Deciding the fate of heroes and defeating villains is all in a day’s work for one man working in Ravenswood. But the closest thing to bloodshed that Michael O’Sullivan may experience is a paper cut.
O’Sullivan, 32, is senior editor for Devil’s Due Publishing Inc. The 6-year-old comic-book publisher is known mostly for its G.I. Joe and Dungeons and Dragons titles, but it also puts out LO-FI, an industry-leading monthly magazine about comics.
O’Sullivan–who went to North Park University in Chicago and has a master’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design–sees his work as genuine art.
“Comics are pretty much one of the very few original American art forms, like jazz and quite possibly hip-hop. People think we’re relegated to things like Batman, with the ‘Wam, Bam, Pow!’ when, in actuality, comic books have been a valid art form for nearly a hundred years.”
O’Sullivan talked with RedEye about getting started in the industry, what it’s like to kill off a beloved character and how he’s not afraid to call himself a dork.
How hard is it to break into your field?
“Extremely hard. I’ve often said it’s harder to break into comics than it is to break into music or acting. It’s such an insular field and such a niche market that you have so many people that want to get into comics and so few jobs.”
How often do you get solicited by people trying to break into the industry?
“At least 10 to 25 people a day try to submit their artwork to us, or their scripts. Some don’t go about it in the most professional manner, being like, ‘Yo, what do you think of my work?’ “
What’s the usual turnaround for a comic book from the moment of conception to printing?
“Roughly three months for a single issue. Each issue is a project in itself. Comics as a general rule come out once a month. At any given time I’m working on three issues of a particular title.”
What’s the oddest reaction you’ve gotten from fans in the comic world?
“We recently killed off a very popular G.I. Joe character, Lady Jaye. She’s been around the cartoon and the comic books for 20-some odd years. We really thought the story needed that impact, and wow did people come out of the woodwork upset about that. One family in the one of the Carolinas recruited family members and friends to call us, e-mail us and send us letters. They were really upset for a long time when we did that.”
What are some things that you and your staff like to do for fun?
“It’s like we’re really brothers here. They’re great, and we try to do as much as we can, such as holiday parties or beer on Friday night. We have fun in doing the most mundane things, such as helping a person move, because we care about each other. For the most part, about everybody that works here, we’re all a bunch of science fiction dorks. We’ll come in the next day talking about an episode of ‘Lost.’ “
The job
Michael O’Sullivan (left) oversees the production of the titles that come out of the studio, and he hires the writers and artists who work on the comic books. He also illustrates books, plus writes and copy edits scripts.
The pay: O’Sullivan says the pay for editors starts around $25k but stresses that there is no true industry standard. Some of the bigger-name artists can get up to $20K for a cover, he says, but someone just starting out should expect closer to $150 a page.
