While I haven’t really been anywhere, I figured I should return to posting before I hit a year of no activity.
Since I last posted, I have been busy. Busy with work, my writing, joining a writing group in my area, the Sudbury Hypergraphic Society (http://sudburyhypergraphicsociety.com/), and helping put together their first annual Words in the Wilderness Literary Festival.
At this event, I attended panel discussions on fiction and horror writing with published authors in these areas, including Fantasy author Marie Bilodeau (http://www.mariebilodeau.blogspot.com/), author of the Heirs of a Broken Land series, Horror authors Gord Rollo (http://www.gordqrollo.com/) author of Crimson, and David Nickle (http://sites.google.com/site/davidnickle), author of Monstrous Affections. Just listening to these people talk about their genres, getting published, and the industry has taught me a lot, and inspired me to continue writing.
I also sat on a panel on Comic Book creation with fellow writer Ken Lillie-Paetz (http://www.monkeypharmacy.com/) author of comic series Elsinore and Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel. This was also very beneficial for me as I was able to discuss parts of my writing process, as well as gain information from others, and see others have similar challenges with their writing.
One of the panellists on the Horror panel, Rob Sacchetto (http://www.zombieportraits.com/ and http://www.zombiedaily.com/) made an off-hand mention to a Zombie anthology comic he wants to work on with a variety of writers. I spoke with him briefly afterwards in regards to contributing something for this project and he was interested, so my next writing project will be to come up with an 8 to 12 page zombie story to submit to him.
Pepper all of the above with my day job and some graphic design projects on the side, and we arrive here, where I am planning on staying a while as I write and work to get published.
P.S. I have also updated my design website. Feel free to check it out at http://dhdonline.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Pics of Wolverine Sighting
Below are some pics relating to my Wolverine sighting I tweeted about yesterday. I have included the tweets as captions for the photos.
Anyone else out there have any superhero sightings?
Wolverine of the Xmen spotted in Sudbury Ontario office
Wolverine ... the best there is at what he does...right now what he does is financial analysis
Epic battle between Wolverine and...unorganized file system?
Winner - Wolverine
Anyone else out there have any superhero sightings?
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Issue Two Writing Process
Issue Two has now gone through my initial edit and has been typed.
As with issue 1, this issue had some work done to it between written and typed versions as well, such as eliminating scenes, moving dialogue, and even adding an entire page. Another major area where changes occured was with the length of dialogue. Wherever possible, I shortened the dialogue in order to let the images tell the story.
So, without further delay, some sample pages
Hero Caption: “Day four and I still haven’t found her”
“I dread what I will find when I do”
Panel 2
Hero crouched next to a dumpster, yawning.
Hero Caption: “I’m exhausted. Been working on little sleep lately”
Panel 3
Side shot of Hero starting to pull off mask
Hero Caption: “Time to get home and rest up”
Panel 4
Behind Hero, view over shoulder out into the mouth of the alley to see the sidewalk, see a well dressed man walking by with 2 others in tow
Caption: “When I see him, the thoughts flood my brain”
Thoughts: “We will control this city soon”
“Death will to the enemies of the Villain”
***AUTHOR'S NOTE: Established in Issue 1 that the Hero can read people's thoughts***
Panel 5
Closer on men walking by, still see good portion of their bodies
Hero Caption: “I finally get a lead”
“the biggest I'll next to tripping over the Villain”
Panel 6
Close on side profile of the lead man, just before he is no longer visible behind the building
Hero Caption: “I’ve stumbled upon Conspiro.”
“The Villain’s right hand man”
A lot of the minor changes in this issue related to continuity items. When I first wrote the issue I still had 3 issues to write after. Now that I am going through and know exactly how the book is written, I can go through and tighten everything up.
As with issue 1, this issue had some work done to it between written and typed versions as well, such as eliminating scenes, moving dialogue, and even adding an entire page. Another major area where changes occured was with the length of dialogue. Wherever possible, I shortened the dialogue in order to let the images tell the story.
