Don MacPherson follows up on Monday’s piece about the parity of the American dollar and the Canadian dollar with somewhat vague statements from DC, Marvel and Image about its effect on cover prices, and far more interesting comments from Canadian creators about the financial pinch:
[Colorist Chuck] Chuckry copes with that economic reality in various ways. He said he’s cut down on costs by moving from a rented studio space to a home studio. Whereas he once used local subcontractors to get his work done, he said, he now contracts work out to the far East. Professionals there will do the work for a fraction of the price.
“I also pay these new subcontractors in U.S. dollars instead of Canadian dollars, so my costs move with my rate of pay, since the publishers pay me in U.S. dollars as well,” said Chuckry, who’s based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The colorist and illustrator said he’s also picked up work from a French publisher that pays in Euros.
“This diversifies my foreign exchange risk somewhat,” he said. “I have thought about buying forward contracts with my currency broker to offset the rising Canadian dollar, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
Artist Stuart Immonen also weighs in.
