On
May 1st, 2015, Oni Press will be opening submissions to the public. We
are on the hunt for new stories from new creators, featuring characters
that reflect the diversity of the world around us. Oni Press has always
valued content and execution, and we are looking for creators and
projects that can support our goal to publish excellent, varied and
original work.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:
PITCHES
- Cartoonists and writers, we’re looking for pitches. If you’re a
cartoonist who can write and draw we’d love to see what you have.
Writers, this is the day you’ve been waiting for—we
are looking at story pitches without necessitating an artist attached.
If you already have an artist lined up you think is up to snuff,
fantastic! But if you’re a writer who needs help finding an artist, if
your pitch is THAT good, we will help partner you up.
PORTFOLIOS
- Illustrators and colorists! If you think your work is up to snuff and
you are looking to be paired up and you think your artwork would fit in
amongst some of the best storytellers in comics, now is your chance to
prove it.
WHO SHOULD SUBMIT:
Anyone with a unique perspective and a firm grasp of the comics medium.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE:
An excellent sense of storytelling and well-developed characters with a definite perspective.
WHAT ASSOCIATE EDITOR ARI YARWOOD WANTS TO SEE:
I got my start in literary journals and feminist pop culture critique (shoutout to Bitch).
I’m looking for complicated and nuanced characters with a developed
perspective. I want to see diversity and originality, and I want stories
with underrepresented characters—all I had in my formative years was Livejournal and The L Word, and no one should have to rely on The L Word to
see themselves reflected in media. I’m a big fantasy, sci-fi, romance,
and literary fiction fan, but most of all I want to read something I
haven’t seen before. My favorite movie is Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, because life is a rich tapestry.
WHAT EDITOR ROBIN HERRERA WANTS TO SEE:
I
started off in the YA/Children’s book world and I think that world has a
lot of crossover with the comics world in terms of story and execution.
I want fully-realized characters (not necessarily “strong” or even
“likable”) with agency and direction. I want unique perspectives and
different takes. I’m into a lot of different genres: high fantasy,
science fiction, contemporary, literary, romance, coming-of-age, and
anything that has to do with weird food-based Battle Royales. Or Battle
Royales in general. (I wrote my graduate thesis about point of view
choices in Battle Royale and The Hunger Games.)
WHAT SENIOR EDITOR CHARLIE CHU WANTS TO SEE:
The
biggest thing I would like to see from incoming submissions is more
diversity in not only the voices we publish, but also the kinds of
stories and characters in our books. For too long a period of time,
we’ve seen way too much of the same ideas from the same narrowing
demographic of creator get pitched to us, and the only way to change
that is to evolve the pool of creators we are talking to. If you are a
female writer or artist, someone who identifies as a person of color, or
LGTBQ, consider this an invitation and please come pitch us. We’re not
looking for affirmative action in our books by any means, but with the
readership growing larger by day, it’s important we find space for new
voices who bring new ideas to the table while still maintaining the same
level of pop appeal that defines the Oni Press library. As the tentpole
and genre focused member of editorial, I’m hoping to find fast-paced
and ambitious books that center around grounded, believable characters
with the same diversity as the world we live in, and most of all, books
that are fun, accessible, and original.
WHAT EDITOR IN CHIEF JAMES LUCAS JONES WANTS TO SEE:
Oni
Press has always been a place focused on publishing comics for an
audience inclusive of a wide demographic. With other publishers finally
catching up, it’s important for us to continue to break boundaries and
continue to grow the diversity of our line. Our catalog has always been
diverse, but it’s time for that variety to be reflected in the
characters starring in our books and the creators making them. I’m
looking for inventive stories with rich characters, a thoughtful
approach to comic book storytelling, and a dedication to craft. You
should be pitching us fully realized, considered pitches that continue
the long Oni Press tradition of character-driven narratives that don’t
fit in with other publishers’ conventions.
WHAT WE DON’T WANT TO SEE:
Superheroes! They have their place but their place is not with us.
Avoid
pitching long-form series or stories in oversaturated genres such as
supernatural noir, zombies, vampires and gritty detectives with a dark
past.
Please
also avoid delicate subjects such as rape and sexual abuse as fodder
for exposition in genre stories–using rape as a plot point betrays not
only a lack of sensitivity but also a lack of creativity when creating
compelling female characters.
We are not accepting any prose or poetry – we’re a funnybooks publisher!
THE NITTY-GRITTY:
-
The submission periods will operate on a two-months open, two-months
closed schedule. Our first submission period will be open from May 1st
to June 30th.
- All submissions should be submitted electronically through our Submittable site, located here: https://onipress.submittable.com/submit.
Any physical submissions will be destroyed without reading. Please do
not email (or tweet at) editors directly with pitches. It will just make
us grumpy.
- All submissions should should have your name, email and phone number on every page. They should also begin with a cover letter telling us who you are, who your project is for and how it fits at Oni Press. Also feel free to include any previously published comics work or comic-related education.
