Water Closet @ Bristol Comic Expo 2013

Water Closet Press is pleased to report that we had a delightful time at the Bristol Comic Expo this past weekend. This was our second time at Bristol and, while we did enjoy last year (despite some mixed reviews from fellow exhibitors and attendees), this year was better by far. We more than doubled our sales (more of a testament to the fact that we came out with a second issue since then than our skills as snake oil salesmen), and it was really encouraging to have people who picked up Ladies & Gentlemen #1 last year mention that they had been looking forward to getting the sequel. One kind gentlemen even bought some pages of original art!
 

The historic Brunel Old Station was a fitting setting to sell the Victorian-themed L&G.  The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, and we got the distinct feeling that the comics present were the comics that everybody in the room were reading anyway; that we were all in it together, were all part of something.

Our evening activities on Saturday consisted mainly of being serenaded by a mono-toothed Sinatra-singing geezer who staggered over to the table we were sitting at in an Irish pub. It was quite endearing at first, but soon turned in to more of a hostage situation by the fourth or fifth time he sang the apt lyrics “Please release me, let me go.”  Then, perhaps inevitably, he turned out to be a wee bit racist, so that was the end o’ that.

Sunday proved to be the nicest day of the two, providing us with a chance to go and meet a whole bunch of other creators and confirm our theory that Stuart Gould of UK Comics, who prints our books, is in fact single-handedly running the entire British comics scene. We chatted with (and swapped books with) a whole bunch of folks who are increasingly becoming the pillars of the Small Press, including but not limited to:

The conglomerate of lovely chaps generating the eternal feedback-loop that is LOU SCANNON / THE PRIDE / STIFFS;  the wonderfully embeardened and bubbly RAZARHAWKS duo (I was drawn!) ; the master anthologists of the DISCONNECTED PRESS; Mark Pearce, responsible for the maniacally hilarious RONIN DOGS (and the TMNT poster to my left); Owen Watts and his many comic-fingers in many comic-pies; Andrew Scaife and his debut comic NEW YORK PARK; and Jon Lock of the glorious AFTERLIFE INC.  Not to mention all the other folks who were kind enough to stop by our cramped little table and chew the fat about comics.  Thanks to you all for your interest and support.

Whewph! All in one fantastic weekend.

NOTE: Despite us not appearing on the list of exhibitors on their website (silly us), don't forget that we will indeed have a table at the upcoming MCM LONDON COMIC CON on the Saturday and Sunday, May 25-26th. Hope to see lots of new faces, and some of those faces we met in Bristol!

Weird Planet!

Hello folks!  We've got a new science fiction comic for you.  We've added it to the tabs on the top of the page.  Stay tuned for some of the black and white line art and a description of both the writing and art process we'll be posting in the near future. But in the mean time check it out, and enjoy...

 (click on the image to view the full comic)

Issue Three Update!

Ok y'all, here comes an important update... We are closing writing submissions.

We have had an overwhelming response so far and are now in the position where we have a backlog of scripts in need of artists, so if you are gifted with the pen and want to get involved just e-mail us at thewaterclosetpress@gmail.com and we will match you up with an eagerly-waiting story to draw.

Provided we get enough artists to cover all our current scripts, it is possible that we will re-open submissions for solo writers in the future. We'll post an update if this happens, but until then, we are still accepting artist and story + art submissions as usual.

A bunch of our creative teams have gone away to work on their stories and we already have a completed story in!  Furthermore, to give you a little taste of what we have in store for you, here is Ken McFarlane's sketch of The Gent. He will be working on a Hex-centric (see what we did there?) story written by Jamie Lewis.

Moreover, very soon we'll be releasing our latest short story inspired by Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

See you all in the funny books,
Rik

ISSUE THREE SUBMISSIONS UPDATE

Good day to you all,

Well the feedback we've received for our anthology submissions has been outstanding thus far and can only get better. So to whet your appetite we're going to give you a little guide to some some of the creators already involved.

First up we have Jamie Lewis of Free Form Jazz Detective . And just to get you all in the mood, Jamie has sent us this wee sketch of a wee Gent.

Next up, from Professor Elemental we have Chris Mole (writing) and Brendan Purchase (art). The first two chaps to come to us looking for artist and writers independently, it made perfect sense to team up Brendan's dark ink work with Chris's Lovecraftian script.

An old friend of The Water Closet from Canada, one Master Tony La Vella of Comic Blvd is collaborating with Californian artist Rafael Desquitado Jr. Tony has smashed a script out of the ballpark with a tale told from the villain's perspective entitled "DISMEMBER OF PARLIAMENT"!

Thought Bubble panel guest and writer Umar Ditta is on board with a script just waiting to be drawn. Mesr Ditta is also working on a third issue and is looking for artists. You can check out his stuff over on facebook.

Hailing from The Swansea Comics Collective and contributor to Copperopolis is the fantastic Pete Taylor. Pete is ideally looking for something along the lines of "Moth versus Awesome Monster"! Not only can you check out his art at thismanthispete.com but you can check out his Moth sketch right now!

