Let's say you are pitching your comic idea to some company. What would you say? What so special about your comic that people would want to read it? How would you sell it?

EDIT: this is different from the stickied thread in that you tell people why it so special, because honestly the stickied thread has turned into an update thread.

I make it with...love? I'm personally proud of it because it's a timeline of sorts for artistic improvements. That makes it special to *me* but I dunno about other people.

Well, how many comics can you honestly say have animals, that work for a police force and even some Mythology in it?

And I draw my comics with love. Seriously.
You don't even know.
lol

Well, I think it's pretty obvious how I'd sell my comic. How can can anyone compete with the one-two punch of our twin national obsessions--superheroes and senior citizens!?

No? Okay, how about this...

While the SuperFogeys is ostensibly "old superheroes in a nursing home", it's really about a group of people with a long and varied shared history all stuck together in the same living space. And, oh yeah, a super-villain runs the joint and there's eye beams. EYE BEAMS!!

That's what my comic brings to the the table--the drama, humor and mythology that emerges from these classic superhero archetypes living in a very atypical situation.

It's soap opera (love triangles, kidnappings, dual identities, etc.) epic battles (giant robots, death rays, rockets, EYE BEAMS!, etc.) and flying pigs. I'm not talented, I just stumbled upon the right elements for a killer comic.

A monkey could combine these things and come up with something super cool. Thankfully, I had enough bananas. (Draw, Bobo! Draw!)

Brock
Well, I think it's pretty obvious how I'd sell my comic. How can can anyone compete with the one-two punch of our twin national obsessions--superheroes and senior citizens!?

No? Okay, how about this...

While the SuperFogeys is ostensibly "old superheroes in a nursing home", it's really about a group of people with a long and varied shared history all stuck together in the same living space. And, oh yeah, a super-villain runs the joint and there's eye beams. EYE BEAMS!!

That's what my comic brings to the the table--the drama, humor and mythology that emerges from these classic superhero archetypes living in a very atypical situation.

It's soap opera (love triangles, kidnappings, dual identities, etc.) epic battles (giant robots, death rays, rockets, EYE BEAMS!, etc.) and flying pigs. I'm not talented, I just stumbled upon the right elements for a killer comic.

A monkey could combine these things and come up with something super cool. Thankfully, I had enough bananas. (Draw, Bobo! Draw!)

perfect example of what I was looking for in this thread.
remember guys you are pitching/selling the comic/the idea to a publisher.
How would you do that?

I would say that my comic is a poignant real life story of a young girl's struggle against cancer and her best friend's struggle to accept and support her. The story focuses on the two teen girls but also tells the stories of the young children inside the children's hospital. Although the subject matter is difficult there are heartwarming, laugh out loud scenes as well. This comic would probably appeal to teen girls, and young adults who could relate to the characters and see a completely different world for a child with cancer.

I guess thats what I'd write. My art sucks though, so I don't know what I'd say about that. I'm just doing this for fun and for people's education and enjoyment :)

What makes 2AC so special?

I don't know, really. Maybe it's the fact that, although the comic has the simple, "cute" exterior, its' the factor that every character in my comic is different. Some are funny, some are serious. No two of them are the same. They share similar qualities, but it's just the varied personalities behind it.

I think my extended "life comic" makes it different. Some people who write about life usually stick to one thing (like, people living life in a grocery store or something, I don't know), but in mine, it's all different kinds of backgrounds and different versions of life. I have a rich character, a poor character. I have some from America, and some not so much. Just so many different stories and different histories of each one, instead of one similar story.

I realize that I haven't gotten as far as others with my story line, but it's not all just random ideas, there's a plot surrounding many sub-plots under my comic. I'm not just a random strip comic artist who likes to throw out a small joke every comic, I'm someone who actually wants to put a huge everlasting storyline behind it.

Oooh, this is a toughie! I tried to build a number of different layers into Shades and so I'd have to focus on something different, depending upon the publisher in question.

If I was pitching to a mainstream publisher (e.g. DC or Marvel or possibly even some independents like Top Cow or *cough!* Platinum) I'd probably have to play up the super hero angle. Something laden with lots of hyperbole, like:
"Featuring a unique team of British heroes, Shades is one of the few comics series since Watchmen to attempt a thorough deconstruction and re-invention of the super hero genre without resorting to easy tongue-in-cheek parody."

On the other hand, if I was pitching to an independent publisher, I'd play down that angle (those guys are pretty blinkered when it comes to super hero content!) and focus on the more "worthy" and "relevant" aspects. Something really heavy, like:
"Spanning 5,000 years of British history, Shades is a timely examination of the characteristics and traits that have come to define the British national psyche in the post-war period."

