DC Conspiracy[dots pattern]

6.27.2005

Ready for the Big Time #2

I don't consider Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc. necessarily "the Big Time". I consider getting a published book distributed on a national level the big time. So eventually I'll cover some independent and self-published steps but this week it's submissions. Last week I wrote about portfolio reviews, which is one potential way to get noticed and get work. Another is to follow the submissions procedure for a company.

The most important thing to do when submitting, is to follow their rules. Every company has different rules and if you don't follow them, you're just wasting your time and postage money.

For instance, Image Comics does not hire artists or writers or colorists or anything else. They accept only full story submissions. You need to assemble the whole team and send them 5 full pages of the book along with a synopsis of the whole story, laid out very plainly so they know what they'd be investing in. If Image accepts you, they handle all the details with distribution and production and you simply deliver the finished pages (they provide technical specifications for you). Image takes a flat fee, no matter how many copies you sell, off the back end and cuts you a check for any additional profit which you then divide among your time however you see fit. You retain all creative ownership. It's very hard to mess up with this deal. However, the chances of your story being accepted are pretty small and if the orders from retailers are small but you still decide to go forward, you could end up owing money.

At Marvel and DC, they do NOT take unsolicited story ideas. Sorry writers, but breaking in at one of the Big Two without any previously published work is damn near impossible. Your best shot is to have a play, tv show, novel or regular column published and network your way in. You can send them an inquiry letter detailing your writing experience and they may contact you for a story pitch. But don't get your hopes up.

For artists, it's slightly easier in that there's at least a standard process. Both companies will ask for sequential artwork. They're not interested in hiring cover artists so don't waste time with pinups and splash pages. They want to see your storytelling ability. Similar to portfolio reviews, just have 5 sequential pages. If you're a penciller, don't have the pages inked. Send photocopies and a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Remember to sign the release form (found on the websites). You may have better luck sending your samples directly to an editor of a book or line of titles that you think would be a good fit. The editors have a better idea of whether they'll need a fill-in or short series coming up and may give you a chance.

It behooves you to familiarize yourself with all the publishers you can and each of their submission procedures. To help out, I've provided links to the publishers I can think of and what they require:

Marvel
http://www.marvelcomics.com/company/subs.htm

DC/ Vertigo/ Wildstorm
http://www.dccomics.com/about/submissions.html

Image
http://www.imagecomics.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?main=about&sub1=submissions

Dark Horse
http://www.darkhorse.com/company/submissions.php

Oni
Will destroy your submissions. Not accepting any at this time.

Top Shelf
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/contact.php?section=submissions

AiT/PlanetLar
http://www.ait-planetlar.com/contact.shtml

TokyoPop
http://www.tokyopop.com/aboutus/submissions.php

Antarctic
http://www.antarctic-press.com/html/submissions.htm

Speakeasy
http://www.speakeasycomics.com/company.asp

Avatar
http://www.avatarpress.com/submis.htm

IDW
http://www.idwpublishing.com/?path=submissions&IDWid=920b6cb30ae69fbacde63f2c9d32a2f9

There are plenty more companies out there, of course, but hopefully this is a good start.

Chris at 9:51 AM  |  link to this     

3 Comments

this is ghey

Anonymous at 6/28/2005 3:24 PM   

So is anonymous posting, ghey-boy.

Jason at 6/28/2005 3:52 PM   

Thanks for the information. Very cool!

Vaklam at 7/30/2005 5:57 AM   

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