So, without further delay, some sample pages
The above page illustrates the diagrams I mentioned in my last blog post, showing the basic layout of the panels for the illustrator to follow. In most cases the artist would not have to follow such a strict, plain, grid format, but this is just a basic idea of how I would like the page layed out.
Although there is dialogue scratched out in the above, I have shortened it even more in the typed version.
Again, this page shows another page layout sample. Going by this sample, it may look like this page would have 11 panels, but even with these sample diagrams I have changed how I wanted it to look, and the middle 6 really represent 3 tall panels.
The astute viewer will notice that the panel sequence on this written sample goes from 2 to 3 to 2 again. This has been corrected in the typed version, and shows how caught up I was in just getting the story written on the first go around.
Here is a comparison of a written page to its typed counterpart.
Page 6
Panel 1
Hero leaping down into an alley from nearby building. Night.
Hero Caption: “Day four and I still haven’t found her”
“I dread what I will find when I do”
Panel 2
Hero crouched next to a dumpster, yawning.
Hero Caption: “I’m exhausted. Been working on little sleep lately”
Panel 3
Side shot of Hero starting to pull off mask
Hero Caption: “Time to get home and rest up”
Panel 4
Behind Hero, view over shoulder out into the mouth of the alley to see the sidewalk, see a well dressed man walking by with 2 others in tow
Caption: “When I see him, the thoughts flood my brain”
Thoughts: “We will control this city soon”
“Death will to the enemies of the Villain”
***AUTHOR'S NOTE: Established in Issue 1 that the Hero can read people's thoughts***
Panel 5
Closer on men walking by, still see good portion of their bodies
Hero Caption: “I finally get a lead”
“the biggest I'll next to tripping over the Villain”
Panel 6
Close on side profile of the lead man, just before he is no longer visible behind the building
Hero Caption: “I’ve stumbled upon Conspiro.”
“The Villain’s right hand man”
A lot of the minor changes in this issue related to continuity items. When I first wrote the issue I still had 3 issues to write after. Now that I am going through and know exactly how the book is written, I can go through and tighten everything up.
As a side note to this post, but somewhat related, the new blog post at idrawdigital relates to comic and graphic novel writing, so check it out if you are at all interested in this topic or field.
As always, any comments, criticisms, or words of encouragement are greatly appreciated!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Issue One Writing Process
It took a long time to actually get started writing Issue 1. I wanted to make sure I started strong, yet introduced enough of the story and characters to interest the reader and keep their interest through to the end of issue 5 (at the time it was issue 6, but I digress).
When I started writing issue 1, I found I was still unfamiliar with the characters, how they would get where I wanted them to go, and if the interactions I had planned for them would work within the story. So, as you can see from the scan of my first page of writing, I made many changes to my script as I went.
Caption: “The next day”
Off-panel: “Honey, I’m home”
Panel 2
Interior of apartment unit. Man walking into the room, hand in a fist as if holding something hidden in hand. Well dressed, clean shaven
Off panel: “I’m in the living room John”
Panel 3
John sits down on couch next to a pretty woman. His hand is still fisted.
John: “I brought you something”
Panel 4
See the 2 sitting on the couch looking at eachother.
John: “That girl I saved last night, she was all alone.”
“I wanted to get you something”
Panel 5
John’s arm outstretched, hand open now. See a gold chain with pendant.
John: “Something that would let you know you are never alone.”
Panel 6
John putting it on the girl
John: “Something that will always be with you”
Panel 7 The two kissing passionately.
Although the above sample is one of the slower scenes in the story, it has subtle and important ties to events that take place later (plus I want to save the good pages for when there is some art to go with it!). I will probably flesh out the discription portions a bit more so that when the piece goes to an illustrator to draw it all, it will be more clear to them what I am looking for.
Well, that's my synopsis of work so far on the project. I have finished the writing portion of the script, now I am typing and revising issue 2. Once I have that issue complete, I will get some more scans up to discuss my progress.
