Zuda

[Emperor]

Zuda is DC's digital comics which runs as a competition. I followed it closely when it started as I had a few ideas that could have been worked up to fit but then it became clear that the first round was invitation only from a pool of creators who were already pitching at DC (as mentioned on the forum here).

However, the contests kept rolling and the nominations opened up and I was reading this article which got me thinking:

Zuda, a webcomic subsidiary of DC comics, may be one of the best ways for untested talent to get into the industry. No other company out there offers you the chance to get paid to do your own comic with minimal editorial interference. It is, however, a competition where online voting is a key component. And situations like that are always rife with baggage.

Quality is only a fraction of the battle when you're competing with others on Zuda. In the end, the last person standing is usually the person who was the best at marketing himself. If you take a look at any of the comics during the month they're competing, the leading comic usually has the most views. While the comics trailing towards the bottom usually have several hundred, sometimes several thousand less views. What this means is that most people who vote aren't looking at all of the comics. In other words, the competition is not about judging the best out of a batch of ten entrants.

There certainly sound like there is a bit of variability in what wins and, although you still need to deliver a quality comics, preparation and promotion can make a lot of difference. So I thought it worth a thread to share ideas, thoughts, etc. and if anyone fancies making a run at it then it'd also be a venue for advice and support. Of course, because the winner gets paid, it is no walk in the park but if you don't worry about it and instead use it as a way to get your work out there, get a lot of people reading it and to have fun then you'll get something useful out of it even if you don't win.

Colin_YNWA recently posted about his ideas for a Zuda entry (and showed us the ad he made) so it was clear I wasn't the only one eyeing the competition so I had a quick word with him and here we are.

He also reminded me via PM that the initial story is 8 pages long (and then the winner gets to produce another 52), which for a reader of 2000 AD and/or contributor to small press anthologies, is an awfully lot of space - giving us a competitive advantage from the start.

It is also a reminder that, even if you really want to be a droid for Tharg, you should still try other things and get your work out there. It can only help you hone your craft and open up other opportunities for you. I was interested to read this interview with Tony Lee about his pitching to Ol' Green Bonce and having a proven record of producing comics can help, as it shows you can deliver ongoing stories.

So I open the floor to you. Any thoughts, ideas, tips, tricks?

[The Legendary Shark]

Ok. I've had two standalone Future-Shock type scripts accepted by FutureQuake, one of which is being illustrated right now, and a four-part story accepted by Zarjaz which is also being illustrated right now and due for publication next year. I'm right at the start of my journey.

If any artists feel like teaming up with me to have a stab at this, let me know and we'll see what we can come up with.

[Emperor]

Cool.

A couple of quick initial thoughts:

• Make sure it works for the medium - so you have to plan for a longer series but lead with a powerful 8 pages from it and I suspect you need a great first page which will really grab the reader and get them to read the others (as you'd imagine some people might skim the new batch of entries reading what takes their fancy). So perhaps leap forwards into the action and drop hints that make people want to read the whole thing (a bit of foreshadowing would be good too).
• Make sure the story works well with the art, it does seem like the most successful entries are the ones that have a solid synthesis of the two.

I'm sure there are cleverer and more insightful things to say but that'll do for a start.

[Emperor]

I have also had a brainstorm on publicity:

• A Forbidden Planet blog interview is well worth pursuing
• Local press, especially the BBC regional news
• You could try Comics Bulletin, Newsarama or Comic Book Resources (as they are some of the biggest comics news sites) as they do occasionally cover them, although it isn't guaranteed (usually for existing pros or if you have some kind of hook to get someone's attention). From my keeping an eye on the early days, it seems Newsarama gives it the most coverage. Newsarama's blog might be better bet and CBR have a forum that gets a lot of traffic but just dropping in, pimping and running is probably not going to get you any friends (although it is worth keeping an eye out for any threads covering the relevant round as dropping in and saying hi seems more friendly)i
• This makes me think a video might be good. It certainly lets people publicise your comics
• I also suspect grabbing a blog from someone like Blogger might be an idea, so you can use it as the hub of your effort, as well as a means to communicate with people outside of the Zuda system, update them on press coverage and offer teases of upcoming material to get people excited (a kind of production blog).

Any other ideas?

[Emperor]

While I'm at it:

Remember not to post too much plot on the forum - if you want I'm sure we can rummage together some people to read through anything you have in private. You should also check the fine print before throwing in any art samples without checking the fine print.

Also, while it may be obvious it probably needs saying, if you do win you are committing to a series and your way of working on sporadic comics is probably going to be different from the way you'd do a series. This feels like a better topic for more general threads but it is something you'll need to keep in mind.

OK I'm done... for now.

[Colin YNWA]

I have also had a brainstorm on publicity:

• A Forbidden Planet blog interview is well worth pursuing
• Local press, especially the BBC regional news
• You could try Comics Bulletin, Newsarama or Comic Book Resources (as they are some of the biggest comics news sites) as they do occasionally cover them, although it isn't guaranteed (usually for existing pros or if you have some kind of hook to get someone's attention). From my keeping an eye on the early days, it seems Newsarama gives it the most coverage. Newsarama's blog might be better bet and CBR have a forum that gets a lot of traffic but just dropping in, pimping and running is probably not going to get you any friends (although it is worth keeping an eye out for any threads covering the relevant round as dropping in and saying hi seems more friendly)i
• This makes me think a video might be good. It certainly lets people publicise your comics
• I also suspect grabbing a blog from someone like Blogger might be an idea, so you can use it as the hub of your effort, as well as a means to communicate with people outside of the Zuda system, update them on press coverage and offer teases of upcoming material to get people excited (a kind of production blog).

