The open call for February 2024. Read below and start getting ready!
OPENING INVITATION:
"Would you be interested in doing any of your concepts/characters as a 13 x4 inch weekly strip, for the better part of a year to try to build something online with other like minded individuals?"
This pretty much lays out the preliminary requirements of what's being asked of the creators that have been invited to participate in the tried and tested online endeavor called The ADAPT™ Project.
ScriptGraphics / Allied Digital Artists Partnership Teams™ / The ADAPT™ Project
Initially we were “attempting to get something started to re-ignite the fan friendly atmosphere that used to be a part of the fanzine groups I belonged to as a teen. Since 2013 we’ve done it for the web but took a hiatus in 2018 and didn’t get back to it until 2023.
I'm a firm believer that if a creator creates, things will happen. To give you an example of that, Doug Freeman was doing a five page story called 'Crimson Knights'. He was one and a half pages from completing it but stopped. He'd penciled it all but only inked three and a half pages in no particular order and had gaps in the pages he did ink. Michael Reed, an artist on Team ScriptGraphics suggested we download the scans and complete it for him. We did and sent it to him asking if we could post it online. He said sure and within four months we were asked if we would like it to be printed in a publication. Doug said hell yes, Michael agreed and I surely didn't mind.
Keep in mind that whatever you do as part of this online undertaking is for you. Your doing, or not doing, is up to you. I can only guarantee this: if you are consistent and the story you tell captures the imagination of the audience at large, you'll build a fan base and that could translate to book sales if you ever decide to publish them. It could also translate to sales for other things you're doing outside of this. Most creators try to do a little here and a little there and expect to be in demand. Not going to happen that way. We only offer an opportunity for you to be part of a group and not have to go it alone. Safety in numbers and hopefully, competition that will push you to do your best work ever. Additionally, I'm hoping to re-create the connectedness that I loved about fandom when I first got involved. If that gets accomplished, everything else will be gravy." - Darrell Goza
THE SPECS:
If you can't, or don't think you can do a weekly 13 x 4 inch strip, you’re not ready for this project. That is a demand of the project. That and it must be made as 'all ages' friendly as you can make it. If you can’t do either of these, then you can't do this. Don't try. If any one of the spec conditions can't be met or you don't think you'd want to do any of them, you can't do this. The first lesson to be learned here is to be honest with yourself. (Take a couple of weeks to see if you can get what needs to be done, done. That's the truest test of your capacity and ability to do these kind of comics. In this you can't fail because you'll gain valuable knowledge about your creation speed!, which will serve you well no matter who you work for doing comic art.)
[ Of course, if you've never tried to do it you don't have any real idea of what you're capable of, so trying it is the only way you'll truly know. As my martial arts instructor used to say: Nothing beats a try but a failure and you never know if you'll fail until you try! So try already, you loose nothing in the trying...]
"All ages" friendly means just that, humans of any age or gender can read it and parents will let them without any fear that the reading child will be traumatized by overt sexuality, brutal or shocking kill scenes or volumes of blood, gore or ripped entrails or things like that. This is non-negotiable. Comic art and story trade craft is a skill that isn't dependent on shock or gore. Either you're good at telling a story or you're not.
Alfred Hitchcock did a horrific shower killing scene in Psycho which shook the nation but didn't show one impact strike. Kirby and Lee's Fantastic Four or Thor had a lot of pathos and (highly exciting) fighting in their books but none of it was blatantly offensive. Stan Lee and artists he worked with built one of the mightiest comic empires without stooping to sexual cheap shots or gory brutal storytelling. He did it with implied writing and narrative. Nothing had to be blatant. We're looking for those kinds of inventive creators. The ones that can make the point without stooping to the lowest common denominator visual form to get there.
We take no ownership of your characters. What we do is have creators join us online so we can take on the web as a group. Individuals own their own work. We just believe there's power in numbers and know that's a truth in comic publishing by the fact that all companies do multiple titles. This allows for the greatest amount of diversity with variation and therefore the greatest chance you'll be seen. We standardize the form to level the playing field so everyone's look is consistent for ‘The Project’. This doesn’t mean a ‘homogenized’ look, just the opposite. We’re looking for as wide a range of styles as we can get. This 2024 year we’re also looking writers to just do writing, not art. We’ll provide the covers using our artists for a small fee (unless you have an artist who’ll do it for you). We’ll show you some samples/examples of what you can do because we’re looking to help launch writers, and get readers to comics too.
These are the specs. - (and aren’t negotiable).
