How someone else should tie it all together...

As long as I can remember, speculative short fiction has been in trouble. Okay, that’s not really accurate. It’s short fiction’s print magazines that have (for the better part of last decade or so) been in trouble. Much of this is a reflection of the aging of their consumers and their inability to attract new (and younger) audiences.

A few years ago, when I was still worried about the survival of speculative short fiction, I came up with this idea. I use the past tense since I no longer equate survival of short specfic magazines with the survival of the form. No, I think themed anthologies are the lifeblood of the speculative short form.

Sorry about the rant. Back to the idea, which I can outline, because to pull it off would require lots of capital and it borrows from some of what’s currently being done. But...but...but...if you succeeded in making the numbers work , you’d actually attract new readers to the form (as a sort of a cross-pollination of forms...more on this later).

Let’s say, you focused on the genres of Military SF, Sword and Sorcery, and Supernatural Horror and were interested in minmalist short stories between 2000 and 4000 words. I chose these genres and sub-genres (off the top of my head) because they normally have a lot of visual punch, but you could use others as well.

You could produce online ezine, a print magazine / antho, a podcast series, a comic book antho, and a manga antho from the same stories by asking for a combination of exclusive first print, electronic, audio rights, translation rights, archival rights as well as rights to produce derivative works. Heck, we could go the route of Francis Ford Copolla’s Zoetrope All-story and request all rights, but as a sympathizer with all writers I’d never advise any writer (or publisher) to go this route. I mean, imagine they make a movie based on your work and you find yourself out in the cold.

The key would be that a print story = podcast story = audiobook = online / downloadable story, while comic book + manga would differ by 30 to 35% from the original short story (and from each w.r.t.  visual communication and amount of dialogue used) in terms of say the ending. This is where the derivative rights would come in. The Comic and Manga versions would already differ (in a legal sense) just because the forms are so different. Again, I'm not a lawyer and am only really familiar with rights usually granted with prose short fiction, so I could have omitted other necessary rights.

Back to the cross-pollination aspect:  If a person buys the comic book, they could receive the podcast or audiobook (which is 30 to 35% different) for free. This could be applied to various other buy-one-form-get-one-free combinations.

Since a Pro rate for a short story comes in at 6 cents a word (last I checked) and taking into account all the rights the writer would be granting, a fair payment might be US$360 (max 4000 @ 8 cents a word) upfront PLUS some % on the back end. Again this depends on the capital available.

Of course, the real cost would come from labour: slush readers, editors, webmasters, digital artists, mangaka (or rather pencillers who can draw manga style since mangaka are usually one-person acts), comic pencillers*, inkers, letterers, colourists. The comic dudes above would work on a work-for-hire to simplify copyright issues, etcetera. You could add comic writers to alter the story for comic form, but some consultation between editors and artists should take care of that.

*An important requirement for pencillers is to be able to draw from a short story instead of a full comic script. It occurs to me that doing this is closer to Marvel Style than Full Script.

General comic script formats (at least, the ones I’ve heard of):

1. Full Script
This is the format for writer-control-freaks, which is why I opted to learn this format! Basically, this is a page-by-page, panel-by-panel, break-down of what the writer wants to see. It involves panel descriptions (what must appear in each panel, including setting, action, captions and dialogue). The artist uses this as a guide to pencil the story.

2. Plot Script (a.k.a. Marvel Style a.k.a. Plot First a.k.a. Plot-art-dialogue)
This format involves the writer creating a synopsis of the plot, breaking it down to the page level, supplying action and setting. At this stage, the writer mentions only some of the dialogue (if any). Then the artist pencils the comic and, as a side effect, has the most control over the pacing and panel composition of the comic. Only afterwards, does the writer add the captions and dialogue.

Looking back, a lot of the Marvel’s internal story logic makes sense now... “There’s not enough space for Iron Man to explain his actions fully. Maybe, I can delete this section of dialogue and let reader’s imagination fill in the rest. Of course, this is a trial scene and he’s defending himself by giving a minute-by-minute account of actions, which the reader didn’t see, on the night in question. And there aren’t any witnesses or closed circuit cameras. What’s worse, the next page is splash page Avengers-S.H.I.E.L.D.-Skrull slugfest...Damn you, Bendisverse!”

3. Kurtzman Style
This involves drawing rough thumbnail sketches and scribbling down all the dialogue and captions inside these sketches. Then, the real artist transforms these sketches into real pencilled comic panels.

I only mentioned this tiresome-sounding format, because of Kurzman’s association with EC Comics and their association with horror comics and my idea’s reliance on supernatural horror. I can’t draw, so this format isn’t for me. Best left to writer-artists, maybe?

Anyway, see how a Marvel-style proficient artist would be better for translating short stories to comics or manga?

I even thought of a catchy name B.O.S.S. [Based On Short Stories]. Hopefully, Hugo Boss wouldn’t have problem with the name. This idea requires a lot of money to realise and may be slow to turn a profit, so only millionnaires and media conglomerates need attempt it.

