Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
From: [s--ru--y] at [cbnewsk.cb.att.com] (sylvia.a.rudy)
Subject: Submission Guidelines: Marvel [10 of 12]
Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1993 17:04:45 GMT


COMPANY:  Marvel Comics

ADDRESS:  387 Park Avenue, South
          New York, NY 10016

PHONE:    ?
FAX:      ?

TEXT OF GUIDELINES:
                      #################
                      #  THE  MIGHTY  # 
                      # MARVEL COMICS # 
                      #  SUBMISSIONS  #
                      #     GUIDE     # 
                      #################


              ---===>GENERAL GUIDELINES<===---
*WHO TO SUBMIT TO*
Address your submissions to "Submissions Editor, Marvel Comics
Group <<see above>>".  You may submit work to any other editor, 
but due to their heavy workloads, we cannot guarantee when (or
even if) you'll get a response from any of them.  The
Submissions Editor will send you a response within four to six
weeks, and will see to it that the rest of the editorial staff
sees your work if it meets Marvel's current editorial needs.

*NEW CHARACTERS*
Do *not* submit new character designs or proposals for new books
to us.  No one in the busines makes a living by just selling
character ideas.  Marvel characters are created and designed by
the writers and artists of the books they appear in.  Unless
there is a contest, most editors won't even look at new 
character submissions for fear it might be similar to something 
already in development.

*FURTHER EDUCATION*
ARTISTS
We have been told that comic book storytelling (sequential art)
and cartooning courses are available at certain colleges.  Consult
the art departments of schools near you to determine what they
have to offer.  In addition, figure drawing courses are extremely
helpful since it is difficult to learn real anatomy by looking at 
other artists' stylized interpretation of anatomy in comic books.
Certain courses in analyzing cinema may prove valuable since 
movies are another visial storytelling medium.  Letterers may
want to take certain commercial and design courses.  Colorists may
want to take various painting courses.

WRITERS
There is no formal education for comic book writing offered at any
university, as far as we know.  We suggest taking college courses
in creative writing, English literature, and journalism.  Courses
anylizing cinema may also prove valuable since movies are another
visual storytelling medium.  Any course that broadens your 
knowledge may prove useful to you as a writer.

*IMPORTANT*
Always enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope large enough to
return your submission and our response.  Make certain your name 
and address are on every single page of your submission.  
Submissions without return postage will be regrattably discarded.

                       ---===>WRITERS<===---
*THE TWO WAYS TO BECOME A MARVEL WRITER*
	1.) Establish a reputation as a comics writer at another
company.  Use your published work as a portfolio.  Write a few
springboards to stories involving Marvel chatacters just so we
can see if your general writing ability includes an understanding
of Marvel heroes.
	2.) Submit stories through the mail and hope an editor
will buy one.  This is the most popular way to break in, though
probably the most frustrating.

*WHICH CHARACTERS TO WRITE ABOUT*
	You can write a story about *any* Marvel character who
has his or her own book, but if you want the story to be 
seriously considered for publication, you will write stories
for those titles thar use inventory meterial upon occasion.  If
a book has been written by the same person for several years, 
it is not likely that the editor of that title buys many 
inventory stories.  *Never* submit stories featuring characters
who do not have their own books.  New books or limited series
are *never* created just so we can buy a novice writer's story.

*FORMAT*
	Submit short *plot* *symopsies* *only*, double spaced,
no more than one page in length.  It only takes one page to
tell the essentials of a story: establish the characters and
the situation, introduce the conflict, and show the resolution.
If any of these elements are missing, you do not have a salable
story.  You may submit more than one plot synopsis at a time,
but a dozen may tax an editor's patience.  Do not submit 
detailed plots or full scripts *until* you have an editor's
approval of your premise or rough synopsis.

*SUBJECT*
	Plot submissions should feature Marvel characters.  We
cannot buy any stories about characters that Marvel does not
own, nor can we judge how well you handle Marvel characters if
you use characters that belong to anyone else.  Creating 
incidental characters or villains for your story is okay, but
be aware that if we buy the story using them, Marvel will own
those characters.  Avoid using popular villains who may be
involved in upcoming storylines.  Avoid doing anything that
infringes upon the regular writer's domain, such as resolving
subplots or old continuities.

*LENGTH*
	A regular monthly Marvel comic is 22 pages in length.
Submit single-part stories that are somplete in themselves.
Never submit multi-part stories.  As rare as the use of 
inventory stories is, multi-part inventory stories are *never*
used.  Inventory stories requiring more than 22 pages or any 
other special format are *never* purchased from nivice writers.

                  ---===>ARTISTS<===---
*WHAT TO SUBMIT*
	Please submit photocopies only - *never* *originals*.  
Submit comic book story pages only.  No other kind of artwork
will tell us how you work in the comics medium.  Submit samples
showing your ability at *one* *discipline* *only*.  If you're
trying to sell yourself as a penciler, and your pages are inked
and lettered too, flaws in your inking or lettering may 
influence our opinion of your penciling.