The initial 15 installments of your strip are required first for consideration into This Project. Again, we're looking for creators willing to commit to something they already say they want to do. Doing a strip a week means committing about 20 to 30 minutes a day twice a week to do a strip a week. (That even gives you the weekends off! Of course you could do it on a weekends and have the week off, your choice). We find this method of operating to be doable without causing additional stress or take you from whatever else may be going on in your life.
"It's open to whatever genre you decide to do; superheroes, fantasy, crime noir, etc. Only four things have to be adhered to: it must be as "all ages" friendly as you can make it; done weekly for at least a year; The Project, as a whole, must be promoted when you promote what you’re doing as part of it online and in print and under each strip you must include provided links to all the other strips that will be part of the project.
Our basic strip size:
should be 13 x 4 inches in size, landscape view. We’ll be experimenting with other sizes this upcoming year because we should. Experimentation and adaptability should have always been the watch words in the comics industry but they’ve dropped the ball. We won’t.
What you do within the 13 x 4 inch format us up to you. For example, you can use all prose if you like or make it all images without text. Do it in color, black and white or painted if you like. How about a combination of them all? Certainly! You are the creator: so create!
If you don't have access to a scanner that'll scan 13 x 4 inch art, scan it in sections. We've also found that type should be at least 13 points or larger for viewing online. Have some fun in creating what you create. We’ve set up a private fb group page for those that make it in so do check out some of the other creators work and feel free to interact with the other creators there. Here’s an example of some of their work that’s already online: http://is.gd/TY0Q51
Some things to consider while with us:
This is NOT a job. It's NOT a paid position. It's design is to help you develop a web presence and build a backlog of material and your personal audience/fan base. You can leverage that with the fans you gain above those you already have and that should help you with sales as you'll be seen each and every week, strengthening your position online, and with a little luck you’ll get to be better known through The Project as all creators there will be promoting you, as you promote them by promoting The Project. As all creators will be promoting The Project, you gain as we all gain.
This is not a collective or co-op and we are not a group in the traditional sense of the term. We're coming together because we have a similar purpose in creating great comics content. If you've been invited, your work has been seen and the inviting member of Team ScriptGraphics feels you'd be a good fit for this project. Outside of the things we ask for in the invitation, there's only one other thing we'd like you to do: complete what you start. This year we're opening it up to members of the online groups that we're a part of online or have met at various shows and comic cons.
You don't work for me or ScriptGraphics. You work for yourself, but by allying yourself in this project we'll create a different kind of brand for online strips. Think 60's and early 70's Kirby Thor and Fantastic Four comics done with a contemporary technical and digital assist (if that’s how you work). You own your work and can use it as you see fit in any way additional to what you do for yourself through us. We're hoping that by being in a diverse and creatively inventive group you'll be inspired to do your best work ever. (Please note, I know some invited creators are already motivated to do their best work. Use this opportunity to take some chances you might not ordinarily take doing work for someone else. Feel free to push your own personal boundaries!) Know also that you HAVE to bring your ‘A’ game. You’re going to be competing (albeit friendly) with others who will be bringing their ‘A’ game and every fan that looks at what goes online votes for you by subscribing or returning to see what you do every week. This keeps it fair.
We're not looking to 'team' creators or assign stories to them, tho some of you may connect with others herein and get involved that way. We're looking for self generated stuff that's in and of itself pre-created. What that means is if you have something you want to wow the world with or just a great story you'd like to tell: Do it. We want to re-create the environment of independent co-joined effort to a singular purpose. The goal: can a group of creators of their own accord create and stay unified and motivated in creating, and do it consistently over time.
First and foremost we're looking for what you have to say with your creative voice. Team ScriptGraphics members all have their own voices for a wide variety of story concepts. I personally like science fiction and the human drama. What do you like that you'd want others to see? Commit to it and do it.
You need a cover page to start the strip (see the URL below for examples) and a logo with whatever creators are involved in the production of your strip. The logo should carry over and be on each strip but doesn’t have to. As the creator you get to decide that. I'd also suggest having the © copyright symbol and date, along with the all the creator’s names that are involved, somewhere on each strip. File this under promotion. If you have a place online were people can see more of your work, include the URL to us and we’ll see it gets put with the strip you do. Promote, promote, promote… we say!
Examples can be found at:
https://scriptgraphics.weebly.com/the-adapt-project--work.html
ALL THOSE COMMITTING TO THIS PROJECT - Send an overview write-up of what you have in mind to do as soon as possible. This counts as your cover letter for being in the project. Your cover page and 15 preliminary strips should be in by Feb 15, 2024. Understand that we know projects change or sometimes take on a life of their own over the life of a project. This is to be expected in a vibrant and creative environment. Just give a brief overview of what you're starting with for now. That will suffice.
