.” The illustrator collective “Spring”, founded in 2004, which publishes an anthology of different artists every year, also names them as an important network in their careers, also for exchanging views on the compatibility of artistic work and care work .
In addition to information on income and education, the comic union questionnaire also contains questions about the living situation. “Many grants have an age limit of up to 30 years – that’s unfair when you’ve done care work or taken professional detours,” says Jul Gordon. Most of the residency grants – not only in the field of comics – do not allow for children.
Barbara Yelin experiences this too. “Since I had a child, I can no longer apply for many scholarships. Drawing comics part-time is also a huge challenge. And what do I do if I lose work?” she lists some of the problems.
Age limits in funding guidelines exclude many artists
In the current coalition agreement of the Ampel parties, comics are mentioned for the first time as a cultural asset to be promoted. “But the question is how politicians understand what we really need,” Yelin said. “The promotion of young talent must be more accessible and open. Traditional scholarships, on the other hand, are often age-limited, so it is assumed that as an experienced artist you no longer need funding. Funding is sorely needed, especially in expensive cities like Munich.”
If I turn down a request, I have a guilty conscience.
Birgit Weyhe, comic author
Barbara Yelin herself is currently active in Munich for greater networking between comic creators. The “Comic Network in Bavaria” is supported with structural funding from the Ministry of Science and Art. As a member of the Illustratoren Organization (IO), she would like the individual interest groups to work more closely together.
Comic author Birgit Weyhe, who lives in Hamburg, is also a member of the IO. She appreciates the fee schedules and legal information the organization provides to its members. “That makes it easier to calculate what to charge,” she says. Weyhe would also like that for comic creators.
Like Barbara Yelin, Weyhe is one of the most successful comic artists in Germany. She was the first comic creator ever to be nominated for “Book of the Year” at the Hamburg Literature Awards with “Rude Girl”. “I was recently assigned to represent a friend in a comic book workshop,” she says. “When she told me what’s being paid for it, I thought I’d fall off my chair. I would have gone into the red.”
Nevertheless, she also knows uncertainties. “When I turn down a request, I have a bad conscience because I don’t know when the next request will come. And I know that someone else will surely come along to take on this job,” she says. In her opinion, a trade union should eliminate such uncertainties by providing information about appropriate fees and a transparent exchange. “It’s so important for someone to say, ‘No, don’t do that! Calculate the hourly wage!’”
The comic manifesto of 2013 already called for more recognition of comic projects
The founding of an advocacy group for comic creators could also be another important step towards making comics visible as an independent artistic medium and cultural asset in Germany. The last time comic creators formulated their needs so clearly in a manifesto was at the Berlin International Literature Festival in 2013. This resulted in the German Comic Association, for example. Even then, a key demand was greater support for comic projects.
The manifesto was publicly read out in 2013 by the comic author Ulli Lust, who has been a professor of illustrative design and comics at the Hanover University of Applied Sciences since 2013. She also finds the founding of the union sensible. “The better we are networked, the more secure we are in our claims. I don’t really need that much support, but the younger ones are still insecure. You act more confidently with legal advice,” she says.
Comic artist Flix (“Das Humboldt-Tier”) thinks a union is basically good. He did not sign the 2013 manifesto. “A good comic comes from being the heart project of an individual,” said the Tagesspiegel at the time. Even now he is skeptical: “Since most draftsmen are self-employed and do not have a common employer, it is certainly not easy to find starting points,” he points out.
The first members are expected to join the union from February 2023. It is still unclear whether contributions should be paid, in what form and under what name it runs and whether it might join the Freie Arbeiter Union. “We’re far from done there,” said Sheree Domingo. “Actually, we still need support, for example helpers for the construction and financial resources, for example to evaluate the study.”
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Source: Tagesspiegel
I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years now and I have worked for some of the biggest news websites in the world. My focus has always been on entertainment news, but I also cover a range of other topics. I am currently an author at Global happenings and I love writing about all things pop-culture related.
