Zuda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuda_Comics) 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 (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,21398.msg365395.html#msg365395)).
However, the contests kept rolling and the nominations opened up and I was reading this article (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/07/11/zuda-zuda-hey-by-patch-novak/) which got me thinking:
QuoteZuda, 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 (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,25696.msg443834.html#msg443834) for a Zuda entry (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,25696.msg444177.html#msg444177) (and showed us the ad he made (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,25719.msg444041.html#msg444041)) 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 (http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/08/tony%e2%80%99s-terrible-tea-time-torture-show-an-interview-with-tony-lee/) 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?
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.
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.
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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Bulletin), Newsarama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsarama) or Comic Book Resources (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,25720.msg444078.html#msg444078) makes me think a video might be good. It certainly lets (http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/08/15029/) people (http://www.bugpowder.com/09/08/01/index.html#002401) 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?
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.
Quote from: Emperor on 05 August, 2009, 04:28:24 AM
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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics_Bulletin), Newsarama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsarama) or Comic Book Resources (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 (http://2000adonline.com/forum/index.php/topic,25720.msg444078.html#msg444078) makes me think a video might be good. It certainly lets (http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2009/08/15029/) people (http://www.bugpowder.com/09/08/01/index.html#002401) 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.
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.
Page 2
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# (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/TheThracian#)
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.
Quote from: locustsofdeath on 05 August, 2009, 10:43:55 AM
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.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 05 August, 2009, 09:16:25 AM
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# (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)?
Quote from: Emperor on 05 August, 2009, 03:34:15 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 05 August, 2009, 09:16:25 AM
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# (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!
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 05 August, 2009, 04:37:42 PMFor 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).
I've also dropped a note over on the Down the Tubes forum (http://downthetubes.ning.com/forum/topics/887566:Topic:19610) 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).
Also worth checking out the ten entries in the competition as it gives you an idea of the standard and I don't think it'd be impossible to come up with something at least as good as those. I especially didn't think much of the current leading entry which has nice art* but the story is exposition heavy, rather clunky and just ends on the eighth page and would have benefited from someone else looking over the script (unless in the future everyone says "drat"). Better were Octane Jungle, Physikon and A Stinking Corpse** - art that complimented the story and a story arc that ended on the last page giving us enough to be interested in to check it out if it continues, which confirms my gut feeling. If I had to vote for one it'd be Octane Jungle as it seemed to work the best (the colouring and sound effects especially stood out) despite the delivery boy in a dystopia has been done before.
Also don't overlook lettering - Cards Kill was really let down by theirs.
The key is clearly promotion - it won't help an awful comic win but it could make a difference - the leading entires have less than 4,000 views so getting enough coverage to interest a few hundred people could be what nudges you into the lead.
*And I suspect it is artists you are always going to do well out of this
** I got a Lee Carter vibe from the art there
I've signed up over there to nose around the system, so you can befriend (or avoid) me:
http://www.zudacomics.com/user/48921
For future reference there is thread over on the DC forums where writers and artists can hook up:
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000141032&tstart=30
I suspect a bottleneck might be getting enough artists and so we can keep an eye on that and if there is a solid script I'm sure we can tempt some people. However, looking down the thread it seems to be largely writers looking for artists (and any artists dropping in are like bacon to a pack of hungry dogs) but worth keeping an eye on. someone there suggests www.comicjobz.com and MySpace Comics.
There is also Digital Webbings talent area:
www.digitalwebbing.com/talent/
I think the important thing is to work up your idea.
Meant to do this last week but what with one thing and another. Anyway here's the other work I did in preparing and planning some other Zuda entries.
Props is a story about obsessive collecting - something many people here should be able to relate to!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/Props# (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/Props#)
President Croc (working title) is a tale of a New York sew Crocodile running for the US presidency
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/PresCroc# (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/PresCroc#)
and my personal favourite, the story that I've been working on for a few years now and even has a demo 22 page comic that I self published (and have a hundred or so copies of sitting in my loft if people really want a copy for free) 'Ape in a Space-suit'. A story of evolutionary biology and fundamental relgion, or just an excuse to have a cool ape run around and fight dinosaurs and stuff...
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/ApeInASpacesuit# (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/ApeInASpacesuit#)
My plan was to turn these into scripts. I find being a failed artist I'm best doing my 'writing' using thumbnails like this. I think of stories visually. It then really helps with writing up as it distils what's really important in a panel and so hopefully I could send an artist a script that is not cluttered with detail but rather contains the essential information from which they can have a free hand to tell the story as they see fit.