SEND A PICTURE OF YOURSELF (3 inch by 3 inch or larger, 300 dpi) that can be used for promoting what you'll be doing with us. A brief (one or two paragraphs) bio wouldn't hurt either. This should be sent as soon as you read this so we can set up a digital folder for you and your work. You should also send snail mail contact info, email contact info and a phone number where you can be reached. Also send where you can be seen online so we can point people reading your strip to you.
Again, see: http://is.gd/TY0Q51 for examples of the cover page and how the write-ups are handled. Click any cover on the page to be taken to the strip, click the strip to advance to see how a bio page will look when you send your info.
We've set up two sites for creators who join us in this project. One will only be accessible by the creators that are a part of The Project and be used for making connections between the creators involved. It's where we'll get to interact directly with each other. This will be our personal friendship and sharing space.
The second site is where we'll actually post examples of the strips for viewing. This is where you get to wow not only your potential fan base but each other (so again, bring your 'A' game).
"As a member of a couple of fanzine groups, I remember trading publications and sharing artwork for publications we traded between ourselves. As we saw what other creators were doing, we were inspired to do better. My hope is THAT mechanism can be re-created in this creative online endeavor." - Darrell Goza
“Team ScriptGraphics has asked if we could do shorter span strips for those without the ability to make a year long commitment.” Sadly no. This is about having and helping each other build something that will have legs and learning to walk takes time. The good news is that you don’t have to work weekly. I generally posted up five to ten strips at a time. Adding a time stamp to them meant they’d come up on the appointed day and that was that. You’ll be able to do that too. Additionally, having in 15 strips before you start gives you a bit of a cushion, so if you work weekly and miss a week or two you’re still safe.
[Over the three years we've been doing The ADAPT™ Project the participants have grown the overall audience for the Project to a whopping 350, 000+ for the participants that haven't missed a deadline. Not all strips tap in at the higher end but all are doing pretty good. With the internet all things are possible and this year we're aiming our sights on 1 million viewers or 100, 000 viewers per strip. Lofty? perhaps. Possible? Given what we’ve already accomplished: Absolutely!]
OPENING INVITATION:
"Would you be interested in doing any of your concepts/characters as a 13 x4 inch weekly strip, for the better part of a year to try to build something online with other like minded individuals?"
This pretty much lays out the preliminary requirements of what's being asked of the creators that have been invited to participate in the tried and tested online endeavor called The ADAPT™ Project.
ScriptGraphics / Allied Digital Artists Partnership Teams™ / The ADAPT™ Project
Initially we were “attempting to get something started to re-ignite the fan friendly atmosphere that used to be a part of the fanzine groups I belonged to as a teen. Since 2013 we’ve done it for the web but took a hiatus in 2018 and didn’t get back to it until 2023.
I'm a firm believer that if a creator creates, things will happen. To give you an example of that, Doug Freeman was doing a five page story called 'Crimson Knights'. He was one and a half pages from completing it but stopped. He'd penciled it all but only inked three and a half pages in no particular order and had gaps in the pages he did ink. Michael Reed, an artist on Team ScriptGraphics suggested we download the scans and complete it for him. We did and sent it to him asking if we could post it online. He said sure and within four months we were asked if we would like it to be printed in a publication. Doug said hell yes, Michael agreed and I surely didn't mind.
Keep in mind that whatever you do as part of this online undertaking is for you. Your doing, or not doing, is up to you. I can only guarantee this: if you are consistent and the story you tell captures the imagination of the audience at large, you'll build a fan base and that could translate to book sales if you ever decide to publish them. It could also translate to sales for other things you're doing outside of this. Most creators try to do a little here and a little there and expect to be in demand. Not going to happen that way. We only offer an opportunity for you to be part of a group and not have to go it alone. Safety in numbers and hopefully, competition that will push you to do your best work ever. Additionally, I'm hoping to re-create the connectedness that I loved about fandom when I first got involved. If that gets accomplished, everything else will be gravy." - Darrell Goza
THE SPECS:
If you can't, or don't think you can do a weekly 13 x 4 inch strip, you’re not ready for this project. That is a demand of the project. That and it must be made as 'all ages' friendly as you can make it. If you can’t do either of these, then you can't do this. Don't try. If any one of the spec conditions can't be met or you don't think you'd want to do any of them, you can't do this. The first lesson to be learned here is to be honest with yourself. (Take a couple of weeks to see if you can get what needs to be done, done. That's the truest test of your capacity and ability to do these kind of comics. In this you can't fail because you'll gain valuable knowledge about your creation speed!, which will serve you well no matter who you work for doing comic art.)
