Comic Con 2007
Apparently, it has been 55 weeks since I last posted. I have some excuse--I’ve been working on two different comic book proposals, for Shalott and Dead Angels. It’s time to post again because I just got back from Comic-Con and a week in Los Angeles.
tiguh_tiguh will fill you in on the panels at Comic Con, including Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and the show “Pushing Daisies” with Kristin Chenoweth. I’ll focus on the work part.
Of course, there are the two major comic book publishers, DC and Marvel, and the only slightly less major publishers, Dark Horse and Image. Then there are a bunch of smaller publishers, all of whom were clustered more or less together around the middle of the Exhibit Hall.
First thing on Thursday, I attended an orientation by DC comics for their portfolio review. By far, this was the best procedure I encountered for this process. Basically they gave a quick spiel on how to submit and who should and shouldn’t do so. But since they have so many imprints with different styles (including Mad Magazine) I figured everyone in the packed room was still going to submit, no matter what level of skill. All I had to do was staple sample pages together with a cover sheet, and drop it off at their booth in the Exhibit Hall. They would look over each submission, decide whom they would see, and post the names of people they wanted to see on their monitor the next morning. That made me happy, because there would be no awkward waiting, and I could do other stuff, like look inside the Ark of the Covenant and ogle the alethiometer from The Golden Compass.
Dark Horse was scheduled to do portfolio reviews from 11 to 3, so I stopped by around 1:00 figuring I still had plenty of time. This was my second lesson in Comic-Con etiquette (the first was, to get into a panel you want to see, like the Paramount movie preview with Iron Man, Star Trek, etc., you have to get in line at least an hour beforehand). The schedule had been full since 10:31, which is about a minute after they opened the line to sign up.
Anyway, I did other stuff, like gawp at the new $500 Lego model of the Millennium Falcon to be released soon. There was a sweepstakes, but I didn’t win it.
First thing Friday (like, half an hour before the Convention Center opened), I got my ass in line for the Dark Horse portfolio reviews. tiguh_tiguh helped me out by waiting in the Wizards of the Coast line (and so we missed the Warner Brothers premiere session). Even doing that, I was # 40 out of 45 in that line. People are serious about getting in line at Comic-Con. But at least I could be pretty sure I could leave and come back later, unlike a lot of people who literally had to wait the day away to be seen, missing all the fun stuff, like seeing people in silly costumes from Drawn Together or Return of the Jedi.
The Wizards of the Coast line was much faster (as a result of being less organized), and I got some good critiques from them, especially about color, which I am still learning. They gave me a submission info card, but since I am trying to get away from roleplaying games that don’t pay terribly well (unlike comics ha ha!), I’m not sure if I’ll pursue that.
tiguh_tiguh and I bummed around a little more, admiring the disrespected head of Darth Vader:
But eventually I returned to wait for my Dark Horse review.
Oh by the way, I checked the DC booth and my name was up there! Which meant I had to be at the secretive Room 18 at 4:30 for my review.
Anyhoo, as I was on deck for my Dark Horse review, this camera crew shows up and asks me a few questions. Basically they wanted to know how I felt; was I nervous, what did I expect from this review?
I answered, “Hopefully a job! But if not that, then at least some constructive criticism that will give me a better chance of getting a job next time.” And that was about all the time I had before it was my turn. And there I was, hoping that the editor, Randy Stradley, would like my stuff, that I would be a breath of fresh air after a bunch of no-talent hacks. The disadvantage of the cattle call line goes both ways: we have to wait and forego other fun stuff; the editor has to wade through dreck to find good stuff. Man, the DC arrangement is so much better.
So the review begins. I pulled out my two proposals. Since the listing in the schedule remarks that Randy is more interested in looking at pencils (the first drawing stage of comics, followed by inking, coloring and lettering), I show him Dead Angels first. Now, I didn’t have a lot of time to get these to a really polished state. I left out a face on one panel! So he flipped through the cover and six pages I had, flipped back to the cover, not really saying anything. I kind of tossed in the comment that I still needed to put shadows in for the inker and he agreed with that.
I guess he was intrigued enough, because he let me show him the painted pages I did for Shalott, and he did the same thing as before, flipping through the pages without a comment. Then he flipped to the text pages of the proposal and asked “Is this a proposal for an original story?” [Or something like that.] I said yes. “Are you working with a writer?” No, I’m doing the whole package, writing and illustration. “Can you send me these proposals? I’d like to take a look at them.” [Again paraphrasing.] I said he could have the ones he was already holding. About then my brain popped. I must have mentioned that I had published illustrations for roleplaying games because he said I am wasted on that, that I have a gift for visual storytelling! (!!!!!!!!!!!)