Obviously, I'd like to think there's a publisher out there somewhere who could appreciate the full package; one whose view of the medium isn't polarised between the story-led pure entertainment value of, say, Infinite Crisis and the painfully earnest preaching of something like Palestine ... but, if there is, I'm not aware of them!

What makes Morphic special...?

It mixes drama with a small dose of humour and a deeper mystery plot, and takes time to build up consistent characters.

... This would be so much easier with Morphic wasn't something I made up on the fly a year and a half ago, and have been constantly modifying ever since. >.>

Ah, right. The elevator pitch. I've never been much of a salesperson, and I'd probably degenerate into whacking them over the head with a rolled up, hard copy version of Salt until they gave in. If I got to do this the info-mercial way (with a loud, grating voice, lots of shouting, and frantic gesticulations), it might go something like this:

"Hey! Would you like to read a comic about a couple of roommates and their wacky adventures? Well, you're in luck! Allow me to present "Salt the Holly," a fresh, witty webcomic drawn by a couple of aspiring artists/storytellers. Lively and upbeat, Salt will take you down a path of JOY and EXCITEMENT as the main characters fend off creepy old men, attend county fairs, and go to museum galas! It's chock-full of cliche plot devices and, as an added bonus, the characters actually change outfits every day - just like normal people! Amazing! Incredible! Publish it today!"

The Surrealist offers odd but ultimately fascinating sequences you're surprised to find exist, is my fake blurb. The Surrealist is the story of Gretchen, something of a lost soul, finding herself by taking up the super heroic crusade of her deceased fiancee. It is a comic where art itself is magic and used to defend humanity from evil in a city seething with strangeness.

Check it out: http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Surrealist

Mines probably is that we have our own view on games and we like to share it to the world. yeah we could make a podcast which would communicate better but leons
in America so i guess its comics

"Frank and Vinny. Voted best stick-figure comic called Frank and Vinny ever."

...

=D

What's so special about MAG-ISA? (this is purely my super-biased opinion lol)

- Its a combination of alot of genres... but its mostly about the action and the drama.

- Its a comic that looks into dysfunctional families. Of course it is an overdramatized version of it.

- A common comment from people whove read it: EMAN NEVER GETS A BREAK!!! Its a story about how one man rises above all the shit that gets in his life that is thrown from all directions. I know this isnt really 'special' because alot of movies show how the underdog/disadvantaged wins in the end.

- Its a comic that references current events and political issues. Like the war in iraq, morality, discrimination, the sense of belongingness, love, nature of reality, etc.

- It also throws in things about this whole global conspiracy thing. Illuminati, Reptoids, and Satanic forces all packed into one big conspiracy.

- Lastly, the titles of its (intended) trilogy have a meaning if put together:
1st book: MAG-ISA (By myself/the one/alone)
2nd book: PARA SAYO (just for you)
3rd book: MAHAL KO (my love)

MINDMISTRESS at http://mindmistress.comicgenesis.com features a superhero(ine) with a type of alter ego that has never been attempted in comics before. (Although has in fiction---right, Daniel Keyes?)

*Ahem* Let's give this a go:

A Roll of the Dice begins like many, many comics out there: With a man falling flat on his face into love. But the path to true love is never easy, and always surprising.

Instead of telling the typical "Nerds in Love" style story I see everywhere, I decided to make my protagonist anything but a nerd, while the love of his life is. This means learning to enjoy roleplaying games, the meaning of the word "Elf", and seeing how far you would be willing to push yourself, your friends, and your sanity to win the girl of your dreams.

There's an eclectic mix of humor and drama here, with characters that portray very different, and very human, viewpoints. Each of their lives is separate, but connected, and add in a dash of the zany and you have the perfect mix for a sure-fire hit.

/end spiel.

Well I'm not much of a salesman, so that kinda sucked. In person though, I'd probably be able to beat them to death with my enthusiasm. :P

Hey, Midge, why don't you give us one from your own comic?

What's so special...

My 2 comics are 2 interconnected/complementary stories set in the same world, featuring heroes and villains of your childhood (and some more recent ones) revisited and reinterpreted. It's a labor of love that online webcomics made possible, because it features closed-source characters from obscure/dead franchises, many of which will never see the light of day again commercially.

Mine is a different breed of massive crossover. Instead of being tied down by canon histories, I throw all of it out. The only things intact are the characters stripped down to the core - the stuff that matters.

Same goes for the setting. No elaborate histories. No complex societies. Nothing but the most primal elements - Man and Nature. I guess my comics is a nature retreat for my mind; the last things I want to draw/see are cities, furniture, traffic, and other mundane headaches. I hope what relaxes my eyes are relaxing for the readers too.

All my comics have a varied range of humor from so absurd I'll shot myself laughing to clever puns and situational comedy. Artistically I am constantly improving, and experimenting with different styles. Although personally I do not think the are alone could hold up my comics, my art is almost always there to enhance my comic, and allow for an over the top style.

