“When editors go to these shows,” explained Dark Horse publicist Lee Dawson, “they’re here as fans but they’re also interested in new talent.”

Dark Horse Comics has developed a reputation for plucking mini artists from obscurity, repackaging their self-published strips, and catapulting them to comic fame—most notably Eric Powell, creator of the zombie-pulp comic, “The Goon.”

“He went from one year being self-published, in Artist’s Alley,” said Dawson, “to next year being picked up by Dark Horse.” Powell’s book is now one of Dark Horse’s most popular titles. selling over 11,000 copies in December 2005 alone and landing on industry website ICv2’s Top 300 list.

These success stories may be far and few between, but minicomic artists keep slaving over their time-consuming creations regardless of the slim chances of fame and fortune.

“Comics are like a perfect pitch,” said Calvin Reid, senior editor of the Publisher’s Weekly comic newsletter, on the appeal of minicomics for mainstream comic and book publishers. “They’re already storyboarded. Comics test market the story concept.”

Nick Pupura, general manager of Jim Hanley’s Universe in Manhattan, a highly-regarded comic book store said: “I always equate them to demo tapes.” Purpura and his staff review each minicomic submitted to Hanley’s and encourage new artists to start their own minis—because they never know what might catch a publisher’s eye.

“You send one to Dark Horse and, ‘Oh, it’s cute.’ You send ten, then they have something,” he said. 

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