Calling all City of Comic Creators!

UPDATE: The CCC feels their existing avenues of dissemination are working as intended, and out of much-earned respect, I'm filing this under "Sounded good on paper, but...."

Today, as I thumbed through a catalog of upcoming Marvel Comics titles, a thought occurred to me. A discerning reader, such as myself, ought to be able to thumb through a catalog of recent, upcoming, and just plain noteworthy City of Heroes comics.

So, after February 15, I'm going to post a thread containing a catalog of recent, upcoming, and just plain noteworthy City of Heroes comics.

Of course, I'm only doing a fraction of the work. That's where you come in. I'm calling on you, the creators, to PM me with brief blurbs about your comic creations. Replies posted in this thread will not be used as submissions, because at that point, you're doing your own publicizing. And just to clarify, this is not a "game engine only" catalog. Comics made using methods outside of the game engine (such as original artwork) are also wanted! If we each do only our small part, it will help bring more eyeballs to some cool stories!

Blurbs: For each title you submit, the question is, What can you say about it in 100 words or less? Other data to include with your blurb is the comic's title, publication date (Soon™ counts, and so does retrospective guesswork, "September 2005-ish"), author and other contributors, and a link. If you are not associated with City of Comic Creators, please indicate that, so I don't incorrectly misrepresent you as a member.

Other stuff you may want to include with your submissions: Links to articles about you, your work or your characters (for example, Ouroboros Portal and Virtueverse pages, podcast interviews and DeviantART pages). This is all about you! Just pretend you're Ascendant, and I'm Saul.

Graphics: Banners, related artwork (whether in-game or other), and comic book covers are encouraged, but not necessary. But please limit image size to no larger than one 800x450-pixel image per blurb. This is a catalog for yours and others work, not a single full cover preview, hence the miniature dimensions for reader convenience. If I had a preference, I'd have us all agree on a standard image size to give future catalogs a more consistent, professional sheen, but for now, I'm more interested in seeing how well this idea works out to begin with. If using a mat, however, 800x450 pixels gives you space to provide one fair-sized image, or multiple smaller images. Fair 'nuff?

Image size example



On the contrary, feel free to submit a larger, non-branded image showing lots of heroes (or something in the spirit of an all-inclusive catalog featuring many titles). I may use it as a larger, over-sized "cover" picture for the entire catalog. No image restriction, just be kind to the reader. Describe separately what the image depicts. It will need to be free of text, otherwise I can't use it. This is so that I can Photoshop a few magazine-style "Contents inside" phrases around it--probably emphasizing the events on the cover with larger text than the rest.

Quality of submissions: (This refers to your blurbs, not your comic books.) I understand, not everybody is a world-class grammarian, or you may be a talented artist with Dyslexia. But the blurbs need to be readable, and the point of the exercise is to make you look good. So I reserve the right to edit submissions. However, the more work I have to do, the longer it might take to post the catalog, and the less enthused I may be about doing them in the future. Primarily, I want my task to involve some formatting and light editing. I enjoy reading these comics, and I want to do something for the CCC community, but I don't enjoy spending hours on the forum.

Quantity of submissions: For this catalog, I'm expecting anything, from a super-sized issue requiring multiple posts, down to a sad, pathetic catalog featuring some dude's best MS Paint interpretation of the Hollows story arcs. That's up to you guys and gals, not me. If I do this again, I may impose limits on the number of submissions. But this is the inaugural issue, so I'm giving creators plenty of breathing space to create their own "mini catalogs" within the larger catalog if it pleases them. The reason for this is simple--some creators have been stringing their comics together into series and arcs for quite some time. Using blurbs, they can "lead up" to current events for those who'd just like to jump in with the latest issue.

This is already done, by the Official City of Comic Creators.....

www.COHComicIndex.com

We have been formed, and have Dev support since 2009.

You will find over 100 comics all indexed there, from authors who don't even make them anymore, we have archived their comics for posterity. Also the active authors, Sin_Stalker, Battlerock_X, Myself, and others, all have our announcements of released issues, posted by the Devs in our own thread in the announcements forums. Also we post on our own servers, here, and our own websites.

Feel free to include, and/or browse all the comics we have on our own sites, and also on the Index.

Any help you want with this, we are more than happy to offer assistance.

TechSpider/Kinetic Kitten

Hello, Kinetic Kitten. Yes, those are all sources that I'm familiar with. I use them regularly.

So, what I offered to do is a little different. A single catalog-style post, more akin to the reading chronologies that you can pick up in the comic book stores. The idea wasn't to supplant the official CCC thread and website (both great resources), but to offer something different in addition. A meatier version of the Announcements thread, each issue followed by the possibility for reader feedback and discussion. Where this would differ from the Announcements thread is in bringing more attention to the stories, authors, and readers. Lots of blurbs, lots of images, covers and previews, entire series and arc summaries, lots more of everything. Right here in the Comic and Hero/Villain Culture forum, along with all the other comic book talk. Working in public relations, writing press releases and press kits for a few years taught me that good press is often only a small effort away.

Well, here I am, a fan and reader, telling a CCC founder what comic creators could use around here. In truth, if comic creators felt they could use this avenue, I wouldn't need to talk you into it!

Either way, I'm one of your biggest fans, but I'm not crazy about this idea if you're not crazy about it. I appreciate the honest feedback, and absolutely no hard feelings--this wasn't for me, it was just an idea to give something back to ya'll.

Thanks much!!!!!