Please feel free to let me know what you think so far. Any words of encouragement, advice, or criticism are welcome and encouraged :)
When I started writing issue 1, I found I was still unfamiliar with the characters, how they would get where I wanted them to go, and if the interactions I had planned for them would work within the story. So, as you can see from the scan of my first page of writing, I made many changes to my script as I went.
This page went from being page 1, 2, and the beginning of 3, to part of page 1, page 5, and the beginning of page 8. Some panels were scrapped all together, others were moved to other pages. This was all determined as I was writing, based on what I felt worked best for the story and the characters.
Below is another page where changes had taken place, but not quite as sporadic as above.
This just shows some shifting of page sequences and minor deletions. I also include notes for page references (ie: SEE FRONT PAGE) especially in the case of this issue, since I did so much jumping around to start off.
After this, I tended to stay on track for the most part, ending in pages that looked like this.
There are still deletions and moving of dialogue between panels taking place, but page orders are primarily in tact. I started to hit my stride on this issue and started pumping out some story.
For some pages I also draw a quick page layout to show how I see the panels appearing on the page. This issue didn't have any of those diagrams, but I will include some scans of these for the next issue that has some.
The above written copy was then typed into word. Page 9 in the image above is shown below in typed format. As I type from my written copy, I make changess again as I go through it, tightening up any weak areas, and tying things in better with the way the story unfolds in the later issues.
Page 9
Panel 1
Outside view of apartment. Nice neighbourhood. Daytime
Caption: “The next day”
Off-panel: “Honey, I’m home”
Panel 2
Interior of apartment unit. Man walking into the room, hand in a fist as if holding something hidden in hand. Well dressed, clean shaven
Off panel: “I’m in the living room John”
Panel 3
John sits down on couch next to a pretty woman. His hand is still fisted.
John: “I brought you something”
Panel 4
See the 2 sitting on the couch looking at eachother.
John: “That girl I saved last night, she was all alone.”
“I wanted to get you something”
Panel 5
John’s arm outstretched, hand open now. See a gold chain with pendant.
John: “Something that would let you know you are never alone.”
Panel 6
John putting it on the girl
John: “Something that will always be with you”
Panel 7 The two kissing passionately.
Although the above sample is one of the slower scenes in the story, it has subtle and important ties to events that take place later (plus I want to save the good pages for when there is some art to go with it!). I will probably flesh out the discription portions a bit more so that when the piece goes to an illustrator to draw it all, it will be more clear to them what I am looking for.
Well, that's my synopsis of work so far on the project. I have finished the writing portion of the script, now I am typing and revising issue 2. Once I have that issue complete, I will get some more scans up to discuss my progress.
Please feel free to let me know what you think so far. Any words of encouragement, advice, or criticism are welcome and encouraged :)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Blog Delay
I am aware of my ever increasing delays between blog posts. Having the 2 kids in the house now is draining me of precious time, but I wouldnt give it up for the world.
I have been busy with standard around the house stuff, preparing for an interview (which I did well on, and they offered me the job), and typing my graphic novel scripts up. I will be sure to make my next post compare my hand written script to the typed up edited version to show my process.
I have also been preparing for Halloween. Still deciding if I will be Wolverine (more logan than fully costumed wolverine) or Dee Snider, singer from Twisted Sister.
I think I may also look into purchasing a digital pen so that I can write out my initial drafts of things, then just download the file to my computer rather than have to spend time typing it all over again. Anyone have experience of this type of product, or have any suggestions? I have only ever really seen the Fly Pen by Leapfrog, but I am sure there is better product out there than that.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Full Rough Draft COMPLETE!
Just a quick note to say I have completed the full first draft of my Graphic Novel. It feels great to have everything down on paper. Now I get to go through it all with a fine tooth comb, get everything in just the right order, create the suspense I want, and get this thing refined to the best piece it can be.