So the upshot is, my first choice publisher for my proposals is actually interested in them. Of course, I can’t get my hopes up too high too early, but for a portfolio review, that went way beyond what I expected!
And the camera crew from "Video Jug" was right there to capture my elation. They did a little more interviewing, not that I can remember any of that. They also followed me to my review with DC, though they didn’t actually get that on video. Apparently they had been taping my review with Randy. They’ll let me know when they post the video. The especially weird thing about being interviewed was that another crew caught me with a Dharma Initiative shirt on Thursday, and got me to defend "Lost" vs. "Heroes" on camera. And I actually like Heroes better--at least I did until I saw the Lost panel with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse!
The review with DC (and like an idiot, I can’t remember the name of the editor I spoke to, except that he was primarily for DC comics, as opposed to Vertigo or one of the other non-superhero imprints) also went very well. He liked the painted work very much, and thought the pencils needed a little refinement. Although when I showed him a page that I had inked off of those pencils, he took it back. He said he would put them on file at DC where all the editors could take a look, and give me a call when they have a job that matches my style, whether that’s in a week or a year. That was more than I expected from DC, so I was doubly excited.
Now all I need to do is tighten up the pencils, ink them, and send them in to Dark Horse and DC to update my files.
Work-wise, the rest of the con did not live up to Friday, but man, was that a good day.
On Saturday, I found out that Marvel did not want to review my portfolio, which was fine, because I really don’t do the superhero style at all, and I submitted to them because it was easy to. I handed off portfolios to various other studios, including a smaller imprint of Image comics, Archaia Studios Press, IDW, SLG, Penny Farthing Press and so forth. I was a little surprised how few editors would actually take proposals in person, since that was the whole reason I went to the con. I had thought that it was the best way to make contact with a publisher. I suppose that when I submit by mail, I can at least mention in a cover letter that I met so-and-so in person at the con and he/she told me to submit. The excuse I kept getting, which makes sense, is that the con is so crazy the proposals would just get lost in the shuffle.
That just about covers the work related part of the con. Stay tuned for my trip to Hollywood!
tiguh_tiguh will fill you in on the panels at Comic Con, including Kevin Smith, Joss Whedon, and the show “Pushing Daisies” with Kristin Chenoweth. I’ll focus on the work part.
Of course, there are the two major comic book publishers, DC and Marvel, and the only slightly less major publishers, Dark Horse and Image. Then there are a bunch of smaller publishers, all of whom were clustered more or less together around the middle of the Exhibit Hall.
First thing on Thursday, I attended an orientation by DC comics for their portfolio review. By far, this was the best procedure I encountered for this process. Basically they gave a quick spiel on how to submit and who should and shouldn’t do so. But since they have so many imprints with different styles (including Mad Magazine) I figured everyone in the packed room was still going to submit, no matter what level of skill. All I had to do was staple sample pages together with a cover sheet, and drop it off at their booth in the Exhibit Hall. They would look over each submission, decide whom they would see, and post the names of people they wanted to see on their monitor the next morning. That made me happy, because there would be no awkward waiting, and I could do other stuff, like look inside the Ark of the Covenant and ogle the alethiometer from The Golden Compass.
Dark Horse was scheduled to do portfolio reviews from 11 to 3, so I stopped by around 1:00 figuring I still had plenty of time. This was my second lesson in Comic-Con etiquette (the first was, to get into a panel you want to see, like the Paramount movie preview with Iron Man, Star Trek, etc., you have to get in line at least an hour beforehand). The schedule had been full since 10:31, which is about a minute after they opened the line to sign up.
Anyway, I did other stuff, like gawp at the new $500 Lego model of the Millennium Falcon to be released soon. There was a sweepstakes, but I didn’t win it.
First thing Friday (like, half an hour before the Convention Center opened), I got my ass in line for the Dark Horse portfolio reviews. tiguh_tiguh helped me out by waiting in the Wizards of the Coast line (and so we missed the Warner Brothers premiere session). Even doing that, I was # 40 out of 45 in that line. People are serious about getting in line at Comic-Con. But at least I could be pretty sure I could leave and come back later, unlike a lot of people who literally had to wait the day away to be seen, missing all the fun stuff, like seeing people in silly costumes from Drawn Together or Return of the Jedi.
