This is on my Chance filter, which has been cut down from its previous size.
I’ve been talking with Jimmy Valentino at Image’s Shadowline, which is a small Image line that puts out about five books a month, and generally does mini-series of 3 or 4 issues. If the book does well, they pick it up for another mini-series.
His first comment on Chance was, “This isn’t bad.” Being a writer, I’ve spent several hours wrestling with those three little words to see what I could milk out of them. Ultimately, all I can come up with is, “This isn’t bad.” :)
He had some concerns, but if I could address them, he thought we could move forward. They were, in no particular order and paraphrased:
1. the lettering is weak
2. the title/main character’s name is a problem
3. FORTY EIGHT ISSUES WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE GOING FOR FORTY EIGHT ISSUES DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TOUGH THIS INDUSTRY IS HAVE YOU NO SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE WOMAN HOW ABOUT TRYING A BUNT BEFORE YOU TRY HITTING IT OUT OF THE BALL FIELD?!??!?!?!?!?
#1 can be dealt with (I’ve gotten a critique from one of their letterers to send on to my letterer, yay!), #2 I expected and had a contingency plan in place, and #3 just made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I wanted to say, “You don’t know me very well, do you,” but that was obvious. :)
Yesterday I got a green light on the project.
Almost.
The problem: My first story is the one-issue introductory comic that you’ve all seen pages from, followed by a 5-issue arc, for a total of 6 issues for the first ‘mini-series’. 6 issues is a deal breaker for Shadowline: they can only commit to 4. They just can’t afford the financial risk of more than 4 issues, and the way they tell publish, they do complete story arcs that leave you with at least some kind of resolution, so doing 4 issues and hoping to get the last 2 is out.
I completely understand that. There’s a part of me that wants to say, “It’ll be okay, Jimmy; you’re dealing with my world now,” but people tend to have to be exposed to my world for a while before they start believing in it. :) Also, there’s always the possibility that the world will abruptly cease to work in my favor as it so often seems to, so, y’know, can’t blame ’em. :)
– I can try to rewrite the existing story arc, intended to be 5 issues, into 3 issues.
– Cons: I’ve got complete pencils for the second issue and more than half of them for the third. No way can I stuff 3 issues worth of story into issue #4, and anything else means cutting out pages and pages of Ardian’s gorgeous (and paid-for) work
– Pros: it’d give me plenty of website material for people to look at.
– I can try to write a whole new 3 issue story arc to follow issue #1, rewrite the current issues 5 & 6 (not actually written) to 1 issue, and use that 4-issue series as the second series.
– Cons: I have absolutely no idea what I’d write. The later story arcs that I have are dependent on growth from the earlier ones as far as characterization and relationships go, so using one of them seems very difficult. I’d have to do something else entirely.
– Pros: it’d get me a publisher :)
– I can say, “Sorry, can’t do it,” and resubmit to Image Central, the main Image house.
– Cons: involves a risk factor that’s been eliminated by the green light from Shadowline
– Pros: lets me tell the story the way I intended to. Also probably leaves me with no harm no foul with Shadowline, although this is a business to them so I don’t actually think that’s an issue; I’ve got a standing invitation to submit to them at any time.
I don’t know if Shadowline would consider giving IC a positive recommendation on Chance because the deal breaker was merely a number-of-issues thing, rather than any aspect of quality.
It comes down, in large part, to whether I’m willing to play it safe and fit myself into their box in order to achieve the ends I want, or if I trust myself enough to risk magnificent failure (ie, utterly failing to find a publisher) by doing it my way.*
I haven’t yet emailed my team to discuss this. Some of it may come down to whether *they*–particularly Ardian, whose career could be made by this comic book–trust me enough to risk magnificent failure by doing it my way. I have absolutely no objection to taking option #2 if I can think of a story arc to use, and that could in theory provide the best of both worlds. Lotta thinking to do here.
*It will surprise no one that I do not anticipate magnificent failure if I decide against Shadowline. :)
SQUEEEEEEEEE!
Congrats, hon! Once again, you’re gold. :)
I vote for rewriting the existing arc from five to three, and keep the original pages for a future ‘director’s cut’ (or web-only content). I don’t know how you would do that, but I’m not an author. Sorry, a world-famous best-selling author.
Oooph. I have no idea what to suggest. But I think you’ll figure out the best resolution for you.
(And I wish I had your self-confidence! :D)
Question – How open are your communications with Jimmy Valentino? Can ya ask him about the recomendation to IC?
Also – I have no doubts that there is a 3 issue story in your brain that can follow issue #1, and that you can save the 5 issue story for later.
Also Also – SQUEEEE! Green Lights, even almost-but-there’s-a-problem-Green-Lights, are WAY COOL!
Excitement tempered with tricky decisions! Ah, this is what makes the world great!
Congrats and good luck. I think getting team feedback might not hurt…
*hem haw*
I’ve read through all of your thoughts and I’m going to go with my gut feeling. There is no mental process here, just dead-on gut feeling that you should do it your way, magnificent failure or not. In your case, that would probably be not. :)
No matter the choice, best of luck!
Why don’t you sell the movie rights first? When it becomes a summer, record-breaking blockbuster, getting them to publish the entire six issues as a movie tie-in should be easier.
Although I can also see not wanting to wait long enough for them to make the movie. That would delay things another year for filming/editing/special effects.
First of all – congrats.
Secondly… Do you need the origin story first? Maybe I’m talking crazy here but origins stories are… well.. It is great to know ehre a character comes from and all but right now the market is lodded with the ‘real origin’ of, the ‘retold’ origin of… the yadda, yadda, yadda…. If this gets picked up somewhere could you maybe go back and tell it somewhere later down the line?
From what I can tell the comics indutry is VERY much about getting work and then to …. use that work to get more work. Hell, Gail Simone started on some little anime-like fairy comic thing.
If they’re willing to accept a 4-issue version of Chance now, they’ll probably be willing to do so in a year or so if you can’t sell the 6-issue version. I see nothing to lose in submitting to other places.
Well, it introduces all the major players in the comic, so I’d like to keep it. And it’s the one that has, more or less, been green-lit, so changing horses now seems like a bad idea.
From what I can tell the comics indutry is VERY much about getting work and then to …. use that work to get more work.
That is in fact extremely accurate. Possibly someone should have told me that earlier. Before I decided the obvious way to go about it was to do my own several-year series a la Warren Ellis or Neil Gaiman…
Jimmy V was (is) right: I have no sense of perspective. :)
(And I wish I had your self-confidence! :D)
If I could only bottle it. :)
Hrmmm.
I shall think on this some more, perhaps.
I still can’t quite believe you can casually talk about Jimmy frickin’ Valentino like that, man. o.O In my mind, of course, you’re already the next Brian Michael Bendis, so I may be a bit, hrm, off.
I’ve been thinking about this one, and just don’t know; I think the idea of a new 3-issue story is a good one, as you have more stories in your head than even you realize. Though resubmitting it to Image Central, as long as Jimmy gives you a good recommendation, also has merits.
I certainly don’t know what I’d do! But I wish you the best of luck regardless of your path, and will be waiting eagerly for the next installment in this saga.
And while I’m thinking about kickass superhero chicks–did you like the Rogue stuff? I’m hoping that you store something in the case, and that the wee figure (a Zizzlinger, which come blind-packed in a bag that dissolves in water; I got this one off of eBay) is a new one. I request a picture of the current Rogue shrine! ^_^
Oh. My. God. So cool!
You are amazingly full of stories. *grin*