Then I have to find an illustrator to draw the thing :)
Then I have to find an illustrator to draw the thing :)
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
And in other news...
I want to plug a blog I started following recently. It's written by a guy who has taken a year off work to learn about making comic books by making one. The blog is called Project Waldo and can be found by clicking here.
This guy's stuff is AMAZINGLY detailed and just wonderful to look at. He is also highlighting and decribing different tools and techniques he is using or learning about. It really is an interesting blog/project to follow.
Also wanted to plug another site out there on the inter-web. idrawdigital provides web resources, tutorials, etc... all relating to illustration (particularly digital illustration, inking, colouring, etc..). This is actually where I found out about the above mentioned blog. I have already found some valuable resources for Photoshop and Illustrator on this site. Check it out if you are interested in advancing your digital art tool box.
More to come, probably once book 5 is complete. Give me a week.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Issue 4 - DONE!
Still flying along on my graphic novel writing. Just an update to say that Issue 4 is now complete and I am moving on to the final issue. As previously mentioned, there will be some massaging of what I have written involved once I am done the first draft, I don't expect it to be perfect right out of the gate, it is just really exciting to see something I've been thinking about for a while get close to some semblance of an ending (I know, there are still a few edits to make, then i still have to get the thing drawn and inked and coloured, but for me, just getting it written is a big event).
Thats it for now. You'll hear from me when issue 5 is complete. Then I will take a break and maybe post about something else for a change.
Thats it for now. You'll hear from me when issue 5 is complete. Then I will take a break and maybe post about something else for a change.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Issue 3 - DONE
I have really hit my stride on writing this graphic novel. I've been working on issue 3 for only 3 days now and I just finished it up. 2 more issues to go and my first complete draft will be done and ready for review/revisions.
I think it was hard to start initially because I wasn't that familiar with the characters since I had never read or written them before, as they are new characters I invented for the story. Now that I have become familiar with them in my head through my writing, they have their own voices and it is really a lot easier to write. I have read that happening with other writers, that their characters often evolve into something they weren't initially intending, and I find this is happening a bit with this story. It is really interesting and exciting to actually be experiencing that with my own writing.
Once I am finished this graphic novel, I have an ongoing series I want to start writing, and I really hope this happens with those characters too. It makes the process a whole lot easier and everything just sort of flows from the characters themselves.
On to Issue 4!
I think it was hard to start initially because I wasn't that familiar with the characters since I had never read or written them before, as they are new characters I invented for the story. Now that I have become familiar with them in my head through my writing, they have their own voices and it is really a lot easier to write. I have read that happening with other writers, that their characters often evolve into something they weren't initially intending, and I find this is happening a bit with this story. It is really interesting and exciting to actually be experiencing that with my own writing.
Once I am finished this graphic novel, I have an ongoing series I want to start writing, and I really hope this happens with those characters too. It makes the process a whole lot easier and everything just sort of flows from the characters themselves.
On to Issue 4!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Issue 2 - DONE!
Things seem to be speeding along in getting the first draft of my graphic novel completed. I have just put down my pen after completing issue 2.
Now, a week an issue might not be that speedy for some, but for me, juggling writing around my day job, time with my son, household chores, and preparing for baby, it is really quite good in my opinion.
Even though I have not yet completed the story, I have already made a few notes for changes/rearrangements of story items that I want to make. Also, I think I have decided that there will only be 5 issues rather than six. The story kind of took on a life of it's own as I was writing and it seems to be going towards one less issue than planned, which will actually work out pretty well for me.
Once I am done I plan on getting a few people to give it a read through, make sure it reads the way I want it to, then work with an artist to possibly put together a submission for Zuda, or, failing that, self publish some of my own work.
Anyone else out there have plans on becoming a writer or artist in the comic industry? Anyone else plan on self publishing just to get your work out there? Let me know, I am interested in hearing any thoughts.
