I'm in Zuda (DC Comics) competition this month

[Shawn Aldridge]

Some may remember me from my comic Vic Boone.



Once again, I've been chosen to compete in the Zuda Comic competition.
Winner gets a contract with DC Comics. Vic Boone finished 2nd. This
time I hope I can win.



I hope some here might read my new comic and if you like it--vote for
it. You can also favorite and rate it. Also there is a comment section
under the comic. The artist and I very much enjoy talking about the
work, so feel free to leave a comment for us. We will reply.


The comic can be found at the link below. It's jungle girl meets "lost world" meets EC Comics. A lot of people say it has a Victorian fantastical feel to it. 



http://www.zudacomics.com/node/1774



You do have to register to vote, but there is no spam involved. It is DC Comics, afterall.



Thank you.

If anyone knows some other places I might be able to explore and spread the word--please let me know. And if you like the strip feel free to tell a friend. :)

[Wil Overton]

Good luck. I'll drop you a vote. Another UK winner, my friend Eddie, is currently doing Road for Zuda after winning a year or so back.

[The Emperor]

Good stuff - I have mentioned Zuda here before in this thread and am slowly honing my idea and will be taking a shot at it at some point so any tips would be appreciated (although I think it is really "tell the best story you can").

Anyway I read through this months last week and really enjoyed yours but hadn't yet voted so have given you my vote (it was either going to be yours or Gelgun (which I thought also had a lot to offer). I'm a big fan of the pulpy, Lost World-type story so I suspect you'd have won me over in the end anyway (or I'd have forgotten to vote like I did last month) ;) Looking over everything I see you are in the lead and it might be my first vote for a winning entry (having forgotten to vote once before when the one I'd have voted for one by a huge margin).

Where to promote yourself? I'll drop a note in the Zuda thread on the 2000AD forum. You could also try Bleeding Cool's Zuda thread and wicked uncle Warren is running webcomics week on Whitechapel (which has been extended so is no longer merely a week).

Good luck.

[Shawn Aldridge]

Oh, Emperor--It is key to have a really good story with solid to really solid art. BUT the major key to winning is to establish as much of a fanbase for your entry as you can before hand. Really plan ahead and think about who your story would appeal. Really think outside the box, too--like don't narrow yourself to comic fans. I found with Vic Boone, my first entry, that fans of pulp novels really enjoyed the comic. It's really important to build a network BEFORE entering as opposed to trying to scramble to find people once you're in. Join forums, search for sites and blogs that seem to be geared toward and has similar appeal as genre/feel your story. Are you on Facebook? If so, look for people who have similar interest and befriend them.

Also, think about what other countries tend to appreciate the style of your story. I found Scandinavians loved Vic Boone. Not to mention Norway and Belgium.

Of course, I didn't win the first time around, but I did learn a lot of lessons that I think help me know. I hope that helps.

I guess it really boils down to finding the community(no matter where it is) that shares the same taste as you.

If you have any other questions, just let me know.

[The Emperor]

Thanks for that - I have been giving such angles a lot of thought.

Also I suppose "if at first you don't succeed..." also applies - it occurs to me that it is all well and good getting a mention in a national newspaper but how many would logon and vote for you? Meanwhile, if you have had one run, made a good impression and not shot yourself in the foot then you have got quite a few fans amongst the Zuda regulars who obviously already have an account and ready to vote.

The pre-publicity aspect has been a bit tricky as I know some have been criticised for starting their work blogs well in advance and that looks to be the trickiest balancing act, do you put out concept sketches, etc. or will you be penalised? From what I've read it isn't considered a massive deal but I'd had to blunder into something unawares.

[Shawn Aldridge]

You can do all the pre-publicity you want. The only time you have to stop is once you're accepted. From the time you're accepted to the beginning of your competition is a no PR period. But there's been comics that competed in a competition that have had all 8 pages published prior to submitting. Supertron first appeared in Image's PopGun anthology. He just cut and pasted the pages later and submitted them to Zuda.

So, you can do anything you want until they actually tell you you're in. It's actually probably best to create a buzz about it prior and while waiting on a response. The DC Comic boards have a Zuda subsection. It's a good place to show off sketches and get to know the regulars.

[The Emperor]

Thanks for that, I'll keep it in mind. It was Goldilocks that I was thinking about, I stumbled across their production blog and that was going for an age before they finally got listed and it was almost inevitable they'd steamroller the competition - it was the only month I've forgotten to vote and it would have been my first winning vote, as you are still dominating the top spot I have my fingers double crossed this month (which is a good thing, despite the negative connotations of "double cross").

I'm also signed up on the DC forums and make sure I check out what is going on to help with my planning ;)

[Shawn Aldridge]

Thanks guys. Any and all help would be appreciated. We are in 1st, but there's still a lot of Feb. to go. So, I'm hoping to build a decent enough lead that I can stop worrying. ha. ha.

[The Emperor]

Sorry to see you got pipped at the post there, it really did go right down to the line - the lead switched right before the end!!

Good luck with future projects and thanks for the help - it should be really useful.

[Shawn Aldridge]

Yeah, to lose it in the last 24 hours after holding first for 99% of the month is hard to swallow.

Thanks for the support, Emperor. I really do appreciate it. I'll be looking forward to your future works.

[The Emperor]

It is hard to swallow and I think I'd have kicked the dog/cat/wall and probably knelt outside in the rain stripped to the waist and shaking my fist at God.

It also occurs to me that you shouldn't be thanking me for the support, as I mentioned above I haven't voted for a winning entry yet and was hoping yours would be my first. So this is all partly my fault. The only good thing I can currently see, is that if I did enter I'd not be stupid enough to vote for myself!! Or would I?

The upside of all this though is that you are clearly producing interesting ideas that have got people fired up and voting for you, so when you take another run at this you stand a great chance of winning.