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2000AD Submissions

Started by kingsyn, 24 August, 2008, 09:18:05 AM

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kingsyn

Does anyone know where you send (address or email) the submissions? Its not on the 2000AD homepage anymore.

IAMTHESYSTEM

Must admit Kingsyn I've had a good look on the 2000 A.D website and the net and I can't seem to find them either. Perhaps THARG is taking submissions from pro's only to cut down on the sub pile he has to wade through every month. Here's the address as found on some Oxford business website:

REBELLION
2000A.D SUBMISSIONS
THE STUDIO
BREWER STREET
OXFORD.

Can't see any post code or anything. Good luck. I added the 2000A.D submissions bit but I assume that's who your writing too rather than the games company.
"You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension."

http://artriad.deviantart.com/
― Nikola Tesla

chris_askham

Whether or not Thargs looking at unsolicited submissions right now, I don't know - but I think the Brewer Street address is the old one from before the move. I would imagine that you can send stuff to the usual editorial address though:

Riverside House
Osney Mead
Oxford OX2 0ES

IAMTHESYSTEM

Cheers Chris_ askham the moustache suits you. Ignore my one Kingsyn I didn't even know they'd moved. Must try to come to the forums a little more often.
"You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension."

http://artriad.deviantart.com/
― Nikola Tesla

kingsyn

Thanks for the replies.
So just to recap, i just send in my 6 page future shock script, synopsis and a cover letter, right?
Is there anything i'm forgetting?

Pete Wells

The Damage Report in Prog 1597 welcomed new editorial droid Jenni-A who's was described as 'the merciless mistress of the submissions pile'. Looks like Tharg's recruitin'!

kingsyn

This is my last question, i swear!

I really like the old style of comic writing when captions were only used for narration and not thorght. Like the way Judge Dredd is written.
Do you think 2000AD would mind if i wrote a future shock story in that way. I know judge dredd and some others are still written in that way, so i kinda assume they would'nt mind, but i thorght i might as well ask!

WoD

Be careful of making it exposition heavy would be my advice.  Apart from that if it suits the story and works; it works.

paulvonscott

Aren't future shocks nornmally five pages long?

kingsyn


Mardroid

Are they ever 6? I'd like to know because I've written a few myself. I have difficulty keeping to the 5 pages and the sixth page would certainly ease things a lot.

The old submissions info always stated 5 pages though.

kingsyn

It is a 5 page limit, my mistake. :)

annihilate

i was looking for those great guideline articles they had about submissions on the old website, does anyone happen to have those handy?

i realize alot of the main website is down, hopefully the admin will put all that information back up.

Wake

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR WRITERS

Submissions should be sent to:

2000 AD Submissions Editor
Rebellion
Riverside House
Osney Mead
OXFORD OX2 0ES
UK

Send ONE short Future Shock plot outlines (no more than a page), along with a full script or published story to show you understand comic book format. Remember, there's no guarantee you'll receive an answer from the editor whose main concern is getting out 2000 AD every week.

Do not send in proposals for new series unless you are an established professional. New writers begin by submitting Future Shocks - five-page science-fiction stories with a twist ending.

Please send copies of your work - never send originals. 2000 AD is not responsible for the safety or the return of any original material sent to us. It can take several weeks to evaluate your work. DO NOT PHONE to discuss your submission. We often receive hundreds of submissions a week, and it's impossible for us to deal with them over the phone.

Don't bring writing samples to a comics convention. It's difficult for the editor to give writing the attention it deserves in such a hectic, crowded environment. It's best to post photocopies of your work to the editor for later review.

Breaking into comics as a writer is extraordinarily difficult. The big difference between submitting art and writing to 2000 AD is this: We give new artists work based on the skills demonstrated in their samples, but we don't hire writers -- we buy stories. It doesn't matter how skilled you are as a writer unless you can sell us a story idea.

Competition is extremely fierce. 2000 AD publishes a limited number of stories and there are many people who want to write them. Some established writers are not working up to capacity, and there are many would-be scripters waiting for their chance. Don't be discouraged. It's tough, but the best can find work at 2000 AD .

Contents of Your Submission

You should submit a story SYNOPSIS - a one-page, typed story outline - accompanied by a full script. Only if we like the synopsis will we read the script. Despite what some novice writers think, literally any story we would be interested in can be described in synopsis format. We will not review written submissions in any other form.

