As Skullkickers has slowly increased in awareness, I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails from people wanting to know how to pitch their ideas or who to talk to at Image about getting their comic published. I appreciate that people want to have that break through (there are many days where I distinctly feel like I’m still trying to figure out how to break through, believe me) and I really do want to be encouraging and honest.

I’ve sent messages to Editors, Art Directors, you name it, and had that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach waiting and wondering why they haven’t responded. I try very hard to respond to e-mails I receive in a timely fashion.

I’m already hitting a point where I can’t reply to portfolio critiques with anything beyond a link to previous journal posts and most writing feedback requests get a form letter back explaining that I can’t read their ideas for legal reasons and that I’m too busy juggling my own projects.

But, you know, when someone is intensely polite, communicative and patient I do try my best to be accommodating. I’ve been e-mailing back and forth a bit with a fan of SK and he seemed very in tune with the right attitude and hard work needed to do comic work. He sent his comic series pitch a couple days ago and I sent him this today. As with other messages of this nature, I figured I’d post it here with key names removed so other people could possibly benefit from the feedback too:

—

Hi (Name),

It’s always incredibly difficult giving critique because I know what it’s like to try and get momentum with an idea.

First off, it’s obvious that you guys have worked really hard. There’s a slew of material there and it’s clear a lot of time has been put into it. That kind of effort and dedication is important, believe me. It’s entirely possible to work your tail off and not get momentum, so being dedicated and willing to work like hell without any guarantee of a reward is a good sign.

The downside, unfortunately, is that the pitch in its current form is not professional quality, in my opinion.

As good as it is that you have that much material, it’s way too long for most publishers to evaluate. It’s intimidatingly long for a pitch. The 1 page overview should go first, then some character sketches, then a rundown of the main story in terms of plot points and possible character briefs, then the first complete issue, if you have that ready to go. The Editor/Publisher will know within the first few pages whether or not they want to pursue it. If you mention that you have more that’s good, but you don’t need to hammer them with the whole thing.

I know this will be incredibly hard to hear, but I want to be totally honest:

Any kind of art evaluation has a certain amount of opinion involved but, as far as I’m concerned, the artwork is by far the weakest part of the pitch. Yes, there’s absolutely room in the industry for stylized art; guys like Skottie Young, Scott Wegener and Rob Guillory have surprised and impressed with their cartoony/simplistic approaches to mainstream comics, but the work you’re showing in (pitch title) doesn’t evoke feelings of that confident stylized approach. It looks sloppy and poorly designed.

Many of the human characters are hard to distinguish between, the storytelling is extremely unclear (especially during action scenes) and the backgrounds are not built with any consistency or proper perspective in mind. The ultra thin panel gutters add to the confusion, making it hard to discern panel breaks in some spots. The line quality of the drawings are all the same, except when the artist has chosen a strangely ultra-thick line around characters… but even that’s not consistently used for depth or effect.

In short, the basics of storytelling and form are not showing through the style. There are some underground/indy publishers who may find it amusing but I highly doubt Image or another mid-size publisher will be able to get past the art. They’ll take one look at the pages and the pitch will get deep-sixed.

The lettering is unprofessional and sloppy too. The word balloon construction is not natural looking and doesn’t enhance the read-ability of the comic. The positioning of quite a few balloons lead the reader to read sequences in the wrong order. The balloon tails don’t always point properly towards the speaker, which can lead to further confusion.

Story-wise, there’s a “wacky” premise at the core of your idea but beyond that there isn’t much humor or charisma there. The reader is supposed to be amused that (religious figure), (celebrity), (historical figure) and (mutant animal) are running around fighting and not acting as we’d expect them to, but in a media culture where things are being remixed like crazy right now (Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, George Washington Vampire Hunter, Dr. McNinja, etc.) that kind of thing may feel tired/played out and not be enough of a hook to grab people.

That’s my feedback. You’ve been communicative and mature throughout our e-mail conversation so I wanted to make sure you received a professional critique of the work. I do wish you and the creative team all the best with your creative projects and pitches. It’s a tough market out there and we’re all working hard.

Sincerely,
Jim

The massive comic review site Graphic Novel Reporter has just posted up a very positive review of the Ibuki trade paperback. Click the logo above to check it out!

“This is a great little book with attractive art, an interesting premise, and best of all, a strong, likeable main character.”…”It’s nice to see a girl-centred comic with more action than angst, especially for the middle school-early teen age group.”

I popped in to the CityTV studio a couple days ago to record a quick interview spot with SPACE Producer Mark Askwith all about the upcoming Artists Help Japan: Toronto event, but it also goes off into a discussion of the influence of Japanese anime/manga and how I first discovered and was inspired by Japanese art and animation.

I know it’s been almost two weeks since I posted anything up here. 3 conventions in a row was wonderful but exhausting and a host of things have popped up that have kept me from getting on top of my blah-blah here.

In short, C2E2 was incredible. Meeting Misty Coats, the colorist on Skullkickers, and having such a strong reaction from fans of the book at all three shows was incredibly gratifying.

You can see a couple interview clips that were recorded in Chicago by clicking here or here.

The biggest thing pressing on my time is helping to organize a fund raising event for Japan relief funds with a host of amazing comic, animation and DJ talent in downtown Toronto.

