Your Own Comic Book Swap (Int'l)

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Swap Coordinator:	mortaine (contact)
Swap categories:	Books Art Zines
Number of people in swap:	7
Location:	Other
Type:	None
Last day to signup/drop:	September 30, 2007
Date items must be sent by:	November 20, 2007
Number of swap partners:	1
Description:
This swap is for home-made comic books. They can be any subject, any style (from manga to Marvelesque). You have to make the comic book yourself, though. Drawn, collaged, or computerized, it doesn't matter how you make it, as long as you do it yourself! The booklet will be 4-24 pages in length (a standard comic book is 24 pages, if you're wondering). A comic book page is typically smaller than a standard piece of paper, so for purposes of this challenge, we'll consider a page to be at least 5" x 8". You can make any story you like, fiction or non-fiction. For an example (and a preview) of what the swap host will likely put together, see here. For binding your comic book, I suggest either staples (especially if you fold a single page in half) or a simple sewn binding using thread and a sturdy needle. If you're intimidated by the prospect of coming up with more than 4 pages of graphics to tell your tale, don't be. It's my opinion that you can tell a good story using stick figures and clip art, and there are plenty of web comics out there that support me in this. There are also several programs that can help you, such as Manga Studio, ComicLife (Mac), and Comic Book Creator (Win). If you're at a loss for the story, try to identify one character that you will consistently represent in the comic, and then ask yourself "what is something this character needs more than anything else?" Then ask yourself "How would someone prevent them from getting it?" Write that as your story-- stories are driven by character desires and the conflicts and challenges in achieving them. NOTE: October 20th is "24 Hour Comic Book Day" where artists and wanna-be's attempt to create a 24-page comic book in 24 hours! If you need some inspiration and locations near you hosting this event, check out 24 Hour Comic Book Day for details! Yes, you can use your resulting comic in this swap! This is an international swap, because it isn't prohibitively expensive to mail a small booklet overseas. UPDATE/EDIT I have had a request to allow smaller-format paper (A6, or roughly 5" X 4") if the page count is doubled. The reasoning is that the smaller format is much less expensive to mail internationally, and I am willing to permit this for that reason. However, smaller format comics should be 8-48 pages in length. If you decide to make a smaller format comic, please don't just resize to fit, as it will not be readable. Create your comic to fit your canvas!

Discussion

quetzallikapok 08/19/2007 #

this is a great idea. i did 24 hour comic day last year and had a blast. i'll send you either the one from last year. or the one i am going to do this year. i also plan on writing more then just one comic a year. :-)

its so much fun. tiring. but fun.

SharonP 09/ 3/2007 #

This looks like fun and great idea. I have to confess I haven't done a comic book before, and your guidelines are very helpful. But I think if I don't have a good start on it by the signup deadline I will probably drop. (I only mention that now as what I hope is a courtesy; by signing up now anyway, it helps me keep track of the swap and reminds me that I want to do it.)

I am thinking that my characters may be drawn from my pets -- 3 cats and a dog. Aren't pet owners always imagining the things their pets must be thinking and would say if they could, as well as what they must be plotting?

mortaine 09/ 5/2007 #

Sharon P: What a great idea! My favorite comic strips are Get Fuzzy and TwoLumps-- both about pets taking over the world....

SharonP 11/ 8/2007 #

I haven't checked in for a very long time (in fact, I had to change my username today because I hadn't visited Swap-bot since the policy change!) and I just wanted to check in and see how others are doing. Also, thanks for the size format change. I really like small things, so that appeals to me a lot. And for some reason, 8 pages at 5x4 seems less intimidating than 4 pages at 5x8 (silly, I know).

I'm wondering how people are doing with this. I see that only one has clicked "sent." Are people stumped? Has anybody found some book or Web site that they feel is helpful or inspirational? Did anyone do the 24-hour comics day thing?

I looked at the 24-hour comics site and read a little about the guy who started it, Scott McCloud, and ended up buying his book, Making Comics. I haven't done much with it yet, and I don't expect to get very far in it before I just wing it with this comic, but it does look good.

So, is anyone else thinking that if we are going to make photocopies to send anyway, it wouldn't be hard to mail 6 of them? The postage can't be too bad for a slim little booklet. I just think it would be fun to swap with everybody, or at least with any others who want to swap extras.

Whaddya think?

mortaine 11/11/2007 #

SharonP: I was just getting ready to send out a mass email reminding everyone to keep this swap in mind.

I didn't do 24-hour comic day, mainly because I went to the zoo with my neice and nephew, and their schedule meant I couldn't take that day to selfishly work on a comic book. I'm about 1/2 way done with the Rough Draft of my comic-- it sucks a lot, but the storyline is cute.

I suspect we may have a few folks who need angels, so if you're willing to angel when the time comes, I will PM you for sure! I'm thinking along your lines-- if I can bear to inflict this terrible comic on six people instead of just one!

crweixelman 11/14/2007 #

Whew! I finished drawing mine today. I'm going to go to the copy shop tomorrow. Definitely PM me if you need any angels. :)

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