We have tried to post our comic announcements in this section of the forum, only for MODS to 'move' our posts, saying it wasn't 'allowed' here, and belonged in the 'Art' forum. So any suggestions are welcome!!!!

PM me, and let's talk!

Tech/KK

PS always great and awesome to have people recognize the work we do.

Hi Captain-Electric and thanks for your interest

As KK says most of the still active titles are very kindy posted by the Devs here - http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=218508

Also some of us do have threads in the Multi-Media Fan Creations section of the forum, here's mine for example - http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=278876

I do like the catalog idea but as KK said the Multi-Media Fan Creations section has been suggested as the correct place.

The difference here would be in who is attracting attention to your work. A reader, or an author? There are sound reasons for restricting authors from advertising their own work. Chief among them, protecting the integrity of this forum's intended subject matter, and preventing abusive spam.

Marvel, DC,Top Cow, and the major entertainment conglomerates do not hold a special Family-style territory over this forum. If a fan wants to bring some attention to independently created comics, he or she doesn't need a moderator's permission, or even the author's. If a moderator were to remove my single thread catalog listing from the constant stream of many hundreds of Marvel and DC related threads in this forum, the removal of my thread would not represent the prevention of spam. It would represent a belittling value judgement for independently produced comic books.

Within this forum, myself and others have posted lists of new, upcoming and noteworthy comics for discussion, review, or just to say, "Hey, check this out!" We're all just readers, talking about comic books. That's what the Comic and Hero/Villain Culture forum is for. And a good read is in the eye of the beholder, not the moderator.

In your replies, you both sound satisfied with the way things are set up, and don't seem enthusiastic about further exposure for your comic books through an additional channel. That actually surprised me to read! But I'm not upset, I promise. Awful ideas ought to remain on the cutting room floor, where they belong. What concerns me more is the notion that a fan shouldn't bring attention to independent comics in this forum, because that's exactly what the CCC makes. A stifling notion like that ought to be challenged and discarded in good taste. CCC comics are comics too!

P.S. Kinetic Kitty, I'll PM you later today; it sounds like you may have had a change of heart, but my idea just might not blast off. Right now my PM box is empty of blurb submissions, which doesn't bode well for a catalog listing.

P.P.S. If some of that sounded grumpily terse, it was unintentional, I was in a hurry before getting ready for work.

I'm confused. Who qualifies as a 'City of Comic Creator'? Is it:

1. Anyone who plays CoH and has a webcomic,
2. ...but the webcomic has to have CoH characters in it,
3. ...and it has to be set in the CoH universe,
4. ...and the creator has to be part of some club you've founded.

I have one active webcomic that only fits #1, and an old webcomic that meets criteria #2, but I've never done #3 and fuhgetabout #4.

I'd love to give you some material. I just don't have a grasp on how exclusive you are.

Night Hornet, the response caught me off guard, but it's totally understandable. Like I replied to Kinetic, no hard feelings. I thought it was a cool idea, BUT on the bright side of things, it's a relief to hear ya'll say you don't need the publicity, at least not to the degree envisioned in the OP. When I first stumbled onto fan-made City of Heroes comics, I just wouldn't have heard that!

All the best.

For anyone who was reading along with this thread, you may be interested to know that my idea has been well received, after all. Through PMs, some people have let me know that they're extremely warm to it. Including of course, Sin Stalker, who posted his support above and is, coincidentally, the founder of City of Comic Creators.

Just to be clear, this isn't some vindictive plan for posting fan-made material or advertising where it doesn't belong. Not that anyone has brought that up--yet. It's a preemptive reassurance. I'm not a member of the CCC, or a fan comic maker. I am a comic book reader who has been including some of these fan comics in my reading queue for several months now. Now, I want to start talking about them, and to get a few other people to check them out. Right here, in the Comic and Hero/Villain Culture forum, with all of the other comic book fan talk.

Hundreds of issues exist. Many City of Heroes players--even those with a taste for comics--have no knowledge of the existence of these fan comics, something I realized after I began bringing them up in-game. Many others have no idea of the breadth and longevity of the CCC's work, or only a vague idea.

I've said some nice things before, I'm not exactly coming out of the woodwork with my support. I've even been asked for Captain-Electric to appear in an upcoming fan comic (of course I said yes). My only problem is, I'm not on the forum a lot. I have zero personal desire to become a "forum personality", but I'd like to see authors such as the CCC do just that. I've seen people referred to as "forum celebrities" around here because they had big post counts, and they argue a lot. About nothing. Or everything. Whichever. We have this really creative bunch of people, but where are they? Well, they have to post in very specific sub-forums, because they can't talk about their work elsewhere, that's advertising.

But they can be talked about. That's not advertising, while at the same time, as we all know, it's the best kind. I want to come up with a way to talk about these comics and authors concisely, and with impact. I don't have the time in my life to do this alone, which is why I'm requesting those blurbs and graphics.

A few things I'll explain now, for the curious - Some of these comics are very faithful to canon, others not so much. Almost all of the earliest titles began very playfully, non-noncommittally. Many since have grown up to embrace their own continuity and in some cases a shared continuity. Many central characters are several years old now--in real time. No, they don't have high production values. Yes, they're very raw. They're fan comics. But it is a pleasure to watch this ambitious hobby appear out of nowhere, and solidify into something more substantive with every new issue and story arc.

I say "ambitious" because it is. In many cases, authors work in their spare time for several months to release just a single issue. Did you know that? Well, now you do. (Having learned this, one last thing - re-read paragraph 3.)