If you can't convince us that we must publish your Future Shock from the synopsis, there's no point in going any further. No one has time to read the full script to see if there's something of merit there if the synopsis isn't up to scratch.

 

There are four elements you absolutely must include in any Future Shock synopsis. They are:

STRUCTURE (BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END)

A HOOK

READER IDENTIFICATION

A TWIST ENDING

Do not underestimate the importance of structure. This is the foundation upon which your story is built, and if the beginning, middle or end is missing or lacking, your tale will not hold up.

The beginning, middle and end is where you introduce the characters and situations, develop conflicts, and indicate their resolution. Remember, an idea is not a story. The idea must be dramatised, through structure and conflict, with an identifiable protagonist.

Without conflict, there is no drama. Conflict need not be hero versus villain. Man against himself, or nature, or a problem that must be solved are all valid conflicts. Your opening should be compelling enough to grab our interest in the first paragraph.

A hook, also called the high concept or theme, is the essence of what makes your story unique and nifty. When you boil your story down to one compelling sentence, that's the hook.

Additionally, the events you describe must affect a character that we care about in some way. (This doesn't have to be the hero.) If no-one in the story cares about what happens, why should the reader? We all share common emotions and experiences. Tap into these feelings and use them in your stories. Ask yourself, who is the protagonist? What does he want? What forces of antagonism must he overcome to achieve it?

The twist ending is an essential punch-line for any successful Future Shock. Ideally it will comment ironically on the theme of your story. Double-twist endings can be even more powerful, and are harder to see coming.

Story Formats

Future Shocks are always exactly five page long.

If your idea interests an editor, he will work with you on developing the idea further, either to plot or full script.

Professional work looks professional. Bad spelling, punctuation, and grammar are signs of the amateur. The editor will not be interested in proposals filled with errors.

All writing submissions must be TYPED on one side of the paper. Hand-written submissions will not be considered.

Stylistic Requirements

Comic-book writing is about telling a story in pictures, with words supplementing the visual storytelling. No matter what genre you want to work in, comic books convey, through pictures and words, action, movement, and urgency; a sense of drama and grandeur and "larger than life" excitement.

You should learn comic-book techniques and terminology and use them. Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner and Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud are essential "bibles" for the conventions of the medium.

If you have never seen how a comic book script is typically prepared, send an SAE to the editorial address requesting a sample script.
GOLDEN RULES

• Always send photocopies; never send originals!

• Include your name, address, and phone number.

• Always include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission, with sufficient U.K. postage.

• Please handle all submissions-related correspondence with 2000 AD through the mail. Don't call. Be patient, be polite.

• Anyone wishing to submit from overseas should include an International Reply Coupon with their SAE. If an IRC is not available, then local stamps equal to the value required to post the submission should be attached to the SAE.

• Emailed unsolicited scripts will not be accepted.

GOOD LUCK!

Wake

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR ARTISTS

Please include an self-addressed stamped envelope with U.K. postage or international reply coupon. Address submissions to:

2000 AD Submissions Editor
Rebellion
Riverside House
Osney Mead
OXFORD OX2 0ES
UK

Please send COPIES of your work - never send original art. You must include an SAE with sufficient U.K. postage or an international reply coupon, or there's no guarantee you'll receive a reply. 2000 AD is not responsible for the safety or the return of any original material sent to us.

You'll receive an answer as soon as we can evaluate your work. This may take several weeks. DO NOT PHONE to discuss your submission. We receive dozens, often hundreds, of submissions a week, and it's impossible for us to follow up on them over the phone. Furthermore, we do not review portfolios by personal appointment, except at conventions.

Remember, there's no guarantee you'll receive an answer from the editor whose main concern is getting out 2000 AD every week.

If you're showing your samples to the editor at a convention, be sure your presentation is neat and that you follow these guidelines.

Focus your skills on one medium: pencilling, inking, colouring, or lettering. Bad inking may be misread as bad pencilling, and vice versa.

Pencils

Pencillers should submit 4-6 COMIC BOOK PAGES in order, showing the progression of a 2000 AD-style story through a series of pictures. Don't send pinups and paintings. They don't tell us you can tell a comics story.

