Stop Him
Note: I have tried to keep this topic reasonably short and easy to read, so I have kept the details pretty simple. However, I do want to cover as much ground as possible to avoid confusion and misunderstandings. There is more information about various aspects of the project if you follow the links found at various locations on this post. If you have questions, please follow the links. They should have many additional details not found on this front page.
I am currently looking for artists to help me create a large-scale comicbook project. The current working title is The World of Hathere. (Anyone with a better title is free to suggest it.) My idea is to have an anthology book that contains different fantasy stories that all occur on the same fictional "world" (named Hathere). While they are separate stories, the characters from each story could easily meet each other and interact. Things that happen in one story may affect the course of another story. Each issue of the planned publication would feature long (20-25 pages, or more) chapters of each of the concurrent stories. (A single issue, therefore, would be in the neighborhood of 120 pages - possibly more, allowing for text-only pages and pin-ups.)
The logistical problem for me is that I am but one man, and while I probably could perform all the art chores myself if I had to, it would take too long to be practical. My hope is to somehow produce the stories in a relatively swift fashion. To that end, I am seeking people to draw these stories for me.
One possibility is that I could get an artist (or artist team) for each individual story, while I handle the writing tasks. Another possibility is that I could assemble a large team that would work with me on the entire book - some drawing characters, some inking, some doing backgrounds, some applying tones, so on and so forth. It largely depends on what sort of response I get.
PUBLISHING INTENTIONS
This book would be released in a format similar to the "manga" paperbacks found in chain bookstores across the country. (It might also be produced in a larger magazine-style format, depending on publishing options.)
While it would be nice to have a publisher pick up this project and publish it and pay me and the artists involved a decent sum of money, the harsh truth is that I have not yet been able to "sell" the concept to a publisher, and probably won't be able to without a finished product to show. I also do not have the resources to publish on a large scale. Thus, I intend to use a Print-On-Demand service to publish the book; more professional publishing options may occur later. (Read more...)
PAYMENT AND INCENTIVES
I'd like to state right up front that my personal finances are extremely limited, so there is very little chance of any up-front real money being involved. For the right artist, I might be able to scrape up some small pittance as an advance, but it would be a truly insignificant amount compared to professional page rates. In lieu of actual cash, I hope to offer other incentives for artists to work with me. (Read more...)
DESIRED ARTIST STYLES
I am looking mainly for what would commonly be called "manga"-styled artists - however, I am not entirely opposed to certain non-manga styles. I prefer styles that are clean and sharp; I feel that capturing a mood or expression is more important than anatomical accuracy (though the latter is itself desirable). (Read more...)
DESIRED ARTISTIC QUALITY
I have described some styles and named a few artists. Ideally, I would want to work with artists of that caliber; realistically, I understand that this project is more likely to attract a more unproven type of artist.
If this project is to succeed (and especially if it is to have any chance of being sold to a publisher), it must be as professional-looking as possible, and there is a certain level of skill that must be attained. (Read more...)
WHAT ARTISTS SHOULD HAVE READY
You must be able to show me that you can do sequential artwork - that is, that you can actually lay out a story in manga/comic form. (Read more...)
TECHNICAL SPECIFCATIONS AND FORMATS
An artist working on this project must be able to deliver art in a certain format. (Read more...)
Following are very brief descriptions of the stories I'm looking to tell, followed by quick notes on what I think an artist should be able to do for each story. If you've read this far and are still interested, consider which (if any) of these stories you might like most to work on:
The Mystic's Mouse:
Tiriana, a young girl in the city of Tetherton, makes her living as a thief. She is a cat burglar, with an anonymous reputation for getting into places thought to be impenetrable. Much of this can be attributed to her small size. Most folks only know of her as the mysterious "Mouse". However, in Tetherton, all thievery is punishable by death. One day her luck runs out and she is caught in the act, and executed.
