IRRATIONAL COMICS – PITCH Anthology

Calling all aspiring comic writers!

This anthology is catered primarily to you.

We are looking for submissions where no art is required.

Submissions are open from 15 Jun 2019 to 15 Aug 2019.

Read on to find out more!

Submissions are now closed.

To account for time zone differences, we will continue to accept and review submissions that come in before 16 Aug GMT 23:59. We will begin the review process and writers whose entries are accepted will be notified within 2 weeks’ time.

All writers’ whose entries are accepted have been notified.

Thank you for submitting to the PITCH anthology.

What

PITCH is an online comic anthology of various comic concepts in their “prototype form”. These prototype comics or “proto-comics”, as we call it, are the first few pages of a larger story that our writer-contributors would like to tell. The anthology is free-to-read and readers can vote on the concept they would like to see fully realized. Depending on the popularity of the votes, we will choose to work with one of the contributor(s) to bring the comic into its completed state.

This is the third time we are doing this online anthology.

In our first year, we worked with 5 writers to produce five 12-page proto-comics, compiled into a 60 page online anthology, PITCH 2017. You can check it out here.

After PITCH 2017, we commissioned 1 of the 5 contributing writers on a side project (under development) and we also worked with our chosen contributor to produce the selected concept from PITCH 2017 into a graphic novel. You can view the preview pages here. Unfortunately, this project did not manage to see fruition but we do see it as a productive and positive learning experience.

In our second year, we worked with 5 writers to produce five 8-page proto comics, compiled into a 40 page online anthology, PITCH 2018. You can check it out here.

After PITCH 2018, we decided to work with one of the contributing writers and adapt his script into a 40+ page digital one shot, Pantheon’s End. You can check out the comic here.

Now, we are looking for submissions from aspiring writers, semi-pros and hobbyists alike to compile our third online anthology, PITCH 2019.

Why

We want to grow our catalog of comic titles, as well as collaborate with writers and connect with readers from all over the world.

Instead of spending time, effort and money on a concept that might not do well with comic readers, we see PITCH as a viable way for creators to mitigate the risks of putting out comic work. We take care of the art required, thereby eliminating the hassle and financial burden that writers often have to bear when trying to get their comics published.

Through a poll voting system, we assess the popularity and reception of the proto-comics. We see this as a way to prove your concept. It will help us to identify which concept(s) are market ready and which concept(s) require more refinement. In other industries, companies often test their products with prototypes before fully investing in production, we look to do the same with comics through PITCH.

There are many resources and avenues catered to aid comic artists but very few for comic writers. We hope that PITCH will grow into a platform that is helpful and useful for aspiring comic writers to get their foot into the door.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for comics concepts of various mainstream genres such as action, adventure, romance, comedy, horror, slice-of-life, fantasy, science-fiction, erotica etc. Pornography, however, is not accepted.

Each submission should consist of a 3 page comic script, an information sheet for a 20 page one-shot comic, along with a signed submissions agreement. For more info, scroll down to the submissions guidelines.

The script should not be a complete story, but the first 3 pages of a larger story you would like to tell. The complete story should be a one-shot comic of 20 pages when fully realized.

The sample art style is shown below. You should write your script with this art style in mind.

From the submissions, we will pick 10 scripts to create a 30 (10 x 3p) page online comic anthology. Our art team will produce the comics from each 3 page script selected.

After the proto-comics are created, we invite readers to read the online anthology and vote on their favorite comic over a 1 month period.

After the votes are in, we will offer to work with one contributor(s), to produce the one-shot comic in its fully realized form. This will be via a separate agreement which the chosen contributor(s) is free to accept, reject or negotiate terms for.

The Deal

What You Give

You grant us the right to publish a 3 page comic based on your submission as part of the anthology, PITCH.

You grant us the right to use the materials in your submission as promotional material and content for the anthology, PITCH.

What You Get

You are credited as writer and concept creator of the comic created.

You keep all rights to your script and materials. We keep all rights to the art and materials created and developed based on your submission.

We will not develop any material beyond what is required to create the 3 page prototype comic for the anthology, PITCH, without your express written permission.

You are free to take your script and pitch it elsewhere. You cannot pitch using the art we’ve created without our express written permission.

Submissions Guidelines

Here’s how to submit:

For submissions to be considered, your submission package must consist of:

1. A signed submissions agreement form that you can download here.

2. A filled information sheet that you can download here, containing your logline, plot outline, character descriptions etc. This will help facilitate our assessment process.

3. A 3 page comic script formatted in the way as outlined in our sample here.

Email your submission package to us at: irrationalcomicssubmissions@gmail.com with the title – Pitch Anthology 3_your_name

Do not submit without a signed submissions agreement form. We cannot review any submissions without a signed agreement form.

Do not submit any artwork. We are here to take care of that. Submissions with attached artwork will be rejected.

If you have any queries regarding the anthology, please feel free to write to us at: irrationalcomics@gmail.com with the title – Pitch Anthology Query.

We will do our best to answer your questions.

Thank you for your interest in our online anthology. We look forward to reviewing your submissions! Let’s make comics!

FAQ

Are you only taking submissions that are exactly 3 pages or can it be shorter?

Yes, we are only taking submissions that are exactly 3 pages.

What are the changes implemented in PITCH 2019 as compared to 2017 and 2018?

A few changes have been implemented. The page count from the comic script has been revised from 12 pages (2017) to 8 pages (2018) to 3 pages. The fee for accepted submissions used to be US$70 (2017) to US$50 (2018). For PITCH 2019, there is no payment fee.

Sample art styles are provided for writers whereas none was provided for the first online anthology.

In 2017, we allowed a free format. In 2018, we revised the final format to a 40 to 60 page one-shot comic. For 2019, we revised the format to a 20 page one-shot comic.

The voting period has been revised from 2 months (2017) to 1 month (2018). For 2019, we are keeping to a 1 month voting period.

We believe these changes will help ease the workload for all parties involved and increase the chance of chosen projects successfully produced and realized.

Can I submit more than one submission?

Yes, you can. We advice sending no more than 3 to 4 submissions if you have more than one concept you’ll like to submit. You are free to submit more but do bear in mind that you’ll have to come up with 3 page scripts for all your submissions. Also, we will only accept 1 submission from the same creator. This is because we want to give opportunities to other applicants as well. In the event that your submissions are all good, we’ll ask you to pick the one that you are most confident of being able to complete and have the clearest vision of.

For multiple submissions, email your submission package with the email title as follows:

Pitch Anthology3_your_name_entry number

eg. Pitch Anthology3_Derek_Chua_01

Pitch Anthology3_Derek_Chua_02

If my script is accepted, would I have any say with the art style chosen for my script?

We have provided a sample art style for your reference. It is possible for us to alter the art styles if you have something more specific in mind but as much as possible, we would like to keep to the style in the sample provided.

Do you accept submissions written by more than one writer?

Yes. You and your writer collaborators will be credited together. All writers involved in the collaborative process should sign the submissions agreement form.

Do you require us to describe character appearances or leave it open ended and let your character designers figure that out?

We require just brief descriptions of the appearances of the characters. Our art team will provide the designs.