Zudist Colony: Talking to the August Zuda contestants

Welcome to the second edition of Zudist Colony, which we kicked off last month.

Every month since late 2007, Zuda Comics hosts a competition between webcomics, with the winner becoming a regular strip on the site. In Zudist Colony, I interview the contestants via email, which hopefully gives you a little more insight into the strips and the creators themselves. For instance, this time around I asked them all to name their favorite strip besides their own, and the variety in their answers was pretty interesting.

So without further ado, let's see what they said ...

*****

Cards Kill by Jason Chiu and Leah Liu

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Jason: The story of Cards Kill is about a young guy who is nobody, and a little pathetic I may say. He gets some special power by chance one day, but with losing himself as the pay. So he has to find out what’s going on before he totally loses his consciousness.

The idea of Cards Kill came from many excellent comics and films, such as Death Note and Wanted. I thought it would be good to combine such kind of cool elements with cards, so I got the idea of Cards Kill.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Jason: Yes, this is the first comic work of our own. We cooperated with some companies or individuals before, on some work-for-hire projects.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Jason: As I said above, this is the first original comic work of our own. We need more experiences and suggestions, and Zuda is an amazing place, where we can share and communicate with many good artists and writers. Their comments and suggestions are very valuable to us.

JK: As a Zuda contestant, you're getting feedback via the comments section. What has that been like? Have you had any second thoughts about your entry based on any of the feedback you've received thus far?

Jason: The feedback from readers and other artists really tells us what we should do to make it better, including the settings of the story and lines. The feedback is very important to us.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Jason: Yes, the competitions on Zuda are getting more exciting month by month. And we are glad to see more people investing more enthusiasm and passion in the industry of comics. If I was not in this month’s competition, I think I may give my vote to the Bow & Arrow Detective Agency.

Check out more of Leah's art on the Robekka Art Studio site and deviantART site.

*****

Bow & Arrow Detective Agency by George Gousis and Antonis Vavagiannis

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

George: It is a funny crime story, full of cliches and 90's pop songs. I was thinking of doing a funny crime story and because Antonis is a master of these kind of stories... here we are.

Antonis: I love exploring and twisting cliches, and I thought it was time for "Macarena" to make a comeback. I got the chance to work with George, one of the top Greek artists, who wanted to make a film noir kind of story so we mixed it up a bit and came up with Bow and Arrow.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

George: In Greece, i have published plenty of comics at different magazines and newspapers. But as far as the american publishers and wherever those books are selling i have taken part in two anthologies of Image comics, Outlaw Territory vol 1 and Popgun vol 3. At this period, i am writing a lot about a big comic project and when i am not doing comics, i do some illustrations for magazines. You can find samples of my works at my blog. That's all.

Antonis: I have published five comic books in Greece and done some one-off stories in magazines. I specialize in surreal humour and have an online webcomic which unfortunately is only in Greek. Lately I've been thinking of doing an English translation to share this national treasure with the rest of the world!

Apart from that, I work as a teacher in a primary school and I'm also part of the greatest alternative band in the universe The Empty Frame.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

George: We knew about the site, that there are a lot of people visiting it and of course that if someone wins there is a contract, means that we have plenty of time to do a good job and make some money for this. For me, the most important thing is that you have a whole week for a page and that is a nice opportunity to create a nice comic, without hurry. So, it is a great opportunity for a first step, get some experience, some feedback etc. Also, working from your home and just sending your work or even your submission from the internet; it's very cool and easy.

Antonis: Fame and riches, of course! And women! Using the line "I am competing in Zuda this month" always works. I use it all the time. And if that doesn't get me laid, I use "Who is your favourite Cardinal? Mine is Cardinal Richelieu!" That works 100 percent!

George: You know, the best thing is to be getting some feedback, whatever feedback is this. Because, when you are publishing a comic, as a book, not at web, the feedback you are getting back is not much, some friends, maybe a fan or a review. At zuda, you can get a feedback from anyone, very easy and you can see how your comic works on different people. On the other hand, its strange, because you are getting feedback for some pages, not the whole story, but those are the rules of this game. Personally, i dont have second thoughts for any of my work because i have think a lot before i publish it and know what to expect. But the comments that someone can take, sometimes are really interesting and helpful.