An eccentric wizard salvages her body and resurrects her - so that she can become his servant, and steal things for him. Now, however, she is stealing mystical artifacts from other wizards - and maybe learning a little magic of her own on the side.
The first several episodes of this story will take place in an urban city setting, so the ability to draw city scenes (from fancy to filthy) is a plus. Plus there are the arcane and ornate furnishings of wizards, which figure heavily in the story. The star of the story is a young girl, slightly buck-toothed, freckled, with round, somewhat largish ears. She should be appealing and cute in her own way. Prospective artists should keep all this in mind.
(Read more...)
Thorn:
Thorn is part of the royal family of a kingdom of humans. This kingdom exists on a large island, and is divided between the human kingdom, the kingdom of the fair-skinned Day Folk elves, and the kingdom of the dark-skinned Night Folk elves. These three kingdoms hate each other for the most part, and have fought bloody 3-way wars in the past, though currently there is an uneasy truce.
Thorn has the disadvantage of being a crossbreed: His Grandmother was a Night Folk elf, who eloped with the brother of the current human King. Their son grew up and married a mysterious human woman, and their son was Thorn. Humans and elves alike shunned this branch of the family, and they removed themselves to a quiet keep in the woods. Shortly after Thorn's birth, however, the keep was destroyed in a mysterious attack. No trace of Thorn's parents or grandparents was found - only Thorn himself was discovered nearby. The King took in the baby, since he was still a member of the Royal Family despite his mixed blood. However, there was no affection for the child, and Thorn grew up unwanted by not only the humans, but both elvish kingdoms, as well.
As the story begins, Thorn is a surly, restless young man, just having reached adulthood. He intends to leave the island entirely, soon - to make his own way in the wider world as his father did before him. However, he is not aware that a prophecy has come to light - which many have interpreted to mean that a child that Thorn sires will become the one who will unite all three kingdoms under his rule. It is thought that if Thorn's child has a majority of one type of blood or the other, he would naturally ally himself with that race, and that kingdom will rule and dominate the others when Thorn's child comes to power. Each kingdom now seeks to court Thorn's favor in their own way, to facilitate his child being born into one race or the other - but Thorn, unaware of the prophecy, wants nothing at all to do with any of it...
(Read more...)
Tatterlimbs (This story is currently scheduled to be drawn by Ed Bangalan):
Reva Canjain wished to be a mighty mercenary like her legendary father. She trained with warrior monks until she became skilled in the art of war. But she kept the words of her father in mind, who told her that even the most skilled warriors needed an extra edge in a world where wizards and monsters could turn the tide of battle. So she went looking for one.
Unfortunately, she found it. She does not remember traveling to the cave where she woke up one day, nor does she remember what she found inside. But what happened to her can't be ignored.
Reva is now able to cause weapons of great power to emerge from her own body - but as her own flesh comes apart and reforms to create those weapons, it causes her great pain. Now she travels the land, the fearsome warrior she always wanted to be - though she always keeps an eye open for something that will remove this curse from her...
Reva travels many lands, getting into many battles, facing monsters and other warriors, etc. etc. An artist should be able to handle a wide variety of situations.
(Read more...)
The Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company:
Somewhere, there are tales told of legendary warriors who fight for justice and righteousness, who defend the helpless, who have fought to save the very universe itself.
And then, somewhere else, very far away, rides the Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company. All they want is a steady supply of cool brew and maybe a wench every so often. It isn't their fault the forces of evil keep harassing them...
There's the shadowy trollbreed Arjuna; Derric Cloudpiercer, an exiled dwarf; Ferris Alain, once a mighty wizard, now reduced to minor tricks and hanging around with these guys; Kainar, warrior of the Night Folk, and Jaffar Free Edger, on the run from the monastary of a warrior-god, a student whose powerful magics rarely work properly.
The fact that they stay alive is nothing short of miraculous.
Like Tatterlimbs, this story changes location quite often, so a well-rounded artist capable of handling a variety of situations is needed. A humorous edge is helpful, but as I mentioned, I don't favor the overly distorted slapstick expressions that many manga use in such situations.