Sometimes the interwebs surprises you and you're forced to rename a blog post

This is what this post was supposed to be named: Stuff the graphic novels industry lacks or seemingly lacks...

I’m at the very start of writing my comic one-shot / graphic novel script and I’ve started to research some possible publishers for my labour of love.
I knew that my best bet was to check out independent publishers (Not DC, Marvel, Image, or Dark Horse), but I didn’t know where to start. Well, actually, Dark Horse is a pretty good bet.

There are some publisher lists on the net, but these are either devoid of detail or hopelessly out of date, often listing many historical but defunct publishers. In addition, there aren't any live links to active publishers on these lists

This is where my experience as a reader and wannabe writer of short fiction has spoilt me: Speculative short fiction has market databases like Ralan  and Duotrope that are not only updated regularly, but tell you which publisher / publication is interested in which genre or sub-genre at which length. In addition, links to submission guidelines are added to each publication listing.

As far as I know, there aren’t any comparable websites for comics and graphic novels. As far as I know.

In the meantime, I’ve slogged m way through a few outdated lists just to get started and have found some potential publishers. Still, would be nice to do a refined search, such as superhero comics only.

Okay, this is where this post was supposed to stop...until I discovered Caleb Monroe's Submission Help page. It is awesome to have all those links in one place. Thank you, Sir.

EDIT: There's also dragonberry.

Understanding Other Solitudes

As some of you might know I’m at the very beginning stage of writing a superhero team one-shot comic or graphic novel (length to be determined). Sometimes I wish that I could draw so that I could draw the panels myself, because most (not all) graphic novel publishers only accept 6 or more completed comic pages.

Don’t get me wrong, I can do the quick stick figure and, if I had a week, I could even do a cartoony version of a superhero ala Batman the animated series. But to do serious superhero pencilling to the standard of Marc Silvestri or Mike Deodato jr. or Adam Kubert or Jim Lee or Pat Lee?

No way. Btw, does anyone know any up and coming artist whose style is comparable to the above pro artists?

No? Then, I’ll continue to surf DeviantART, PencilJack, and Digital Webbing...

But sometimes I allow myself to dream...Then I find myself seeing hero designs like these and thinking, Why didn’t I draw this first?

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman

In case you’re wondering,  Elemental Hero Flame Wingman is a ‘monster’ from the animated television series, Yu Gi Oh! GX (follow-up series to the original Yu Gi Oh!), which all about the adventures of a boy named Jayden Yugi and his friends, all of whom are students of Duel Academy. This fine institution is dedicated to the theory and practice of the game of Duel Monsters, a turn-based card game which is played between two opponents using their respective card decks and arm-worn devices called duelling discs. Many players have themed decks, such as decks containing many machine-themed cards or dinosaur-themed cards, etc.

Each player starts with 4000 life points and the object of the game is to get your opponent’s life points down to zero.

Cards are divided into three primary categories, namely: Monster cards, Spell cards, and Trap cards. Monster cards, which are played face up in either attack or defence mode, bring monsters (with specific attack and defence points) to the field. Spell cards, which are also played face up, create special effects that affect your monsters, your opponent’s monsters, the field, your life points, or your opponent’s life points. Trap cards, which are played face down, are activated by very specific actions of your opponent.

Clearly, I’ve really gotten into the inner workings of this game, which is really the point of this post.

Growing up, I always wondered what people saw in turn-based card games like Magic: The Gathering. At the same time I was watching and reading many fantasy movies and stories. I viewed Magic: The Gathering and RPGs where elves roam as their own solitudes that were just different from the comic reading solitude, the Fantasy short fiction solitude, and the Fantasy movie watching solitude to which I belonged.

I use the word ‘solitudes’ to denote collectives that have protected and developed distinctly different cultures, languages, and institutions within the same inter-medium super-genre (Fantasy). You could use the word ‘fandoms’ or ‘sub-cultures’, if you want, but I think using ‘solitudes’ is more apt.

In a previous post, I bemoaned the small overlap (at least smaller than it should be) between superhero comic readers and Speculative short fiction readers. What I often find incredible is that many comic readers I’ve encountered are more likely to read SF novels than SF short fiction. Beyond consumer preference, it doesn’t really make sense to me.

Well, until I think of how Yu Gi Oh gave me the answer to the question: What do people see in turn-based card games like Magic: The Gathering?

For me, it’s the skill needed and how strategy and tactics come into play. Coincidentally, this also what I love about team sports (soccer, rugby, cricket).

Having the main characters of Yu Gi Oh GX have superhero-themed cards also doesn’t hurt.

Although, it’s unlikely that I’ll start playing Magic: The Gathering, I won’t be wondering what the attraction to it is anymore...