Thanks for those. The one that really caught my eye was:
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 12 August, 2009, 08:31:26 AMand my personal favourite, the story that I've been working on for a few years now and even has a demo 22 page comic that I self published (and have a hundred or so copies of sitting in my loft if people really want a copy for free) 'Ape in a Space-suit'. A story of evolutionary biology and fundamental relgion, or just an excuse to have a cool ape run around and fight dinosaurs and stuff...
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/ApeInASpacesuit# (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.ynwa/ApeInASpacesuit#)
While we should be wary of apes in comics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apes_in_comics) it certainly looks like you are bringing more to the table than just "look it is a strange ape!!" so it gets my vote.
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 12 August, 2009, 08:31:26 AMMy plan was to turn these into scripts. I find being a failed artist I'm best doing my 'writing' using thumbnails like this. I think of stories visually. It then really helps with writing up as it distils what's really important in a panel and so hopefully I could send an artist a script that is not cluttered with detail but rather contains the essential information from which they can have a free hand to tell the story as they see fit.
Probably worth dealing with on the writing or art threads, but I wonder if artists would find thumbnails a bit restrictive, but then again as a guide it could also be pretty helpful.
Quote from: Emperor on 08 August, 2009, 04:24:06 PM
Quote from: Colin_YNWA on 05 August, 2009, 04:37:42 PMFor 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 people's perspectives 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).
And the idea of the unreliable narrator did indeed break the deadlock - still a long way to go but it gave me the structure (the beginning and end) which just needs filling out.
Quote from: Emperor on 08 August, 2009, 06:00:15 PM
Also don't overlook lettering - Cards Kill was really let down by theirs.
I'm not working at full capacity at present and -- barring any unexpected offers of work -- won't be until the next Classical Comics job comes in some time during September, so I may be able to help out if anyone has strip work that they think would benefit from a lettering assist.
Cheers
Jim
Good stuff - as has been said elsewhere it is the often overlooked aspect of comics creation even though poor lettering can really spoil the overall feel of the story, while good lettering can help pull everything together into a much slicker package.
Anyway the August batch have been interviewed over on CBR so if you are researching things it might be of some interest to see what they say:
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/08/zudist-colony-talking-to-the-august-zuda-contestants/
Just a couple of quick thoughts:
- If you see an artist in the small press you think might fit your ideas then I'd imagine there are folks here with the contacts to get a note passed on to them. Of course, if you know of anyone who is interested then point them here (or at the Down the Tubes thread if they don't like the smell)
- Don't be shy about asking for help - we cna probably rummage up people who can help with most things. I am happy to read through any scripts, Jim has volunteered for lettering if he isn't too busy and I'm sure we can find more.
A new round has started. Absolute Magnitude won the last one and while I didn't fall for it as a five page story I'm sure it'll develop nicely.
This months are a very strong batch and with an impressive range of art, although I've not had a chance to read them all through properly. I've stumbled across Goldilock before as it has been in preparation for an awful long time and it shows. Dunno how they can keep that up if they win but it'll be interesting to see what happens.
Damn I seem to have missed voting on the previous round. I must try harder.
Anyway Tony Lee is in this round and has given Rich Johnston some thoughts on the contest:
www.bleedingcool.com/2009/10/09/where-evils-dare-to-vote/
Anyway I've had a chance to sit down and read this month's entries (strike while the iron is hot is clearly the way to go or I'll just forget) and it isn't as strong a field as last month's (and it also had Goldilock which has been building momentum for a while and was pretty much guaranteed to carpet bomb the opposition, which it did) but there are some solid entries.
I voted for Doc Monster, as it was the only one I'd be interested in seeking out in comic book form (it might be one of my favourites so far), I wouldn't bother reading most of the other entries again, even if they won.
A list of 30 tips for a Zuda entry:
http://mpd57.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/zuda-thirty-golden-rules/
Of course, quite a few of them apply to all comics.
Again lettering comes up (#10 and 12) and looking through the current entries there are always a few that seem to let themselves down on that front.
Oh and there seems to be a lot more... "politics" simmering away behind the scenes. It is apparently frowned on in some quarters if you have a slow visible build-up (as it is claimed you are building support ahead of time). It seems a few people have sent Tony emails about him overstepping on this front, even though it doesn't seem he did:
QuoteAnd for those already dropping the snide comments to my email and a couple of off-site forums, at no point before 12pm EST yesterday did I mention Zuda or Where Evils Dare, instead speaking about '666 Platoon' - I hinted at something big happening at the time and day. After seeing the crap that Goldilocks got last month for talking about submitting to Zuda months before it actually happened (and therefore according to some 'building an instant fanbase when others didn't')... I decided to take the safer option :-) Did it hurt me? I know a couple of the others spoke openly about their submissions beforehand, when they were talking about submitting but remember - none of knew when or where we'd be up, and NOT ONE OF THEM spoke about it AFTER they were greenlit for the competition. so let's stop the name calling before it really starts. ;-)
posted on October 6, 2009 - 4:53am
So something to keep in mind, perhaps launch any kind of production blog after the competition goes live.