(Read more...)
The Fall of Chathiir:
Luzori was the Commander of the Army of Chathiir, the childhood friend of that country's Queen, like a second mother to the Princess.
But disaster struck in the form of a war with a neighboring country. Despite her best efforts, Chathiir was overrun by the invaders. She was unable to prevent the assassination of the Queen and Princess, and in the end, she was herself mortally wounded.
As she was dying, she cursed the gods she once worshiped, and blamed them for not protecting her or her land. This was the last thing on her mind as blackness swept over her...
But then Luzori awoke - alive, somehow.
She soon found out two astonishing things - her body was no longer that of the mature commander she once was, but a young woman who did not even resemble her old form - and she had somehow been taken several years into the past, before the war which destroyed Chathiir even began.
Now she desperately struggles to prevent the loss of all she loved - but is it even possible to alter fate? And would the result be even worse...?
The setting for this story is a desert kingdom and surrounding lands. I envision strong Arabian and Indian influences. Curved architecture, ornate wrought metalwork, cloth banners and tents...
(Read more...)
Each story has a theme or mood I'm trying to capture. Tatterlimbs borrows heavily from old Conan stories - the wandering warrior fighting for their own profit and glory. The Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company is a light-hearted Dungeons and Dragons style of adventure, trying to capture some of the wisecracking sessions my friends and I used to have years ago. The Fall of Chathiir is a long quest tale, while The Mystic's Mouse is magical adventure and intrigue. Thorn is a bit of a wish-fulfillment type of story - a young man has spent his youth despised and unwanted; however, as the tale begins, he suddenly becomes important and wanted by the same people who earlier rejected him - and he has no interest in it any longer, so he can reject them in turn.
Overall, the entire book has a bit of violence now and again, and any involved artist must be prepared to draw such scenes. There will be no outright gore or nudity, but there will be blood, and maybe a few moments of suggested adult behavior.
If you are still reading, and still think you may be interested, contact me via this topic, PM, or send an email to stop.him@gmail.com . I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
I am currently looking for artists to help me create a large-scale comicbook project. The current working title is The World of Hathere. (Anyone with a better title is free to suggest it.) My idea is to have an anthology book that contains different fantasy stories that all occur on the same fictional "world" (named Hathere). While they are separate stories, the characters from each story could easily meet each other and interact. Things that happen in one story may affect the course of another story. Each issue of the planned publication would feature long (20-25 pages, or more) chapters of each of the concurrent stories. (A single issue, therefore, would be in the neighborhood of 120 pages - possibly more, allowing for text-only pages and pin-ups.)
The logistical problem for me is that I am but one man, and while I probably could perform all the art chores myself if I had to, it would take too long to be practical. My hope is to somehow produce the stories in a relatively swift fashion. To that end, I am seeking people to draw these stories for me.
One possibility is that I could get an artist (or artist team) for each individual story, while I handle the writing tasks. Another possibility is that I could assemble a large team that would work with me on the entire book - some drawing characters, some inking, some doing backgrounds, some applying tones, so on and so forth. It largely depends on what sort of response I get.
PUBLISHING INTENTIONS
This book would be released in a format similar to the "manga" paperbacks found in chain bookstores across the country. (It might also be produced in a larger magazine-style format, depending on publishing options.)
While it would be nice to have a publisher pick up this project and publish it and pay me and the artists involved a decent sum of money, the harsh truth is that I have not yet been able to "sell" the concept to a publisher, and probably won't be able to without a finished product to show. I also do not have the resources to publish on a large scale. Thus, I intend to use a Print-On-Demand service to publish the book; more professional publishing options may occur later. (Read more...)
PAYMENT AND INCENTIVES
I'd like to state right up front that my personal finances are extremely limited, so there is very little chance of any up-front real money being involved. For the right artist, I might be able to scrape up some small pittance as an advance, but it would be a truly insignificant amount compared to professional page rates. In lieu of actual cash, I hope to offer other incentives for artists to work with me. (Read more...)
