Viper Comics Talent Search

Viper Comics is holding a contest to find new talent.  Unlike the few other contests I’ve read about they want writers as well as artists.  I’ll be working on a 5 comic page script over the next couple weeks.  The change of format and the deadline already get me excited about the task.

Buddies in college introduced me to comic book reading.  Marvel put the cuffs on.  In the late publishers were pumping all kinds of books and gimmicks into the market to increase sales.  Fortunately for them I gravitate to shiny objects and consume them free of guilt.  I have every variant cover of McFarland’s Spiderman #1, a glow in the dark Ghost Rider, two years worth of duplicate Wolverine issues, and some others more embarrassing still.

Hopefully I can elevate my comic book reading skills to comic book writing ones.  Viper requires me to use an existing character from any of comicdom not my own creation.  How they’d know if I co-opted some obscure character from a distant publisher or created my own superhero I’ll never know.  But I need a very short story first.  Nothing will work without a beginning, middle, and end.  I should get to work.

20090720 Updated: Link to the announcement on Viper Comics.  Since I’m getting hits for this I ought at least help searchers out.

Day 379

Cutting My Comics Teeth

Below is my effort to mimic a comic book. I’ve not written this but paraphrased from an actual comic book. I’m looking to reproduce the feel in my head not to pass this off as my own work.

The motivation for this piece is about ten years of reading comics and the newest version of Celtx. They added a comic book template.

Page 1

Panel 1 Outside a high-rise club in downtown Tokyo

SIDEKICK
Think she’ll bite?

Panel 2 Inside same club; well dressed patrons of all cultures
dance in the background; Sidekick and HERO sit at a
table for two in the fore.

HERO
There are only two ways for this to go. We’ll know
soon enough.

SIDEKICK
Whatever. I’m just killing time here.

Panel 3 Our hero is displeased.

HERO
I didn’t ask you here and I don’t need you.

Page 2

Panel 1 Our Sidekick is undaunted; bubbly in fact.

SIDEKICK
And miss this banter? Clearly you’re a powerhouse
in this scene. How’d you solo this far up the
ladder?

Panel 2 Reverse on our convo from the dance floor

HERO
How do you know I soloed this far?

SIDEKICK
Not sure. You’ve got a loner vibe. As for me it
was time I got my game on. No one else looking out
for Sidekick.

Panel 3 On our hero again

HERO
This scene stands for more than your selfishness,
Sidekick.

Panel 4 Over our hero’s shoulder on angry Sidekick.

SIDEKICK
Pft! Climb down from your castle some time to see
how the rest of us live. We’re scrounging for
position down here and it not getting better, it’s
getting worse. I’m not getting screwed over!

HERO
This scene is about defending the people. It’s
been that way along time. Time erodes our
culture…

Panel 5 Hero’s eyes

HERO
…unless we remember what it stands for.

Word count: 260
Day 242