How long must Tharg keep me holding on?

[Tiplodocus]

There's probably an element of common sense applied to the "no more than one submission at a time."

As mentioned, over five years ago I sent "THE BAG OF SONGS", a fusion of Telly Tubbies and Pop Stars and the old devil at the cross roads.

I've still not received a reply but I have to assume that after five years, it has fallen down the back of a filing cabinet and I'm never going to get a reply.

[The Legendary Shark]

"Also, please don't submit more than one story at a time."

Definitely passed me by. Once again, my apologies for the clearly VERY poor advice on the previous page.

Cheers

Jim

No need to apologise, Jim.

I suspected that I shouldn't have more than one submission on the slush pile at any one time anyway and took a chance. I thought I'd be clever and get around it by submitting a "Tale From the Black Museum" for the Meg whilst my "Future Shock" was MIA. In my tiny mind, this counted as one submission apiece to Twoothy and the Meg and therefore got around this rule. Tharg, of course, wasn't fooled for a minute.

This leaves me in the uncomfortable position of having waited six months already for another response to my latest effort and not wanting to write in again to check if it has been received or not in case I start getting on the Mighty nerves.

Still, I have not wasted this time - as the kind folks at FutureQuake and Zarjaz have given me a chance to get my toe in the door. (Thanks, guys!)

Practice, as Jim points out, is the key to our goal of becoming droids. Perhaps some of us who share this goal can form a kind of "Twoothy Workshop," where artists, letterers and writers get together to produce short strips for posting on this board so that we can get feedback from each other and, most importantly, the general Squaxxulation. I'd suggest a one page strip or "coming soon" kind of thing telling any story suitable for Twoothy or the Meg. That way, while we're waiting for Tharg to send the helicopter to whisk us away to stardom, we can still be practicing and the readers won't have to wade through a 50 page Dredd v Dante on Counter-Mars epic. Would anybody be interested in this idea?*


*The Twoothy Workshop idea, not Dredd v Dante on Counter-Mars. Although...

[Emperor]

Practice, as Jim points out, is the key to our goal of becoming droids. Perhaps some of us who share this goal can form a kind of "Twoothy Workshop," where artists, letterers and writers get together to produce short strips for posting on this board so that we can get feedback from each other and, most importantly, the general Squaxxulation. I'd suggest a one page strip or "coming soon" kind of thing telling any story suitable for Twoothy or the Meg. That way, while we're waiting for Tharg to send the helicopter to whisk us away to stardom, we can still be practicing and the readers won't have to wade through a 50 page Dredd v Dante on Counter-Mars epic. Would anybody be interested in this idea?*

*The Twoothy Workshop idea, not Dredd v Dante on Counter-Mars. Although...

While I think it is less helicopters and more disgruntled dwarves with sticks (and ether enemas I'll bet) it sounds like something that could be interesting. Do you have any examples in mind so I can get a clear picture of what you are aiming at?

[The Legendary Shark]

Basically, what story can you tell in one page? A one page Future Shock or Time Twister, maybe, or a one page story with existing characters or even a one page introduction to an all-new character or story.

The idea behind it is not about getting these pages published (although that would be nice if it happened) but just so aspiring creators can practice on something short and get feedback.

Not sure how to organise it, though, but I do think it would be a useful exercise.

[locustsofdeath!]

Sharky - I'd be willing to participate in something like that. I suppose the writers would have to post their scripts, and the artists would have to choose which ones they'd like to do...or gather two lists of names, writers and artists, and "pick from a hat" to determine pairings. Sounds like fun though however you decide to do it.

[Richmond Clements]

And let's not forget- there are other comic publishers out there who will look at your work too.

[The Legendary Shark]

"Other" comic publishers? I don't believe you...

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

Well, if anyone fancies a bash at something what I wrote, here's a one pager I did ages ago and didn't get round to offering to Futurequake. It's a little busy, as I have cut it from seven to six panels (the fourth panel was two before).


THE GROWTH

FRAME 1
Establishing shot of a street in a metropolis. The city has been ruined by nature's vengeance. Tower blocks and office buildings rise from a sea of lush vegetation, made up of thick vines and huge disgustingly organic flowers. There are signs that this was not a creeping reclamation, but rather a sudden attack; stems as thick as oil pipelines have grown through windows and cars, puncturing roofs and doors. Here and there, thinner vines have impaled those trying to flee; men, woman and animals have been skewered by green spikes. This is the Growth.

CAPTION (top left):
THE PLANT WAS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TO MEET EVERY DIETARY REQUIREMENT AND HARDY ENOUGH TO THRIVE ANYWHERE USING THE WHATEVER NUTRIENTS IT COULD FIND.

CAPTION (bottom right):
TO A WORLD RAVAGED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, WITH DUSTY FARMS AND STARVING BILLIONS, IT FIRST SEEMED A MIRACLE.


FRAME 2: Focus on a squat building with a slightly curved roof, surrounded by the Growth. Once it was a cutting edge office, all black glass and marble; now it looks like a bunker. Tendrils and vines rise from the ground to scrabble at the entrances like fingers prying for a way in; the doorway, a previously sleek revolving entrance, is clogged with the Growth. It is also concentrated around the windows. Above the entrance is a sign. Although a few lazy vines cling to it, words are still visible: NUTRI-CORP INC. Underneath this is a slogan: FOOD FOR ALL, FOREVER. Two scientists are inside: BLEAKER and ANDREWS.

