Publish and perish? Silver Bullet Comic Books talks with MVCreations' Val Staples, who sings the praises of self-publishing:

"Self publishing is the best way to learn a lot of the ins and outs of comics. You develop an understanding of the behind the scenes costs and production that other artists don’t understand. I see occasional artists in interviews who blame companies (major publishers) for things beyond the publisher’s control. I won’t talk specifics, but these are things they’d understand better if they had self published for a length of time.

"It’s hard out there. And most comics do NOT make money, even from the big two. It’s the licensing of their recognized characters that makes the money, movies especially (if they are successful).

"If you self publish, 99.99% of the time, you will lose money. But it’s worth it to understand your craft better, and to help you avoid potential pitfalls in this industry if you intend to turn this into your career. It should be viewed as an investment in yourself and those working with you rather than an effort to strike it rich."