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[Aphrodite IV]

Hello everyone, I've been a member on these boards for a number of years now, some of you probably know me, others don't.

Sometimes I post on here a lot, other times, not so much.

So, anyway, I thought I'd share that on the 28th of December I'm getting published by Image Comics.

Nothing massive, just an eight page strip in an anthology.

I was a Writing Runner-Up in the 2015 Top Cow Talent Hunt, which means that I was given the chance to write a six to eight page strip for an Image Comics one shot featuring Top Cow characters.

I picked Aphrodite IV.

The book is CyberForce: Artifacts #0.



It's been very exciting, I got to work with a fantastic artist, the amazing Jim Towe, who has since been picked up as the artist for the new Youngblood series.

I hope a few of you decide to pick up the book and with any luck, I can use this as a launch pad to find future work as a comic book writer.



Paul Penna.

Howdy. Submissions for 2000AD opened up again back in September and are going to be open until the 1st of March, 2017.

I made a submission very many years ago, never heard back, but I decided this was the year to try again. Last month I sent off my four page Future Shock and I' really looking forward to hearing back from 2000AD.

Are any other writers (or artists) planning on adding to the slush pile this year?

Anyone on here who makes regular submissions? I'm curious to what the process is usually like.

I think I picked a good story to write. I showed it to my flatmate (who is a fellow writer) and she was surprised by the twist. Although, with twist stories, it's always tough to get them right.

I've made a ton of submissions to FutureQuake in the past. Sometimes I get lucky. Other times... not so much. But it's important to make mistakes so that you can learn from them.

Still, I've massively improved as a writer over the years since my last attempt, so maybe I have a chance.

Also, I'm headed down to Thought Bubble for the first time this year. Anyone else from the board going down to take advantage of the 2000AD Writing Competition or the 2000AD Portfolio Competition?

I think I'm as equally excited, as I am terrified, about standing up in front of everyone and making my pitch. It should certainly be a thrill, though.

[Conqueror]

I have long been a fan of science fantasy, ever since I was a boy. I would sit for hours watching Star Wars and as I grew older my interests expanded to classical mythology as well as other works of science fantasy such as Dune and John Carter.

A couple of years ago an editor called John Paul Fitch (who some of you might know) was putting together an anthology called Flux UK for an indie comic book company called What the Flux?! Comics and invited me to pitch ideas.

I showed him my usual superhero ideas; from the classic to the dark... however it was another idea which caught his eye. A science fantasy idea which I had pushed to the side and neglected. An idea I called Conqueror.

And as I returned to that idea and began to work on it again, I remembered the love I held in my heart for those classic science fantasy adventure stories and a vision for an epic saga began to unfold in my mind.

It begins on the far side of the universe where there exists a planet called Mar. This is a peaceful world. A land of pacifists. But a shadow is moving closer to Mar. A race of conquerors known as the Tivians are headed toward this world of peace. And when they arrive, a young boy by the name of Sandr must make a choice. Will he run, hide, surrender... or will he do something else?

Something entirely alien to his people.

Will he fight?

I've spent years working on this idea, writing scripts and planning ahead.

The Flux UK anthology was discontinued, but the folks at Flux were so impressed by what we'd already put together that they offered us an ongoing title. Conqueror #1 is planned to be released in the next few months.

I've been working with the talented Kean Kennedy who has generated the concept art and the interiors. The above artwork was created by Chris Meeks for our front cover.

Issue #1 in complete and we are currently working on Issue #2 but putting together a comic book like this is a massive undertaking. As such I am looking for other artists to contribute, whether it be drawing guest arcs (usually amounting to 40 pages) or backup strips (usually 10 pages).

I'm really passionate about this project and so I'm going to do everything I can to ensure it succeeds.

What the Flux?! Comics is an indie publisher, so the work would be backend pay (a percentage of whatever each issue makes).

Yes, I'm aware that what I'm asking would be a lot of work for any artist and success is far from guaranteed. But it is my personal beleif that you need to take chances if you want to get ahead. I love this idea and I want it to succeed, however I also recognise that this is a chance to prove to any of the larger comic book publishers out there that I can put together a product of professional quality.

I do want to break into the comic book industry and to do that, I must prove myself.

Perhaps this could be an opportunity for others to do the same.

You can find more information about What the Flux?! Comics here;
http://whatthefluxcomics.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/What-The-Flux-Comics/107411060298

The Conqueror facebook page (which includes concept art) can be found here;
http://www.facebook.com/conquerorcomic

And you can read other stories by me here;
http://issuu.com/atwomic/docs/projections
http://pauulp.deviantart.com/gallery/32795742

I have previously been published in FutureQuake #20, I have a story due to appear in Something Wicked later this year, two of my stories have been accepted into the Millarworld Space Oddities anthology and another two of my strips have been accepted into the Future Noir anthology.

