As some of the people who read this LJ know 6 months ago I lost my Dad with whom I was very close. I don’t want to go into a lot of details about it as it is something that I’m still finding hard to talk about but I need to mention a few details here to put this comic anthology in context.

So what’s happening?
My Dad worked for a number of aid organizations over the years and I wanted to do something to raise money for one of them but I also wanted to raise that money doing something that was personal to me which of course is comics.
I’m putting together a comics anthology to be published in September 2008 featuring the work of as many cartoonists as I can get to contribute. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to GOAL. You’ll find the technical information, a few FAQ’s and information on the theme of the book below.

I've uploaded a radio interview my Dad did taking about the work he did with GOAL. You can listen to it here



Technical Information

Pages should be either Black and White or Grayscale.
Page size: 21 cm H x 15 cm W [sorry Americans but the rest of the world is metric and the printer I'm using is Irish, roughly its 8 1/4H x 5 3/4W in inches]
Submissions should be no more than 6 pages. Please do not submit stories that have been in other books or on the web in any form.
Finished stories please, no “To be Continued’s….”
Please do not add page numbers or your contact information to your work. We will be adding page numbers when we lay out the book and there will be a section listing all the contributors contact information.
Scans should be done at 300 dpi.
For final submission send high res jpg or tiff to cliodhna AT ztoical DOT com. Please mark the subject of the email as "Anthology Submission" otherwise my spam filter may eat it.

Deadline August 08th 2008 [or 08/08/08]

The theme
The theme for the anthology is one line:

“I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m off saving the world”

This was the answering machine message my Dad left on his phone when he went away on a mission. Contributors are free to interpret this theme in whatever way they wish. Serious or lighthearted stories, slice of life or more abstract tales - all are welcome.

FAQ
I will try and answer some of the frequently asked questions I’m anticipating getting with regards to this project but if your question hasn’t been answered then please email me at Cliodhna AT ztoical DOT com or leave a comment here.

Who the hell is GOAL?
GOAL is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that engages in humanitarian and development activities. It is non-denominational and aims to work with the poorest of the poor. GOAL is very proud of its record of maintaining possibly the lowest cost base of any established charity [which means it actually spends its money on humanitarian and development activities rather then wasting large chunks on admin costs]. More information can be found on the GOAL website http://www.goal.ie/

Does my story have to be about GOAL or one of the places they do aid work?
No, I have included the information on GOAL so people know where the money raised from the sale of this book is going but you do not have to include anything about GOAL or the work they do if don’t want to. You are free to submit whatever story you feel inspired to do after reading the theme “I’m sorry I can’t take your call right now but I’m saving the world”. You can be as literal or as abstract as you wish.

Is this book meant to be about your dad or the work he did?
No - I am making this book in memory of my dad but it is in no way about him or the work he did. I'm looking to put together a comic book featuring strong stories from talented artists that just happens to be in aid of a charity that my dad was proud to have worked for.

What medium can I use?
Whatever you want as long as the finished pages are black and white or grayscale and you can resize your work to 15cmx21cm.

I have a story idea but it will be longer then 6 pages can I still submit it?
Please email me with the details of the story and we’ll see if we can work something out.

I’m going to contribute do I need to email now and tell you or should I wait until my pages are ready?
I’d love to hear from people now if they are working on something so we can get a contributors list online but if you want to wait until your ready to send art work that’s ok too.

If I submit something am I guaranteed to get in the book?
No, while I would like to include everyone who submits in the book, we do need to maintain a quality level in order to make the best book possible. My brother and I will be the main editors for the book and we will have the final say on the line up for the anthology.

What do I get for contributing?
All contributors featured in the book will reive one copy of the book free. While I’d like to give each contributor a few copies, this anthology is being made to raise money for a good cause so the more we give away for free the less we have to sell.

So I won’t get any money for contributing?
No, most anthologies don’t pay artists for contributing as the artists keeps all rights to their artwork and the anthology organizers cover all the costs of printing the anthology. I myself will cover the printing costs for this anthology and I won’t be making any money from the sale of this book, as it will all be donated to GOAL. However contributors will benefit in other ways, you will get your artwork in print, your contact information will be included in the book and it will be sold in a number of comic cons/festivals [I exhibited at 7 last year in Europe and the United States]. Plus you can feel all warm inside for having helped raise money for a very good cause.

Shouldn’t you have a website for this thing?
Yes and there will be one closer to the launch date of the book but in this early stage there isn’t a lot to add to a website – over the next few months as we get artwork and a contributors list together we will put the website online.

When will the book be out?
The official launch date is September 12th 2008 Why this date? Because it will be the one-year anniversary of my Dads passing away. The launch will be held in Thurles, Co. Tipperary but I can’t confirm any further details at this early stage. The book will be available to buy from the 12th of September onwards.

Regarding the theme does the line "I'm sorry I can't take your call right now but I'm off saving the world" have to appear in the comic?

No it doesn't. The theme is there to give a loose line of connection for all the pieces and also as a jumping off point for people but your free to be as literal or as abstract as you wish with the theme. If you want to include the line you can but you don't have to.

Are bleeds ok?

Yes bleeds are fine - if you don't understand what a bleed is or have any other question about getting your work ready for print please leave a comment or email me.

Can I use established characters?

Only if you have permission to do so. Please do not submit work using other creators characters unless you have permission, I will NOT go looking for permission for you. All those whose work is included in the book will be asked to confirm that the work is 100% theirs - plagiarism is naughty! Contributors will retain all the rights to their work.

regarding "Please do not submit stories that have been in other books or on the web in any form" Does that mean I can never use my submission anywhere else, even on my website?

No not at all, the rights to your submission remain yours at all times and you are free to publish the piece else where. I ask that people don't submit work that has already been published either in print or online for two reasons [a] to stop people simple submitting something that they have lying around and think sort of fits in the theme and [b] to stop the book simply being a collection of comics that have already printed. In order to make people interested in buying the book the stories needed to be something new. With regards to publishing your submission after the anthology is printed all I ask is, if you can, to wait maybe two months after the publication date of the anthology [September 12th]
So thats it so far, keep an eye on this LJ for updates and please spared the word.