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

SAPIENT CEPHALOPOD SKETCH

I recently enjoyed the Bristol-based BLAM! comic creators' doodle jam in the chilly basement of The Golden Guinea, to the delightful tune of live folk music from upstairs, in the company of friendly and talented individuals seated around the table, savouring a pint(s) of Potholer.  The suggested theme of the evening was Seamonsters.  The Giant Pacific Octopus is one that actually exists, calculating her schemes in the murky depths...

I also recently did a banner image for Bear Pit Zine's facebook page for the Expedition theme.  It is, unsurprisingly, octopodial in nature...

While you're here and I have your attention, read this poem: "The Kraken" by Alfred Tennyson, 1830.

-JC

COMIX TRIBE REVIEWS LADIES & GENTS #1

Thanks to John Lees from Comix Tribe for his charming review of Ladies & Gentlemen Issue 1, wherein we were complimented on our "superbly-designed characters (The Gentleman in particular looks brilliant – I want an action figure!)", the fact that Jordan "proves himself to be a very talented artist," and that Rik "deftly weaves a tale" with "strong, concise storytelling."

Read the full write-up here! 

You know, come to think of it I want a Gent action figure too...

* Not available in stores... or anywhere.

BEAR PIT #5 - "EXPEDITION"

Here is my contribution to Bear Pit Zine's 5th installment, "Expedition."  I was thrilled to be able to participate in such a great local (Bristol) project.  Each thematic anthology is printed in limited runs so be sure to get 'em while they're hot! Check out Bear Pit's tumblr here, and also on the Facebook.

This 5-page short represents my first foray into writing, as I've only ever worked in collaboration with the eminent Richard Worth.  I suppose it's appropriate, then, that I opted to go exclusively with pictures and no words.  I say appropriate, but it was really because I lacked the confidence.  Maybe it was a mistake.  I'll try next time and see. 

The Michael Jackson of exploration

Something I always had in the back of my mind while reflecting on the zine's theme was this particularly expedition-appropriate passage from The Worst Journey Ever. Antarctic explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard nails it:

"The desire for knowledge for its own sake is the one which really counts... Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion. And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.  Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say, 'What is the use ?' ... For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg." 

In a longer draft of the story I was going to cut back to the fat man falling asleep in his armchair, beard growing and stomach diminishing each time we return to him, until he is little more than slumbering bones.  Apsley might have called him a shopkeeper.  In this version, I closed with the words:  “A full man will sit at home and rub his belly, thinking himself content. But a hungry man, though his belly pangs, will rove -- and see the world.”  That ending had less context in the final draft, and I felt it was quite heavy-handed exposition besides.

The text that does appear in the last panel is taken from the ending of The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. It reads (translated, with the quoted text underlined): 
 

The James Dean of existentialism

 "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."

I did The Hungry Fellow as a way of allagorizing my own experience of religious disillusionment, but it's also a more general parable about any process of discovery - of finding fulfillment in it, even when it wounds us.  Don't take my word for it though; could be about something else entirely.  Or nothing, for that matter.  Maybe you find it's a jumbled mess that makes no narrative sense, let alone a story with discernible meaning… but I hope you can enjoy something about it in spite of that, even if it's just the drawings.  And, heck, I think that's exactly what Camus was talking about anyway...

There's another 40+ pages of Bear Pit Zine #5 from some fantastic small press folks (12 of 'em)! 
You can ORDER ONE right here, right now from our Water Closet Emporium, or directly from the BPZ webpage.  You'll be glad you did.

-Jordan