[ Of course, if you've never tried to do it you don't have any real idea of what you're capable of, so trying it is the only way you'll truly know. As my martial arts instructor used to say: Nothing beats a try but a failure and you never know if you'll fail until you try! So try already, you loose nothing in the trying...]
"All ages" friendly means just that, humans of any age or gender can read it and parents will let them without any fear that the reading child will be traumatized by overt sexuality, brutal or shocking kill scenes or volumes of blood, gore or ripped entrails or things like that. This is non-negotiable. Comic art and story trade craft is a skill that isn't dependent on shock or gore. Either you're good at telling a story or you're not.
Alfred Hitchcock did a horrific shower killing scene in Psycho which shook the nation but didn't show one impact strike. Kirby and Lee's Fantastic Four or Thor had a lot of pathos and (highly exciting) fighting in their books but none of it was blatantly offensive. Stan Lee and artists he worked with built one of the mightiest comic empires without stooping to sexual cheap shots or gory brutal storytelling. He did it with implied writing and narrative. Nothing had to be blatant. We're looking for those kinds of inventive creators. The ones that can make the point without stooping to the lowest common denominator visual form to get there.
We take no ownership of your characters. What we do is have creators join us online so we can take on the web as a group. Individuals own their own work. We just believe there's power in numbers and know that's a truth in comic publishing by the fact that all companies do multiple titles. This allows for the greatest amount of diversity with variation and therefore the greatest chance you'll be seen. We standardize the form to level the playing field so everyone's look is consistent for ‘The Project’. This doesn’t mean a ‘homogenized’ look, just the opposite. We’re looking for as wide a range of styles as we can get. This 2024 year we’re also looking writers to just do writing, not art. We’ll provide the covers using our artists for a small fee (unless you have an artist who’ll do it for you). We’ll show you some samples/examples of what you can do because we’re looking to help launch writers, and get readers to comics too.
These are the specs. - (and aren’t negotiable).
The initial 15 installments of your strip are required first for consideration into This Project. Again, we're looking for creators willing to commit to something they already say they want to do. Doing a strip a week means committing about 20 to 30 minutes a day twice a week to do a strip a week. (That even gives you the weekends off! Of course you could do it on a weekends and have the week off, your choice). We find this method of operating to be doable without causing additional stress or take you from whatever else may be going on in your life.
"It's open to whatever genre you decide to do; superheroes, fantasy, crime noir, etc. Only four things have to be adhered to: it must be as "all ages" friendly as you can make it; done weekly for at least a year; The Project, as a whole, must be promoted when you promote what you’re doing as part of it online and in print and under each strip you must include provided links to all the other strips that will be part of the project.
Our basic strip size:
should be 13 x 4 inches in size, landscape view. We’ll be experimenting with other sizes this upcoming year because we should. Experimentation and adaptability should have always been the watch words in the comics industry but they’ve dropped the ball. We won’t.
What you do within the 13 x 4 inch format us up to you. For example, you can use all prose if you like or make it all images without text. Do it in color, black and white or painted if you like. How about a combination of them all? Certainly! You are the creator: so create!
If you don't have access to a scanner that'll scan 13 x 4 inch art, scan it in sections. We've also found that type should be at least 13 points or larger for viewing online. Have some fun in creating what you create. We’ve set up a private fb group page for those that make it in so do check out some of the other creators work and feel free to interact with the other creators there. Here’s an example of some of their work that’s already online: http://is.gd/TY0Q51
Some things to consider while with us:
This is NOT a job. It's NOT a paid position. It's design is to help you develop a web presence and build a backlog of material and your personal audience/fan base. You can leverage that with the fans you gain above those you already have and that should help you with sales as you'll be seen each and every week, strengthening your position online, and with a little luck you’ll get to be better known through The Project as all creators there will be promoting you, as you promote them by promoting The Project. As all creators will be promoting The Project, you gain as we all gain.
This is not a collective or co-op and we are not a group in the traditional sense of the term. We're coming together because we have a similar purpose in creating great comics content. If you've been invited, your work has been seen and the inviting member of Team ScriptGraphics feels you'd be a good fit for this project. Outside of the things we ask for in the invitation, there's only one other thing we'd like you to do: complete what you start. This year we're opening it up to members of the online groups that we're a part of online or have met at various shows and comic cons.
