In traditional publishing, self-published books are often considered vanity projects--a sign that no professional publisher was interested. In comics, especially alternative comics, self-publishing is now practically an obligatory rite of passage for young original cartoonists--it's the quickest way to prove themselves and to get their work seen. But printing and distributing a graphic novel or comic book can demand an initial investment of thousands of dollars, money an aspiring cartoonist often doesn't have.
Peter Laird is one of the most successful self-published cartoonists ever; in the early '90s, he co-created Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a book, movie and TV phenomenon that was more or less a license to print money. The first issue of TMNT was printed with a loan from his partner Kevin Eastman's uncle; and as a way of passing on the favor, in 1991, Laird endowed the Xeric Foundation with $1 million, and uses the interest to help aspiring comics creators. Twice a year, the foundation awards six to eight grants of up to $5,000 each to help American and Canadian cartoonists publish their own comics and graphic novels.
Xeric doesn't advertise--information about the grants circulates mostly by word of mouth and on its Web site, www.xericfoundation.com. Still, there were 90 applicants for the most recent round of grants--a record number, according to the foundation's director Kendall Clark. It's a badge of honor that can make a project by an unknown cartoonist easier to sell to distributors and readers: "The winners sometimes ask me to send them the Xeric logo," Clark said. "It's a great group of people. We put their projects in our library, and we do hear back from them later."
The grants are also a reasonably accurate predictor of future success. Early winners include such critically acclaimed artists as Jason Lutes (Jar of Fools and Berlin), Adrian Tomine (Optic Nerve), Linda Medley (Castle Waiting) and Jessica Abel (Artbabe), all of whom have gone on to publish books for a much wider audience. More recent winners include Jordan Crane (Col-Dee) and Jay Hosler (Clan Apis).
The most recent set of awards, presented this fall, went to eight cartoonists, including Rachel Hartman, who's been selling her playful, photocopied Amy Unbounded mini-comics for a few years and is set to make the leap into something fancier. The others are Justin Hall (A Sacred Text), Gerald Jablonski (Cryptic Wit), Troy Little (Chiaroscuro), Songgu Kwon (Blanche the Baby Killer), Hans Rickheit (CHLOE), Michael Slack (Land of O) and Dennis Tucker (Tales from the Birdbun Theater).