CAPTION:
ITS LATIN NAME WAS 82 LETTERS LONG. ITS BRAND NAME WAS NUTRI-CORN. BUT, EVENTUALLY, IT WAS JUST CALLED...THE GROWTH!

BLEAKER (off, from the bunker):
FOR GOD'S SAKE, IT'S ALMOST IN! HOW MUCH LONGER?

FRAME 3:
Change of scene. Int. a computer lab inside the Nutri-Corp office. Dominated by a huge – currently blank – video screen on one wall. Once, the room was a tidy laboratory but now it is in chaos. Clearly, the people who work here left in a hurry; desks and chairs have been abandoned, some have fallen over, and papers are scattered across the floor. Two men remain, both in lab coats. BLEAKER is a middle-aged man with a black beard and bald patch. ANDREWS is younger, maybe thirty, and with blonde hair. In the background, BLEAKER is leaning on a filing cabinet, which in turn has been pushed against a set of double doors. Tendrils of the Growth are whipping at him from the edge of one door, which is slightly open – they are like zombie arms reaching out for their next victim, or the tentacles of a giant squid in a Doug McLure movie. BLEAKER has turned to face ANDREWS, who is in the foreground and seated in front of a computer. ANDREWS points at screen.

ANDREWS:
GOT IT! THE DNA RECONGITION PROGRAM IS READY! I'M CALLING THE PRESIDENT!

SFX (cabinet on door):
BANG!


FRAME 4:
Roughly the same layout as the previous panel. In the foreground, ANDREWS is sitting at a workstation. He is looking up at the video screen on the wall. This has come to life and shows THE PRESIDENT in the Oval Office, looking calm and unruffled. At the door, a tendril of the Growth has reached around and stabbed through Bleaker's chest, impaling him like a spear. ANDREWS, who has turned from the video screen, is aghast.

ANDREWS:
WE'RE READY, SIR! THE SATELLITES ARE ARMED! ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS FIRE! THE BIO-WEAPON WILL TARGET ONLY THE GROWTH!

BLEAKER:
GUUNGH!

ANDREWS (linked):
NO! BLEAKER!


FRAME 5:
BLEAKER is on his knees, but is pushing himself to his feet with his hands. He looks like a sprinter about to start a race. Tendrils of the Growth have impaled his limbs, head and body. He looks, literally, like a string puppet. BLEAKER is grinning at ANDREWS.

ANDREWS:
SIR! GIVE THE ORDER! FIRE, FOR GOD'S SAKE!

BLEAKER:
HE CANNOT HELP YOU NOW, LITTLE MAN!


FRAME 6:
Cut to the Oval Office. Side view of a smiling PRESIDENT at his desk. He is not, however, sitting. Instead, the lower half of his body has been cocooned by the Growth so that he is half-man, half "pod person". Tendrils snake across the floor from broken windows and shattered doors. Many plug into the cocoon around him, but others plug into his sides, spine or stomach – in fact, into every part of the PRESIDENT apart from his previously seen face and arms.  One even grotesquely plugs directly into the back of his head. In front of him, a large video screen built into the desk-top shows a CU of the contorted final grimace of ANDREWS.

CAPTION (top left):
THE GROWTH WAS DESIGNED TO USE THE MOST PLENTIFUL SOURCE OF NUTRIENTS IT COULD FIND...

CAPTION (bottom right):
UNFORTUNATELY, THAT HAPPENED TO BE MANKIND!

ANDREWS (from monitor):
AARRGH!

[The Enigmatic Dr X]

And now it's the version that went through a spell checker.

[Emperor]

Basically, what story can you tell in one page? A one page Future Shock or Time Twister, maybe, or a one page story with existing characters or even a one page introduction to an all-new character or story.

The idea behind it is not about getting these pages published (although that would be nice if it happened) but just so aspiring creators can practice on something short and get feedback.

Not sure how to organise it, though, but I do think it would be a useful exercise.

Sure - start a new thread and we'll thrash it out. For reasons that current escape me I thought it'd be fun to try something like "Tharg's Exquisite Corpse" - a kind of comics consequences, a bit like they do with Huzzah (the story so far). You bag the next "page" write the panels if you aren't an artist yourself then the next one along who is interested can hammer it out and post it to a special thread (so people can read it through from start to finish without wading through banter). It'd be something which wouldn't easily translate to a paper publication so takes advantage of the medium.

And let's not forget- there are other comic publishers out there who will look at your work too.

That's got that "new thread" smell to it too - other publishers, people's experiences, tips, etc.

[Mike Gloady]

Maybe a tiny one, yeah.

[Zarjazzer]

What nice ,clear descriptions you have there The Enigmatic Dr X. I can "see" the story very well. Alas I can't draw anything at all.

For those looking for other publishers besides the mighty twoofy-

http://calebmonroe.com/?page_id=6

It has alot of useful links.

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Super story The Enigmatic Dr X!

[Mike Gloady]

Nice work Enigmatic Dr X.  I'm very impressed and grinned widely.

[Emperor]

And let's not forget- there are other comic publishers out there who will look at your work too.

That's got that "new thread" smell to it too - other publishers, people's experiences, tips, etc.

Done:
http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,26022.0.html

I've also snagged this (great link) and added it in there:

For those looking for other publishers besides the mighty twoofy-

http://calebmonroe.com/?page_id=6

It has alot of useful links.