Comics. Your opinion and where to get them published

[Robin Firedrake]

Hullo all! I've decided I want to try and get a superhero comic of mine published but first i wanted to see whether or not my characters are good enough AND where exactly one might be able to go to see if they can get their comic published. Here are my characters, tell me what you think and I might change them according to your ideas:

Super hero name: Eidolon
Real name: Aaron Fade
Age: 25
Appearance: Shiny short black hair, 6’4, black eyes, Tall strong build.
Super hero appearance: White suit, white opera mask, white gloves and boots.
Powers: Teleportation of himself or others (Can also be used to pass through solids). Telekinesis, which can be used to lift things he wouldn’t ordinarily be able to. Telepathy, Proficiency with his rapier.
Mode of transportation: Teleportation
Bio: Lives in Celestial city (Where there is always a full moon and incredibly bright stars). He lived a normal life in a small house with his pet wolf pup Celesta. One day he received a strange telescope device that would project the image it was pointed at straight into his mind. When he looked at the full moon the machine malfunctioned and knocked him out. When he woke up he found himself lying on the floor wearing a white suit, gloves, shoes and opera mask and holding a long rapier with a dragonhead design on the pommel. He was about to get up when he noticed Celesta put her head in the helmet of the machine and fly back. He watched as she grew into a huge three-tailed white wolf and get up. Then he saw outside of the window a floating black clothed clone of himself. It flew away when he stood up and didn’t come back that night. He later discovered his abilities, his wolf had been given a power of her own and the flying clone wanted to destroy him and Celestial city
He vowed to fight all evil that attempted to destroy Celestial city and most of all get rid of Shade.

Name: Celesta
Age: 2
Appearance: A four-foot tall white wolf with three tails and a majestic air to it.
Powers: Intellect of an adult human, telepathy.
Mode of transportation: Teleportation with Eidolon.
Bio: Was taken in by Aaron when she got lost outside of the woods around Celestial city. One night she watched Aaron get knocked out and change because of a small instrument on the table. When she looked through it herself she was knocked out and when she awoke she was bigger, smarter and telepathic.

Super villain name: Shade
Real name: Daniel Veil
Age: 34
Appearance: Never takes off his super villain costume.
Super villain appearance: The same as Eidolon except black clothes.
Powers: Invisibility, super strength, flight, can mimic the appearance of anyone he wants, Proficiency with his rapier.
Mode of transportation: Flight.
Bio: Was an astronomer working on developing a telescope that would project whatever it was pointed at directly into the viewers mind. When he finally created it he looked through it at the full moon when a small meteor flew out of the sky and lodged itself inside the telescope, short circuiting it and also causing it to change Daniel into Shade with the ability to fly, turn invisible, mimic the appearance of anyone else, and giving him super strength. He vowed to block out the full moon forever to change himself back to normal. He realized he would need some help with this plan so he took the telescope and patched up the hole the meteor had made and sent it to Aaron Fade in hopes of changing him as well.

[Nate]

http://www.pvponline.com/how-to-make-webcomics

[Maledicte]

It's great that you're thinking of making a comic. *REPRESENT!* That's a really big undertaking. Given your age, you might want to start off making a webcomic - it's free, you can update on your own schedule, and there are many places to host your work. Keep at it and you can get (free!) comments and critiques on your work that will help you grow. We have a webcomics forum here on CAA! Though you will have to host your comic on a different site such as DrunkDuck or WebcomicsNation (or even Deviantart).

But when it comes to print publishing, having a few characters and ideas isn't enough. Not unless you're an established talent that everyone kowtows to (Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, etc). You will need a script, and you will need art. If you're doing both, great, you don't have to hunt someone down to join you. Once you've gotten that, you'll have to pitch your idea and sample pages of your work (writing and/or art) to a publisher. Creator-owned comics publishers are the best for this sort of thing, such as SLG, Image, or Dark Horse. Simply follow their submission guidelines. Even though they're creator-owned and not the Big Two (DC and Marvel), they are still in the big leagues: your work will have to be up to their standards and your behavior will have to be professional as well.

Then there's always print-on-demand, but we won't get into that...

Regarding characters:

The phantom-character-wearing-a-suit-and-a-mask thing is a bit overdone, sad to say. There's the Spirit, Tuxedo Mask, La Fantome...the list goes on. The three-tailed wolf has promise and I especially like where the villain is going. Don't forget to give your characters strong motives for what they do. You might want to think of running with the astronomic aspect of your story, like in Treasure Planet but with your own take on it.

Best of luck to you!

[Robin Firedrake]

Hmm... Never heard of those guys before, though after reading about them on wikipedia i think mine is the only one to actually deserve his name because of his abiliities. I'm writing a script but i can't make art. I'm absolutely terrible at it. Anyhow thank you for the advice and I'll see what i can do in regards to their appearance.

[whisperingloon]

Don't forget The Phantom!

Anyway, as a writer it's frustrating when a name has already been taken. The thing to do is to adjust the character name slightly, so you can make it your own.

I had an idea for a series once: I called it Quantum Mechanics. It was about these guys who go around fixing stuff in time. You know, real Saturday morning fantasy/sci-fi kind of stuff.