Antonis: It's great to have so much feedback for your work, which is something that I'm not used to. Of course sometimes it's a bit hurtful to see that people are quick to judge, or just have a hard time accepting that this comic is a lot different than what they're used to, but it's all okay! Most of the people were very positive anyway and that really gives you the will to go on and make your comic even better!

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

George: If You See The Hills. Even if the art is kinda amateur, I think he has some nice things to say. I like honesty in any kind of art.

Antonis: In terms of artwork, Absolute Magnitude is certainly very impressive, but Physicon is more to my tastes!

As for the stories, I'm not too much of a super hero, sci/fi fan to be honest. So I guess Physicon and If You See The Hills are the ones that intrigued me more to read further.

*****

Rogue Royal by Chris Garrett

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Chris: Rogue Royal is about a space princess on a mysterious quest. The basic idea came from my desire to draw a badass chick shooting lasers and flying around with a jetpack, but, and this may sound silly, I decided that was not enough for a good story. So I added these gigantic purple aliens and a laser sword.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Chris: I’ve drawn a lot of self-published mini-comics: a sword and sorcery series called Side Passage that’s up to issue four, a couple travel diaries, a one-man Science Fiction anthology, a dark sci-fi horror series called The Drift, and a long form fantasy epic called The Flood. I am also a really amazing dungeon master (I would totally put that on my resume if my resume wasn’t just this big sad face that covers the entire page.) I work at a comic shop in midtown Kansas City called B Bop. Your readers should come visit me for free high fives.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Chris: I actually created Rogue Royal specifically for Zuda. Oh did you want to hear the story? Okay great! One day I was wringing my hands about pros and cons and I suddenly decided hey! What if DC called me and said, “Chris! Will you make a comic specifically for us, and not sell us something you already have, that way you don’t have to worry about the corporatization of your entire soul, but just some of it?” So I pretended that conversation happened, and I gave the made-up DC editor a Long Island accent, and Rogue Royal was born.

Chris: Due to the high visibility of the competition, I’ve got more feedback on Rogue Royal than anything else I’ve done, and I love it. My comments section is like a party! Everyone should come hang out in my comments section.

None of the criticisms have prompted second thoughts, though I’ve found the differing views to be mostly insightful and presented politely. Most of the comments have been about boobs, which is funny, though I do wonder if, after winning the competition and continuing the story, I’ll lose all my readers when the male characters’ clothes start falling off.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Chris: Octane Jungle really does it for me. I think after the competition I would like to ask Octane Jungle out on a date, like maybe to coffee or something at first so we could just talk, but I’ll be wearing something really slutty so it knows I’m ready for anything.

Find out more about Chris at his website.

*****

Octane Jungle by Morgan Luthi and Mike L. Kinshella

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Mike: Octane Jungle is about human society in the not-too-distant future wherein corporate empires have seized total control and rendered traditional government and economics obsolete. Our protagonists are the crew of an illegal pizza delivery outfit, dodging morally questionable corporate police, violent street gangs and rival contraband operations in the interest of preserving a viable free market. The idea was inspired by many things (as most of my ideas tend to be) but mainly comes from my personal experience as a pizza delivery driver, mixed with my love of stories base in dystopian societies. There is also a strong undercurrent of horror running through Octane Jungle (probably the genre closest to my heart) most obviously characterized by the villains of the premier arc and the "gonzo gore" presented throughout. A handful of the characters and situations were inspired by an animated show called Brodice and Outlaw that Morgan and I developed a few years ago. I felt there was some really good stuff in there that kind of fit within the OJ world, so we went with it!

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Morgan: This isn't my first comic work, I previously did Snow with Tokyopop...but that feels like ancient history. I'm freelance now, but when I'm not drawing, I'm usually playing video games or reading other people's comics.

Mike: Although this is not the first comic I have written, it IS the first comic I have written to be fully realized. Recently, while not working on OJ, I have been working on a few other comic concepts as well as co-writing a short horror film with Los Angeles filmmaker Dan Riesser. I also front a punk rock band called Murderland and, like my partner in crime, spend a lot of time reading comics (my current faves: The Goon, Fear Agent, House of Mystery and anything by Ben Templesmith).

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Morgan: For me it was the instant feedback element of Zuda. Assuming an entry gets into the competition, the potential for it to be seen and build an audience is incredible. If you win, then its obviously awesome. If you don't, then the opportunity to take that entry use the new found fanbase and publicity to do something else with it is very, very, compelling motivation to submit to Zuda first.