If you're an artist who wants to contribute then please get in touch, if not, then we'd appreciate any other support you could give.

Please, no negative comments.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

Howdy all, I've been working on a strip with artist Jason Davies for the Future Noir small press anthology.

All the strips in the anthology are Blade Runner-inspired pieces, and as a fan of Philip K Dick I was eager to contribute.

The strip is seven pages long and is titled 'Detective Story'.



I wanted to write a strip which really focussed on the detective noir element from Blade Runner.

Jason is half way through doing the inking, so I thought it best to start the search for a colourist. If anyone is interested in helping out, then let me know.

Hello everyone, for the past seven months I've been working on a comic strip called 'Conqueror' with an artist I met on this board - Kean Kennedy (also known as KSK).

Since this is where it all started, I thought I'd post an update an engage in a little shameless self promotion.

I recently created a facebook page to help promote the strip -

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conqueror/262246940494930

I'd welcome any support or any advice anyone can give.

I've never been published before and a writer is always learning.

I really hope the strip is a success and Kean's artwork has been truly amazing.

Have many other people had successful collaborations which started on the board?

In the past few months discussions have occurred on both the 2000AD board and the Millarworld board regarding creating comics aimed at kids.

I'm sure when most of us started reading comics, we were children and it is a shame that if you look at the mainstream comic book market today that most comics are now aimed at adults.

So, wouldn't it be great if some of us came up with some comic books actually aimed at children?

Maybe even a shared universe?

Emperor started a thread on 2000AD titled 'Zeta Comics looking for kids comics pitches' and IanBuchanan82 created a similar discussion on Millarworld called 'Want to make child friendly superhero comics?'

I'd like to thanks those guys for raising this point, as I hadn't really thought about it before. But plenty of people on those threads (including myself) thought it'd be a good idea, so now I'm trying organise things into a single cohesive project.

Maybe if we can develop some scripts of professional quality with art to match, we can take this project to publishers and try to gain some interest.

There are no guarantees but sometimes you take a risk, invest your time in something and it pays off.

Zeta Comics have posted on their website that they are looking for submissions aimed at children and What the Flux?! Comics have shown a little interest – although they are currently changing their policy so that they require three completed issues before committing to a project (as they've had problems with creators).

But that certainly gives us somewhere to start.

If you think you might be interested in collaborating on this, post below.

Over the past year I've been writing more and more comic scripts, in the hopes of breaking into the industry and in doing so I've grown to appreciate that there is a lot out there beyond the mainstream publishers.

The best small press magazine I've found is FutureQuake, but unfortunately they're no longer accepting submissions.

I was wondering if there was anyone more knowledgable out there who could tell me about other small press and indie press magazines, and which ones actually still accept submissions (scripts and completed strips)?

[The Spire]

Hello all!

Over the past few months I've been working with a couple of talented artists on a strip called 'The Spire' which we'd like to submit to CLiNT.

And now we're just one step away.

We need to find a letterer.

If you think you might be interested, leave me a message (with maybe a link to a sample of some of your work?) and I'll quickly get in touch.

Or if you know a letterer,  please point them in the direction of this thread.

Anyway, time for some samples - right?

The Spire

Writer: Paul Penna
Artist: David Hedmark
Colourer: Mike Rayner











Any other comments are welcome as well, I'm sure the artists would appreciate any feedback you have.

Thank you for your time, guys.

Okay, I'm an aspiring writer and I really want to break into the creative industry. I love comics and so I've decided to focus on them over the next few months, rather than on other mediums.

I studied Screenwriting for four years at university, three as an undergraduate and one as a postgraduate. I was even lucky enough to attend a masterclass given by Mark Millar at Screen Academy Scotland.

I have written numerous comic book scripts, sending one off to 2000AD at the end of June and sharing the others with artists so that I can work with them on preparing submissions for CLiNT.

But what else should I (and other wannabe writers) be doing to break in?

I know there are numerous fanzines and other small press publications out there, can anyone suggest which would be good to submit to?

And is there anything else I haven't thought of?

I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Hey, just thought I'd see who is making an attempt to create a strip for Mark Millar's CLiNT?

Here's the article on Comic Book Resources; http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=27924

I'm going to put some script samples up on the Millarworld board in hopes of attracting an artist (I have a few script which I was planning to submit as Future Shocks but they'd work for CLiNT as well).

If there are any artists on this board they should head over to the Millarworld forum, they'll find plenty of eager writers there.

It's an interesting opportunity. I hope I can find an artist to work with so that I'm able to take advantage of it.

These are exciting times.