DESIRED ARTIST STYLES
I am looking mainly for what would commonly be called "manga"-styled artists - however, I am not entirely opposed to certain non-manga styles. I prefer styles that are clean and sharp; I feel that capturing a mood or expression is more important than anatomical accuracy (though the latter is itself desirable). (Read more...)
DESIRED ARTISTIC QUALITY
I have described some styles and named a few artists. Ideally, I would want to work with artists of that caliber; realistically, I understand that this project is more likely to attract a more unproven type of artist.
If this project is to succeed (and especially if it is to have any chance of being sold to a publisher), it must be as professional-looking as possible, and there is a certain level of skill that must be attained. (Read more...)
WHAT ARTISTS SHOULD HAVE READY
You must be able to show me that you can do sequential artwork - that is, that you can actually lay out a story in manga/comic form. (Read more...)
TECHNICAL SPECIFCATIONS AND FORMATS
An artist working on this project must be able to deliver art in a certain format. (Read more...)
Following are very brief descriptions of the stories I'm looking to tell, followed by quick notes on what I think an artist should be able to do for each story. If you've read this far and are still interested, consider which (if any) of these stories you might like most to work on:
The Mystic's Mouse:
Tiriana, a young girl in the city of Tetherton, makes her living as a thief. She is a cat burglar, with an anonymous reputation for getting into places thought to be impenetrable. Much of this can be attributed to her small size. Most folks only know of her as the mysterious "Mouse". However, in Tetherton, all thievery is punishable by death. One day her luck runs out and she is caught in the act, and executed.An eccentric wizard salvages her body and resurrects her - so that she can become his servant, and steal things for him. Now, however, she is stealing mystical artifacts from other wizards - and maybe learning a little magic of her own on the side.
The first several episodes of this story will take place in an urban city setting, so the ability to draw city scenes (from fancy to filthy) is a plus. Plus there are the arcane and ornate furnishings of wizards, which figure heavily in the story. The star of the story is a young girl, slightly buck-toothed, freckled, with round, somewhat largish ears. She should be appealing and cute in her own way. Prospective artists should keep all this in mind.
(Read more...)
Thorn:
Thorn is part of the royal family of a kingdom of humans. This kingdom exists on a large island, and is divided between the human kingdom, the kingdom of the fair-skinned Day Folk elves, and the kingdom of the dark-skinned Night Folk elves. These three kingdoms hate each other for the most part, and have fought bloody 3-way wars in the past, though currently there is an uneasy truce.
Thorn has the disadvantage of being a crossbreed: His Grandmother was a Night Folk elf, who eloped with the brother of the current human King. Their son grew up and married a mysterious human woman, and their son was Thorn. Humans and elves alike shunned this branch of the family, and they removed themselves to a quiet keep in the woods. Shortly after Thorn's birth, however, the keep was destroyed in a mysterious attack. No trace of Thorn's parents or grandparents was found - only Thorn himself was discovered nearby. The King took in the baby, since he was still a member of the Royal Family despite his mixed blood. However, there was no affection for the child, and Thorn grew up unwanted by not only the humans, but both elvish kingdoms, as well.
As the story begins, Thorn is a surly, restless young man, just having reached adulthood. He intends to leave the island entirely, soon - to make his own way in the wider world as his father did before him. However, he is not aware that a prophecy has come to light - which many have interpreted to mean that a child that Thorn sires will become the one who will unite all three kingdoms under his rule. It is thought that if Thorn's child has a majority of one type of blood or the other, he would naturally ally himself with that race, and that kingdom will rule and dominate the others when Thorn's child comes to power. Each kingdom now seeks to court Thorn's favor in their own way, to facilitate his child being born into one race or the other - but Thorn, unaware of the prophecy, wants nothing at all to do with any of it...