Mike: Like Morgan said, Zuda is a legit place to get a comic seen by people who actually care and, with very few exceptions, know what they are talking about. At the end of the day we make comics for people who love to read comics, and zuda is run and supported by just such folks! Plus the whole concept of getting instant feedback from the readers is awesome. I'm big on instant gratification.

Morgan: I think the feedback has been awesome and very encouraging. For the most part, people have been incredibly supportive and they really seem to genuinely dig our entry.

Mike: The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, which is great! Its a great thrill to have Zuda pros whom I respect and admire giving us props and I particularly enjoy when Morgan's art gives people seizures - and they love it!

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Morgan: Rogue Royal, without a doubt. I love the humor.

Mike: Easily Rogue Royal. The art is not my favorite of the bunch but the script is awesome! Plus how can you argue with big guns, slimy monsters, hot chicks and infanticide?

But enough advertisement for our competition! Go vote for Octane Jungle!

*****

If You See The Hills by Sal Field

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Sal: If You See The Hills is a coming-of-age slice-of-life story about a bunch of teens who hang out on the roofs, because they have no other place to go.

I've always been a fan of teen comic books like Sean McKeever's The Waiting Place, Bryan Lee O'Malley's Lost At Sea, and Kill Your Boyfriend by Grant Morrison and Philip Bond, so this is me doing the kind of comic I'd like to read, because there really aren't that many like that out there.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Sal: I've done a few webcomics with some friends back when I was in school, none of which are online anymore as far as I know, and some freelance coloring on a couple of obscure indie titles that probably nobody ever heard of and that I didn't really care about. Essentially, If You See The Hills is the first series that's all me, apart from a couple of street art comic strips I did a few years back that I posted to traffic lights all around town, which gained some media attention during a slow news week.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Sal: The chance of getting a contract with one of the largest comic book publisher in the world, and the fact that you get paid if your comics takes part in the competition, that's a pretty unique opportunity for a newcomer nobody has ever heard of. And it's not like these options are mutually exclusive. If it doesn't work out at Zuda, I can still look for another place to publish it. As for setting up my own site, I'm already doing everything on the comic myself, so it's nice when at least the hosting is something I do not have to take care of as well.

Sal: Not at all. The comments have mostly been positive and very encouraging, and Zuda has a great community. I mean, it's not like there are trolls posting "ur comix sux!!1!!"

On the contrary, even the people who don't like the comic are very polite about it and offer valid, constructive criticism.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Sal: Furman's art on A Stinking Corpse is awesome, but the one comic where after the eight pages I was disappointed there wasn't more yet was Bow & Arrow Detective Agency, so I think I'd vote for that. But it really is a tough month.

*****

Antique Books by Scott Boyce

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Scott: The idea just sort of showed up shortly after seeing Coraline. It made me think great films where the heroine saves herself are not common enough. The obvious geek touchstone being Ridley Scott's Alien. This story was taking and odd creature I'd drawn before, but who didn't have a home, and throwing him into a Coraline/Alien blender.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Scott: I've done a few drawing jobs for writers through Digital Webbing and had my own website with my own stories for awhile but Zuda is my first big exposure. When not drawing I'm spending as much time as possible with my two boys and my missus. Running also helps to stay creative.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Scott: The fact that there is this large community out there, that was never there like this before. Of comic book creators and readers sharing their work. Every month readers get to become the creators on a worldwide stage.

Scott: More action, color gets more views, boredom as subject matter was not my best idea. The slow start works for the complete story, for eight pages it makes for a nice finish. Still surprised no questioned me for cramming 13 panels into one page. I'm already planning my next submission.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Scott: Arctic for its loose, kinetic yet precise line work and a fast-paced set up I'd like to see developed.

*****

Absolute Magnitude by Robert Burke Richardson and Martin Morazzo

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Robert: The idea for Absolute Magnitude came from artist Martin Morazzo; a few months after our poor showing on Zuda with Urbis Faerie, Martin sent me an email asking if I would consider working on a science fiction story with him, and gave me a really basic plot, as well as a drawing of a bunch of cool-looking space pirates. The only stipulation was, he’d written “The captain is the one with the eye-patch” on top of the picture. He was extraordinarily gracious, and let me make everything up from there.

