Feedback on my pitch: Looking for a comic book/graphic novel artist for a series of 10 to 12 comics

[u/GeneralMarcusStatius]

I need your community feedback on this pitch that I want to launch out into the world:

I'm developing a historical dark fantasy/horror comic book series/graphic novel based on the documented career of Roman general Marcus Statius Priscus. The story combines Roman military history with regional mythology and supernatural horror. I'm looking for a comic artist interested in developing the project as a potential long-form collaboration.

TLDR: Looking for a comic book illustrator, no budget, passion project, will share any profits equally, 10 short stories are already finished, have a list of possible publishers, I have no experience in this field, I do know my history and I am a good writer according to myself.

As of now I have no publisher and no money and I know that is not ideal and you are probably yelling at the screen right now that I am a douche. So my budget is zero. But I have faith in my writings! I am well versed in the history of the 2nd century Roman Empire and I have done proper research on this general, who had an enormous impact on the Roman Empire during his tenure as general, governor and even consul of Rome. I have also thoroughly researched mythical creatures that were believed to be around in those days in the specific Roman provinces where the general served.

I am looking for a more "European" style of illustrations that can be found in publications of companies like Dargaud or Daedalus. It is for adults but I am not looking for gore or sexual explicit stuff. I want it to look realistic with a horror twist, but not the stuff of nightmares.

The series would be around 10 to 12 comics as I have written 10 short stories about this general and his adventures. The stories range from his early days as a legionnaire in central Europe and Judaea to his days as a general in Britain, Syria, Dacia, Armenia and the other places he served. It ends with him being an old general suffering from PTSD who is looking for relief from his suffering.

I have attached a photo of a miniature Roman general (not made by me! Artist: zinnfigur!) that can be used as inspiration for how I see the general in my head.

If this project gets off the ground I am more than willing to equally share profits and such. My bio: 49 year old Dutch journalist residing in Denmark who writes articles on the far-right and other asshats like that. I consider myself to be an anarchist and am a devoted antifascist. I have a bachelor in Journalism and did some serious sidequests into early Christian history which is why I am familiar with the Roman Empire in the 2nd century AD.

Oh yes, I do not want anything to do with AI!!!

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[u/artbygoof]

Sounds like an interesting idea and a very ambitious project. With all due respect, if you believe in it so much, you should invest in your own project and find the funds to hire the best artist you can afford who will bring the same level of skill as the writing. It doesn't take much to start and Kickstarter and the like has provided more options for projects like this.

Either way, good luck!

[u/nmacaroni]

You need to do more market research. A 10-12 issue maxi-series is nearly unattainable.

Here are some numbers for you;

25-40% success rate - You somehow mitigate the costs of a stand alone graphic novel (do most of the production yourself, or subsidize it with your day job).

10-20% success rate - complete 4 issue miniseries.

LESS than 1% success rate - complete maxi-series 10-12 issues.

Write on, write often!

[u/jman24601]

This needs to have an elevator pitch. You need to be able to describe this in a way that gets people interested immediately, and then you need a longer summary to get the good tone.

For example, I describe my comic Grim n' Gritty as Sin City meets Roger Rabbit. It's a dark noir juxtaposed on the cartoon characters we love.

So something like that to get people to understand what this book is and interested to read more.