Now, a week an issue might not be that speedy for some, but for me, juggling writing around my day job, time with my son, household chores, and preparing for baby, it is really quite good in my opinion.
Even though I have not yet completed the story, I have already made a few notes for changes/rearrangements of story items that I want to make. Also, I think I have decided that there will only be 5 issues rather than six. The story kind of took on a life of it's own as I was writing and it seems to be going towards one less issue than planned, which will actually work out pretty well for me.
Once I am done I plan on getting a few people to give it a read through, make sure it reads the way I want it to, then work with an artist to possibly put together a submission for Zuda, or, failing that, self publish some of my own work.
Anyone else out there have plans on becoming a writer or artist in the comic industry? Anyone else plan on self publishing just to get your work out there? Let me know, I am interested in hearing any thoughts.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Issue 1 - DONE!
Well, my wife ended up not being in labour, so that gave me the weekend to finish work on issue one of my comic!
Unfortunatley, it also means the baby dropped and my wife is even more uncomfortable than before. We see the midwife tomorrow to see how things are going.
My son's cold seems to be getting better, but mine has hit full swing, and it sounds like my wife is starting one now too. I hope she doesn't have to suffer through delivery with a stuffy nose or sore throat, the delivery part will be hard enough.
I was hoping to play around with my tablet today on some inked art stolen from MassacreMike over at the Mental Kavity, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. I am thinking I will focus on the comic as much as I can, and maybe try out the tablet when I need a break from writing. I've had it for a few years now and haven't used it all too much, but I've been itching to do something art related for a while now.
Now that I think of it, I do have to start working on the nieces' Christmas gifts soon...
Unfortunatley, it also means the baby dropped and my wife is even more uncomfortable than before. We see the midwife tomorrow to see how things are going.
My son's cold seems to be getting better, but mine has hit full swing, and it sounds like my wife is starting one now too. I hope she doesn't have to suffer through delivery with a stuffy nose or sore throat, the delivery part will be hard enough.
I was hoping to play around with my tablet today on some inked art stolen from MassacreMike over at the Mental Kavity, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. I am thinking I will focus on the comic as much as I can, and maybe try out the tablet when I need a break from writing. I've had it for a few years now and haven't used it all too much, but I've been itching to do something art related for a while now.
Now that I think of it, I do have to start working on the nieces' Christmas gifts soon...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Procrastination and Other News
I fully intended on writing a post about procrastination this week, but something strange happened. I actually stopped procrastinating and started writing, and I got a good chunk of a 22 page 1st issue of a short 6 issue graphic novel written. It is pretty rough at the moment, and I know it will require a re-write or 2 here and there, but it's started now, so I am happy.
Well, that's enough procrastination for me, time to get back to writing :)
Over to nerd news, the best news I heard all week was that the new V series will be premiering on November 3rd. Its a long wait, but I've been waiting over 20 years, so another 2 months I can handle.
Other geek news is that there seems to be a strong possibility that there may be a third Ghostbuster's movie in the works. I know this rumour has been floating around for a while now, but it has resurfaced and all cast members seem to be interested. Lee Eisenburg and Gene Stupnitsky (the Office) are apparently writing a screenplay. Hope it turns out better than Ghostbusters 2 did, and just as awesome as the original.
And speaking of Ghostbusters, these new action figures look freaking awesome. I will need to get my hands on these ones for the collection.
Well, that's enough procrastination for me, time to get back to writing :)Tuesday, August 18, 2009
My Recent Blog Neglect...
Hello. You may not remember me, but I am the guy that is supposed to keep this blog up to date. I haven't been doing a good job of that as of late, but here's why.
A few Fridays ago I went to the wedding of a friend of mine. It was a really good wedding, reception and dinner, and a good time partying with all my old buddies. I wish Mike and Jane the best wishes in their years together to come.