You don't work for me or ScriptGraphics. You work for yourself, but by allying yourself in this project we'll create a different kind of brand for online strips. Think 60's and early 70's Kirby Thor and Fantastic Four comics done with a contemporary technical and digital assist (if that’s how you work). You own your work and can use it as you see fit in any way additional to what you do for yourself through us. We're hoping that by being in a diverse and creatively inventive group you'll be inspired to do your best work ever. (Please note, I know some invited creators are already motivated to do their best work. Use this opportunity to take some chances you might not ordinarily take doing work for someone else. Feel free to push your own personal boundaries!) Know also that you HAVE to bring your ‘A’ game. You’re going to be competing (albeit friendly) with others who will be bringing their ‘A’ game and every fan that looks at what goes online votes for you by subscribing or returning to see what you do every week. This keeps it fair.
We're not looking to 'team' creators or assign stories to them, tho some of you may connect with others herein and get involved that way. We're looking for self generated stuff that's in and of itself pre-created. What that means is if you have something you want to wow the world with or just a great story you'd like to tell: Do it. We want to re-create the environment of independent co-joined effort to a singular purpose. The goal: can a group of creators of their own accord create and stay unified and motivated in creating, and do it consistently over time.
First and foremost we're looking for what you have to say with your creative voice. Team ScriptGraphics members all have their own voices for a wide variety of story concepts. I personally like science fiction and the human drama. What do you like that you'd want others to see? Commit to it and do it.
You need a cover page to start the strip (see the URL below for examples) and a logo with whatever creators are involved in the production of your strip. The logo should carry over and be on each strip but doesn’t have to. As the creator you get to decide that. I'd also suggest having the © copyright symbol and date, along with the all the creator’s names that are involved, somewhere on each strip. File this under promotion. If you have a place online were people can see more of your work, include the URL to us and we’ll see it gets put with the strip you do. Promote, promote, promote… we say!
Examples can be found at:
https://scriptgraphics.weebly.com/the-adapt-project--work.html
ALL THOSE COMMITTING TO THIS PROJECT - Send an overview write-up of what you have in mind to do as soon as possible. This counts as your cover letter for being in the project. Your cover page and 15 preliminary strips should be in by Feb 15, 2024. Understand that we know projects change or sometimes take on a life of their own over the life of a project. This is to be expected in a vibrant and creative environment. Just give a brief overview of what you're starting with for now. That will suffice.
SEND A PICTURE OF YOURSELF (3 inch by 3 inch or larger, 300 dpi) that can be used for promoting what you'll be doing with us. A brief (one or two paragraphs) bio wouldn't hurt either. This should be sent as soon as you read this so we can set up a digital folder for you and your work. You should also send snail mail contact info, email contact info and a phone number where you can be reached. Also send where you can be seen online so we can point people reading your strip to you.
Again, see: http://is.gd/TY0Q51 for examples of the cover page and how the write-ups are handled. Click any cover on the page to be taken to the strip, click the strip to advance to see how a bio page will look when you send your info.
We've set up two sites for creators who join us in this project. One will only be accessible by the creators that are a part of The Project and be used for making connections between the creators involved. It's where we'll get to interact directly with each other. This will be our personal friendship and sharing space.
The second site is where we'll actually post examples of the strips for viewing. This is where you get to wow not only your potential fan base but each other (so again, bring your 'A' game).
"As a member of a couple of fanzine groups, I remember trading publications and sharing artwork for publications we traded between ourselves. As we saw what other creators were doing, we were inspired to do better. My hope is THAT mechanism can be re-created in this creative online endeavor." - Darrell Goza
“Team ScriptGraphics has asked if we could do shorter span strips for those without the ability to make a year long commitment.” Sadly no. This is about having and helping each other build something that will have legs and learning to walk takes time. The good news is that you don’t have to work weekly. I generally posted up five to ten strips at a time. Adding a time stamp to them meant they’d come up on the appointed day and that was that. You’ll be able to do that too. Additionally, having in 15 strips before you start gives you a bit of a cushion, so if you work weekly and miss a week or two you’re still safe.
[Over the three years we've been doing The ADAPT™ Project the participants have grown the overall audience for the Project to a whopping 350, 000+ for the participants that haven't missed a deadline. Not all strips tap in at the higher end but all are doing pretty good. With the internet all things are possible and this year we're aiming our sights on 1 million viewers or 100, 000 viewers per strip. Lofty? perhaps. Possible? Given what we’ve already accomplished: Absolutely!]