Somehow the story coalesced in my mind around the notion of a man -- Captain Pace -- who loves people, but hates humanity; which is to say, he loves individual people, but finds no value in civilization and society -- to the extent that he could bring fundamental reform to his own culture (being the heir to the SecuriZone royal family), but he won’t bother. Absolute Magnitude is the story of what happens to Pace and his crew when that view gets altered in a fundamental way.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Robert: I’ve done Elf-Help and Urbis Faerie with Martin, and just published my first full-length OGN, The Matriarch, with Steven Yarbrough. I do lots of other comics at http://www.comicspace.com/robert/.

Martin works as a graphic designer by day, and his OGN, The Network, with writer Jay Busbee should be out from Arcana soon.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Robert: I’ve had a chance to meet the folks behind Zuda face-to-face, talked to some of the creators, and have seen how Zuda shaped up over its first (nearly) two years; it’s a classy operation, and it’s where Martin, Kuen and I want to be!

Robert: I’m getting compared to a lot of writers -- some that are indeed influences, like Joss Whedon and George Lucas -- some I’m familiar with, but don’t see in myself, like Chris Claremont and Frank Herbert -- and some whose work I don’t know that well (yet), like Cuervoscuro (who does Earthbuilders at Zuda) and Katsuhiro Otomo. It’s always interesting to see what others see in your work.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Robert: Martin is a Rogue Royal man, but I think Octane Jungle just edges it out. In all honesty, I’d love to see any of this month’s comics continue -- it’s a little creepy to know that, by trying to win, I may in fact be killing some of them.

Find out more about Absolute Magnitude at its official site or by joining Robert's Facebook group.

*****

Arctic by Ghost

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Ghost: Well, a friend of mine said I couldn’t draw anything but sexy chicks. Since my other e-comic is an Azpiri-influenced adult fantasy romp. So I went, I’ll show you A****** I’m gonna draw a moody story…in the snow!…where everybody is covered head to toe…and there are only male characters…so…err…that’s it.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Ghost: When I’m not creating comics, I’m illustrating for magazines and whoring myself to anyone who wants to pay for my scribbles.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Ghost: I did the entire thing in like three or four days, and I know Zuda hosts competitions, so I sent it in. Also all the rights belong to me so that was always a plus. Already I’ve been approached by an editor for Arctic to go into print. Nothings finalized but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Ghost: Comments have in majority been really good. Most people liked it, some people didn’t like it. Meh. Win some, lose some.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Ghost: I’d vote for Furman for the sheer amount of effort that went into his art. Hats off to that guy.

*****

Physikon by Alexander Drummond Diochon

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Alex: Physikon is about a group of people "us" that are like walking natural disasters. Like being at the center of a hurricane they see and are a part of the destruction around them but are immune from it. This only cancels out when two of "us" come into proximity of each other, like two storms hitting each other one will be swallowed by the other. So it is a comic about how this would effect a group of characters if they were unaware of which of them was one of "us."

The idea came from looking at reoccurring characters in movies, video games, books etc. And seeing that they always seem to be at the center of trouble and strife. That these characters are the unluckiest people around, because of the situations that keep finding them, and at the same time the luckiest, because they seem to survive a multitude of hardships in which others bite it hard. Then I had the thought, what if it isn't these situations finding them but an effect that they carried? To always be at the center of these events because they brought this bad/good luck with them. It was that idea that was central to developing the concept of the "Us" which is the driving force behind Physikon.

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Alex: As far as Zuda goes this isn't my first entry. As far as the world of published and indie comics goes this is one of my early forays into the industry of professional comics. Other than comics I am one of the lucky people (and I do mean lucky as I have been very fortunate in getting the contacts in illustration that I have) that I get to draw for a living. To date it has mostly been text book illustrations and broadcast work that has been paying the bills. If we are talking about outside of drawing and art type things I am a huge fan of playing racket ball. I am most likely not very good (I only have a few friends that play so I don't have a wide enough sample group to provide a definitive suck/not suck pronouncement) but I like to play whenever I get the chance.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Alex: I originally started with Zuda because I love drawing comics, but the practical part of my brain always seems to pop in and say "you could be doing something more productive to getting illustration work, those bills wont pay themselves." So up until Zuda came around I had created comics as more of a hobby. The type of illustration I wanted to do but that I ha no "in" to be able to devote my time to them. A decision I regret at this point because I got all shades of rusty and stagnant in my sequential work (see S-Type for an example of this :) ) But when Zuda's competition came along with the possibility of seeing some return on the time invested weather you win or not was the motivation and reason I needed to put that bill nagging internal voice in it's place. Since then I have rediscovered my love and drive for telling sequential story's and am much more focused towards making comics.