I had also found out the Thursday prior that I was going to have an interview the Wednesday following for a position substantially higher than the one I am in now (the next step up in my office is more of a jump than a step). Now, I normally prepare for interviews as if I were studying for the biggest test of my life, and I don't want to fail, because the answers are usually about me and my experiences/knowledge. So, up until Wednesday morning, I was pretty much burying myself in all things managerial, leadership oriented, and accounting based (yeah, it was entertaining reading).
The interview has since come and gone. I think I did rather well, all things considered, and look forward to hearing how things turn out. I am of the mind that if I get it, great, if not, no biggie. It was a good learning experience. I will keep you all posted on how things turn out.
Speaking of how things turn out, I never did post what happened to the little rodent babies I found in the yard. The remaining two lived through the night, which I was glad to see. Science North wouldn't take them though, so things looked bleak. But, later in the day, mom eventually came and claimed them both.
Since the Wednesday night of my interview, I have been catching up on some comics. I picked up and tore through the latest issue of Wizard, and am reading 2 trades of the Amazing Spiderman, written by J. Michael Straczynski (of Babylon 5 fame). It is a decent story, and one that I had started reading a while back, so it is good to finally catch the end of it now.
Finally, I have been completing some research for the graphic novel I wish to write. I just had to look up some info on DNA evidence for solving crimes, when it really caught on, etc... Now I am working on piecing everything together to form the outline, then I can start writing.
Which brings me to the topic of my next blog post - Procrastination. Anyone have any thoughts, comments or theories about procrastination? Please share, I seem to be doing quite a bit of that on my self-assigned projects lately. And once that baby comes, you may not see any posts for quite a while...
A few Fridays ago I went to the wedding of a friend of mine. It was a really good wedding, reception and dinner, and a good time partying with all my old buddies. I wish Mike and Jane the best wishes in their years together to come.
I had also found out the Thursday prior that I was going to have an interview the Wednesday following for a position substantially higher than the one I am in now (the next step up in my office is more of a jump than a step). Now, I normally prepare for interviews as if I were studying for the biggest test of my life, and I don't want to fail, because the answers are usually about me and my experiences/knowledge. So, up until Wednesday morning, I was pretty much burying myself in all things managerial, leadership oriented, and accounting based (yeah, it was entertaining reading).
The interview has since come and gone. I think I did rather well, all things considered, and look forward to hearing how things turn out. I am of the mind that if I get it, great, if not, no biggie. It was a good learning experience. I will keep you all posted on how things turn out.
Speaking of how things turn out, I never did post what happened to the little rodent babies I found in the yard. The remaining two lived through the night, which I was glad to see. Science North wouldn't take them though, so things looked bleak. But, later in the day, mom eventually came and claimed them both.
Since the Wednesday night of my interview, I have been catching up on some comics. I picked up and tore through the latest issue of Wizard, and am reading 2 trades of the Amazing Spiderman, written by J. Michael Straczynski (of Babylon 5 fame). It is a decent story, and one that I had started reading a while back, so it is good to finally catch the end of it now.
Finally, I have been completing some research for the graphic novel I wish to write. I just had to look up some info on DNA evidence for solving crimes, when it really caught on, etc... Now I am working on piecing everything together to form the outline, then I can start writing.
Which brings me to the topic of my next blog post - Procrastination. Anyone have any thoughts, comments or theories about procrastination? Please share, I seem to be doing quite a bit of that on my self-assigned projects lately. And once that baby comes, you may not see any posts for quite a while...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Strange (and somewhat sad) Find
When my wife and I moved into our house, there was a child's playset and small sandbox left in the yard. With the coming of our son's first birthday, his memere bought him a new sandbox with an attached picnic table with umbrella. We decided to clean out the old sandbox and give it to his memere for when he visits over there.
Today I got around to doing this little chore. I started by emptying out all of the toys, then shoveling out the old sand. I then picked up the sandbox and tipped it over. My attention was first grabbed by the massive amount of ants and ant eggs underneath the sandbox, but then I noticed a clump of loose, dried grass that looked out of place. I moved it around a little and heard a small squeaking noise. I gently pulled back some of the grass to find 4 pink rodent babies!