All the way from Texas (in America) is Micheal Waggoner. Mike is planning on doing a crossover with his own character El Diablo Azul. A Luchadore ghost hunter....'nuff said.

Dave Evans is the first contributor to our gallery and what he has done is both brilliant and adorable. Check out his stuff over at daveevansillustration.com

A good friend to the Water Closet and wearer of the most splendid face hair, Sir Adam Steele of Darkmook Miniatures is going to be contributing, we don't want to say exactly how and give the game away but watch this space. It's going to be a lot of fun.

That isn't even everyone so far! The hectic schedule of artists means we're still working on how (and more importantly when) people can get involved in the book. We don't mean to brag but we are talking with such outstanding talents as James Stayte, Jacob Wolf, Neil Ford, Biz Horne, Graham Johnson, Nick Souček, Neil McClements, and the fine folks behind El Bigote!

But fear not, if you want to contribute there is still plenty of time. Whether it be a story about Hex's favourite playing card, and alternative universe wherein the Gentry are Spanish, or the back story of a thug who once felt their wrath, we want your stories. Our final deadline isn't until October. Full details can be found here.

 

So far this anthology is looking great and is going to feature a wealth of talent. So why not get involved and we'll add your name to the list!

See y'all the in funny books,

Rik & Jordan

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - ISSUE 3: LADIES & GENTLEMEN (AND COMPANY)

Good morning/afternoon/evening to you, fine ladies and gents. With the unprecedented success of our first two books, Water Closet Press is in the process of creating a third. And, being the sociable and comic loving creatures we are, we are keen to have you take part.

For Issue 3 we’re planning a printed anthology based in the Ladies & Gentlemen universe, and we're looking for submissions. This is where you come in. 1-5 page complete comics (black-and-white or colour), alternative covers, pinup art, poetry, short prose fiction (with or without illustrations)... whatever it is you want to do, we want to print it!

If you are an artist looking to make a comic but have no script or writer, get in touch. We'll do our best to get you connected to a writer in the same boat (as they very often are), or we'll craft you a script ourselves. The goal here is not only to tell a bunch of great stories, but also to develop a network of comic creators within the Small Press community.

THE RULES

We want this project to be as open as possible so we won’t limit you with too many rules. Having said that...

1) The Gent. He never speaks or is seen without his mask. Ever.

That's basically it. We would also ask if you’re thinking of submitting that you respect our characters and don't dramatically kill them or maim them or give them insane back stories that will be impossible to work into future plots. Just be sensible.

Other than that, it's your toy to play with. Use any of our existing characters as a springboard for your own imagination, or feel free to ignore them and/or invent new ones to interact with and explore the world of The Gentry. If you already have your own comic project, why not do a cross-over? Or re-imagine things from a "What if...?" perspective. It doesn't have to be an adventure story... even if it's a whimsical look at a day in the life of The Moth's hat, we're looking for variety and innovation. Any style, genre, and theme will be accepted. We don't want to see imitations of our work, we'd rather see yours.

THE IDEA

Here at Water Closet Press, one of our favourite things about serialised comics is the process of collective storytelling. The idea that stories are immutable and sacred scripture carved into stone is an illusion. Narratives change over time, growing and transforming with each manifestation. They are made alive in the hands of others.

This folkloric potential is one of the most appealing aspects of hero-genre comics in particular, and it's something we would like to reflect in Ladies & Gentlemen... but we can’t do it by ourselves. We want to put it in your hands - the hands of the Small Press community in the UK and beyond - and have you participate in its telling.

SUBMISSION & DEADLINE

If you have an idea for a story or artwork you'd like to do (or anything else up your sleeve), simply e-mail us at thewaterclosetpress@gmail.com and we'll go from there. Want to contribute but haven’t read Ladies & Gentlemen? Fear not! Issue 1 can be read in full online, and we have several other short stories you can browse to familiarize yourself.

We are aiming to release the book at the London MCM Expo. We had fantastic results launching there last year and met a great bunch of people. Since the date for the convention itself hasn't been announced yet, we are going to say that the absolute deadline for completed submissions is the 1st of October 2013.* We're hoping that this will give people enough time to work at their own pace and produce something they are proud of.  *(EDIT: We will no longer be attending MCM.  The deadline has been changed to 1st of NOVEMBER 2013 and we will be launching the anthology at Thought Bubble instead).

WHAT DO YOU GET IN RETURN?

That's a good question.  Unfortunately we are not able to pay for entries at this time, however...

1) Your work gets printed in a high quality UKcomics publication.
2) You will receive the number of issues equal to the number of pages submitted.
3) As a contributor you will also be able to order copies from us at print cost (which should be significantly lower than retail price), sell these at your own leisure and retain the profits.
4) Finally, you'll be getting fantastic exposure at the conventions we attend and through our social media/blogging, and vice versa.  Small Press cross-pollination!

The collection will be a minimum of about 30 pages of Water Closet material, but our goal is to get enough entries to push that to around the 80 pages mark. Obviously once we have received enough synopses from interested parties we'll have a better idea of the book's size and cost, etc.

Sound good?
Let's make some sweet comics!

~ Rik and JC