BAM!
TAKE THAT!!

What's so special about Miss Grey, hmm let's see...

Miss Grey is a supernatural action/adventure comic with a female as the main character. It is drawn in the "manga" style which some publishers are looking for.

The series centers around Grey, an agent of death as she struggles not only with the demons and angels she must exorcise from the Earth, but also as she comes to terms about life, death, an humanity. Even about her own death and the events that lead up to it.

Miss Grey runs the gammet between it's humorous and dramatic events. Surrounded by a colorful cast of characters, readers will experience a multi-cultural ride through folklore and history, plus a little magic along the way.

I don't know what else to say that wouldn't give away some of the plot.

My other comic Rayne of Terror is just plan goofy. It is just a random mash of parody, action, and outright absurdity. Basically I made it because Miss Grey is heavy on the drama and I needed a silly outlet. (~_')b There are other comics like it out there, so it doesn't (in my eyes) stand out of the crowd any. *sigh*

What makes Super Biased Man special is the characters.

A biased maniac who just shoots and ignores the asking questions part.
An idiot who can't tell toast from toast shaped tiles yet knows all the secrets of the universe.
A relatively normal guy apart from his face that will literally cause people's eyes to pop out so he always wears a paper baqg on his head.
A guy who was cursed by an italian leprechaun to have complete immunity from death but consequently has the worst luck and dies on a regular basis.
An agressive, alcoholic cardboard box with an unresolved past that revolves around his family he lost long ago.
A piece of (french NOT swiss) cheese that despite having no real position on the team gets very cocky over minor achievements.
And not forgetting the villain with so little maturity and emotional control he appears bi-polar at times

The plot is generally pointless, going along the lines of one 'villain' with a simplistic plan, so the characters .

Engine was created because of my lack of finding the things I liked on store shelves. It seems that every comic series, or TV series I really like, has fallen away, or has been cancelled. Engine is just me, trying to create a world, where all aspects of those things co-exsist in one place.
Engine is chinese action cinema, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Humor, my love for Jack Kirby, Anime, Star wars and Science Fiction. It is lost heroes, facing impossible odds, to pull off a life or death mission, where everything they know, is at stake. A do or die scenerio, that has only one outcome. Win at all costs, or cease to exist. The opposition is bigger, and badder and more powerful than the Heroes. They are ruthless and will stop at nothing to obtain their desires. The Heroes are young, inexperianced, and in some cases, coming off crippling defeats. They must band together, and re-discover the Hero within themselves.
I have always liked stories involving underdogs. It is the underdogs struggle, that I admire. Struggle, Determination, Heart and faith are key concepts in Engine.
Oh...and there are squirells too. :-)

That I actually update.

Ha! I like Barbie's best!

I like to think that Wyrden isn't the same-old, same-old generic fantasy. It has elements of Steampunk (which I love) and a fairly convoluted plot. There's a lot of history to the World of Hestonia I can draw from and whilst it is a Mature comic, it isn't just breasts, ass, sex and violence.

There are various allegories in Wyrden that poke a darkly humerous finger at some of the real world religious organisations. The fact that the Church of Progression who claim to only want to improve the people's lifestyle are the biggest hypocrites of them all is something that I wanted to put in.

I don't shy away from that in any of the writing, nor am I above killing any of the characters off either. No one is safe, not even a beloved fan favourite. If it is part of the story, if it makes sense in the plot - then it'll be done. The story is also brought to life through the pencil and ink skills of Reva Flynn who is an exceptionally talented artist who helps me bring the Chronicles to life in a way I don't think would have worked in colour.

Her black and white detail work and her sense of visual humour are what makes this comic a joy for me to write as well as read. Since I only give her the briefest glimpse in the script and she transforms my ideas into the scene or frames that make up the update.

Due East has some unique "firsts" to it. It's a real-life genre Christian-themed webcomic that doesn't beat you over the head with its message (definitely a first, as far as I'm concerned). It's character-driven, focusing on two young multiracial families (parents in their upper 30s and children in their teens or early 20s).

In addition to that, Due East also deals with serious real-life issues like the aftermath of divorce, being a small business owner, drug use and even the death of a parent. And it does so with a sensitivity that makes you want to keep reading, to find out what happens to the characters and what makes them tick.

The art style ranges from the first two books being in black and white pencils to inks with colors and in book 4, we're combining the two for a flashback story with interesting results.

There's a lot of heart in Due East and people really come to care about the characters and the realistic (but not "too realistic") style of the art.

TheMidge28
Let's say you are pitching your comic idea to some company. What would you say? What so special about your comic that people would want to read it? How would you sell it?

EDIT: this is different from the stickied thread in that you tell people why it so special, because honestly the stickied thread has turned into an update thread.