The Wizards of the Coast line was much faster (as a result of being less organized), and I got some good critiques from them, especially about color, which I am still learning. They gave me a submission info card, but since I am trying to get away from roleplaying games that don’t pay terribly well (unlike comics ha ha!), I’m not sure if I’ll pursue that.
tiguh_tiguh and I bummed around a little more, admiring the disrespected head of Darth Vader:
But eventually I returned to wait for my Dark Horse review.
Oh by the way, I checked the DC booth and my name was up there! Which meant I had to be at the secretive Room 18 at 4:30 for my review.
Anyhoo, as I was on deck for my Dark Horse review, this camera crew shows up and asks me a few questions. Basically they wanted to know how I felt; was I nervous, what did I expect from this review?
I answered, “Hopefully a job! But if not that, then at least some constructive criticism that will give me a better chance of getting a job next time.” And that was about all the time I had before it was my turn. And there I was, hoping that the editor, Randy Stradley, would like my stuff, that I would be a breath of fresh air after a bunch of no-talent hacks. The disadvantage of the cattle call line goes both ways: we have to wait and forego other fun stuff; the editor has to wade through dreck to find good stuff. Man, the DC arrangement is so much better.
So the review begins. I pulled out my two proposals. Since the listing in the schedule remarks that Randy is more interested in looking at pencils (the first drawing stage of comics, followed by inking, coloring and lettering), I show him Dead Angels first. Now, I didn’t have a lot of time to get these to a really polished state. I left out a face on one panel! So he flipped through the cover and six pages I had, flipped back to the cover, not really saying anything. I kind of tossed in the comment that I still needed to put shadows in for the inker and he agreed with that.
I guess he was intrigued enough, because he let me show him the painted pages I did for Shalott, and he did the same thing as before, flipping through the pages without a comment. Then he flipped to the text pages of the proposal and asked “Is this a proposal for an original story?” [Or something like that.] I said yes. “Are you working with a writer?” No, I’m doing the whole package, writing and illustration. “Can you send me these proposals? I’d like to take a look at them.” [Again paraphrasing.] I said he could have the ones he was already holding. About then my brain popped. I must have mentioned that I had published illustrations for roleplaying games because he said I am wasted on that, that I have a gift for visual storytelling! (!!!!!!!!!!!)
So the upshot is, my first choice publisher for my proposals is actually interested in them. Of course, I can’t get my hopes up too high too early, but for a portfolio review, that went way beyond what I expected!
And the camera crew from "Video Jug" was right there to capture my elation. They did a little more interviewing, not that I can remember any of that. They also followed me to my review with DC, though they didn’t actually get that on video. Apparently they had been taping my review with Randy. They’ll let me know when they post the video. The especially weird thing about being interviewed was that another crew caught me with a Dharma Initiative shirt on Thursday, and got me to defend "Lost" vs. "Heroes" on camera. And I actually like Heroes better--at least I did until I saw the Lost panel with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse!
The review with DC (and like an idiot, I can’t remember the name of the editor I spoke to, except that he was primarily for DC comics, as opposed to Vertigo or one of the other non-superhero imprints) also went very well. He liked the painted work very much, and thought the pencils needed a little refinement. Although when I showed him a page that I had inked off of those pencils, he took it back. He said he would put them on file at DC where all the editors could take a look, and give me a call when they have a job that matches my style, whether that’s in a week or a year. That was more than I expected from DC, so I was doubly excited.
Now all I need to do is tighten up the pencils, ink them, and send them in to Dark Horse and DC to update my files.
Work-wise, the rest of the con did not live up to Friday, but man, was that a good day.
On Saturday, I found out that Marvel did not want to review my portfolio, which was fine, because I really don’t do the superhero style at all, and I submitted to them because it was easy to. I handed off portfolios to various other studios, including a smaller imprint of Image comics, Archaia Studios Press, IDW, SLG, Penny Farthing Press and so forth. I was a little surprised how few editors would actually take proposals in person, since that was the whole reason I went to the con. I had thought that it was the best way to make contact with a publisher. I suppose that when I submit by mail, I can at least mention in a cover letter that I met so-and-so in person at the con and he/she told me to submit. The excuse I kept getting, which makes sense, is that the con is so crazy the proposals would just get lost in the shuffle.
That just about covers the work related part of the con. Stay tuned for my trip to Hollywood!