As for other publishers, I always thought it would be fun to put a pitch together but I think (looking at what was out there) I somewhere inside knew I wasn't ready for it....again see S-type as an example and of course I had that nagging voice that foolishly kept me from pursuing that type of thing properly. Zuda became something of a test for me, see where I was at with what I could do. A good thing too because, although I still love the idea of s-type and would love to continue it in the future, I don't think any publisher would have thrown their money behind it with what I had. Perhaps they would see an interesting idea but not knowing if it would have an audience or any legs at all I can't see it being green lite. Zuda on the other hand could look at it, make a small initial investment and see if that "interesting idea" could find an audience to support it. A system I like very much because it is more geared to saying yes and giving creators a shot than the one in which they have to dole out large sums of cash for an experimental property.

Alex: Getting comments on Zuda has been glorious for me. Deviant art is great for an ego stroke, forums can be hit and miss but having other comic enthusiasts and creators around has been great in getting actual, useful, and precise feedback. And I think I have improved greatly from my first entry in large part due to these crits and comments. It is also great having the comments come in before the comics are completely finished I have more than once had an idea that I wanted to work into the comics (if they had continued of course) arise from peoples comments and crits. It is quite an exhilarating prospect to have the comic be a fluid thing that can change as it goes rather than just having a book out and hearing all of the crits at the end of the process.

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Alex: There is a plethora of great comics this month, a lot of really cool ideas and possibilities. But if I had to pick on that I would vote for it would be Bow & Arrow Detective Agency. Octane and Rogue are really cool ideas and beautiful comics but having watched Shyborgs work on deviant art and seeing the consistent quality of his work gives me that little bit of "faith" in the creator push that tips the scale towards it. If anyone thinks thats a dumb reason just think of the sigh of relief or feeling of despair you get when you hear what director has been assigned to a movie property you are a fan of. These things do matter :)

Check out more about Physikon at Alex's website, his deviantART site or on Twitter.

*****

A Stinking Corpse by Furman

JK: What's your entry about, and where did the idea come from?

Furman: Once a month I make myself come up with a new comic idea. Usually fantasy, the next one is sci fi!

A Stinking Corpse is a love story, in a nutshell the ugly ass frog needs to get a princess (or bar maid for that matter, status is not so important) to kiss (fall in love) with him to get out from under a life times worth of sinning and whoring. The catch is, not only is the guy incredibly ugly he is undead :). If he does not find true love he has to wander around forever... This is all based in an alternate universe Europe in 73 BC...

JK: Is this your first comics work? If not, what else have you worked on? And what do you do when you aren't creating comics?

Furman: I have self published perhaps 16 comics that have never seen more than an audience of a hundred or so each. I did a comic called Into The After (2 issues) for Dakuwaka (Wowio) before I canceled it due to money issues. This is my third time on Zuda, 'Alone' and 'A Single Soul', my first two eight pagers.

During the day I am a cover, interior and card artist for the gaming industry, mostly fantasy and sci fi. Among the big ones... Conan, Lord OF The Rings, Dragonlance and Babylon 5.

JK: Why did you decide to enter your comic into the Zuda competition, versus, say, trying to publish it somewhere else or setting up your own site for it?

Furman: I love DC comics. I get a kick out of being on Zuda. All I ever really wanted was to be an inker for DC, maybe someday this will all get me there. :)

Furman: I agree with the majority of the fans. I am a decent artist and a crappy writer. :)

JK: I'm also guessing you've had the chance to look at everyone else's submissions by now. If you weren't in this month's competition, who do you think you'd be voting for?

Furman: They are all great! I do love that 'Ghost' guy's line work, though...

*****

Thanks again to Jeff Mccomsey for the name "Zudist Colony." Join me here again next month to learn more about the September contestants, and head over to the Zuda site to vote for your favorite this month.