Pagan Zoetrope is a story about nothing. The nothings that happen in a middle sized town in the midwest town of Warrensville, Missouri. The remarkable, memorable, horrible, and hilarious nothings that follow a group of friends through their college years and just beyond.

LOL!

I don't know, I'd never set out to pitch the idea to comic company, so I guess I'd have a hell of a time explaining it. :D

I guess I need to rethink the synopsis sometime. :D

Here's what I would hypothetically submit to a publisher or comic book contest:


Rival Angels follows the story of Sabrina ‘Ultragirl’ Mancini and her three roommates in the fight of their lives as they battle the best wrestlers in the world. It takes a look at the personal and professional relationships that form behind the curtain of professional wrestling, as well as the personal sacrifices and rivalries along the way.

Rival Angels begins with Sabrina being 'called up' from the minor leagues into the professional division of wrestling and nothing is ever the same again. Many established and rookie wrestlers are resentful over this move, seeing it as a way to increase merchandise sales at their expense. Sabrina also have to deal with her new roommates, most of whom would love to be the beneficiary of the attention that she's receiving. Old scores and new rivalries surround the Television Tournament to crown a brand new Rival Angels Television Champion, as well as big money as it relates to ratings and advertising.

Professional wrestling is a billion dollar business, found historically in the top 5 Nielsen Cable ratings on a weekly basis (usually behind the NFL in season) and responsible for such cultural icons like Hulk Hogan and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Yet, we find the comic industry in America to be severely lacking in representing professional wrestling on its shelves. There is a huge opportunity to fill this vacuum, and the secondary market for a wrestling comic would find a home in toys, animation, television, and movies (The Wrestler starring Micky Rourke will be out later this year).



Can you dig it?

Okay...I'll try but I always suck at this.

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Kenyagi is a story about a girl who's life is torn apart by the religious persecution and hatred that plagues her country. Years later destiny knocks on her door again in the form of a little slave girl who is much more than she seems. She is soon swept up into her destiny and learns that being called by the gods can be painful and devastating.

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Beyond the Pale is about a wandering girl looking for adventure. Her travels bring her to the grand city of Stelith and the Rowarck Trials which promise adventure and treasure. What she finds, however, is a dangerous mystery.

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People all over the world have heard the story of Adam and Eve. How woman tempted man to sin and, as punishment, was thrown from the garden. But, what if things were not as they seemed? What if there were more players in this little story? See the story through Eve's eyes; her perceptions, her revelations, her tempters...

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I just realized that all my stories have female main character XD

American007 is a sprite comic set in a post-apocalyptic world taking place in the video game canon. After a devastating chain of attacks and invasions, coined as the infamous 'Crimson Thursday', the world slept and rebuilt itself. Among the reconstruction rose seven heroes, dedicated to avenge the fallen by combating villains, and possibly their own demons...

American007 does many things sprite comics would dare not tread on. Currently it's one of the only sprite comics around to feature Cthulhu from the Lovecraft mythos. American007 uses traditional art techniques such as depth, perspective and focus which adds to the art and gives it a 3D perspective.

American007 features an expansive story with many layers throughout, and as the comic progresses the story will expand even more. Although American007 is a superhero story, it focuses more on 'humanity' in a sense. There are many different themes in the comic; love, hate, anger, betrayal, triumph, pride...

Many people hail American007 as one of the better sprite comics on the web right now. If you would like a sprite comic that dares to be different, then you wouldn't steer yourself wrong in checking the comic out.

Crime and violence ran rampant in a city under the control of a massive criminal organization -- until about five years ago, when this syndicate fell and those in power were imprisoned. Used Books takes place in this better time. But how much better is it really? Those previously employed in the syndicate have been left as fugitives, trying to repent, redefine themselves, or become freelance criminals. Those wronged by said organization are trying to forget, forgive, or seek revenge. This is the acrid atmosphere of my story.

Used Books is a story of how friendship can form in unlikely places, and relationships are tested against all odds. Morality and legality are all brought into question as the protagonists have as much blood on their hands as antagonists, and law-abiding citizens fall in with criminals. For anyone who has ever questioned their place in the world, Used Books might strike a chord with them. The main characters are constantly trying to come to terms with their pasts and defining or redefining who they are, who they want to be, and who their friends are.

Used Books is written in episodic format. Short semi-self-contained stories each a dozen or so pages long comprise larger subplots. It's easy to jump in as a new reader and a satisfying read because there are short story conclusions every couple of weeks (updating Monday through Friday).

Also, I've been told that the writing is pretty good, and I love to write. It's a real passion of mine, especially in concerns of witty dialogue, character development, and lots and lots of mysteries and twists.

It has updated regularly every day for over a year, and there are over 500 pages in the archive and a couple hundred more already drawn, so if you want a nice long story to read and one that will have lots of new material for a while still, take a look.