*PENCILING*
	We are looking for three main things in all pencil art
samples:
	1.) Your ability to tell a story through pictures.
	2.) Your ability to draw.  And
	3.) Your ability to draw Marvel characters who look 
	    and act right.
	Comic books are a storytelling medium.  Your samples
should demonstrate your ability to tell a story in a sequence
of pictures.  Make up a story or have someone describe a few
scenes from a comic book you've never looked at, and draw four
to six pages of it, breaking down each scene into optimal 
number of panels to tell the story visually.  Do not send pinup
shots, since they do not show any storytelling ability.
	Besides storytelling, your samples should demonstrate 
good drawing -- a knowledge of anatomy, perspective, and 
convincing environments and backgrounds.  Beyond that, your
samples should how your command of human figure in a variety
of activities, everything from a simple conversation to a 
frentic fight scene.  Concentrate on whats inside the panel 
borders, not on the overall design of the page.  Complicated
page layouts, figures jutting through the borders, and other
visual gimmicks usually hurt the storytelling.
	Besides storytelling and good drawing, your samples 
should show your visual understanding of Marvel heroes: not
simply how they look, but how they stand or move, their size 
compared to their surroundings, how they force other characters
to react or relate to them.  Send samples of Marvel characters
only, since we're experts on them and know how they should look
and act.

MATERIALS
Professional pencilers work on a 10" x 15" area floating within
an 11" x 17" artboard.  Artboards are generally Strathmore 2ply
coldpress cardboard with a slightly rough finish.  (A too smooth 
surface, like mechanical drawing paper, generally makes the
pencil lines smudge.)  Pencillers generally use an HB pencil (or
non-repro blue pencil) for sketching and laying out a page, and
a 2H to 5H pencil for the final drawing and finishing of the art.

*LETTERERS*
	Send samples which demonstrate your skills at regular,
bold, and italic lettering, dialogue and thought baloon shapes,
captions, sound effects, and panel bordering.  We prefer straight
pointers, not curved ones.  We prefer caption shapes that are
rectangular rather than irregular or odd-shaped.  We prefer
sound effects that are open and not "hairy", illegible, or
overly obtrusive.  Submit three to four pages of samples.

MATERIALS
Letterers use an Ames guide to rule lines and spaces, set anywhere
from 3-1/2 to 3 on the bottom scale.  Letter on Strathmore 2ply
coldpress artboard.  Use a Hunt's crowquill #107 for lettering 
and a Speedball A-5 for drawing baloons, captions, and borders.
The nibs fit into a crowquill and standard holder, respectively.

*INKERS*
	We recommend that you submit samples of artwork inked
over someone else's pencils rather than your own.  (Otherwise
it is difficult to separate problems in your pencil drawing 
and problems in your ink rendering.)
	An inker's job is to add clarity and depth to the
penciled art.  When a figure, object, or background is
rendered with depth, the two dimensional lines on the paper
create the illusion of a three-dimensional scene.  Depth can
be acieved in several different ways, most often by varying
line weight and the amount of blacks in the foreground, 
medium ground, and background in a set pattern.  Penciled
art should lose nothing in its transition to inked art.  
Care should be taken that the pencilers work is enhanced, not
diminished.  Be sure to submit a photocopy of the pencil art
you worked from so that we can see what you had to work with.
	Submit four to six pages of inked artwork, preferably
from several different pencillers so we can see how you handle
a variety of pencil styles.

MATERIALS
Professional inkers use India ink and various pens and brushes.
Each inker has his or her own favorite oen and size of brush.
They also use Pro-White to correct occasional mistakes.  Avoid
using zip-a-tone in your samples since it will only obscure
your linework.

*COLORISTS*
	Like inkers, colorists also enhance the *clarity* and
*depth* of the artwork.  In addition they intensify the *mood*
of a scene.  The most important of these is clarity: characters
and objects must be colored clearly so we can recognize them.
This does not mean that every single object must be rendered
in its "natural" color: sometimes to make an important obejct
stand out or to clarify the difference between two objects, 
one object must be colored unnaturally.  After clarity, depth
should be strived for.  This is usually achieved by 
simplifying the color schemes of objects at the same level of
depth, and organizing the color schemes within a panel from
cool to warm or vice versa.  After clarity and depthy, mood 
should be strived for.  If a scene is mysterious, dark colors
may be appropriate.  If a scene is cheerful, light colors may 
be appropriate.  Still, clarity and depth should never be
sacrificed for mood.  It may be necessary to render a night
scene with light backgrounds for the sake of clarity and 
depth.  There are only 64 colors that can be used in standard,
newsprint comics.  Keepo your color schemes *simple*.  Submit
six to ten colored pages, preferably in sequence.  Color over
photocopies o inked pages at the same size as the printed
comic page: 5-7/8" by 9".  (This is a 60% reduction from the
original artwork size of 10" by 15-1/4").

MATERIALS
Marvel colorists use Dr. Martin's liquid dyes.

*SAMPLES*
	If you can find no one else's pencils to ink, or you need
samples to color, write to the Submissions Editor for 
photocopies of professional work.  Include return postage of
*at* *least* $1.00 for pencil photocopies or $.60 for 
photocopies to color.  You must also include a self-addressed
envelope large enough to hold the photocopies (9"x12").  
Canadian and foreign -- send international postal reply
coupons *only*.  We cannot use foreign stamps, money or
postal orders!

##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##
## Sylvia A. Rudy    ## Have you any idea how completely miserable it is## 
## whamt!sar.att.com ##  to have a runny nose under a full facial mask? ## 
##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*##*  -The Masked Wonder-  *##*##*##*##*##