So I applied for an Internship at Marvel

[Arach Knight]

This may be one of the craziest adventures i've led myself into. I am going to complete my bachelors degree of arts in Liberal Studies as of this December. In a rather bold move, I have decided to apply for Marvel's non-paying internship program for the editorial staff. My desire is that I shall be able to work on my masters degree in English, while I intern on days inbetween classes. Once I complete my masters, I may get a chance to be on the editorial staff for a specific Marvel title or perhaps I may even get a shot at writing a Marvel title.

It is an uphill battle and would be quite a far move (considering that I currently reside in California and Marvel is headquartered in New York) but I think it would be worth it. I submitted my application (all via their online application on marvel.com) and so far I have received two responses. The first one was the general mail back response and the second one was specific to me, stating that they would review my application and resume and determine from there if I was worth an interview.

So how many of you have ever taken the steps (if you so desired to work in this industry) toward working at one of the major publishers (Marvel, DC, Image, Darkhorse, IDW etc)? I feel that the only way to see this go from an dream to an actual profession, is to actually take strides and make moves to achieve the goal. Even if they turn me down, i'll just pursue a masters degree here in Cali, and apply again. Let me hear your stories about such applications, or any other comments you want to leave. Thanks for reading...

 

[Spider-Jay420]

No steps from me, but good luck to you bro. All the best.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Good luck!

I once wrote some stuff for a start up comic company called Rion. Don't look it up, they folded in an explosion of embezellment and hate. I never even saw a single issue, just drafts.

 

[Arach Knight]

That is pretty terrible to hear. I myself have one rough draft script for a four issue mini-series. I have never been able to submit it to a publisher, because I can't find artists that aren't flaky. So i'm hoping to try and improve my chances with this Marvel internship.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

Do what you can,even if you fail. At least you tried.

 

[Arach Knight]

It's ironic that you say that. I just saw similar words on a sign in front of a Christian school near my house. Sometimes, that is all we can do. It is better to try and fail than to not try and succeed.

 

[Doc Destruction]

Sometimes I wish I had tried again, but I got so burned that it freaked me out. At least I kept control of my characters.

Maybe someday...

 

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

I interned at Marvel during the early 90's.Its a wonderful experience.Altho the idea was to learn as much about artistry I spent more then 1/2 of my time in the file room..

 

[Dread]

I sent Marvel one of my Spider-Man fan-fictions back when ICON first launched and they were claiming to be taking rookie work. I received a standard rejection letter.

 

[Arach Knight]

You know what they say. If at first you don't succeed...try...try again. Brian K. Vaughn was sleeping on a friends couch before he was finally able to convince DC to accept his pitch for Y: The Last Man. Now look at him.

 

[Kitsune]

Write us when you get there.

 

[Xofenroht]

This may be one of the craziest adventures i've led myself into. I am going to complete my bachelors degree of arts in Liberal Studies as of this December. In a rather bold move, I have decided to apply for Marvel's non-paying internship program for the editorial staff. My desire is that I shall be able to work on my masters degree in English, while I intern on days inbetween classes. Once I complete my masters, I may get a chance to be on the editorial staff for a specific Marvel title or perhaps I may even get a shot at writing a Marvel title.

It is an uphill battle and would be quite a far move (considering that I currently reside in California and Marvel is headquartered in New York) but I think it would be worth it. I submitted my application (all via their online application on marvel.com) and so far I have received two responses. The first one was the general mail back response and the second one was specific to me, stating that they would review my application and resume and determine from there if I was worth an interview.

So how many of you have ever taken the steps (if you so desired to work in this industry) toward working at one of the major publishers (Marvel, DC, Image, Darkhorse, IDW etc)? I feel that the only way to see this go from an dream to an actual profession, is to actually take strides and make moves to achieve the goal. Even if they turn me down, i'll just pursue a masters degree here in Cali, and apply again. Let me hear your stories about such applications, or any other comments you want to leave. Thanks for reading...

Hey Man,
I applied for an internship in the editorial department just last Spring. It was one of the best experiences I ever had as there were a lot of people (friends and family) rooting for me.
I got as far as an interview, which meant I had to fly out to NY and visit the Marvel Offices. I talked to a freelancer while waiting in the lobby and saw a lot of people coming in and out. The desk receptionist is really nice too, quite gorgeous if I might say so myself.
Any way, I thought the coordinator (you should know who he is by now) was going to interview me, but instead I was met by Aubrey Sitterson. He edits X-Factor, Ghost Rider and also did some of the editing for "Civil War" (if memory serves correctly.)
My interview was also on the same day as New York City Comic-Con, so afterwards, I headed out to the Javitz Center to wait out my flight there. I got the chance to sit in on at least 2 panels. The first was for Will Eisner: The Portrait of a Sequential Artist. The second was a panel for Comic Book Legends. Stan Lee, Joe Simon, Ramona Fradon, Murphy Anderson and Joe Sinnot were there.
I got Joe (Simon) to autograph my sketchbook for me. "Nice work you got here kid." he said after seeing some of my art. I had him and every legend I could catch up with sign the page I'd made as a dedication to Hal Foster (it was a copy of a panel from the Prince Valiant strip that inspired Jack Kirby's "The Demon".) Stan only signed one autograph and that was for a kid. I caught up with Ramona outside of the panel and actually talked to her. She gave me a "Metamorpho" sketch, that lady has pizazz, let me tell you.
I wound up not getting the internship, but I was told that I should definitely re-apply for either the fall or spring. That's what my plan is.

Good luck,
PM me or something to keep me posted!

 

[kguillou]

Good Luck bro, I'm trying to launch a series of my own actually, i have the script but no artists. lol. Oh well, hope all goes well.

 

[elswick1979]

I sent Marvel one of my Spider-Man fan-fictions back when ICON first launched and they were claiming to be taking rookie work. I received a standard rejection letter.

Hey atleast you didn't get approved and then find out the pulled the plug on the whole thing, after you went around bragging about it. Then you find out that your story was used as a basis for 2005 miniseries, that you didn't even get credit for but had to find out when a friend read it and told you about it.

 

[Arach Knight]

I'll keep you posted if Marvel gives me a third response for an interview.

 

[Nirvana]

That is totally awesome. Good luck with that, Bro.

 

[yenaled]

I do freelance work for a smalltime publisher in England. We've only had 1 comic published so far but we've got scripts lined up for more.

So good luck mate.

 

[arachnid-guy]

I do freelance work for a smalltime publisher in England. We've only had 1 comic published so far but we've got scripts lined up for more.

So good luck mate.

Sweet. What comic book?

 

[Sugarculted]

Good luck dude I'd love to be working in Marvel or Image. It'd be so sweet.

Oh, and what comic might that be yenaled?

 

[Arach Knight]

Well still no word back (I may not get an interview with my current experince) but I m working on a contingency plan. I finally found an artist for a creator owned idea I have, and we finally got to work on concepts. After that, we are doing layouts, followed by story boarding. Then comes a rough draft, for submission to Image. So i'm certainly putting both feet into the pool on this one.

 

[Doc Destruction]

GOOD for you.

Good luck, man!