Thursday, May 4, kicked off SCAD’s 22 annual Editor’s Day with a panel featuring various editors including David Saylor from Graphix, Joel Eno from Viz Media, Robin Herrera from Oni Press and SCAD Alumni Kevin Burkhalter from Dark Horse. The panel answered questions from host Brian Ralph, held a “mock critique” and concluded with a Q&A.
The topics of the questions ranged from meetings with editors, to what kinds of pieces are needed in a strong portfolio. “It goes a long way when someone is showing me something and they’re so excited about it and it’s good that you know it might resonate with me differently then if I just get something and nobody seems enthusiastic about it…I’m totally fine with stuff that’s so far away from anything that I ever worked on,” Eno said.
When asked how writers can use their portfolio to get into the comics industry, Herrera replied, “You can pair up with an artist. If you are just starting out, it does help to hire somebody to do the art. Just to kind of show it.”
As for the shift in the comic book industry towards publishing for children, Saylor said “When we published the color issues of Bone — that was when we broke the mold, because that created a format…and we realized that if you were able to bring comics to kids in bookstores as well as book fairs and book clubs, then yes, they would buy them, happily and eagerly. And it opened the doors for a lot of comics that came later.”
Friday and Saturday’s Editor’s Day events consisted of portfolio reviews and pitches.
Currently pursuing a B.F.A. in Writing as well as a minor in Music Production.
