Sooner Later

If I were a comics destroyer I'd…

what would you do, Daddy?

I'd have plucked one random issue of Marvel's Civil War out of a quarter bin and been so inspired by the back up feature that I'd scribble the following events down in a mad frenzy. Then I'd forget about it for a few years.

X-ey

This is when I learned not to try to color with vectors. At least, not using CorelDraw.

Sketches from the Gutter

I had a great time playing with the Verminopolis concept. Lord Trembletooth has been tweeting a bit more lately, I felt it might be time to use Otherkids to show some more of what I had in mind. 

I envisioned a team, more like a counterculture Thundercats (except Squirrels and rats and roaches and pigeons) meets Shadowrun. Of course, I'm a comics kid who's always wanted to  play RPGs  but never had a group, so I'm not sure my ideas would have been appropriate. 

American Union, Jack

Go ahead, add up the number of Mexican States, Canadian Provinces, U.S. Territories and States. We'll be waiting.

I did it!

I promised myself I wouldn't blog for a whole year, and, Though it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, I made it.

Er, except for this blog. and this one. and that one. oh, and that one over there.

But I didn't blog here. Or here. Or Here, yet.

But I'm gonna start again. Right now.

BREAKDOWNS

Wanted to show why Neil and I didn't work together for almost ten years...

I used to pencil pretty tightly. Not my nature; this page is probably my third revision.

I thank/blame Mark A Nelson for that; My college professor shared this influence with the Image wave and sowed a mistrust of "inkers" instead of the trusting symbiosis of "finishers". Of course, I bear the ultimate responsibility and I gotta tell you, I'm a happier penciler when I work loose.

I know that's not why I didn't get the job though. Sometimes I just don't fini

ONE HOLIDAY

From an idea Greg Sarns had in the late 1990's...

neon green gellyroller on 80 pound bond...

12 years & 4 hours later

PAPER ROUTES ARE NOT FUNNY

Personally I disagree. I had a blast on my paper route and have dozens of stories.

The video I am helping you skip seems like a paid advertisement. Watch it if you want by clicking the title above.

But she's right, in that kids cannot relate to paper route stories. Routes are so big now that there's no way a kid could do it. Too bad.

Here's the stuff I thought was useful...

• Think about your competition, and if there's somebody else out there doing something similar. How is your idea different from that?
• Think about sales outlets... what kind of channel would you expect to see this on? 
• Think about your audience. As creators we often are so absorbed in our creations that we forget what it's like to see it for the first time.
• Get feedback, as much as possible... then follow up on the questions and comments as you develop the idea. Pay attention to places you stumble or feel less than confident during your presentation; work on those!
• Design it as an outline of your presentation, but not as the presentation itself. It's a tool to aid the presentation. Make it available as a nice leave-behind, but don't just leave it. Ask if they would like a PDF instead.
• 10 pages total. Has to have good grammar and writing & a fun, easy read
• Overview
• 1-2 pgs w/art; logline, include episode length.
• START AT THE BEGINNING; introduce characters, allude to tone of the world & the possible/impossibilities.
• Character Descriptions
• One paragraph per main character (5 tops); examples of action, not adjectives.
• Be imaginative
• Do we know characters like these? What's the twist?
• Be selective
• Episode Springboards
• This makes it or breaks it...
• mini-episode outlines; beginning, middle, and (especially) end. Add 3 tableaus of high spots.
• uses all characters; here are the personality characteristics that got them into trouble, and here's how those traits will get them out of trouble.
• 5-7 springboards.
• Art
• specific per section of show
• must show emotion
• must display the tone of the show
• MUST BE EXCELLENT!
• Do think cross-platform.
• Do have personality, point-of-view, and Uniqueness
• Do not assume that more is better (trailer, tons of sketches).
• Do not include budgets, marketing, L&M.

Bottom line; you are always selling yourself as a professional, interesting, artistic, creative problem solver. No is not forever. You never know what's going on behind the scenes.

*sigh* I miss my paper route. :)