You can make up your own story sequence, visually advancing it from panel to panel and from page to page. Or you can work with a writer friend or rework an existing 2000 AD script - without copying the art! Your story should be easy to follow, moving along clearly and dynamically. It's better to draw a story well in traditional block panels than to try to impress us with sexy pin-ups, overly complex layouts, or artistic gimmicks.

Your samples should also show basic drawing abilities. In addition to knowing how to draw heroic action figures and expressive faces, you must be able to draw the average guy on the street, buildings, cars, animals, aliens -- ANYTHING you may find in a comic book. Your art should display an understanding of perspective and anatomy. You should be able to draw people in different types of clothing and in a variety of poses, from an old woman hunched in a chair to a giant war-droid punching through a wall. It's essential not to limit yourself only to comics as your reference and inspiration. Life-drawing and other general art classes and books are important parts of your education. The dedicated artist draws everything he sees, all the time.

Professional comics pencillers work in a 10" x 15" image area on a sheet of Strathmore bristol board that measures 11" x 17". They usually lay out their pages with a lead pencil or a non-repro blue pencil, and finish their art with a regular pencil. Don't use too hard a pencil (3H or harder) or bear down too hard on the page. This will leave grooves in the paper.

Inks

Inkers should submit photocopies of both your inks and the pencils you have inked, so that we can compare the two. We would prefer to see your inks over more than one penciller. If you have no access to pencil samples from a friend or professional, write to the editor for photocopies - but you must include a self-addressed A3 envelope with about £1 in postage. Inking on vellum over the photocopies or on bristol board with a lightbox is probably the easiest way for you to work.

A comic-book inker's job is to add DEPTH and CLARITY to the pencils without obscuring the penciller's work. This is done by spotting blacks and varying line weight to give the page variety and each panel a three-dimensional feel, not by adding unnecessary detail. Objects in the foreground must look and weigh differently from objects in the background. You must also know which pencil lines should be omitted in the inking. Storytelling is an important part of the inker's job, and knowing how to draw separates the best inkers from the rest.

Professional comics inkers use artist's waterproof india ink, applied with a variety of brushes and pens. Corrections can be made by using one of several types of white paint. Remember, your ink line comes from your brain as much as from the tools you use.

Lettering

Comic-book letterers are responsible for captions, word and thought balloons, balloon shapes, panel borders, title lettering, credits, and sound effects. Caption and balloon lettering have to be uniform and easy to read, with slight "breathing room" between letters, words, and lines. Too tight letter spacing is hard to read. Story titles and sound effects are usually lettered in a bold, open style.

All 2000 AD lettering is now done on computer using Quark Xpress. You do not need to letter your art samples - but always leave 'dead space' in the artwork for the speech balloons. And remember, the first speaker must be on the left!

Colouring

Colouring is an essential part of comics storytelling. The colourist must interpret the art and tell the story through colour, adding depth, dramatic effect, mood, and most important, CLARITY.

The most important characters and objects in each scene and page must be clearly visible to the reader. This often requires colouring people and things differently than they would appear in real life. For example, if a panel features Judge Dredd standing amidst a crowd of dozens of citizens, Dredd could be coloured normally, while the others could be coloured in a monotone (or a senes of related muted tones) to ensure that Dredd is clearly seen in the panel.

Colourists can create MOOD by taking further liberties with realism. For example, if an artist has drawn a sequence of panels in which Dredd gets angry, a variety of reds -- a colour often used to convey anger -- could be used on both Dredd himself and in the background. Blue and green, conversely, establish a placid feel.

All 2000 AD colouring is now done on computer using Adobe Photoshop, except for fully painted art. Colourists should submit 4-6 pages of fully coloured comic-art on CD or Zip disk, saved as 300 dpi mac-readable TIFFs, plus 72 dpi copies.

If you need photocopies to colour, send a self-addressed stamped A3 envelope to 2000 AD's Submissions Editor with your request.

 
GOLDEN RULES

* Always send photocopies; never send originals!

* Include your name, address, and phone number.

* Always include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submission, with sufficient U.K. postage.

* Please handle all submissions-related correspondence with 2000 AD through the mail. Don't call. Be patient, be polite.

• Anyone wishing to submit from overseas should include an International Reply Coupon with their SAE. If an IRC is not available, then local stamps equal to the value required to post the submission should be attached to the SAE.

• Emailed unsolicited scripts will not be accepted.

GOOD LUCK!