The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Phoenix Epoch: comic pitch
McGibs
TorontoRegistered User regular
TorontoRegistered User regular
Youve all seen these in the Doodle thread, but I'm going to post again here for crits on the actual pitch part.
This is the proposal for my new comic project, "Phoenix Epoch", a series of short stories set in a dark and gritty science fiction universe.
This is my first attempt to get published (Ive done other self-published projects in the past) and so any advice or critiques on what I've done so far would be greatly appreciated before I start throwing this into publisher's in-boxes (suggestions of potential publishers that I may not know about would also be appreciated).
CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE PITCH
This proposal has five pages from the first issue, followed by a comprehensive overview of the project. Click the thumbnails to view.
Thanks for looking
This is the proposal for my new comic project, "Phoenix Epoch", a series of short stories set in a dark and gritty science fiction universe.
This is my first attempt to get published (Ive done other self-published projects in the past) and so any advice or critiques on what I've done so far would be greatly appreciated before I start throwing this into publisher's in-boxes (suggestions of potential publishers that I may not know about would also be appreciated).
CLICK HERE FOR THE ONLINE PITCH
This proposal has five pages from the first issue, followed by a comprehensive overview of the project. Click the thumbnails to view.
Thanks for looking
McGibs on
0
Posts
I just finished reading the entire history of your story's setting and found it interesting enough to finish in its entirety without pause.
I can't tell you anything about how 'good' your pitch is, not being a comic publisher, but I can tell you that the story was very engaging and a worthwhile way to spend 30 minutes or so. Your art is always of professional quality and I hope you are able to gather publisher interest in the project.
8-)
One suggestion I would make is to post it either without the pictures, or the pictures shrunk to conform to more standard monitor sizes. I realize this would make it harder to see the details, but as it is it's a pain in the ass to read at 1280x1024.
Nitpick: Noticed a bit of an 'error' on the tech sheet for the suit. The front and rear diagrams show the edge of the shoulders joining up to the orange visor a fair bit higher than the side-on view, where the point where the shoulders hit the visor is somewhat lower.
Not all comic readers appreciate just the art. I have purchased books with shitty stories because the art was awesome. I'm nervous that someone might pass on it because of the "lack of story".
I know you didn't want that in there basically spoon feeding what most people can figure out....but then again many people are idiots.
I personally love it as is, but i think you might get people who want some dialogue. even if it's a narration thats not from the the dude we're watching.
Tumblr Behance Carbonmade PAAC on FB
BFBC2
Going off the rough pages you put up a while back, this particular story's also kind of a slow-burn character piece, with very little action throughout it. So a lot of readers picking your potential series up for the first time might have a, "Why did I buy this, nothing happened!" reaction. I'm not sure if you keep up with mainstream comics, but people routinely lambast comics that feel decompressed or lacking in content. As a comic reader, I'd encourage you to go with a first-issue that has the standard action-lull-action-climax format popularized by a lot of old self-contained comics from the Silver Age. Then branch out and try more experimental stuff if the series actually gets off the ground.
That said, beautiful art and story as always, and I wish you luck with the pitch.
Tumblr Twitter
Assloads of these guys come pouring out of the ground, gassing people and beating them up with blunt objects before dragging up a huge bomb and setting it off.
Don't change a thing.
I totally agree with Rankenphile, compromising your story for the sake of sales (or getting published) will only hinder you in the long run. Dumming it down for the 'tards only makes you part of the problem.
As someone who is also trying to get into comics, i would change things around if it meant my comic would hit more people. As long as the message and the art was intact.
Either way i think this comic artistically will stick out. And you know everyone here will be buying copies! I think the work is awesome and i can't wait to see it completed.
Not to be a prick, but comics are a business, and if you don't sell, then you don't get published, and if you don't get published, nobody reads your brilliant masterwork. If McGibs just wants people to read his stuff then he can put it on the internet; it'll reach a lot more people, and will cause him a lot less aggravation and heartache. But he's pitching an ongoing, print comic book in a market that's already heavily saturated and difficult to succeed in as an independent newcomer.
If he was pitching this as an OGN collection of short stories, or as an installment in an anthology, I wouldn't say boo about it, but he's not. Monthly comics have to come out of the gate strong, and hook as many readers as possible with the first issue, because comics almost always trend downwards from month to month, and a weak first issue can kill a book before it even gets its legs beneath it. Add to this that anthology titles traditionally sell worse than titles that focus on a single character, that black and white comics sell worse than color comics, and sci-fi/fantasy/crime comics sell worse than superhero comics, and you might see why I'm concerned.
I spend a lot of time following sales trends in the comic industry, and looking at Phoenix Epoch, all I can see are the aspects that might keep it from succeeding. I hope it's successful of course, and I'm definitely buy it if McGibs gets it on the stands.
Tumblr Twitter
By the way do you pronounce it E-Potch or E-Pock?
Good luck with your pitch dude! :^:
Outstanding job.
More updates next week as I start hammering on doors.
@mustang:
according to dictionary.com:
like how a dumb person says "epic"
The premise is beautiful from what I can see.
The only thing that bugged me was the red on the visor where he is drawing the smiley face seems a bit "rich" and could maybe be dulled down.
they'd eat this up
That is, the opposite of terrible.
DeviantArt
It'd look killer with a fatter text to match his suit where the font is sort worn out grey (or warm as it is now) plastic parts or something.
Also, wouldn't it look better with the snowy background going all the way up to the top of the page. The black block with the title sort of bothers me.
I really dig the comic and I hope very much for you to have it published. I might even go as far as to buy a copy, if it's distributed to Denmark, although I'm poor
Flickr ... Myspace
Me too. I would want to buy your comic, but I wouldn't want to for international shipping for a comic.