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They usually get national Syndicators who sell it to many newspapers and split fees.

So imagine it’s $10 per newspaper and you split a percetage with the syndicator.

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It can vary greatly. Some are payed by the amount they make (per piece) and for others. it is a contract for what they can finish. This is why when at any comic or anime con you see artists working when not talking to fans. Their time is money to them, and if they can make a few extra bucks by a con appearance that just benefits them some what. => Yet they still may have a dead line to finish stuff by.

General annual salary for the working artist can range from $20,000 to $50,000, and more, if you can get into specialty prints and other commercialization of your art…

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Depends on the comic book popularity and what the artist can negotiate.

Usually not much for beginning illustrators.

Top level artists such as Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Alex Ross et al can negotiate for a lot more.

As far as character ownership – that is a big struggle more often won by the publisher. You have to be a big artist, or go independent, to usually keep rights to any character you create.

Still, if you have talent as an artist – comics maybe the place to get that art job…

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Usually you are assigned a number of pages – to draw, ink, letter or color or a combination of all of these. You may be assigned to draw several issues of a comic – and if the readers love you – you salary can go up… (and you get more work).

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You can go to college for comic artists.

FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City has a good comic program I believe.

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First, I need to say that most comic book artists are not hacks, there are many great talents…

To answer your question, Robert Crumb didn’t just copy someone else’s idea or style, as a hack would do.

Instead he made his art his own, taking his personal view and thoughts of the world and creating a unique style of art. His ability to draw, create characters and stories – humor and pathos, and hotness is amazing – we are privileged. And this came about because he is passionate about his work, and dedicated his life to honing his craft and art.

It’s not that other comic book artists of his generation are untalented, many are real artists, too. It’s just that his style was just more appreciated, more likable, or just more appealing than other artists. His audience went from the underground to mainstream – he is good. Obviously I like his work, thus biased, but many agree he is most definitely talented.

Artists who outlet all their emotions ( and intellect) through their work are going to be appreciated…

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He is a rare breed. A cartoonist in the Hogarth mode. One of the few USA satirists! He has published many books of his artistic work as well magazines, etc.

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I love good film biographies of artists from Rembrandt to Georgia O’Keefe to Robert Crumb. I enjoyed the mainstream film about his life and wished I owned more of his work. Thankfully, he is well published.

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I like Mr. Natural and Flakey Foont, Fritz the cat was great, Zap Comix were classics! But how about a cheer for Robert Crumb’s representations of himself…

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There is a hardcover version coming out soon (from today’s date) which is around $20 on Amazon