(Read more...)
Tatterlimbs (This story is currently scheduled to be drawn by Ed Bangalan):
Reva Canjain wished to be a mighty mercenary like her legendary father. She trained with warrior monks until she became skilled in the art of war. But she kept the words of her father in mind, who told her that even the most skilled warriors needed an extra edge in a world where wizards and monsters could turn the tide of battle. So she went looking for one.
Unfortunately, she found it. She does not remember traveling to the cave where she woke up one day, nor does she remember what she found inside. But what happened to her can't be ignored.
Reva is now able to cause weapons of great power to emerge from her own body - but as her own flesh comes apart and reforms to create those weapons, it causes her great pain. Now she travels the land, the fearsome warrior she always wanted to be - though she always keeps an eye open for something that will remove this curse from her...
Reva travels many lands, getting into many battles, facing monsters and other warriors, etc. etc. An artist should be able to handle a wide variety of situations.
(Read more...)
The Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company:
Somewhere, there are tales told of legendary warriors who fight for justice and righteousness, who defend the helpless, who have fought to save the very universe itself.
And then, somewhere else, very far away, rides the Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company. All they want is a steady supply of cool brew and maybe a wench every so often. It isn't their fault the forces of evil keep harassing them...
There's the shadowy trollbreed Arjuna; Derric Cloudpiercer, an exiled dwarf; Ferris Alain, once a mighty wizard, now reduced to minor tricks and hanging around with these guys; Kainar, warrior of the Night Folk, and Jaffar Free Edger, on the run from the monastary of a warrior-god, a student whose powerful magics rarely work properly.
The fact that they stay alive is nothing short of miraculous.
Like Tatterlimbs, this story changes location quite often, so a well-rounded artist capable of handling a variety of situations is needed. A humorous edge is helpful, but as I mentioned, I don't favor the overly distorted slapstick expressions that many manga use in such situations.
(Read more...)
The Fall of Chathiir:
Luzori was the Commander of the Army of Chathiir, the childhood friend of that country's Queen, like a second mother to the Princess.
But disaster struck in the form of a war with a neighboring country. Despite her best efforts, Chathiir was overrun by the invaders. She was unable to prevent the assassination of the Queen and Princess, and in the end, she was herself mortally wounded.
As she was dying, she cursed the gods she once worshiped, and blamed them for not protecting her or her land. This was the last thing on her mind as blackness swept over her...
But then Luzori awoke - alive, somehow.
She soon found out two astonishing things - her body was no longer that of the mature commander she once was, but a young woman who did not even resemble her old form - and she had somehow been taken several years into the past, before the war which destroyed Chathiir even began.
Now she desperately struggles to prevent the loss of all she loved - but is it even possible to alter fate? And would the result be even worse...?
The setting for this story is a desert kingdom and surrounding lands. I envision strong Arabian and Indian influences. Curved architecture, ornate wrought metalwork, cloth banners and tents...
(Read more...)
Each story has a theme or mood I'm trying to capture. Tatterlimbs borrows heavily from old Conan stories - the wandering warrior fighting for their own profit and glory. The Gentlemen's Ale-Tasting Company is a light-hearted Dungeons and Dragons style of adventure, trying to capture some of the wisecracking sessions my friends and I used to have years ago. The Fall of Chathiir is a long quest tale, while The Mystic's Mouse is magical adventure and intrigue. Thorn is a bit of a wish-fulfillment type of story - a young man has spent his youth despised and unwanted; however, as the tale begins, he suddenly becomes important and wanted by the same people who earlier rejected him - and he has no interest in it any longer, so he can reject them in turn.
Overall, the entire book has a bit of violence now and again, and any involved artist must be prepared to draw such scenes. There will be no outright gore or nudity, but there will be blood, and maybe a few moments of suggested adult behavior.
If you are still reading, and still think you may be interested, contact me via this topic, PM, or send an email to stop.him@gmail.com . I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.