Clichés and Superhero comics: From Nature to Cap

I’ve watched a lot of nature documentaries (Natural Geographic and the like) over the years. Every now and then I’ll watch one about sharks. In about 99% of these documentaries, the narrator will say something to the effect of:

“Often depicted as mindless killing machines, sharks are misunderstood beasts....In fact, you are more likely to be killed [insert activity or type of death]. Only X number of deaths [where X >1] per year are attributed to shark attacks.”

To which I usually say, “No, there’s really no misunderstanding about sharks. If they attack you, you’re likely to die or suffer serious injury. X number is still a number. Sharks aren’t 100% harmless. On the other hand, in a documentary about lions or crocodiles, it is always made absolutely clear that no matter how few (lion or crocodile) attacks there may be, that it is best to stay away from these killing machines.”

Okay, I’ve rambled on a bit. The point is that the typical narration excerpt above has become a cliché in Shark documentaries.

Clichés. They’re out there. Even in superheroes comic books.

No, I’m not talking about origin tropes in superhero (subgenre) comic books. A trope is different from a cliché.

I’m referring to clichés that show up in hero characterization. One of the biggest of writer-sins (and it IS a writer-sin) is have the hero be your Mary Sue (the character that never does anything wrong AND/OR never loses a fight AND/OR gets spoken about in glowing terms whenever said character isn’t around, etcetera).

“But he is the HERO”, you say?

Sure. He/She is the hero, but even in single hero comic books, there are often other heroes in the supporting cast who should be allowed to shine from time to time. For example, look at Nightwing in the Bat-books...Okay, maybe Nightwing is perhaps a better Anti-Mary-Sue (See this post) - some fans have posited that Nightwing is there to make Batman/Bruce Wayne look good in his heroic exploits.

Another writer-sin is how other people (and even fellow heroes) react to certain heroes. See every comic in which a young hero meets the Avengers. Even if young hero has a lot of experience and has been around for ages, some writers will make this hero fall over themselves in fanboy-like worship and say things "OMG, I've just met the Avengers and Cap just called me 'son'...The...A...vengers!"

To which I say, "Wake up, kid. Cap calls everyone son. It's his thing. Hey, it's not like you met the JLA."

Yeah...The JLA (big seven) might make me act like that, but not The Avengers. Sorry, Marvel.

That's just me.

I'm SURE that you can think of many other clichés in Superhero comics and particular writer-hero-combos that tend to transgress every now and then.

Speculative short stories that Superhero Comic book readers will enjoy

One of my passions - other than comics - is reading Speculative (refering to Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Supernatural Horror) short stories. I often muse at how few peeps enjoy both comics and short fiction. Okay, one has artwork and thought bubbles, but some of the same thrills can be found in both forms.

Here's a link to a short story. If you liked Doom Patrol, John Constantine (from Swamp Thing fame or that good movie starring that king of acting Keanu Reeves), or Angel/Buffy comic books...Read it. My good deed for the week.

Theory of Retcons, Rebirth, & Reboots Involving Comics Kaboom Decision-making (a.k.a. TRRRICK'D)

As promised, this post constitutes my thoughts on Reboots in comics. As a bonus, to make the model more scientifically robust, I’ve also included other comic Inter-Comic-Bigwig-Writer outcomes of the Retcon as well the new flavour of the month, the Rebirth.

I give to you the result of exactly 20 minutes of painstaking scholarly research, a normative decision-making model in the style of a new-writer-interview-excerpt plus some occasional fanboy intrusion, I have christened as...drumroll...the Theory of Retcons, Rebirths, & Reboots Involving Comics Kaboom Decision-making (a.k.a. TRRRICK’D). Enjoy!

This is just a Theory, probably more accurately viewed as a model and thus a simplification of an aspect of reality. So, I've excluded possible Hollywood franchise considerations as well as special continuity (such as Legion). Also, with the inclusion of the Rebirth outcome, the model is more applicable to DC Comics. Well, only slightly. I'll also throw in my observation that the Rebirths of Green Lantern and Flash (explicitly) and Green Arrow (not named a rebirth) were fixing somethging that was not necessarily broken. Kyle Rayner, Wally West, and Connor Hawke were (and still are) great characters who were NOT less popular than Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, or Ollie Queen. Only saving grace about the rebirths is that they didn't kill off Kyle and company. What can I say about Reboots? Well, the only problem I have with them is that there are too many of them.Retcons are okay, if they are targetting the right elements. How about permanently wiping Bouncing Boy out of existence? Feel free to print and/or disseminate this theory...We must warn others!

Next post preview and Sad comics blogosphere news

Next post: In my next post, I will outline my thoughts on the reboots in comics. Scientifically.

Sad news in the comics blogosphere: Scipio at The Absorbscon is going on hiatus. For how long? Who knows... I recommend that anyone who is interested  in comics (particularly DC) but unfamiliar with The Absorbascon head over there via the link in My blog list (to the right) and explore the Archive. You will not be disappointed. Too bummed to create a link here...

See you all next post!