I'm interested in writing short stories that will eventually become comics or graphic novels. Perhaps not exclusively, but it's up there. I'm fascinated by telling stories for sequential art in any form and I think short stories are a great way to work out story maps. If you're interested in comics or graphic novels then please feel free to chat me up. I've had one story published in an indie comic and I hope to be adding to that soon. I've also taken some great comic related workshops with very talented people and I'm always happy to share what I've learned.
What indie compic did you get published in? I've submitted a few pieces to Dark Horse unsuccessfully and difficulty finding others who take submissions.
I created an unofficial but widely distributed comic in college, called Cock-Bot. His arch nemesis was the "Nut" Professor, who started out as a good guy and created Cock-Bot for the purpose of repopulating a dying earth (Think Children of Men), but then professor went mad (of course) and turned evil. Just like Lex Luthor. And so Cock-Bot's on his own and his mission remains to repopulate the earth with super sperm while The Nut Professor tries to stop him with Cock Blockers -these evil ball like machines that eat up everything Cock-Bot shoots out -sort of like those evil battle droids from Phantom Menace that roll around and mess your shit up. Women would line up in the alley ways while Cock-Bot pumped the super sperm -down the line -to repopulate the earth. But oh shit! Here come the Cock Blockers!
Best comic I ever wrote.
You can get in touch with Cloudscape Comics out of Vancouver BC -
Dave Sim's "Cerebus' Guide to Self Publishing" was a frank and somewhat discouraging/encouraging guide to the industry. Some great tips on writing in general, and some very detailed discussion about pen nibs.
@Meachman
There's a few things you could try.
1.) Get a literary agent that represents graphic novels.
2.) From time to time, comic book companies will hold contests. If you win, you're in, although the odds are crazy long. They get a ton of submissions.
3.) Go to a Con. Knock on some doors. Ask how these guys got into the business. You might just make the right contact.
@Brandon
I really do need to visit more conventions, and I think I'm at a point where my schedule is finally flexible enough to allow it, so that's a good idea. Thanks.
@Meachman
Good luck with it, man.
If you live in Toronto I can point you in the right direction. If not, the best thing is to self publish or start a web comic. The thing about writing for comics is that everyone thinks they can write the same way anyone with a handy cam thinks they're the next Kubrick. If you don''t draw It's a lot harder to get an artist interested in drawing up your script than you you think and some people even resort to just hiring an artist for that purpose. I'd say the biggest obstacle for people who actually want to write one is that they don't speak the comicbook language. Reading and knowing comics is a good start but there's a lot more to know. I always reccomed Understand Comics by Scott McCloud as a introduction. Beyond that an agent will not help you untill you're already somewhat established, contests most likely will not help you, the comicon route however can be a great resource. It's a very cliquey world that I'm just discovering myself but not necessarily impossible to crack if you're willing to make the commitment. I'll try and post some notes of some of the stuff I've learned. it might help.
@Manosaur - Understanding Comics is a great resource. So is McCloud's Writing Comics, the Dave Sim one I mentioned above. Will Eisner put out three good resources, the most famous is Comics and Sequential Art.
I'm really getting into the New 52 DC is doing:
Yeah, I've never been a DC fan so the new 52 is right up my alley. So far so good. I'm told Wonderwoman and Animal Man are also excellent new 52 reboots. I've just read the Iron man Omnibus by Matt Fraction and it is great. I was never an Iron Man guy but Fraction really knows how to get depth out of his characters.
http://www.amazon.com/Invincible-Iron-Man-Omnibus-Vol/dp/0785142959
If you're looking for something less hero and not as mainstream I have to reccomend a nice indie book called "Local". This book comes with so much high praise from a variety of critics and writers.
http://www.amazon.com/Local-Brian-Wood/dp/193496400X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&...
It's like nothing I've ever read and sure to please the literary minded who don't usually like to slum it with comics.
Alright I kept talking about it so I finally bought the damn Walking Dead graphic novels.
USM #3; ASM 671
Has anyone read Cerebus the Aardvark? It's apparently the longest single narrative (at least in comics) having run 300 monthly issues. Dave Sim had some great ideas, some excellent moment, some less than stellar moments, and some long diatribes about sexual politics and religion I'm not entirely sure what to think about.
thought provoking, imaginative, uneven, but nevertheless an amazing accomplishment, as it was produced entirely independently.
