I thought I would take the opportunity in this post to talk about our credentials, as in my last post I noted that Marco was 'new' to comics, this could certainly be said of me also, but what does it mean?
I guess most people would call us new as we have no published work. Now while this is technically true, I have a publishing deal with AMM Markosia for a 5 part mini series called No Romance and I also have a kickstarter pending and waiting for approval for an original graphic novel called The Fight We Never Saw. I also have various other comic projects in early stages of development and I was offered a publishing deal for the first comic I ever wrote, but the artist did not like deal and it all fell apart. In terms of writing outside of comics, I've also written a pilot and a series pitch for a TV show and wrote plays for local amateur drama productions. I of course also I have had a lifetime of reading and absorbing the work of great comics writers.
Marco meanwhile has been interviewed and given good reviews by Marvel editors. Carlos Pacheco whose artwork is well known by all Marvel and DC fans, greatly admires Marco's work and has advised him to seek out management. This talent didn't come over night however, Marco was drawing almost from birth and it was comics that inspired him. He has had his work used by bands for promotional material and could easily find work in other artistic ventures, but it's comics that pull at his heart strings.
Did I write this post to tell you how great Marco and I are? No, far from it. I guess all I really want to say is it takes an awful lot of hard work and commitment to be 'new' to comics.
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Thursday, 20 June 2013
The Plan
So as you can see there is a mere six pages and the front cover of the first issue on the site and I know what you are all thinking 'I need more.' More is something Marco and I intend to give you. At the moment we are both busy working out the ins and outs of the website, but we intend to deliver the 5 issues here, on the website, for free. This of course isn't an easy process, as I'm merely a writer and Marco, being new to comics art, is still coming to grips with inking and has never coloured before. However we will push forward with this project and get other artists on board to assist with the inking and colouring process. This is where you can come in, if you like what you've seen so far and want more, then donate. Now I don't want to come across as someone that wants you to pay his rent, as I'm really not that guy. Marco and I do this out of the love of our hearts and we have hired an artist to do the colouring of the first six pages, but these things don't come cheep and if we want more pages coloured then I must turn to you. So please help us to tell you the story of Reality.
Tony
Tony
Monday, 17 June 2013
Collaboration
I get asked by a lot of different people 'how do you find an artist to draw your comic?' This is a real tricky subject, as I imagine most of reading this don't have a bunch of comic book artists on speed dial, so I thought I would tackle this subject here. When I first decided I wanted to write comics I had no idea how to find someone to render my thoughts and I remember asking this very question to various creators at a small press show in London. I got a few different answers, but I'm going to go into the main the ones that I find most effective.
Firstly the one that has proven most fruitful and for me because this is where I found Marco and Voxie who is the artist on No Romance (a book written by me that will be published next year) is advertisement on various forums such as ZWOL. There are forums out there that are specifically designed for writers, artists and other comic creators to hook up. Now truth be told these sites tend to be dominated by writers looking for artists, as many an artist is under the impression they can write and some are right, some... not so much. So if you do go down this route make sure you're ad stands out, be specific about what you want from the artist in terms of art style and tone. Also make sure you make your project sounds exciting, believe me writing and exciting pitch that lures artists in is good practice for pitching to publishers later down the road. Finally be clear about what you're offering your artist. Many of the artists looking at these ads will expect to get paid, unfortunately that is not something I can afford to do and I aslo believe when you find the right artist they become the co-creator, so I offer a 50% share in the project.
The second way I tend to look for artists is on deviantart. This can be broken down into two main categories firstly you can advertise on their forums and secondly you can browse though their comic art groups and contact artists you feel would suit your project. Now I have to say I've never had much luck on the deviantart side of things, but I know some writers swear by it.
Finally I also like to go on general comics forums such as 11 o'clock comics and once again you can either post an ad or look at some of the art threads and contact perspective artists. Again I've personally not had much luck with this, but do find the forums a great place to gain advice and get intrest in your project going.
So all in all I think what I've pointed out here is that when looking for an artist, the internet is your friend. The other thing I would point out is that you must be patient, you will get sent a lot of terrible artwork and it may take months to find the perfect artist. I had to put my ad up a bunch of times before I I found Marco, but look at how thats turned out.
Tony
Firstly the one that has proven most fruitful and for me because this is where I found Marco and Voxie who is the artist on No Romance (a book written by me that will be published next year) is advertisement on various forums such as ZWOL. There are forums out there that are specifically designed for writers, artists and other comic creators to hook up. Now truth be told these sites tend to be dominated by writers looking for artists, as many an artist is under the impression they can write and some are right, some... not so much. So if you do go down this route make sure you're ad stands out, be specific about what you want from the artist in terms of art style and tone. Also make sure you make your project sounds exciting, believe me writing and exciting pitch that lures artists in is good practice for pitching to publishers later down the road. Finally be clear about what you're offering your artist. Many of the artists looking at these ads will expect to get paid, unfortunately that is not something I can afford to do and I aslo believe when you find the right artist they become the co-creator, so I offer a 50% share in the project.
The second way I tend to look for artists is on deviantart. This can be broken down into two main categories firstly you can advertise on their forums and secondly you can browse though their comic art groups and contact artists you feel would suit your project. Now I have to say I've never had much luck on the deviantart side of things, but I know some writers swear by it.
Finally I also like to go on general comics forums such as 11 o'clock comics and once again you can either post an ad or look at some of the art threads and contact perspective artists. Again I've personally not had much luck with this, but do find the forums a great place to gain advice and get intrest in your project going.
So all in all I think what I've pointed out here is that when looking for an artist, the internet is your friend. The other thing I would point out is that you must be patient, you will get sent a lot of terrible artwork and it may take months to find the perfect artist. I had to put my ad up a bunch of times before I I found Marco, but look at how thats turned out.
Tony
Thursday, 13 June 2013
Welcome to Reality.
So it's finally here. Two years after I first conceived of the project, Reality is born. It's been a long, hard road getting this comic to print (or the web in this case), but one that I and Marco have enjoyed thoroughly. So why Reality? Well, I attended San Diego Comic Con in 09, traveling all the way from London, England for what was my Mecca. This only fuelled the love of comics that started when I was 10 years old, when my mum brought me a batch of Marvel and DC comics. After I got home from San Diego I attended a few more conventions back in the UK and decided I wanted to be involved in comics, I wanted to create them, I wanted them to flow from my mind onto the page. So I started writing and now I have various projects at different stages of production, but none that fill me with joy in quite the way that Reality does. Reality is my love letter to the superhero comics I grew up with and continue to read to this day. I of course added my own spin on the superhero genre. As someone that works with kids and is bemused by the over the top celebrity culture created by X-Factor and reality TV, I got to thinking, what would actually happen if a teenager gained superpowers. The results of these thoughts are now online for you to read. Marco and I intend this to be a 5 issue series that will be free here on the internet and if there's demand, who knows you may even hold a printed copy of Reality in your hands one day. Let's hope so.
So anyway the intention of this blog is to keep you updated on the creation of and of any news that may pertain to this comic. So in the up coming weeks I'll let you in on how Marco and I first teamed up and the processes we've been through to get here. From time to time I'll also comment on things that are happening in the industry and may even on occasion write a film or comic review. I look forward to adventures ahead and of course hearing your feedback on Reality.
Tony
So anyway the intention of this blog is to keep you updated on the creation of and of any news that may pertain to this comic. So in the up coming weeks I'll let you in on how Marco and I first teamed up and the processes we've been through to get here. From time to time I'll also comment on things that are happening in the industry and may even on occasion write a film or comic review. I look forward to adventures ahead and of course hearing your feedback on Reality.
Tony
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