I can’t properly explain to you how much Japanese culture, comics, games and animation has been an inspiration to me. I can easily say that if it wasn’t for its influence I would not be where I am today. If you live in the area I urge you to please click on the poster image below for more information and join us on Sunday April 17th. It’s going to be a great time for a great cause.

Last weekend in Boston I attended the PAX East show as part of the UDON booth. As usual, PAX was well organized and crammed with happy gamers.

At the last PAX Prime in September I mentioned that I drew up around 30 sketches for Mega Man fans who came to our booth. This time I blew that number out of the water; I drew just over 60 sketches! Getting into a solid drawing groove and rocking them out felt great and it was a nice challenge drawing some of the Mega Man cast I’d never tackled before.

When the weekend wrapped up Omar shook my hand and told me he was proud of me. He’s one of the hardest working and most skilled artists I know, so getting that kind of artistic encouragement from him for a job well done meant a lot to me.

Click on the Roll pic below to head to my DA gallery and check out some of the sketches from the weekend. There were quite a few repeats of certain popular characters so I didn’t post them all up, but the ones there give a good overview. Each one took about 15 minutes and was done in marker over a lightly sketched pencil rough.

Click here for more head sketches

Three video interviews shot at the Emerald City Comicon. Although there is some basic info on Skullkickers repeated, each one does sort of go its own direction:

MTV:

Multiversity Comics:

Breakdancing Robot:

Brian Truitt at USA Today has a brand new article up just in time for the trade launch discussing fantasy fun and character names, along with exclusive new artwork from the upcoming second story arc.

“Imagine Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name, Bad Boys and your local Renaissance festival thrown into a stein of the finest grog in town, and you have a sense of the full-on Skullkickers experience.”

Today is the big day!

7 months after we launched the series, right on time, it’s the release day for Skullkickers Vol 1:1000 Opas and a Dead Body at comic shops across North America. We did it!

I can’t properly express how proud I am of everyone on the team for their hard work and dedication.

If you live in the Toronto area, it would mean the world to me if you could make it out for the signing event tonight at The Beguiling from 5-7pm. I want to celebrate with family and friends. I would love to see you there.

I’ve had a few close friends apologize for not reading Skullkickers yet because they don’t collect individual issues any more. I do get it and I’m usually in the same boat on new series too. But now, today, no more excuses. The book is value-priced by Image as a way to bring a lot more people on board: $9.99 for 144 pages. Please pick up a copy, show your friends, spread the word. It’s a book now and it’s a satisfying little chunk o’ entertainment…. or at least that’s what I’ve been told. 🙂

Thank you all for your love and support.

Thank you to everyone at Emerald City Comicon – the staff, the fans, the pros, everyone!

It was an incredible weekend. I met a ton of great people and we sold a slew of the Skullkickers limited edition hardcovers. The Skullkickers trade was the best selling item at the Image booth and a lot of new readers came by to get their issues signed and let us know how much they’ve been enjoying the series. It was electrifying.

Thank you! Your support means so much to everyone on the team. Keep an eye on our new Conventions page for a listing of shows and signings coming up in 2011.

I’m heading out late this afternoon to Seattle in preparation for the Emerald City Comicon this weekend. Since it’s March Break at the college I thought I’d go a day earlier than usual and chill a bit with friends before the con.

Even though this is my ninth year convention-ing, I’m actually really nervous this time. For the past eight years I’ve been heading to conventions as a Project Manager guy for UDON. It’s been an incredible experience and I’ve made lifelong friends along the way. Even still, my role has been almost entirely organizational. I’m the guy double checking hotel bookings, making sure product gets shipped, reminding artists to be at the booth and answering questions from people who want to know where the latest product is at. With certain special things like the Tribute books I’d autograph copies and occasionally someone would bring by a copy of the Makeshift Miracle book for me to sketch in but, overall, it’s been about setting up other people’s stuff and not being at the forefront.

When I pitched the Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki mini-series and Capcom went for it, I was thrilled. I knew that in the summer 2011 there would be a cool trade paperback with my writing in it. When Image gave the green light to Skullkickers, I was shooting the moon. I thought we’d have the mini-series collected and that would be that. Now, instead, I’m going to be at the Image booth launching the collected first volume and we’re cranking away on the 2nd story arc.

For most people this will be their first exposure to me and the work. For most pros this will also be the first time they’re seeing me as a writer. It feels a bit like I’m starting over; It’s the same convention season but I’m attacking it from a completely different angle.

Are people going to like the book?
With so many things happening at the con, will anyone care?
Will it sell?
Will other creators be cool?
Will the social stuff be different (better/worse)?

Everyone seemed really nice at New York Comicon, so I think it will go okay, but my anticipation is a bit stomach-knot-inducing.

I’ve been doing this for years, it shouldn’t feel like I’m heading to prom in a pastel-coloured suit.

Creator-owned comics are riding such a razor’s edge right now. Our sales numbers are good given the current state of the industry, but hellishly low given profitability. Every dime we’re currently making (and a bit more out of my own pocket) is supporting the art team to keep the book afloat. Lots of people are talking about creator-owned stuff right now but no one knows where it’s going. We’re launching the trade and then get to see how it goes. Creator-owned anxiety.

Working on this series really is a labour of love… and, in turn, I want people to love it. Simple, eh?

I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m losing my mind a bit. I just want the weekend to go well.

Wish me luck.