-
Expect a response to your submission within one month. Everyone will
get a response but not all responses will be personalized—we simply
don’t have the time to do so.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
- Writers:
- Pitches should be:
- A logline - [what’s the idea/concept]
- A one-page synopsis / overview - A short summary that contextualizes who your project is for and how it fits into the marketplace
- A 3-5 page outline - give us the full beginning, middle and end of your story so we can see your execution.
- A sample comic script containing at least two scenes, consisting of at least eight pages and no more than twenty pages. This should be a comic book script, NOT a screenplay.
- Artists:
- Submissions should be:
- A portfolio with at least eight sequential storytelling pages with FINAL LINE ART / INKS. No pencils, just final inks [or the digital equivalent] by you.
- No covers, pinups, etc. SEQUENTIALS ONLY.
We only care about your ability to tell a story. Adding pin-ups of
Marvel/DC superhero characters are not an opportunity to wow us, it’s
mostly just wasting our time. Again, SEQUENTIALS ONLY.
- Please make sure your sequentials include characters of both genders and at least one person of color.
- Cartoonists or Writers w/ Artists: Combine the two categories above!
- Pitches or submissions should be:
- A logline - [what’s the idea/concept]
- A one-page synopsis / overview - A short summary that contextualizes who your project is for and how it fits into the marketplace
- A 3-5 page outline - give us the full beginning, middle and end of your story so we can see your execution.
- A sample script containing at least two scenes, consisting of at least eight pages and no more than twenty pages.
- At least 8 sample pages of sequentials from the project being pitched.
- Note: The creative team in your pitch is the one we expect to see actually working on your book. No switcheroos!
- Colorists:
- Submissions should be:
- A portfolio with at least eight pages, containing at least two different scenes, from at least two different artists.
* Sorry, we are not currently taking submissions from pencillers, inkers, or letterers.
That’s it! We hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
The Oni Press Editorial Team
James Lucas Jones Editor-in-Chief Charlie Chu Senior Editor
This is a cap of the tweet from Ian Jones Quartey himself, I highly doubt he would spread a ruse. Just because the open call was deleted doesn’t mean it was a ruse, there was MOST LIKELY A MORE LEGIT REASON FOR IT BEING DELETED. It may get reposted, it might not, just don’t slander good people’s names.
and then there’s also this. It isn’t a scam so don’t worry! (x)
“Thank you so much for applying to the Steven Universe Open Call.
Your excitement means so much to us! We are receiving a high volume of
applications, so there is no need to re-apply.
We will take a look at your work and if it’s a match for the position requirements, you will receive a follow-up email.
We appreciate your submission! However there are a lot of
applications and we have to be selective. Even if you do not hear back
from us, please continue your artistic endeavors!
This is a cap of the tweet from Ian Jones Quartey himself, I highly doubt he would spread a ruse. Just because the open call was deleted doesn’t mean it was a ruse, there was MOST LIKELY A MORE LEGIT REASON FOR IT BEING DELETED. It may get reposted, it might not, just don’t slander good people’s names.
and then there’s also this. It isn’t a scam so don’t worry! (x)
Henry Selick’s James and the Giant Peach was first released on April 12th, 1996.
Henry Selick initially considered doing the whole film in stop-motion, but decided on a blend with live-action to cut down on costs. This took 12 years to reach the screen. Roald Dahl himself was convinced that the property would never make a viable film. (x)
Okay but do you know what I really, really love about Rebecca Sugar? Do you know why she’s my freakin’ inspiration?
she is twenty seven years old. TWENTY SEVEN. AND LOOK WHAT SHE HAS DONE
she’s one of the creative minds behind a hit television show that has positive messages and cute animation and real-life relatable situations / characters LIKE SHE DOES SO MUCH FOR IT SHE’S THE CREATOR, THE EXEC PRODUCER, A WRITER, A STORYBOARDER AND A FREAKIN’ SONGWRITER. this woman is a quintuple threat.
her work on Adventure Time got two emmy nominations and a Annie award nomination
once upon a time she was a nerd like me and you writing Invader Zim fanfiction and shit like that.
she drew album art for a hit singer
she was a storyboard artist for the 2012 movie Hotel Transylvania; that is a big step considering the film is made by Sony which is a hella big corporation and she started with Cartoon Network
FIRST WOMAN TO CREATE A SHOW FOR CARTOON NETWORK
So for a fifteen year old aspiring screenwriter, you can see why I love her.
Crystal Gem Garnet! (I just glued her gems on, the white will dry to clear soon ^^;)
All the Crystal Gem patterns are done now. I know what I want to tweak and fix and I’ll be making a few to sell hopefully in a couple weeks.
I do plan on also making Lapis, Jasper & Peridot at some point, but I’m going to start here. Oh! And I plan on making Steven, too. Just picked up materials for him!
reineyday: hellooo, i saw your post where you said "historical accuracy = no creator accountability" and it was smthg you said you always referred to--can you please expand or point me to your other posts? i'd like to understand more about this! thanks :D
So, say someone makes a show set in Victorian London. There are no characters of color on the show.
Someone watches the show and says, “Hey, why is everyone on this show white?”