Quote from: Emperor on 10 October, 2009, 02:55:24 AM
A list of 30 tips for a Zuda entry:
http://mpd57.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/zuda-thirty-golden-rules/
Of course, quite a few of them apply to all comics.
Again lettering comes up (#10 and 12) and looking through the current entries there are always a few that seem to let themselves down on that front.
Worth noting that he also reviews the entries and while pulling no punches he often parallels my thinking on a lot of them (also I think he is British so you get a perspective from this sound of the Pond too - with extra marks for a Noggin the Nog reference):
http://mpd57.wordpress.com/tag/zuda/
Hmm ... Tony Lee: persecuted genius or drama queen? Let's get the votes from Luxembourg ...
Cheers!
Jim
Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 24 October, 2009, 12:15:57 AM
Hmm ... Tony Lee: persecuted genius or drama queen? Let's get the votes from Luxembourg ...
Orrrrrrrrr drama genius? Huh? Huh? OK perhaps it is persecuted queen, but let's not go there. ;)
He is threatening to kill a puppy (http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000203216&tstart=0) if he doesn't win. So you decide!!
Well Tony Lee came second, which was a surprise. First place was an entry from a previous winner - it might be a fluke but it could be that having an established fanbase of people signed up to Zuda can be a big help. It was a seriously tough month and any of the top three could have won in a quieter month (like this one perhaps).
Anyway next batch are up and it is a much more open field - I was stumped on who to vote for as there are 4 or 5 that are contenders but nothing that made me jump off my seat. I went for the Bronze Hammer one as I liked the style (even a hint of Radiator's work in there round the legs ;) ) but it could have gone any one of 3 or 4 ways and I might change me vote.
If I was competing I'd like to be in a month like this as there is no clear juggernaut entry that will squish everyone beneath its rumbling wheels of win.
Quote from: Emperor on 02 November, 2009, 06:46:49 PMI went for the Bronze Hammer one as I liked the style (even a hint of Radiator's work in there round the legs ;) ) but it could have gone any one of 3 or 4 ways and I might change me vote.
I'm still thinking of changing my vote but in the meantime here is their DA page with lots of pretty pictures:
http://gambear1er.deviantart.com/
A member of Down The Tubes has a story up in this month's competition:
http://downthetubes.ning.com/xn/detail/887566:Topic:22215
He had one run at it before and come second but is currently #1 (although it is early days). So I'm hoping he might have some ideas and tips so I'll be picking his brains.
As always have a read through and vote for the one you like - as luck would have it I'd narrowed it down to his story or Gelgun. ;)
There are a few days left to run on this month's and a former FutureQuaker is in the running:
http://futurequakepress.blogspot.com/2010/04/julia-bax-needs-you.html
They were in the lead but in the rounding up of the numbers for the last week they got nudged down to #2.
Seems Zuda has withdrawn the competitive element:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/04/30/zuda-abandons-competitive-element/
I assume they aren't scrapping Zuda altogether or they'd have said. So this could be A Good Thing as you are more likely to be judged on merit which levels the playing field and removes some of the arse ache of having to bust your hump doing publicity. I had basically got my (thin) hopes on an "instant win" or pulling in a favour, which, if it had come off, would have been the "nuclear option" of publicity, but even then it wouldn't guarantee votes (you'd just have some massive viewing figures if people didn't sign up and vote too). So I am enthusiastic about the move, unless they put in some other difficult hopes to jump through. It does mean I'm going to have to watch how the changes work and possibly adjust my plan accordingly.
Looks like Zuda is over - they closed the competition aspect at the end of April and have just announced it is being folded into the DC digital publishing arm:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/07/01/dcs-zuda-line-slashed/
Although there is a flicker of hope for up-and-coming creators:
QuoteThe submissions question is simple: It is the new DC Co-Publishers' plan to expand submissions beyond just Zuda Comics and the Online group into a larger, more comprehensive system that covers all of DC Comics' wide variety of needs, skills and interests. Jim and Dan are very excited about bringing in and developing new talent so look for more information about that from them as plans develop.
http://zuda.blog.dccomics.com/2010/07/01/the-future-of-zuda/
I'll obviously, keep an eye out for that as (or when) it happens.
I did wonder how it'd fare in the new climate. It seemed a very good model for unearthing new talent but one that benefited all not just DC and they seem to be getting more competitve these days.
Still be interesting to see what they come up with as an alternative talent spoting model... aside from just reading 2000ad that is!