by Michael Brown, staff writer

Update: July 27, 2014

Superdames announced on their website today that the contest submission guidelines have been modified today to include black and white and pencil art. And to accommodate this change, the deadline has been extended until August 8, 2014.

Finding work in comics for talented artists and writers can sometimes be as easy as meeting a representative at a convention and showing off some work. But often it’s much more difficult, especially if they’re unable to get to a con, or just don’t know where to start.

Relying on the belief that “the only way to break into comics is to make comics,” Superdames.org is looking to give writers and artists striving to break into the business that chance. Superdames is a blog run by writer and editor D.M. Higgins. It celebrates women in comics throughout history, mainly focusing on the 1930s to the 1980s, with the occasional commentary about gender issues in comics and posts about comics history. The blog-turned-indie-comic-publisher is resurrecting Jill Trent, Science Sleuth, a popular heroine seen throughout comics in the 1940s and who is now in the public domain, as part of a planned anthology. The character was chosen for the contest by an online poll of public-domain characters. Superdames.org is holding a contest in order to find aspiring writers and artists eager to break into the biz

Writers interested in participating are being asked to submit a five page comic script starring Jill Trent, while artists are asked to submit at least two pages of sequential art showing narrative storytelling, and all submissions must star Jill Trent. Submissions are being accepted through August 1, 2014. Four writers and five artists will be selected to produce five five-page stories for the planned 25-page anthology comic. For complete contest rules and more information about Superdames and their mission statement, click the link. For more information about Jill Trent, you can check out the character’s wiki site here. And good luck!

-30-