Any other ideas?

I think these sort of strategies are the key and if people do get an entry together come and let people know whats goign on so you can marshal the mass ranks of support available here.

I think this is a great idea to start up a discussion on this topic as there is clearly a lot of talent on the boards and this is a pretty good method of at least getting you're work seen by a lot of people. Its worth noting that if the work is good enough it will get published as Zuda has occasional instant winners. Which I figure is there way of making sure the cream of the crop doesn't have to run the risk of a popualtity contest.

[Colin YNWA]

I'll post my roughs for the aborted entry I did as discussed. If anybody is interested in what they see I'm very prepared to continue developing this with them (I will be able to explain what the hecks going on as I'm not sure the notes and bits of dialogue I have done will be clear on these scans).

I also have three other entries prepared in this format if people are interested.

Apologise for multiple posts as I can only attach one page at a time.

[Colin YNWA]

Page 2

[Colin YNWA]

Actually just looked at the rules and realised there's a much better way of doing this. Hopefully this URL will take you to a gallery of all 8 pages. Apologise for multiple posts before.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/TheThracian#

[locustsofdeath!]

Those are some nice sketches Colin - does your idea fall into the Sword & Sorcery genre, or is it more historical? Interestingly enough, a few years ago in the States independant comics publishers were snapping up as much S&S as they could find - and then the glut ruined everything. I had a script all set to be published and the magazine folded  . But the popularity of fantasy and S&S in the U.S. seems to run round and round in circles, coming into and going out of favor every few years.

[Colin YNWA]

Those are some nice sketches Colin - does your idea fall into the Sword & Sorcery genre, or is it more historical? Interestingly enough, a few years ago in the States independant comics publishers were snapping up as much S&S as they could find - and then the glut ruined everything. I had a script all set to be published and the magazine folded  . But the popularity of fantasy and S&S in the U.S. seems to run round and round in circles, coming into and going out of favor every few years.

Its a straight historical pretty much. I always felt it was a 2000ad strip though as one of the things I wanted to emphasize is how 'alien' and other the world was in the past. The different ethical, political and moral perspectives meant you really are dealing with alien cultures and I wanted to tell it from that angle... which of course made it hard to have a touchstone character but I think I settled that one in my mind.

[Emperor]

Actually just looked at the rules and realised there's a much better way of doing this. Hopefully this URL will take you to a gallery of all 8 pages. Apologise for multiple posts before.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/TheThracian#

Good stuff thanks for that.

It also underlines another feature of the medium - it is in landscape not portrait.

One thing I was wondering about - as it is designed for the screen do you think you need slightly less panels per page than you'd use on a printed page?

I see you've got it pretty well plotted out - did you treat it like a movie trailer, as the first chapter of a story or as a standalone attention grabbing short story (that leaves the door open for a longer story)?

[Colin YNWA]

Actually just looked at the rules and realised there's a much better way of doing this. Hopefully this URL will take you to a gallery of all 8 pages. Apologise for multiple posts before.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/TheThracian#

Good stuff thanks for that.

It also underlines another feature of the medium - it is in landscape not portrait.

One thing I was wondering about - as it is designed for the screen do you think you need slightly less panels per page than you'd use on a printed page?

I see you've got it pretty well plotted out - did you treat it like a movie trailer, as the first chapter of a story or as a standalone attention grabbing short story (that leaves the door open for a longer story)?

Panels I tried (and you'll see in a later example I hope to get around to posting tomorrow sometimes failed)to stick to no more than 6 and as few as possible, pretty much considered it as though someone was looking at an american size comic so that pretty much any none hand held device would get a good reading experience.

For whatever reason in all but one of the 3 story I planned for Zuda the 8 pages told part of the main characters story from the perspective of a different character (or charcaters in one case). I found it allows you to introduce ideas for the main plot smoothly while telling a self contained story of the lesser character and his or her interaction with the lead. In two of the cases the character you're seeing the story through doesn't make it out the other end. I know I'd just read Nemesis book One before doing this and I really liked the way Pat Mills told self contained stories that build up the picture of what was going, certainly for the first what 5 or 6 episodes. Often with Nemesis off to one side or not there at all. Once he's established the world the main plot takes over and Nemesis is pretty much front and centre. It certainly allows you to put a good hook at the end of each part!

[Emperor]

For whatever reason in all but one of the 3 story I planned for Zuda the 8 pages told part of the main characters story from the perspective of a different character (or charcaters in one case). I found it allows you to introduce ideas for the main plot smoothly while telling a self contained story of the lesser character and his or her interaction with the lead. In two of the cases the character you're seeing the story through doesn't make it out the other end. I know I'd just read Nemesis book One before doing this and I really liked the way Pat Mills told self contained stories that build up the picture of what was going, certainly for the first what 5 or 6 episodes. Often with Nemesis off to one side or not there at all. Once he's established the world the main plot takes over and Nemesis is pretty much front and centre. It certainly allows you to put a good hook at the end of each part!

Nice analysis - you can't go too wrong breaking down the storytelling techniques that work. I'm definitely going to keep this in mind (Hell it might break the deadlock on my Zuda idea ).

It is a very good idea - I was explaining the idea of a "mythos" to my dad last night (as you do) and this is a very clever way of doing some serious world building - different peole's persetives building up a larger fictional universe (and it opens the door for you to use the unreliable narrator and also see both sides of the coin, so things needn't be so black and white).

[Emperor]

I've also dropped a note over on the Down the Tubes forum to see if there is anyone there interested too. I'm also hoping that as momentum builds we can avoid having too many entries in any one round (which is always going to dilute your votes).