The creators of the show, rather than accepting responsibility for 1. choosing the setting of the show in the first place or 2. their own casting choices, say, “Hey! That’s just historically accurate, there WERE no PoC ‘back then’!!”
Basically, it’s about trying to pass the buck onto “history” for creative choices they made. Like: “OH, I didn’t WANT to exclude anyone, but I HAVE to be loyal and accurate to the true history!”
And everyone just accepts that as if it’s true, and as if that is a good reason to make a show that consists entirely of white people.
This is about dodging accountability in that they chose a setting they assumed would have only white people in it, and then made that true. And that has happened so many times that the myth just keeps perpetuating itself. Rather than consulting actual history or demographics, they base this idea on TV shows, books and movies that have already recreated some version of “Victorian London” that contains nothing but white citizens (in much the same way the citizens of supposed “New York City” in countless sitcoms are inexplicably white); media from ten years ago, 20 years, 50 years, and so on.
When he was elected Mayor of Battersea, John replied to press speculation about where he might have come from with
the remark that he had been born - “in a little obscure village in
England probably never heard of until now - the city of Liverpool”. He
went on to declare - “I am a Lancastrian bred and born”.
Characteristically pugnacious, but he had been stung by reports
which, guessing wildly, said that he had been born in Rangoon or
somewhere in India. He was actually part of the already well-established black population in Liverpool.
London is and was a vastly multicultural and diverse city. Even before the 1800s and photography, surviving artworks depict a massively diverse populace:
But the point I’m making here is that claiming your whitewashed media is somehow “historically accurate” is total bunk.
If someone creates something that has nothing but white characters, it is that way because they CHOSE to make it that way. There is every opportunity and every reason to create media with characters of color in it, and trying to blame history for whitewashing is about dodging accountability.
nakedzuko-nakedcats-deactivated: I absolutely love your blog and comics! I'm an aspiring graphic novelist myself, and I was wondering.. where do you even begin?! How did you get your start in this industry? What are some things that beginners should know? I'd appreciate any advice you have! :)
You begin by making comics. Seriously! :) Just go make them.
Don’t wait for publishers to approach you (they won’t, unless you’re already making comics).
Don’t wait for a magical moment when you finally feel like you’re “good enough” at drawing to make comics (it’ll never come, I’m still waiting for that moment).
Just go and make comics. It’ll be bad at the beginning, you will make some terrible, terrible comics. But you’ll get better, and eventually the right people will be like “oh hey, that person’s made a lot of comics! They’re pretty good! We should hire them.”
I have nothing else practical to offer*. If you’re me, you get your start in the comics industry by making comics**.
Good luck!
*I can offer one practical suggestion: read a lot of comics, lots of different types of comics, and try to figure out why the ones you like work. This is very helpful.
**Fun fact: I had written and drawn over 1,000 pages of comics before I was published.
An assignment for my Structural Drawing class. We had to design a 1940’s laboratory for Dr.Frankenstein; we could make the monster and the doctor whatever gender, but there were a lot of requirements like size ratio between the two, certain elements to the lab, and so on.
This was an especially difficult assignment and you did a great job!!
Here’s a trailer for the new animated series I’m workin on, called “FROM AWAY”!
(Warning: I’m guessing this is Rated “R”. There’s some cuss words and a couple naked people in it.)
I wrote, storyboarded, animated, and edited the 13 minute pilot episode in my apartment, on my Cintiq. This trailer is made up of footage from the pilot.
WHO AM I? I went to Calarts for Character animation when I was 18. During I my second year I got called up for storyboarding bootcamp at Pixar, and survived. After my third year I dropped out to work at Blue Sky, and somehow ended up storyboarding “Moonrise Kingdom” for Wes Anderson in NYC, after that I was writing and supervising on season one of “Clarence” at Cartoon Network. Since then I’ve worked with Genndy Tartakovsky on “Hotel Transylvania 2” and “Popeye”.
WHAT IS THIS? I really miss cartoons that weren’t solely aimed at kids, that were allowed to be somewhat realistic, like “King of the Hill”, or cinematic like early “Simpsons”. I produced the “From Away” pilot to try and prove that it could work, knowing that something this “low concept” or “adult” would never make it through the development process unscathed. This is not a kickstarter, I’m looking for distribution for the rest of the series. I’ve already planned out the first two seasons, and have begun boarding Episode 2.
If you want to see the full pilot and are interested in distributing the series, email me at:
Hi, I'm Tim Lai! I'm a cartoonist living in Ontario, Canada. I like drawing cute and colourful things. This blog is a hub where you can find all of my Tumblr, DeviantArt, Flickr, Blogspot, and other posts in one place.
About My Work
I write and draw Lemon Inc., a comic about a seven-year-old who wants to be a business tycoon when he grows up. Until then, he runs a lemonade stand. You can read it at www.lemon-inc.com.
I have done some professional web and graphic design work, including designing the website for the webcomic, Just Joel. I'm also a member of the webcomic collective, Ink Bomb Comics.
May 1, 2015 02:29
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