Then I find out that the publisher of some of my other series had a new series coming out. Guess what the name was?

Quantum Mechanics.

Sheesh. So, I make some adjustments and MY Quantum Mechanics became a different project.

Next thing I know, I notice that THEIR Quantum Mechanics had become Chrono Mechanics.

Why? Seems someone else had already taken that name before them. So they had to change it.

I'm rather glad that happened, because rethinking the concept ended up being beneficial to me.

Anyway . . . you've got some fun concepts there. Don't worry about the names. Keep writing. Keep exploring your characters and stories. You've got a good "mirror image" of good and bad kind of story going. I'm already curious about what teh connection is between Aaron and Daniel. Why did Daniel send the telescope to Aaron -- what is their connection? And you gave it a nice twist, having the BAD GUY cause the GOOD GUY to be created. Many times, it's the opposite way around.

Keep it up!

~ Ben

[Robin Firedrake]

Man >_< It seems everything is taken... A lot... and i never know because i can hardly EVER read comics. So what do you suggest for the names? And you'll find out in due time what the connection is >=)

Edit: Just wikipedia'd the phantom. Why is it that absolutely none of the ghost named characters have absolutely nothing to do with and look nothing like ghosts?

[Maledicte]

You know, it's absolutely alright if you're doing something that's "taken." As you keep working on it, your characters and story become your own.

Take, for example, the shows Firefly and Cowboy Bebop. Both are scifi/western/action series with an ensemble cast of bounty hunters as they go on a new mission or adventure. The two shows are so different from each other in terms of content, style, tone and characters that I'm having a hard time comparing the two.

So if you have an idea, don't worry if you find out that something's already been done. The Phantom of the Opera, the Spirit and Tuxedo Mask all have similar costumes but are very different characters altogether. So when you find out about these things, don't panic. Stay true to your character's personality and wants, and with what works for your story.

As for names...thesaurus.com can help in one search I found the word "Eidolon," which, by way of wikipedia, means "the astral double of a living being; the phantom-double of the human form." Sounds kind of appropriate in this circumstance...

Oh, "Eidolon" was the name of some one-off guy who died in a semi-obscure western comic, and his name didn't fit the character all that much anyway. So you're good there. XD

[Robin Firedrake]

Eidolon it is then!

[Maledicte]

Wow that was fast. Might be a more fitting name for the villain though, as Daniel Veil can mimic the appearance of whomever he wants.

[Robin Firedrake]

Ah yes but he never takes off his costume. Aaron on the other hand would be his own eidolon because there's him then there's the ghost like eidolon. Therefore i think it a more fitting name for the hero and shade sounds more menacing in my opinion.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Robin Firedrake, let me just say that it's not wise to write a comic unless you know the industry. That means reading comics, and lots of them.
There's not much point otherwise. Still, I wish you the best of luck with your project.

[Robin Firedrake]

Maybe it'll help if you understand WHY i don't read comics. My family has hardly any money for random spare stuff, comics would just be an annoyance to my parents. I have a friend who does have a bunch of comics though and I'm trying to read those.

[Cognitive Gear]

Maybe it'll help if you understand WHY i don't read comics. My family has hardly any money for random spare stuff, comics would just be an annoyance to my parents. I have a friend who does have a bunch of comics though and I'm trying to read those.

Actually, a lot of libraries have comic sections now. They are usually labeled as "Graphic Novels" or "Visual Literature". Just be sure that you grab the ones that are content appropriate for you.

That's how I've been reading a lot of comics lately, anyways. There's nothing better than free.

[rocklobster]

Tokyopop has a Rising Stars of Manga contest they do every year for American Comic book artists and/or writers. You should go to their website and see how to enter. The winning artist/writer gets a contract with Tokyopop.

[Robin Firedrake]

I'm not sure my comic is gonna go winning any contests though.

[Maledicte]

I second Cognitive Gear's motion on public libraries. They're stocking much more comics and manga than they did before. They're usually shunted off to the "Young Adult" section but content may vary, be sure to check the back to see if it says "Suggested For Mature Readers" or not. And public libraries are free (unless you don't return the books on time).

And also: WEBCOMICS! You can read them for free at the very same places where you can post them for free! And there are other more popular comics that have their own websites. And you don't have to leave your house! Save gas! Webcomics rock! Yeah! Lots of established published comic artists have samples of their work online too, especially on sites like DeviantART. Even though there's no dialogue, study how they put the art on the page. Can you make out what's happening even though there's no words? That's usually the hallmark of a great visual storyteller and you'd do well to study their work.

Other places to learn about the comic art form are movies. If you have movies with behind-the-scenes galleries or storyboard comparisons, give them a look. Watch DVDs with audio commentaries with the creators and they'll usually talk about how they use color, lighting, and cuts in order to increase the drama or emotion in a scene.

Oh, and for Christmas, ask your parents to buy you Understanding Comics or Making Comics by Scott McCloud. You will learn a LOT. (or ask for a Barnes & Noble gift card and buy it yourself.)

[Robin Firedrake]

Thank you! Mind linking me to a good webcomic then so i can get started?