I told my wife about it, who then wanted to see them. We decided to leave them there, covered as they had been, in case their mother came back looking for them. We checked on them every so often to make sure they were still okay (though, really, neither of us would know what to do to help them anyway, but we were concerned just the same). After a few hours, we checked and saw that 2 of them were gone. They are too small to get anywhere far on their own, and the nest wasn't disturbed, so we ruled out some sort of predator (that would have probably torn the nest apart and taken all of them at once). Below are the remaining two babies.
We don't really know what these guys are, as most rodent baby pics online from this stage seem to all look alike. Their eyes are still sealed shut, as you can tell from the photo. We are hoping that the mother comes back to get these guys before it gets too late and cold out for them. We have debated taking them in, but then the mother wouldn't come back later for them, and we have no idea how to take care of them anyway. We also may take them in for the night and bring them to Science North tomorrow, as we are bringing our son anyway.
It was interesting to see these guys, but kinda sad knowing that they may not make it through the night (yeah, I know, they are just rodents. I guess having a baby at home and expecting another in the next month and a half has that kinda effect on you).
Anyone have any idea what these guys could be?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Comic Creator Collaboration
I had this great idea one day that it would be cool if there was a website along the lines of Facebook, that was for aspiring comic writers and artists to post samples of thier work, look for people to collaborate with, add them as "Collaborators" or "friends" and post any projects that might get developed through their time on the site.
So I took a look online to see if anything like this existed. As I wanted to create this site and hopefully make some money off of it, I was very upset to find that there were some sites somewhat like this already on the web. Once I got over my greed and sense of loss of potential income, I was interested to see what these sites had to offer, and how they could help me work my way into the comics industry.
So, for others like me who are interested, below is a quick review of 4 of these sites. Please keep in mind, not having become a member on any of these sites yet, I may not have complete information.
Zeros to Heroes - www.zeros2heroes.com
This is the first "by the people" online comic site I came across, and it impressed me because it's actually a Canadian site. It is currently a Beta, so the site is slow as hell, making navigating from page to page a chore and enough to make a potential user leave the site before they get to what they want to see (I have looked at this site on a few occasions to get the info I wanted).
The site is interesting however, in that users submit pitches for their ideas, and can rate and discuss the pitches of other users. There are various competitions held on the site where pitches are voted on by other users. The more a user contributes to the site, the more weight their vote has.
The site is partnered with media companies such as Telefilm Canada, Astral Media and Teletoon. The marketing department takes winning pitches and uses it as a foundation for a film, series, video game or graphic novel. Some competitons result in the winning pitch being turned into a 22 page comic book.
And the best part is, Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series) is the Editor-in- Cheif!
Zuda - http://zudacomics.com
The second site of its kind that I came across, was Zuda, which I heard about through an article in Wizard magazine.
Zuda is a project by DC Comics, which in itself is a big draw for creators. Because of this it also has a presence at Comic Cons, which can expose hopeful creaters to a professional audience. From what I can tell, like Zeros to Heroes, this is not so much a social network, but a site with monthly competitions where creators can post completed comic books to be voted on by other users for publication (onsite, though a winning series, Bayou by Jeremy Love, has been adapted for print as well).
This one seems more high profile and has more potential for busting into the industry due to its ties with DC.
ComicSpace - www.comicspace.com
I dont really have much to say about this site. It does not look very professional, doesn't seem to have any ties to the industry, and just seems like a hang out site for comic creators. It is also not very easy for new users to navigate, which could be a disadvantage for drawing new fans.
The only intersting items I can see that this site has over the others is the ability for artists to sell their work on the site, though with Etsy shops, etc... this feature is not a huge selling point (no pun intended).
BarkIt - www.barkit.com
As this site is new to the scene (late July) it is still very Beta and there are lots of features that they advertise as Coming Soon. It states it will be a social networking site for creators, but I am unsure how user projects will be presented or promoted.
I will have to wait and see on this one to be able to provide more information.
As far as I can see, none of these offers the ability for a profile page for users to post samples of their work, add other users as "collaborators" and post projects completed with other users, so I may still have my chance to make my millions :)
Zuda is standing out to me as the best option at the moment to break into the comic business, but Zeros to Heroes has some benefits for breaking into other types of entertainment media. ComicSpace looks like a waste of time to me, and BarkIt has some potential, so I will have to keep my eye on that one.
I am left wondering if Marvel has any plans to create a site in this vein for creators to submit and create their ideas.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on the above sites as I may have missed some information or misinterpreted something, or please recommend any other similar sites I haven't mentioned here.
So I took a look online to see if anything like this existed. As I wanted to create this site and hopefully make some money off of it, I was very upset to find that there were some sites somewhat like this already on the web. Once I got over my greed and sense of loss of potential income, I was interested to see what these sites had to offer, and how they could help me work my way into the comics industry.
So, for others like me who are interested, below is a quick review of 4 of these sites. Please keep in mind, not having become a member on any of these sites yet, I may not have complete information.
Zeros to Heroes - www.zeros2heroes.com
This is the first "by the people" online comic site I came across, and it impressed me because it's actually a Canadian site. It is currently a Beta, so the site is slow as hell, making navigating from page to page a chore and enough to make a potential user leave the site before they get to what they want to see (I have looked at this site on a few occasions to get the info I wanted).
The site is interesting however, in that users submit pitches for their ideas, and can rate and discuss the pitches of other users. There are various competitions held on the site where pitches are voted on by other users. The more a user contributes to the site, the more weight their vote has.
The site is partnered with media companies such as Telefilm Canada, Astral Media and Teletoon. The marketing department takes winning pitches and uses it as a foundation for a film, series, video game or graphic novel. Some competitons result in the winning pitch being turned into a 22 page comic book.
And the best part is, Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series) is the Editor-in- Cheif!
Zuda - http://zudacomics.com
The second site of its kind that I came across, was Zuda, which I heard about through an article in Wizard magazine.
Zuda is a project by DC Comics, which in itself is a big draw for creators. Because of this it also has a presence at Comic Cons, which can expose hopeful creaters to a professional audience. From what I can tell, like Zeros to Heroes, this is not so much a social network, but a site with monthly competitions where creators can post completed comic books to be voted on by other users for publication (onsite, though a winning series, Bayou by Jeremy Love, has been adapted for print as well).
This one seems more high profile and has more potential for busting into the industry due to its ties with DC.
ComicSpace - www.comicspace.com
I dont really have much to say about this site. It does not look very professional, doesn't seem to have any ties to the industry, and just seems like a hang out site for comic creators. It is also not very easy for new users to navigate, which could be a disadvantage for drawing new fans.
The only intersting items I can see that this site has over the others is the ability for artists to sell their work on the site, though with Etsy shops, etc... this feature is not a huge selling point (no pun intended).
BarkIt - www.barkit.com
As this site is new to the scene (late July) it is still very Beta and there are lots of features that they advertise as Coming Soon. It states it will be a social networking site for creators, but I am unsure how user projects will be presented or promoted.
I will have to wait and see on this one to be able to provide more information.
As far as I can see, none of these offers the ability for a profile page for users to post samples of their work, add other users as "collaborators" and post projects completed with other users, so I may still have my chance to make my millions :)
Zuda is standing out to me as the best option at the moment to break into the comic business, but Zeros to Heroes has some benefits for breaking into other types of entertainment media. ComicSpace looks like a waste of time to me, and BarkIt has some potential, so I will have to keep my eye on that one.
I am left wondering if Marvel has any plans to create a site in this vein for creators to submit and create their ideas.
Let me know if you have any thoughts on the above sites as I may have missed some information or misinterpreted something, or please recommend any other similar sites I haven't mentioned here.
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